Chapter 56
“We had an agreement from the start,” he reminded her coldly. “You wanted to be Mrs. Sullivan, and I wanted a child. But I was never going to leave Penelope. You agreed to those terms p>
“But… but I love you,” she sobbed. “I love you so much that I was willing to betray my best friend and live in the shadows just to have your baby. How can you be so cruel to me p>
Seeing her cry, Zebulon softened slightly. He stood up and walked over to her. “Alright, don’t cry. You’ll upset the baby p>
“Are you still angry with me p>
“You put that… thing… in my pocket, and Penelope found it. Of course I’m still angry p>
“I’m sorry, darling. I promise I’ll never do it again p>
Zebulon pulled her into a brief hug and started to lead her back to her room. But
Rebecca wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“We can’t,” he whispered, pulling back. “What if Penelope sees p>
“She’s asleep. She won’t p>
“It’s too late p>
“Darling, I know you want Penelope, but she won’t let you touch her. You’re frustrated. I can… help you with that p>
“Rebecca, I can’t ask you to do that p>
“It’s not a burden. I want you too. I want my husband to love me p>
The guest room balcony was connected to the living room. Penelope stood there, watching as the two of them started going at it right on the floor, too consumed by lust to even make it to the bedroom. Their bodies twisted together, lost to the world.
A wave of nausea washed over her. The man who claimed to love her so deeply could turn around and sleep with another woman, justifying. git with his own twisted logic. And
Rebed betrayed her who w friend, stolen her marriage, and was carrying her husband’s child, still managed to play the victim. They were both disgusting, shameless creatures.
The next morning, Zebulon had already left for work, but not before making breakfast for both of them. Rebecca was at the table, eating with a blissful expression on her face.
Penelope had no appetite and settled for a cup of coffee.
“Penelope, I sent a friend request to Mr. Reed, but he hasn’t accepted it. Do you think he missed it p>
Penelope had to hide a smile. He hadn’t missed it; he was ignoring her. “Oh, maybe p>
Rebecca bit her lip. “You have his contact information, don’t you? Could you just send him a quick message and ask him to add me? It would make communication so much easier p>
“Sure thing p>
Penelope went back to her room, took out her burner phone, and accepted Rebecca’s friend request. The profile picture was a generic one, but the name was Nathan Reed.
A message from Rebecca came through almost immediately: “Mr. Reed, hello, this is Rebecca Winters from Stone Group’s project
department. The design pro ne
submitted previously was actually Penelope’s “Thad my doubts about it at the time, but she insisted. I will be handling the design personally from now on and look forward to your feedback. I hope we can have a productive collaboration p>
Penelope scoffed. Blaming it on me?
She typed back a curt reply: “I look forward to seeing your work, Ms. Winters. I
trust it won’t be the same level of garbage I saw last time p>
She couldn’t wait to tear apart every design Rebecca submitted, making her revise it over and over until she had a complete breakdown.
That evening, Penelope changed clothes and drove to the SL Hotel. She parked and met Nathan at the entrance, and they went inside together. As she walked through the lobby, she caught a glimpse of
Rebecca’s reflection in the window,
lurking behind them.
A smile touched her lips. She looped her arm through Nathan’s and they walked
to the elevator together.