Chapter 4
I spoke calmly, none of the usual sensitivity or jealousy in my voice. Noah paused, then his face lit up with a pleasantly surprised smile.
He said, "Good girl, that's the right attitude. Today I'll take you to shoot the most beautiful diamond. Bid whatever you want."
With his childhood sweetheart by his side and his fiancée in the back seat, Noah was practically glowing with joy, speeding down the road.
Clara was happily snacking in the passenger seat, scattering crumbs everywhere. Noah could only shake his head and let out a resigned laugh.
So his seven-year-long obsession with being spotless was only for me. When it came to Clara, he just didn't care at all. But none of it mattered to me now.
When Clara begged Noah to hand over every diamond he meant for me at the auction, and even when he took her to the lounge because she couldn't hold her liquor, I just saw it as the perfect chance to slip away early.
But then my phone lit up with a message from Clara.
Clara: [Nia, did you actually think Noah loves you? With me here, you're not even worth the courtesan who satisfies his needs.]
Clara: [Lounge. Why don't you see for yourself?]
Her unusually vicious words made me stop. I walked to the deliberately ajar lounge door and listened to their conversation.
"Noah, we've known each other the longest. How come she's the one marrying you?" Clara pouted.
"Clara, put your clothes back on. We can't keep doing this." Noah's voice was tense.
From behind the door, I could hear Noah's heavy, ragged breathing. And then Clara's honeyed, tempting voice floated through the gap once more.
"Noah, you're always with me on your anniversaries, aren't you? She can't give you a child, but I can. Wouldn't you love a baby that's truly ours?" Clara asked.
Noah's breath came even faster, and the two of them practically melted together in the room. Their desperate gasps and Clara's coquettish moans invaded me like a nauseating virus.
I stood stiffly outside, rooted to the spot, forced to hear every sordid detail.
So the "busy with work" excuses on anniversaries meant he was busy in Clara's bed. The so-called beautiful memories we once shared were nothing but a joke.
They kept changing positions in the room. My tears wet my face and dried again. When they finally stopped, Clara's sweet and spoiled voice sounded.
"Noah, it's your fault for picking diamonds for her! I got so pissed, I transferred her mom to another hospital on purpose. I just wanted her mom dead. Let's see if she has the nerve to fight me for you again," Clara spat.
"You really haven't changed since you were a kid. Still the same little troublemaker." Noah chuckled.
He added, "Don't worry about Nia. She's always the sensible one. Just tell her whatever, and she'll get over it in a couple of days."
His flippant words landed like a sucker punch, leaving me completely numb.
"You just went all out inside me. What if I really end up pregnant?" Clara teased.
"Then let Nia take care of it. She can't have kids herself, so she'll treat it like her own. And you? You'll always be my baby," Noah replied.
"Nia's so head-over-heels for you, she'll probably cry herself dry. But that's what she gets for going up against me. She had it coming," Clara said, her words soaked in venom.
As the noises inside got downright nasty, I slapped my hand over my mouth and dashed to the bathroom, dry heaving until I was spitting up nothing but bile.
It turned out that playing nice only encouraged people to take advantage. Genuine understanding only made Noah treat me like a fool.
Without an ounce of lingering feeling left, I sent the recording I'd just made to my lawyer, Thomas Synder.
All my barely held-together composure disappeared the moment I got Thomas's reply that I'd win in court. I couldn't hold it together anymore. I called my grandpa, bawling like a kid.
"Grandpa, I'm done with this wedding... Can you just find me someone nice when I come home?" I sobbed.
"Nia, did that punk make you upset? Just wait. I'll make sure he regrets it," Grandpa snapped.
Grandpa didn't even hesitate to defend me, and the tears just poured down my cheeks.
"Grandpa, I let Dad down. He gave his life for this country, and I couldn't even protect Mom. Clara went behind my back and had her transferred to another hospital... It killed her. I failed them both," I said, sobbing.
I squatted on the ground and wailed shamelessly as passersby pointed and whispered.
"Alright, sweetheart. Stop crying now. Send me your location. I'll have someone come get you, and you just go get some sleep. Don't worry. I've got your back," Grandpa promised.
Hearing Grandpa's warm, careful voice on the other end, all the pain weighing down my chest seemed to ease up a bit. Suddenly, I felt that lost courage start to trickle back in.
I wiped away my tears, hung up the phone, and vowed that Noah and Clara would pay for everything. But just as I started walking, a wave of dizziness hit me out of nowhere.
Someone gently steadied my arm, and I looked up to see a man in a sharp suit, concern written all over his face.
"Dr. Cooper, you always warn me not to get up too fast when you're not feeling well, or you might faint. So why are you forgetting your own advice now?" he asked.