What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 234

Kaia agreed with Seraphina. Establishing unyielding boundaries was the only way to protect herself from further toxicity.

Stepping out of the bathroom in her pajamas, she sat on the bed with Brynlee. Finnian announced he was going to shower next. Just then, his phone rang.

Brynlee grabbed it immediately and tapped answer. "Hello!"

"Sweetheart, is your dad still with you? Did he mention when he's coming back?" Noelle's gentle voice filtered through the speaker.

"Oh, hi Aunt Noelle! Dad is sleeping in Mom's room tonight. He just went to take a shower, so he's not coming back today."

The line went dead silent for three seconds. Then, Noelle let out a light laugh. "Is that so? Mom and Dad are sharing a bed..."

Hearing that, Kaia snatched the phone, turned off the speakerphone, and stepped out into the living room. Her voice was ice-cold. "Noelle, it's pretty inappropriate to call another woman's husband this late, don't you think?"

Noelle clearly hadn't expected Kaia to intervene. She hesitated for a second before forcing a shameless laugh. "Kaia, don't make it sound so awful. I didn't want to bother you guys. Elaine just asked me to check if Finnian was coming back to rest."

"He's not," Kaia said flatly, hanging up the phone.

Those two words pierced Noelle's heart like a needle. The air in her lungs suddenly felt thin.

She had an active imagination, and right now, she could vividly picture Kaia lying in bed, fresh from the shower, with Finnian staring down at her...

Noelle let out a cold scoff. Was Kaia finally trying to save her marriage?

She stood up, grabbed a wine glass from the cabinet, and poured herself a half glass of red wine.

Kaia's behavior practically confirmed that the marriage was falling apart. She was panicking, using her daughter as an excuse to keep Finnian by her side.

Oh, Kaia. You might be brilliant, but you still can't hold onto a man, can you?

Noelle leaned against the counter, staring out the window at the ocean, the waves churning beneath the distant city lights.

Her mind drifted back to the summer she was seventeen. She had fallen on the beach, and Finnian had sprinted over to help her up. Seeing her knee scraped by the rocks, he hadn't hesitated for a second before scooping her into his arms and carrying her to a doctor.

She got what she wanted, but her calculation was wrong. After marrying her, Rafael proved to lack the vision and talent needed to run the empire. By his third year, he stepped down, and Finnian took his place.

Rafael was better suited for the technical side of the business, so he was given Aethelstan Biopharma. Every other asset the Sanders family owned was handed to Finnian.

She drained the last of her wine, slumping over the counter in a fit of self-pity, her eyes red with regret.

She let out a soft sob. It felt like the universe was punishing her. Mishearing one sentence had led to a fatal choice, leaving her with nothing.

"I won't make the same mistake this time. I know exactly who is meant for me." Noelle closed her eyes, murmuring the words as if to comfort her own bruised ego.

The day Finnian married Kaia, Noelle had sat in the audience, watching this stranger infiltrate the Sanders family. She had felt a deep sense of panic, terrified that this outsider would disrupt their perfect dynamic.

Thankfully, the marriage had seemed passionless. Finnian treated Kaia with respect and courtesy, but they lived like polite roommates. There was no romantic tension between them.

But the day she found out Kaia was pregnant, it felt like a whip cracking across her back.