What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 575

A long, heavy silence stretched across the line before Finnian's icy, emotionless voice finally broke it. "Have you ever genuinely loved anyone in your life?"

Noelle froze. It felt as if a heavy stone was slowly dragging her heart down into an abyss.

If anyone else had dared to question her like that, she would have screamed at them for days. But hearing it from Finnian made her throat feel like it was stuffed with cotton.

"Of course I have. Of course I gave my heart to you. Why would you even ask that?" She scrambled to adjust her tone, playing the role of the fragile, helpless woman who was utterly bewildered by his sudden cruelty.

"No, you haven't," Finnian struck back ruthlessly. "Even that pathetic line you just fed me was a lie you made up on the spot to manipulate me."

"Finnian, what are you talking about? How could I..."

"The only person you love is yourself. You've never taken a single emotional connection seriously. You loved playing games with high-value men, stealing their hearts just so you could weigh your options. You were just looking for the man who could offer you the highest return on investment. First... it was my brother. And when he was gone, it was me." Finnian's voice was like grinding sandpaper, drawing blood with every word. Calm and clinical, he dissected her eighteen years of scheming and laid it entirely bare.

Noelle felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She sat rigidly on the couch for a long time, the expressions on her face cycling rapidly from shock to panic to despair.

She wanted to defend herself, to find a way out, but facing a fully awakened Finnian meant every word she said would only cement her guilt.

"I get it now, Finnian. When you stop loving someone, it turns into the sharpest knife, stabbing right into their heart. I understand." She laughed bitterly, adopting the persona of a discarded toy that had once been cherished and was now cruelly tossed aside into the dirt.

Every word Finnian spoke was dripping with the bitter realization of a man who knew he had been played, mixed with profound disappointment and burning anger.

"Why are you yelling at me? You used to never even raise your voice at me. What did I do wrong?" Having completely run out of options, she resorted to her ultimate weapon: crying.

"You shouldn't have used my brother as a stepping stone to secure wealth and power. And after he passed, you shouldn't have plotted to get your hooks into me. You didn't just ruin yourself—you ruined me, and you dragged the Sanders family name through the mud..."

"Did I do all of this alone?" she fired back, terrified by his accusations but desperate to deflect the blame. "If you hadn't responded to me, would we even be here today? I made mistakes, but aren't you to blame too?"