Sydney froze for a split second, instinctively defending herself. “It wasn’t me. Penelope was just-
“I don’t care who it was. Go apologize to Penny. Now.” Caleb’s tone brooked no argument.
Her elbow still throbbed where he’d gripped her too hard, but she dug in her heels, refusing to budge. No matter how hard he tugged, she stood her ground.
“I told you, it wasn’t me. Why should I apologize?” she questioned.
“Sydney,” Caleb paused mid–step, towering over her with narrowed eyes. “If this were the past, I wouldn’t have hesitated to believe you. But now, I don’t recognize you anymore.”
He’d witnessed the change firsthand.
When she smashed that vase on Penelope, he had told himself she had just been upset–people acted out when angry.
Lately, she used work at the clinic as an excuse, leaving at dawn and returning long after nightfall, barely present at home. Even when Nancy asked for a simple herbal recipe for Timothy, Sydney had refused. He kept telling himself she was young, still growing, and needed time.
Then came the restaurant incident. She had embarrassed Penelope and him publicly, then turned around and mocked both of them without remorse. Yet he had let it slide.
But moment by moment, she became nothing like the gentle, well–mannered girl he once knew. How could he trust her anymore?
Sydney gave a faint, mirthless smile. When she lifted her gaze, it was unnervingly calm. “Then believe whatever you want.”
As if his trust were so precious. Besides, he wasn’t investigating this. He wasn’t the law. The police would
handle it.
Caleb’s eyes locked onto hers, his handsome face clouding with disappointment. “What did you say?”
He couldn’t understand it. How had she become like this?
He had carefully considered this confrontation, prepared for her to be hurt, wronged, maybe even to cry. What he hadn’t expected was this indifference.
Sydney genuinely didn’t seem to care. Not about his words, or perhaps, not about him at all.
Sydney blinked slowly, “I said, believe whatever you want.”
She added, her voice soft but icy, “Caleb, don’t look at me as if I’ve disappointed you. You’re not the victim
here,”
Caleb stared at her, stunned. His hand slid away from harm. And just like that, everything they had once shared between them evaporated.
“When did you become like this?” Caleb’s voice was hollow.
“I’ve always been this way,” Being endlessly obedient had never been her nature. And now that they were here, Sydney didn’t mind revealing her true self.
4/2
Chapter 81
+15 BONUS
“I appreciate these past three years, Caleb. For giving me space to work without distractions, and for keeping the Sterling family out of my business. But that doesn’t mean I owe you blind obedience. I’m not your punching bag,” she said.
“So what you’re saying is…” Caleb’s eyes sharpened with realization. His tone turned scathing. “You’ve been using me? Using the Hampton family?”
The thought hit him like a physical blow. Everything–her sweetness, her docile smiles, her compliance- had all been an act? Even their marriage had been part of her calculations?
If it were all part of some grand plan, then was every emotion she had ever shown him all a lie?
Fury rushed in, but it tangled with something else–something heavier pressing on his chest until he could hardly breathe. He didn’t even recognize the feeling.
Chapter 82
