Chapter 4
Vanessa stopped pretending she was uninvolved.
She crossed one leg over the other and folded her hands in her lap.
Her composure returned almost instantly.
“You already know Gavin and I have a son.”
Alessandra stared at her.
“No.”
Vanessa’s eyes flickered.
That answer surprised her.
Gavin turned toward his mistress.
“Vanessa.”
She ignored him.
The shift in control was subtle but obvious.
For the first time, Gavin looked like the person losing command of the conversation.
Vanessa continued.
“Lucas is five.”
Alessandra’s expression did not change.
Inside, something dropped.
Five.
Tobin was three.
She looked at Gavin.
The math was immediate.
“You were with her before we married.”
Gavin inhaled slowly.
His eyes dropped.
That was the answer.
Sybil stepped forward.
“It isn't as simple as you're making it.”
Alessandra looked toward her.
“Five years seems remarkably simple.”
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“You think I was the affair.”
Gavin’s head turned.
“Don't.”
Vanessa’s smile widened.
“You married her after me.”
Alessandra felt the room shift again.
Not because Vanessa had won.
Because she had just changed the order of betrayal.
Gavin and Vanessa had been together before Alessandra entered the marriage.
Alessandra’s eyes stayed on her husband.
“Did you know Lucas was yours when you married me?”
Gavin’s hand tightened around his ring.
“Yes.”
No excuses.
Not yet.
Alessandra sat completely still.
That silence made him speak faster.
“It wasn't supposed to become this.”
Vanessa laughed under her breath.
Alessandra turned toward her.
“What was it supposed to become?”
Vanessa looked at Gavin.
This time, he was the one silently begging her not to answer.
Vanessa leaned back.
“A marriage that gave him what my family couldn't.”
The room went silent.
Alessandra stared at Gavin.
May you like
Because the affair had just stopped looking romantic.
It had started looking strategic.
