She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 38

"Every time we drove back to the estate, she would be so anxious she'd go pale. But the second she stepped out of the car, she forced herself to smile. You were rarely there, so she had to face them completely alone. She absorbed all the abuse, all the screaming, all by herself. And then she would come home and go right back to being your perfect, gentle wife. She never once told you how they treated her. Can you imagine the kind of psychological toll that takes on a person?"

Aiken grew more agitated the longer he spoke, practically turning into Shera's personal spokesperson, entirely forgetting who he was currently lecturing.

When reality finally caught up to him, the blood drained from his face. He looked like he wanted to tuck and roll out of the moving vehicle.

He bit his lip so hard it hurt, completely terrified to even glance in the rearview mirror.

Caden's expression was unreadable. His fingers twitched slightly, tapping the ash off his cigarette.

"Are you finished?"

Aiken didn't dare breathe too loudly. "A-almost."

"Are you saying that I allowed her to suffer?"

Unable to read the emotion behind the question, Aiken panicked. "No, no, sir."

He really wanted to slap himself. Why did he open his mouth? Whatever happened between a married couple was none of his business.

Loose lips sink ships.

He vaguely remembered the previous driver getting fired for exactly this reason.

In that moment, he mentally drafted his resignation letter, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Caden's eyes were dark and bottomless. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling. He brought the cigarette to his lips, took a slow drag, and exhaled heavily.

She had... never told him any of this.

After they got married, the relentless noise from the estate seemed to quiet down, and he had naturally assumed it was just because he was finally settled.

He knew his family was difficult, which was why he avoided going back whenever possible. During the holidays, he always managed to dodge them. His dad would call, Shera would pick up, and then she would go back to the family gatherings alone.

"Keep going."

Aiken swallowed hard. "During the lantern festival this year, Rowena's grandson tripped and scraped his knee. Rowena blamed Mrs. Hayes and forced her to wait out in the freezing snow for two hours as punishment."

He had been on a business trip at the time. When he got back and noticed the bruises on her knees, she simply smiled and said she had slipped on some ice.

He had been entirely in the dark.

"And when you went abroad recently, Mrs. Hayes bumped into your cousin at the hospital. Your cousin used the incident with Rowena's grandson to humiliate Mrs. Hayes, forcing her to publicly apologize in front of everyone."

Caden's brow tightened so fiercely it looked painful, his grip on the armrest turning his knuckles white. "Why didn't anyone tell me this before?"

Aiken sighed. "Mrs. Hayes strictly forbade it. She said you were already completely overwhelmed running the company, and she didn't want to stress you with family drama."

The car fell into absolute, deafening silence. Caden sat perfectly still, mercilessly crushing his cigarette into the ashtray. The night wind whipped into the car, throwing his hair across his brow and completely masking the look in his eyes.