From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 51

"But she is my wife."

"Going after her is going after me. I hope you understand that, Mrs. Byron."

"I will be keeping this evidence." The blatant threat silenced Cecilia Byron on the other end of the line.

He hung up the phone and looked down at Sierra, who was collapsed on the floor, weeping uncontrollably. The icy glint in his eyes slowly thawed into a trace of warmth.

"Frederick, I'm so sorry... Did Lydia run away from home?" Sierra trembled as she listened to him speak to her mother.

But he didn't blame her, which offered her a sliver of comfort.

Ran away?

She had spent so much effort getting close to him just for revenge, hadn't she? How could she bear to let him go before her revenge was complete?

Yet, as Frederick recalled the utter disappointment in Lydia's eyes when she left, a suffocating weight pressed against his chest. He quickly pushed the bitter feeling aside.

Why would he care about someone who only used him?

"Leave her be," he said coldly.

Where else could she go but the hospital?

...

Lydia brought Gable to Moonlight Cove, taking the elevator up from the underground parking garage.

"Your hours and duties will be the same as before," she explained. "I'll let you know if I'm coming home for dinner. If not, you can get off work early. The only difference is that my mother is in the hospital right now, so I'd like you to make soup and bring it to her every day."

"Of course, Ms. Sterling," Gable replied.

Ms. Sterling?

Lydia smiled at the seamless shift in title; Gable was nothing if not professional. "That was a million dollars back there. Weren't you tempted?"

"Trying to buy my integrity for a million dollars? She severely underestimated me," Gable said with a hint of pride. "Besides, I'm not blind and foolish like Mr. Foster."

Lydia's eyes dimmed slightly, but she kept her smile. "Here we are. I'm in apartment 1202. The passcode is my birthday. I'll add your fingerprint to the system later."

As the two stepped out of the elevator, they nearly collided with a man walking right toward them.

Lydia almost crashed straight into his arms. Her hands instinctively flew up, pressing flat against his chest. Through the thin, soft fabric of his dress shirt, she could feel the firm, powerful muscles shifting beneath her palms.

She stepped back quickly, lifting her gaze in a flurry, only to meet Xavier Ford's indifferent dark eyes.

An hour passed, and she was still staring at the title page.

Her mind kept replaying the image of Frederick looking at Sierra with such tender affection.

Sierra had claimed her mother was just provoked by Lydia, painting it as a justifiable reaction.

And Frederick had defended her without boundaries, calling her innocent.

Her fingers gripped the pages tightly. Setting the book aside, she climbed into bed and forced herself to sleep.

As soon as she closed her eyes, the nightmare took over. A red sports car came hurtling toward them. That tall, steadfast figure stepped in front of her to shield her. A blinding white light flashed, and the impact sent them flying. She landed several feet away from him, an agonizing wave of despair and physical trauma tearing through her body.

She didn't want to wake up; she wanted to face the memory.

In the dream, just before she succumbed to the darkness, she watched the crowd gather. Several people rushed forward to lift him...

She gasped, her eyes flying open as she snapped out of the nightmare. Curled into a tight ball, she panted heavily.

Her mind reeled in disbelief.

She had recognized one of those people. It was Wesley, Xavier Ford's executive assistant.