The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Vivian Apology

Aria pov

"Can we sit?" She gestured to the chairs.

"I’d rather stand."

She flinched but nodded. "I deserve that. In fact, I deserve a lot worse, actually."

"Yes, you do."

"Aria, I came to apologize." She twisted her hands together. "For everything. For what I did at your wedding, for lying about you to Damien, for choosing our parents over you. All of it."

I stared at her. "You expect me to believe you suddenly grew a conscience?"

"No." Her eyes filled with tears. "I expect you to hate me. I hate myself. But I had to try. I had to tell you that I’m sorry and that I’ve been living with what I did for years."

"Good." The word came out harsh. "You should live with it. You should remember every day that you destroyed your sister’s life because you were jealous."

"I know." A tear rolled down her cheek. "And you’re right. I was jealous. You were always smarter, stronger, better. And when Damien chose you, I was angry and wanted an opportunity to destroy you."

"By making me into a fool."

"To feel chosen for once." She wiped her face. "I know that’s not an excuse. Nothing excuses what I did, but I need you to know—I regret it. Every single day."

I wanted to believe her. Some small part of me that remembered the sister I’d had before we grew up, before our parents pitted us against each other.

But I couldn’t trust her. Not after everything.

"Is this because of Mother?" I asked. "Did she send you?"

Vivian’s expression flickered. "She called me. Said she was trying to reconnect with you and asked if I’d talked to you."

"And you decided to show up." I laughed bitterly. "Let me guess—you both want something. Money? Access to the Blackwood fortune? What?"

"Wait." Something else occurred to me, cold sliding down my spine. "How did you even know where to find me? Mother doesn’t know this address."

Vivian’s face went pale. "I... Sophia Clark, Damien Ex told me."

"What?"

" She gave me this address, said you and Damien were staying here with Noah." Vivian’s voice dropped. "Aria, I swear"

"Don’t." I stepped back. "Don’t swear anything. Don’t pretend this is about family or regret or making amends. You and Mother—you’re working together just like always."

"That’s not"

"Then look me in the eye and tell me she didn’t tell you to come here. Tell me this wasn’t coordinated."

She couldn’t. She just stood there, tears streaming down her face, unable to lie.

"That’s what I thought." I turned to leave.

"Wait!" She grabbed my arm. "Aria, please. Yes, Mother suggested I reach out. But my apology is real. My regret is real. I miss you."

"You miss me?" I pulled away. "You destroyed me, Vivian. You took everything I had and you burned it to the ground. And now you miss me?"

"I made a mistake"

"A mistake is forgetting someone’s birthday. What you did was calculated, cruel, and unforgivable." I was shaking now. "You slept with my husband on my wedding day. You conspired with our parents to paint me as the villain, you stood by while they threw me out pregnant. Those aren’t mistakes—those are choices."

"I know." She was sobbing now. "I know and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but I actually didn’t have se" She stopped abruptly, her face going pale. "You know what? I am sorry."

She was about to say something but couldn’t complete the sentence.

"Sorry doesn’t fix this." I felt suddenly exhausted. "Sorry, don’t give me back those years. It doesn’t erase the pain, it doesn’t make us sisters again."

"Then what can I do?" She looked desperate. "Tell me how to make this right."

"You can’t." I started walking away. "There’s no making this right, Vivian, some things are too broken to fix."

"Aria, please!" She called after me. "I have information. About Marcus, about his plans. That’s why Mother really sent me."

I stopped and turned slowly. "What?"

"Marcus contacted Father." She wiped her face. "He Offered him money to join him in taking down you, Noah, and Damien."

My blood turned to ice. "And? Did Father help him?"

"No." She shook her head. "He refused. For once in his life, Charles Monroe did the right thing. But Marcus is desperate, Aria. He’s running out of options, and that makes him dangerous."

"I already know he’s dangerous."

"But you don’t know about Sophia." Vivian moved closer. "She’s been meeting with Marcus and feeding him information."

My stomach dropped. I pulled out my phone and called Damien. He answered on the first ring.

"Aria? What’s wrong?"

"Get down here. Now." I kept my eyes on Vivian, my heart hammering. "It’s about Sophia and we have a bigger problem—she knows where we are."

******

Damien appeared within minutes, his earlier shame replaced by cold alertness. When he saw Vivian, his expression hardened, but he came straight to my side.

"What about Sophia?" he demanded.

"She knows about this penthouse," I said before Vivian could speak. "She gave Vivian this address."

The color drained from his face. "That’s impossible. This property isn’t listed under either of our names. It’s"

"Compromised," I finished. "She’s been feeding Marcus information, Damien. our security, and apparently our safe houses."

"She’s been helping Marcus." Vivian wrapped her arms around herself. "She’s been giving him details about your security, your schedule, everything. She wants revenge on both of you."

"How do you know this?" Damien’s voice was deadly quiet.

"Because she tried to recruit me." Vivian’s voice shook. "When Aria came back to town , two weeks later, she showed up at my apartment and said we needed to work together to destroy you you."

"And you said?" I could barely get the words out.

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