Chapter 546
“If… you forced her to get an abortion, humiliated her in public, flaunted other women on your arm, sabotaged her career, and just stood by while the internet tore her apart-maybe even threw in a few kicks yourself?”
The hotel manager stared, speechless.
Jonathan fixed him with an intense gaze, voice earnest, “So, do you really think a few sweet words and some designer bags could ever make up for
that?”
The manager blinked rapidly, then snatched up his walkie-talkie as if it were a lifeline.
“Uh-yes, copy that, I’ll be right there.”
He set the device down and shot Jonathan a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Mr. Thomas, I’m needed back at the front desk. Duty calls!”
With that, the manager all but sprinted away.
Jonathan let out a heavy sigh, his brow furrowed. He’d hoped to get some advice, but apparently even the hotel manager thought he was beyond help.`
Night pressed in, thick and heavy as pitch.
A white Lexus tore down the highway.
“Sorry to make you drive all the way out to Coralis this late,” Niamh said quietly from the passenger seat, guilt in her voice.
Elmer’s smile was gentle as ever. “If you’re apologizing for being polite to your own boyfriend, maybe I’m the one who should be sorry. Giving you a ride is the least I can do.”
Silence settled between them, sudden and awkward.
If Elmer hadn’t brought it up, Niamh might have forgotten that he’d announced their relationship to the entire internet not long ago. At the
time, he’d been helping her out of a tight spot-back before Jonathan’s
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marital status with her had exploded all over the news.
The conversation had cast a shadow over the car, stifling as it was. Even with the air on full blast, it felt hard to breathe.
Niamh kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead, saying nothing.
Elmer glanced sideways at her, again and again.
She hadn’t confirmed she was his girlfriend. He knew she was wary-her marriage to Jonathan still legally intact.
But was it really just the marriage holding her back? Elmer’s chest ached every time he turned that question over in his mind.
“Nia… I’m not giving up,” he said suddenly.
Niamh’s long lashes flickered upward. She didn’t need him to spell it out;
she knew exactly what he meant.
“But Elmer, I’m still married…”
“Then let’s have an affair. I don’t mind being the other man.”
He said it with such gravity that Niamh couldn’t help but laugh, half in
disbelief, half in exasperation.
Their conversation trailed off, the car falling into uneasy silence.
Elmer never cared that she was married. He never minded being “the other man.” But the truth that hurt most was this: even as the other man,
she still wouldn’t choose him.
By the time the white Lexus pulled into Aldenville, Jonathan was still in
Coralis.
The next morning, Niamh woke to find her name trending online-again.
She’d been in the spotlight so many times, she barely even registered surprise anymore.
With Susy behind bars and Marina disgraced and under The Vipers’ Nest’s thumb, Niamh couldn’t imagine who was still so intent on
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dragging her through the mud.
But when she clicked the headline, she realized this time it wasn’t a smear campaign-it was a full-blown media circus.
*Mr. Thomas Carries His Wife Off the Street-Total Power Move!*
*Fireworks Extravaganza: Thomas Group’s CEO Crosses Borders to Win Back His Wife?*
*Mr. Thomas Blows a Fortune on Fireworks and a Drone Show-All for Forgiveness!*
*Jonathan and Niamh Not Divorced? Dr. White the Homewrecker?*
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