The penthouse was dark, except for the glow of the kitchen light, casting long shadows across the marble floors. Jade stood by the sink, her hands gripping the edges of the counter as she stared into the emptiness of the room. The weight of Claire's words still pressed on her chest, squeezing out the last remnants of hope she had tried to hold on to.
It had always been just a façade. And tonight, it felt like that façade had finally shattered.
The door clicked open, and the soft sound of Cole's footsteps echoed down the hallway. He was home. Late, as usual.
Jade's jaw tightened as she turned to face him, a dull, icy calm settling over her. She had rehearsed this moment in her head a thousand times, and now, with him standing in front of her, it felt like the final act of a play she had been forced into.
Cole glanced at her briefly, but his eyes were already cold, calculating, like he was looking through her.
"You're still up?"
Jade's voice came out low but firm. "You let her come here."
Cole froze. His lips parted as if to say something, but then he closed his mouth again. A sigh escaped him instead. He ran a hand through his hair.
"What did she say this time?"
Jade stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides. "She said everything I already knew. That I wasn't enough for you. That I never belonged in your world."
Cole's gaze flickered, but he remained silent. He turned toward the bar instead, his back to her as he reached for a glass of whiskey.
Jade's breath hitched, but she pushed the hurt down, forcing the words out. "But you know what, Cole? She's right. She's right about everything. I was just a distraction for you. A trophy. An accessory. But never a part of your life."
She moved closer to him, her voice rising. "You didn't even try, Cole. You didn't even try to love me."
"You still don't get it, do you?" His words were sharp and cold. "You trapped me in this, Jade. You used the pregnancy to force my hand, and now I'm stuck in this... this marriage."
Jade's stomach twisted, the sharpness of his words cutting deeper than any knife. She took a slow step forward, the world feeling heavier with each breath.
"You think I trapped you?" she whispered, her voice shaking with the quiet rage she had been holding back for so long. "You think I planned this? That I manipulated you into marrying me?"
His eyes met hers then—hard, cold, and devoid of warmth.
"Isn't that how it worked?" he asked, his voice dripping with disdain. "You got pregnant, you forced me to marry you. You knew exactly what you were doing."
Jade's breath caught in her throat. "No," she replied firmly, shaking her head. "No, I didn't plan it. You think I wanted this? That I wanted to manipulate you into marrying me?"
His gaze remained icy, unmoving.
"You wanted the fairytale," Cole continued, his voice steady and final. "You wanted the perfect life, the perfect image. But you didn't get that, did you? Because you trapped me. And now, you've ruined everything."
Jade felt a surge of disbelief and anger flood through her. "I never trapped you!" she nearly shouted, her chest rising and falling with the force of her words. "You're the one who married me! I never asked you for any of this!"
"But you did," he insisted, his voice cold and unwavering. "You got pregnant on purpose. You used it to get what you wanted."
Jade's fists clenched at her sides. "No!" she snapped, her voice shaking. "I've been telling everyone the truth from the beginning, but no one believed me. I didn't plan to get pregnant. I didn't even plan to marry you. All I wanted was to love you, Cole. And you—"she stopped herself, taking a deep breath. "You've never seen me. You've never truly seen me."
For a moment, his face flickered with something, something that looked like regret, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"You were just a mistake I had to fix," he said coldly, as if the words didn't even hurt him. "I had to do what was right. For my image. For my career. I didn't want this... any of it."
Jade's heart shattered. She took a step back, her body trembling with the force of the realization.
"I didn't want this either," she said softly, tears threatening to fall. "But I wanted you. And I thought maybe, just maybe, you'd love me too."
He didn't answer.
Jade closed her eyes for a moment, collecting herself.
"You think I didn't know how you felt about Vivien? You think I didn't see how you looked at her? But I still stayed. I stayed because I loved you. And you... you let me break for nothing."
Cole's expression didn't change. He simply stood there, his jaw tight, as if he had already built a wall around himself too high to climb.
The silence between them stretched, suffocating. Jade opened her eyes, her gaze never leaving his.
"I'm not your perfect wife, Cole. I never was. But I tried. I tried for you. I loved you in ways you'll never understand."
Jade wiped her eyes, fury and sorrow mixing in a tide of helplessness.
"When I lost our child, I lost the last thread I had to you. And now... now I'm left here, in your world, a ghost."
Cole's lips trembled for a second, but he said nothing.
Jade took a deep breath, gathering every ounce of strength left inside her.
"Maybe you never really knew me at all."
Her words echoed through the room like a death knell.
"I tried. I really did," she said softly, her shoulders slumping. "But it was never enough for you, was it? I was always just a woman in your life—never someone you wanted."
Cole didn't respond.
She turned away, slowly walking toward the door of their bedroom. When she reached the threshold, she paused.
"I should've never believed you would love me," she whispered, the words more to herself than to him.
Cole stood frozen in the center of the room, the weight of her departure heavier than any contract or case he had ever signed. His hands clenched at his sides, and for the first time in years, he felt like a man who had lost everything he never truly valued.
Jade stepped into the bedroom and closed the door softly behind her.
And for a long, agonizing moment, Cole was left alone in the silence of his own making.
The man who had always been in control, now completely lost.