Chapter 311
Dorothea’s heart thudded in her chest. She stared at the black recorder, frozen for a second.
She ran her tongue over her lips, then pressed play.
A slightly rough, older voice came through the tiny speaker. “Albert, I didn’t want to do this back then. But my family really needed the money, and my son was sick. Latham offered a lot. All he wanted was for me to tell you that the person you saw was Carola. I couldn’t say no p>
Before Dorothea could react, the next recording started.
“Albert, Latham only told us not to bring up Dorothea in front of you. He said you just needed to remember Carola. Albert, I swear, I didn’t do anything wrong p>
The last message was from Albert’s assistant.
“I’m sorry, Albert. Latham was the one who put me by your side as your assistant. He didn’t ask me to do anything else, just to nudge you to pay attention to Carola. I only tried to help you get closer to her. I’ve never done anything against The Clark Group. Albert, please don’t misunderstand me p>
Dorothea couldn’t pretend she wasn’t shocked.
But why would Latham go through all this trouble?
And it’s not like they’d even known each other as kids.
“Pretty wild, right?” Albert’s voice was low, a little mocking. “Honestly, what kind of creep starts obsessing over you from that young? He’s been lurking around, watching you for years. Maybe he just wanted to beat me, so he decided to steal you away. Ever think of that p>
Dorothea stayed quiet for a moment, her grip on the recorder loosening.
She looked him dead in the eye. “Albert, do you actually think you mistaking me for someone else is our biggest problem p>
“When you asked me out in the first place, was that a mistake too p>
“And was it Latham’s fault that you kept me close, but every holiday you jetted off to be with Carola, acting like you re her perfect boyfriend p>
“The real problem between us is that you cheated. You never admitted we
Wether. You treated me like a
fool gust something for you to play with.”.
Albert’s face twisted in pain. He shook his head quickly. “Dorothea, I didn’t p>
He hadn’t slept with Carola.
But Dorothea didn’t care about that detail.
“Albert, if I hadn’t finally left you, what would you have done? I know you loved the attention, me chasing after you, while you soaked up Carola’s affection too. You looked se pleased with yourself, playing both of us. Well, I’m not Carola, and I’m not an idiot. The one who messed up everything right from the start was you p>
Dorothea stood, ignoring the stack of useless papers on the table.
“My half hour’s up. I’m leaving. Don’t bother me again p>
“If you do, I’ll tell my husband. And if he beats you up again, that’s on you p>
A loud crash sounded behind her, but Dorothea didn’t look back. She walked straight out of the café.
Albert stared down at his bloody hand, eyes fixed on her retreating figure.
Even after all this, she was still choosing Latham over him?
He had to admit it. Right then, he had truly lost.
He’d lost the girl who loved him most, and somewhere along the way, he’d lost himself too.