\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Rowan\u2019s tie was loose, his shirt rumpled, and his hair was a mess. He looked completely disheveled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you staring at?\u201d he snapped when he noticed Natalie watching him. \u201cHurry up and get the kids in the car, or you\u2019ll be late.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he passed by, Natalie caught a strong, familiar scent of perfume. It was exactly the kind that Imogen wore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rowan walked upstairs, stripped off his clothes, and tossed them into the laundry basket. Then he turned on the shower and took a hot bath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the mirror, his neck and chest were marked with several hickeys, and scratches marred his shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even now, memories from last night in Imogen\u2019s bedroom flickered through Rowan\u2019s mind in fragments, over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before last night, he could still confidently tell Natalie that his relationship with Imogen was innocent, but now he had no excuse left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natalie dropped Sarah and Roger off at school, then went grocery shopping before returning to the villa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upstairs, she began tidying the rooms and entered the master bathroom, noticing Rowan\u2019s clothes tossed in the laundry basket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was the house\u2019s maid-cooking, cleaning, and laundry were her responsibilities. Rowan knew she would hand-wash his clothes, which was why he left them there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pulled out the black coat from inside the basket and started sorting through the clothes and pants. On the collar of a white sweater vest, a clear lipstick stain was visible, left by a woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her pale fingers clenched the garment tightly, and after a long moment, she let out a steadying breath and loosened her grip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, the phone in her pocket pinged with a message. Natalie picked it up and saw it was from an unknown number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie, Rowan brought you a gift last night. Check the pocket of his coat when you have a chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She reached into the black coat pocket and found something-a black lace bra.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anger flared in Natalie, and she wanted to toss it into the trash, but then she thought better of it. It could serve as valuable evidence, and it would be a shame to discard it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She went back to Sarah\u2019s room, pulled a storage bag from the closet, and carefully placed the bra inside. As for Rowan\u2019s clothes, she threw every piece into the trash and even had Pamela take the bag outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At 10:30 am, she received a call from Imogen. This was the first time Imogen had called her since returning to the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They agreed to meet at a cafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet to the point,\u201d Natalie said, feeling disgusted just looking at Imogen\u2019s pitiful, innocent act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNatalie-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust call me Mrs. Payne,\u201d she interrupted, letting the title land heavily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upon hearing that, Imogen could no longer maintain her composure. She sneered, \u201cAn empty title, Mrs. Payne. What\u2019s there to be proud of?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. Rowan isn\u2019t even here, so who are you putting on a show for? I prefer seeing this ugly side of you,\u201d Natalie said, elegantly stirring her coffee with a small spoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Imogen ground her teeth, realizing just how sharp and venomous Natalie\u2019s words were.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven years ago, you married Rowan, but that was under Mrs. Payne Senior\u2019s pressure. In Rowan\u2019s heart, he never loved you. The one he truly loves has always been me, and now that I\u2019m back, he should return to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know where he was last night, since he didn\u2019t come home, right? Did you get the gift I had him bring you?\u201d Imogen said with a soft, mocking laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Chapter 13\u00a0 1\/2\u00a0 Chapter 13\u00a0 At that moment, Rowan\u2019s tie was loose, his shirt rumpled, and his hair was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-divorced-upgraded-and-married-rich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}