She Was Never Just the Wife novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Celia left Lucero Mansion at 9:00 PM,

4

Prouchers.

She walked alone through the quiet streets of Westmont Heights, the hem of her trench coat swaying gently in the autumn breeze. The street lamps stretched her shadow long and thin, as lonely as a fallen leaf in this vast city of Silvergate.

She didn’t call a taxi. She just walked slowly. The night wind was cool against her face, but it kept her mind sharp.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a message from Haley: [Cece, how did it go? Did you see Tanner?]

Celia stopped walking and leaned against a plane tree by the roadside, her fingers tapping lightly on the screen. [Yes. He agreed to help. He’ll give me the signed divorce papers at his birthday party next Saturday.]

A few seconds later, Haley replied: [That’s great. Just rest for the next few days. Don’t think about anything. Ond did you know you’re trending on X?]

Celia blinked at the word “trending.” She typed back: [What do you mean?]

Haley sent Celia a link,

Celia clicked it. The third trending hashtag read: [An unknown female doctor saved a child with congenital heart disease at a restaurant].

She tapped into the thread. The pinned post was from a verified user named Med Watchdog

[Witnessed something incredible tonight at Oak Veranda. A three or four years old child with congenital heart disease suddenly went into a hypoxic episode. A few medical students on site had no idea what to do.

[Then a young female doctor stepped in. Her technique was shocking, the kind of skill you don’t see every day.

[She correctly identified Tetralogy of Fallot and used specialized positioning and compression techniques along with nitroglycerin lingual spray to pull the child back from the brink in about ten minutes.

[Didn’t catch her face, but this doctor is on another level.]

The post included a video link. The video was shot on a phone, and the footage was a little shaky. It showed a crowd gathered in the restaurant’s main dining hall. A young woman knelt beside the child, performing the emergency treatment.

The person filming was far away, and the woman’s head was down, so only her back was visible, with the cream-colored trench coat and the long hair loose over her shoulders.

The thirty-second video ended with the woman standing up and walking away, still no clear shot of her face.

The comments had already exploded.

19:27 Mon, May 11

Chapter 27

[Oh my God, that technique was insanely professional. She has to be a cardiac surgeon.]

[Those medical students looked completely lost. That’s the difference between amateurs and the real thing.]

[Does anyone know who this doctor is? Someone find her.]

[Her back looks young. I’d say under thirty.]

48

[The person who posted it said there was no clear shot of her face, so maybe the doctor herself didn’t want to be seen.]

[Why hide when you just saved a life?]

Celia’s finger hovered over the screen, her expression complicated.

She hadn’t expected anyone to film it, and she certainly hadn’t expected it to trend on X. But at least the video didn’t show her face.

Just then, another message came in from Haley: [Cece, that’s you in the video, isn’t it? Even without the face, I recu aze that trench coat. You wore it today.]

Celia was quiet for a few seconds, then replied: [It’s me. But it’s fine. No one will recognize me.]

[You’re right. But Cece, the way you saved that child was incredible. If only the people online who’ve been calling you nothing but a flower-arranging housewif ould see this. I’d love to see their faces.]

Celia just smiled faintly and didn’t reply.

She closed X and kept walking, but had only taken a few steps when her phone rang again. Thi a message but a call.

The screen showed a name: Jasper Ross,

It was her father.

Celia stopped in her tracks. She looked at the name, and her eyes slowly turned cold.

The phone rang several times. Just before it would have gone to voicemail, she pressed answer.

“Hello.” Her voice was calm, with no warmth in it.

“Celia?” Jasper’s voice came through the line, deep but tired. “Where are you right now?”

“Out.”

me, it wasn’t

“Why haven’t you come home with all this going on?” Jasper’s tone was thick with displeasure. “I just got back from my business trip and heard things have been blowing up between you and the Luceros. What’s going on?”

Celia held the phone, her fingers pressing white against the case. “Nothing’s going on. I’m getting a divorce.”

19:27 Mon, May 11

Chapter 27

58

40

“A divorce?” Jasper’s voice shot up. “Celia, are you joking? We worked tooth and nail to secure this marriage with the Luceros. You can’t just throw it away.”

“It’s been three years, Dad,” Celia’s voice stayed calm. “This marriage needs to end.”

“Nonsense.” Jasper’s voice was tight with suppressed anger. “Are you throwing another fit with Beckham again? Let me tell you something, Celia. Men have affairs. That’s life.

“Just turn a blind eye to it and get on with it. You’re Mrs. Lucero. No one can take that from you.”

Celia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Same as always, she thought bitterly. Three years ago, he was like this. And now, nothing’s changed. To him, I was never a daughter, just a pawn to keep the Luceros close.

“Dad,” she opened her eyes, and her voice turned cold, “I’ve already made my decision. Mr. Lucero has agreed.”

The line went quiet for a few seconds.

“Tann agreed?” Jasper’s tone softened slightly, though the reluctance was still there. “Celia, think about this. Ross up is barely stable right now. If we lose the Lucero connection…”

“Ross Group is stable because of what I traded for it.” Celia cut him off, and for the first time, her voice carried a clear edge of sarcasm. “Three years, Dad. That should be enough to pay back what I owe the Ross family.”

“You…” Jasper choked on his words.

After a long pause, he sighed, his tone softening. “Fine. This isn’t a conversation for the phone anyway. Come home tomorrow. We’ll talk in person. Lainey and Greyson miss you.”

Lainey Ross was Jasper’s second wife, Celia’s stepmother.

Greyson Ross was Lainey’s son, twenty years old and a college student, if one could call skipping class most days and showing up once in a blue moon “being a college student

A cold smile touched Celia’s lips. ‘Miss me?’ she thought mockingly. ‘More like they want a front row seat to my train wreck!’

“I’m busy tomorrow,” she said.

“Busy with what that’s more important than coming home?” Jasper’s voice hardened again. “Celia, I’m your father. When I tell you to come home, you come home. Tomorrow night. I want to see you at home. That’s final.”

Then he hung up.

The dial tone buzzed in her ear, Celia stood under the street lamp, phone in hand, not moving for a long time.

The autumn wind blew, rustling the fallen leaves across the pavement. She looked up at the thin scatter of stars visible in the night sky and felt something heavy settle in her chest, a bone deep tiredness.

19:27 Mon, May 11

Chapter 27

40

[53 vouchers

Her phone buzzed again. She glanced down. It was a message from Haley: [Cece, did your dad call you? My dad said your dad was losing it at the chamber of commerce today, saying you’re being reckless or something…]

Celia didn’t reply. She put her phone away and kept walking, even slower this time.

*****

The next day at 4:00 PM, the taxi pulled up at the entrance of Ross Residence. Celia paid and got out.

The neighborhood the Rosses lived in was a tier below Westmont Heights, where Lucero Mansion stood, yet it was still an affluent area.

Three years ago, Jasper had relocated the company to Silvergate using the Lucero family’s connections, but the family still lived here. He said he was used to it.

Celia walked the familiar road. Most of the villas along the street were lavishly decorated, with luxury cars parked in the driveways.

As sh

ssed one house, she saw a few middle-aged women chatting in the yard. When they noticed her, their eyes lit up with pointed curiosity.

“Well, well, isn’t that Celia? Back for a visit?” A woman with curled hair called out, her voice dripping with barely concealed gossip.

Celia gave a small nod. “Hello, Caroline.”

“I heard you’re getting a divorce?” Another woman, wearing a dress, picked up the thread, her eyes sweeping over Celia from head to toe.

“Let me give you some advice, Celia. Men fool around. That’s just how it is. Don’t take it so seriously. A family like the Luceros doesn’t come around twice.”

Celia didn’t slow down. She just said quietly, “Thank you for your concern.”

She was already past them, but their voices carried.

“Funny that she’d throw away being Mrs. Lucero just like that.”

“Word is she can’t have children, and the Luceros weren’t happy.”

“Exactly. Now the other woman has given them a child. What standing does Celia even have left?”

Celia’s grip tightened on her bag, her knuckles going white, but her face stayed calm.

When she reached the front door of Ross Residence, she rang the bell.

Soon, the door opened. Standing there was Giada, the family’s housekeeper, a kind-faced woman in her fifties.

When she saw Celia, her eyes lit up, and she lowered her voice. “Ms. Ross, you’re here. Mr. Ross is waiting for

19:27 Mon, May 11

Chapter 27

you in his study. Mrs. Ross and her son are in the living room.”

“Thank you. Giada,” Celia said softly.

48

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify