I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 387

Finnegan turned around slowly. His eyes locked onto her face with a frigid intensity, his voice flat and devoid of all emotion. "You faked your degree."

Seraphina stumbled backward in terror. Tears instantly spilled over her eyelashes, cascading down her cheeks as she choked back a sob. "Yes, I admit there are issues with my academic record, but Finn, please, can you just let me explain before you judge me?"

Finnegan remained dead silent, staring at her coldly from across his desk, wordlessly waiting for her pathetic excuses.

His absolute silence only amplified her paralyzing guilt.

Forcing her chaotic emotions into check, she took a shaky breath, stepped forward, and began her carefully constructed lie.

"Finn, my grades were poor back then. I only managed to get into a mediocre university. My parents felt that wasn't good enough to match the Fletcher family's prestige, so they tracked down my twin sister, Annalise. I was so young back then, I didn't understand how the world worked. I just knew my parents were trying to help me, so I foolishly went along with it. By the time I grew up and realized it was wrong, it was too late to fix it! If I confessed, it wouldn't just ruin me—it would completely destroy the entire Shaw estate!"

Finnegan's jaw tightened until his teeth nearly cracked. "When did my older brother ever care about your prestige? When did I ever care?!"

Seraphina hurried to defend herself. "I know! I know you didn't care! But Finn, I was so insecure! At the end of the day, why do you think I did all of this? I did it for you! I was terrified I wasn't good enough for you! You're the heir to the Fletcher empire. You've had brilliant, elite women throwing themselves at you since you were a child. And me? What did I have besides a pretty face? If I didn't even have a respectable degree, would you have ever given me a second glance? Would your family have ever accepted me? I was so paralyzed by the thought of losing you that I made one wrong choice, and it dragged me all the way to this nightmare!"

Seraphina's head snapped up, tears still clinging to her face, completely paralyzed by shock.

Finnegan viciously finished the thought for her. "Were you doing it for me, or were you doing it for your own twisted vanity? I never imagined you were capable of such depravity. You played me for an absolute fool from day one. Every ounce of innocence and kindness you ever showed me was a calculated lie. Beneath it all, you are a vicious, venomous snake!"

True panic finally set in. Seraphina reached out, desperately trying to grab his arm. "Finn, I know I've done terrible things! I won't deny it! But my love for you has always been real! I've stayed by your side all these years! I stood by you during your darkest moments, and I helped raise Cassie! Can't you just look at everything we've shared and forgive me this one time?! I'll fix everything! I'll resign, I'll issue a public apology! Just please, don't leave me!"

Looking at her face now, all Finnegan felt was a violently churning nausea. He couldn't fathom that he had repeatedly tortured Nora to protect a monster like this. He had hidden his true identity, discarded his own wife, all for this woman?