26. William

"No, that's not…"

Jane tried to deny it but Grandfather wasn't interested in listening. He had decided that we were in love with each other and no one could convince him it wasn't true.

What Jane and I had was far from love. We both knew that. How could we love each other when our relationship was built on lies?

"We'll leave you to rest now," I said and my grandfather nodded.

When we stepped outside, Jane turned to look at me. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"When my grandfather makes up his mind about something, no one can change it."

"Oh."

"But we know the truth," I said.

She nodded. "Yes, we do. There isn"t a world where we would be in love."

"Exactly." I led her to the main door of the hospital. "My driver is waiting for you outside. He'll take you home so you can shower and rest."

"What about you?"

"I'll stay here and watch my grandfather while trying to get some work done."

"I can stay with you," she said.

I smiled at her. "Get some rest, Jane." I placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you soon."

Jane walked out of the hospital and I walked back to Bernard's room. There was something important I needed to take care of.

It took a while for me to understand what was truly going on but everything fell into place the moment I saw the time stamp on the article from this morning.

Riley had called me by 7:03 am. The article wasn't published until 7:05 am. It was a small difference but it meant everything.

It told me everything I needed to know. Riley was the mole I'd been searching for but she wasn't working alone. She had no reason to go up against me. Plus she wasn't stupid enough to think she could win without help. There was someone backing her. Someone who would gain if I was deemed unfit for the CEO position. That person had tried to ruin my deal with Titan Capital and told the press the truth about my marriage.

The only person who came to mind was Bolton.

He had the most to gain if I lost my position. He'd been practically drooling on my seat the day he visited my office. The old man wanted to be CEO and he would do anything to get that position.

A few hours ago, while I waited for the doctor to let me see my grandfather, I called Paul and told him to keep an eye on Bolton.

Hopefully, he's found something useful, I thought as I pulled out my phone.

"Mr. Aldaine."

"Please tell me you have something for me."

"I kept an eye on Mr. Bolton like you asked," he said.

"And?"

"I found out he's been speaking to the board members behind your back, trying to convince them that you're not fit to be CEO."

My hand squeezed my phone and I spoke through gritted teeth. "What else?"

"You were right about Riley. She was the one who leaked information to Hannibal Group. I found out when I hacked into her email account." Paul paused like he was waiting for me to chastise him. I didn't care what methods he used. All I cared about was results.

"Thank you."

"There's something else you should know. I saw Riley and Mr. Bolton speaking discreetly in the parking lot earlier."

It was just as I suspected. Those two weasels had connived to make me lose my position.

They would both regret ever going up against me.

Riley stood in front of my desk, her eyes glued to the floor and her shoulders shaking slightly. "Sir… I didn't… I would never—

"There's no trying to lie your way out of this, Riley. Tell me the truth. Now."

My voice was perfectly calm but she could sense the threat hidden in my words. She would face the consequences of her actions, but how severe those consequences were would depend on how helpful she was to me.

"The truth, Riley."

She lifted her head and stared at me with anxious eyes. "Sir, I didn't—

"The truth!" That was enough to make her sing like a canary.

"Mr. Bolton made me do it. I never wanted to. He's my father's friend and he knew I was looking for a job. He said I could have this one but I would have to do whatever he says. I was desperate. I've been out of a job for months. I didn't know he would ask me to do something as awful as leak information about your deal. I—

"So what were you expecting?" I asked. Anger bubbled up inside me and I felt the need to punch Bolton in the face. It was one thing to suspect him. Having my suspicions confirmed made me livid. He'd tampered with an important deal that would"ve been beneficial to the company, beneficial to him. He cared so much about becoming CEO that he was willing to sabotage the company he had helped build.

"I… I don't know sir. I—

I cut Riley off because I could tell she was about to start rambling again. Right now, I needed solid answers not worthless apologies. The damage had been done so it was about picking up the pieces. I couldn't do that until I knew exactly who shattered the glass. I'd never told anyone the truth of my marriage so how did Riley and Bolton find out? There was something missing from her story. Things just weren"t adding up.

"About the press release—

Riley all but dropped to her knees. "I didn't know it would affect your grandfather like that. I never thought that he would have a heart attack after finding out the truth."

"And how did you find out the truth?" I asked.

"I…"

"Whatever mercy I show you will depend on how honest your answers are."

"It was Miss. De Luca."

My fist came down on my table. The loud bang made Riley flinch. Pain shot through my hand but I didn't care. I was too angry to care. I couldn't believe Layla had done something this crazy. Was she that desperate? We'd ended our relationship months ago and I told her I wasn't interested when she stopped by. Clearly, none of that was able to deter.

I stood up and Riley flinched again. I'd mostly forgotten about her. In the grand scheme of things, Riley was irrelevant. She was simply a pawn that had been used by Bolton and Layla to hurt me. I expected Bolton's betrayal but Layla's took me by surprise. I thought we were friends. Maybe that was my first mistake. I should have realized that Layla was too used to getting what she wanted to take ‘no' from me. It must have felt like a slap in the face when I rejected her and she retaliated in the worst way possible.

Riley backed up against the wall when I walked past her. "Don't ever show your face here again," I said coldly before walking out of my office. I would deal with Bolton later. Right now, I needed to see Layla.

I knew exactly where she would be staying. The woman loved luxury so I knew she would be in the most luxurious hotel in town. Layla had never stayed long enough to get an actual place so she always stayed in a hotel.

My hand gripped the wheel tightly as I drove. Anger was still the only emotion inside me. It made me drive faster because I wanted to confront Layla as soon as possible. The sound of my phone ringing brought me out of my thoughts. It was Jane.

"Hey," she said when I picked up. Her voice washed over me and I felt my anger dissipate. Jane was the calm in my storm. She was the only good thing about this messed up situation. "How's your grandfather?"

"He's good."

"And how…" I could just picture her biting her lower lip. "How are you?"

"I'm good too. You don't have to worry about me."

She scoffed. "Who said anything about worrying?"

"It's okay to admit you miss me," I said as a smile spread across my lips.

"I'm hanging up now."

I laughed loudly. "Thank you for calling, Jane." We remained silent for a moment. "It's good to know you worry about me."

"I don't—" She sighed. "Goodbye William."

When I got to the hotel, most of my anger was gone. Talking to Jane, hearing her cute frustrated sigh, and laughing at her inability to admit she was worried. That lifted my mood until I couldn't remember why I was angry.

My memories came back when I saw Layla at the hotel reception. Her long red evening gown gracefully swept the floor, suiting the overall ambiance of the space. It was only a few minutes past noon but she was dressed like she was going for a Broadway show. Long pearls sat on her neck, jingling slightly as she spoke. The man in front of her had a mix of frustration and worry on his face. He was slowly turning a bright red color. Layla didn't seem to notice or care. She hadn"t seen me yet which gave me enough time to walk up to her. Her head turned just as I reached the reception.

Layla's eyes widened. "William."

"Miss. De Luca, a word please."

She tensed at my tone. She knew exactly why I was here. "Um… sure."

We walked to the hotel's lounge and took a seat. "So how do you and Riley know each other?" I asked, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"We don't—" I glared at her and she sighed. "Fine. I actually don't know Riley. Bolton was the one who introduced us. I told him the truth about your marriage to that—

My glare intensified, cutting Layla's sentence short. "Do not insult my wife."

"Your wife is a nobody. Why can"t you see that she will never measure up to your standard? What are you doing married to a woman like her?"

"Who told you about the marriage contract?" I asked, ignoring her comments on my marriage. I was still missing something. Jane and I have never told Riley, Bolton, or Layla the truth about our marriage. There was someone else. Someone close enough to us to know the truth. Someone who hated us enough to reveal it.

Layla smiled, confident and self-assured. "She's been in front of your darling wife this whole time."

"What are you talking about?"

"Her lovely bestie, Skylar."

Skylar.

Once again that woman had been instrumental in hurting Jane. How could she hate her so much if they'd been friends for eight years? Was she faking it throughout that time?

I'd seen the woman at a few of Ryan's parties over the years but I'd never met her. Not until that day in Jane's apartment. She'd gone out of her way to hurt Jane. She wouldn't get away with it this time. I would make sure of that.

Layla reached over and placed a hand on my thigh. "William, you're wasting your time with a woman like Jane. I should be your wife, not her. We've been through so much together. We understand each other. We are meant for each other. I love you."

"And I love Jane."

The words shocked me just as much as they shocked Layla. All this time, I had no idea that my feelings for Jane were this intense. I didn't know that somewhere along the line, my fake feelings had turned into real ones.

I loved her.