Chapter 12
Before she could even change her shoes, Corbin strode in, his
presence sharp and intense.
Yet as he stopped before her, that edge softened into something
gentler.
The emotions behind his eyes remained unreadable.
“You’re back,” she said softly, as always, taking half a step back.
“Have you eaten? Sarah made dinner…”
“Clarinda,” he cut her off, carefully choosing his words, his tone
inscrutable.
“About the news… It’s not what you think. I can explain.”
“Alright.”
She nodded without hesitation and said calmly, “I believe you.”
Corbin was taken aback.
He had always known how docile Clarinda could be, but this
time, he had pictured a lot of possibilities.
Before he came back, his friends had said he was done for.
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No matter how good–tempered a woman was, she’d never
tolerate betrayal.
But Clarinda appeared utterly composed.
There were no tears, no accusations.
Something didn’t feel right.
A peculiar unease stirred inside him. Her “I believe you,”
delivered with such detached calm, left him more unsettled
than any outburst would have.
He frowned.
Just then, an idea struck him–she didn’t care.
Clarinda didn’t care whether he had an affair or not.
She didn’t care if he had kissed another woman.
As usual, her face showed little emotion. She simply picked up a
jacket and said, “I’m going to the hospital to visit Madam Alden.”
“Clara…”
Corbin couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slipping
through his fingers.
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Almost instinctively, he caught Clarinda’s slender wrist and
probed tentatively, “You’re not upset at all?”
Clarinda was slightly stunned.
She had never realized how difficult it was to be Corbin’s wife.
She thought her indifference would come as a relief to him.
But he wasn’t satisfied at all.
He wanted her to be upset.
Corbin held his breath, waiting for her answer.
She merely shot him a glance and then said slowly, “If I were
upset, would you stop seeing Adrienne for good?”
His expression tightened almost imperceptibly. But he insisted,
“Clara, believe me–there’s nothing between Adrienne and me.
“I’ll have her move out after my birthday!”
“And you?” Clarinda asked.
He frowned, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “What are you
thinking? I’ll still live here, of course.”
Then his tone grew more deliberate, as if underscoring a point.
Chapter 12
“Clarinda, I’m your husband.”
“Corby,” she said with a faint smile, “I was asking where your
heart will go.”
While he still stood frozen, she gently freed her wrist from his
grasp, turned, and drove away.
When she arrived at the hospital, Stacey was already asleep.
With nowhere else to go, she wandered the streets aimlessly
behind the wheel.
She was like a homeless person.
No, wait.
That wasn’t accurate.
She had never really had a home to begin with.
It was nearly midnight when Clarinda returned.
The entire villa was quiet, the only light still glowing softly at
the entryway–left on, she knew, by Sarah.
As she passed the slightly ajar door of the second–floor study, a
sliver of light and the sound of hushed, tense voices spilled into
the hallway.
Chapter 12
They were mingled with Adrienne’s crying.
Clarinda looked away as though she had noticed nothing and
continued to her room, where she drew a warm bath.
Later, as she sat on the edge of the bed, drying her hair, the
mattress suddenly dipped behind her. A large hand took the
hairdryer from hers.
She was instantly at a loss.
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In the eyes of others, she and Corbin were the perfect couple.
They had always been so harmonious, never once seen arguing.
But no one knew the truth–they had never been intimate.
Corbin had always maintained his distance.
She had been foolish back then, unable to tell the difference
between him being genuinely busy and him intentionally
avoiding her.
She had believed he was simply occupied–too busy for his new
bride, spending night after night alone in the study.
Yet now, his fingers moved gently through her hair as he
carefully blow–dried it.
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Flustered, she stood up, avoided his touch, and turned around to
look at him, almost blurting out, “Do you have anything to say
to me?”
Her bluntness wasn’t without cause.
Corbin wasn’t acting like himself.
“Clara…
Corbin turned off the hairdryer. After a brief hesitation, he
finally spoke with resolve. “I need you to help clarify the news
online.”
Clarinda felt utterly stifled.
But she couldn’t afford to lose her temper.
She wanted a divorce, but having a fallout with Corbin wasn’t
an option.
Picking at the pad of her thumb, she met Corbin’s gaze. “How?
The photo’s out there.”
Corbin seemed a bit weary–Adrienne had probably been
throwing a tantrum for a long time. “But Adri’s face isn’t visible
in the photo.”
A sharp tightness gripped Clarinda’s chest, her voice bitter. “So,
Chapter 12
you’re asking me to lie? To tell everyone that was me in the
photo?”
She posed the question plainly and straightforwardly.
In fact, she had never expected Corbin to make such an absurd
demand.
She had assumed he would simply ask her to dismiss it as a misunderstanding, to say the woman was just a friend of his.
Pursing his lips, Corbin spoke with cold rationality, “I can’t think
of a better way. Doing this will calm public opinion quickly. It
does more good than harm–for the Alden Group, and for
everyone.”
Everyone?
Clarinda’s fingers tightened unconsciously around the blanket.
He meant Adrienne, of course.
True to form, he protected Adrienne from everything at all
times.
As for her, she remained the expendable pawn, ready to be
discarded without a second thought.
scarded
She forced a smile–it wasn’t pretty, strained even.
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Since Corbin had made a request, he didn’t mean for her to
choose.
“OK.”
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Chapter 13
Lateefa Khanam is a spirited writer who finds freedom in horse riding. She cherishes her mare and the newborn foal, calling them her little happy family.
