The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 23

Clara retched until there was nothing left but bile.

Her stomach was empty, and so was her heart.

In bed, she could still deceive herself that Rhys still loved her.

As long as he had her in his heart, life could go on.

In the end, one phone call from Margot was enough for him to toss all his promises and tenderness to the back of his mind.

His "soon" always had a specific subject.

For her, it was the cold violence of being unreachable for two days; for Margot, it was being on call twenty-four-seven.

Rhys returned at 6:30 in the morning.

Seeing the lump under the covers on the bed, he let out a sigh of relief and walked into the bathroom.

A small pink medicine box was lying in the trash can.

A shadow passed through Rhys's eyes. He stared at the visible text on the box for a few seconds before silently turning on the shower.

The water ran loudly.

Clara kept her eyes closed, pretending to be in a deep sleep.

Not long after, the water stopped.

The other side of the mattress dipped. Rhys, smelling of dampness, lay down and habitually pulled her into his arms from behind.

"Clara..." He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his voice husky.

Clara stiffened, motionless, as her stomach began to churn again.

The scent on him was the same scent that had been on Margot that day.

Rhys sensed the resistance from the person in his arms. His large hand, which had been caressing her waist, stopped. He made no further moves, simply holding her.

His two days off were over, and he should have gone back to the station today, but Rhys showed no intention of leaving.

Seeing that the sky was brightening, Clara couldn't hold it in anymore. She turned over and asked, "Aren't you going to work today?"

Rhys took the opportunity to press over her. "Why did you take the pill?"

Clara paused, then realized what he meant.

She was silent for a moment before saying indifferently, "Isn't that exactly what you want?"

Actually, it was a bottle of pills for regulating hormones, but the name and packaging looked extremely similar to a famous brand of Plan B contraceptive.

Rhys, being a typical dense man, didn't understand these things, and Clara didn't plan to tell the truth.

Rhys held her, pulling her tighter against him with a slight exertion of force.

The sound of a belt buckling came from behind her, followed by footsteps and the slamming of a door.

Clara grabbed her phone.

7:10 AM.

All told, he had only stayed for about half an hour this trip back.

Thinking that he probably hadn't slept all night either, and now had to go on duty... she wondered if his body could handle it.

Clara's nose stung. After a long while, she climbed up and walked into the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face.

She looked down at the pink box in the trash can that he had mistaken for birth control pills.

It was better that he got it wrong.

It saved him from thinking that if he just gave her a little sweetness, she would come wagging her tail back to him.

Clara changed her clothes and went out.

The house was too stifling, full of his scent. She couldn't stay there for a single second.

Simon was out on a location shoot, and likely only Alex, that shy young man, was at his house, so it wasn't convenient to go there.

After wandering aimlessly for half the day, she found herself walking into the downtown shopping district.