THE WIFE WHO CHOSE HIS FATHER.

POV: Cole

The first thing that came into view once I opened the study door was my wife, pressed against my father's chest.

I stopped.

There was a pause, lasting for three seconds, in which no one moved.

The grandfather clock in the corner of the room ticked loudly.

Then my father released her.

Vivian stumbled backward so quickly that she hit the desk with her shoulder.

I looked at her.

Then I looked at my father.

Then I looked back at my wife.

There was something wrong.

Something very, very wrong.

'Cole,' she whispered.

My name... her mouth... something felt wrong.

Almost like she feared saying it.

I closed the door behind me.

'What were you doing? '

They didn't answer.

My knuckles whitened.

My father, Richard Vale, was a powerful man.

One of the most powerful men I had ever seen.

He had built an empire, one that dabbled in everything from hotels and banking to real estate and tech stocks.

People made appointments to have lunch with him; politicians fought to return his calls.

Executives trembled at the sight of him.

But that didn't matter.

Not anymore.

Because he was my father,

and this was my wife.

The woman I had loved for the longest time.

Vivian hesitantly took a step closer.

'Cole, please, let me explain.'

'Don't.'

She halted.

I didn't mean for it to sound so venomous,

but maybe it was.

Maybe that's how I always meant it to sound.

I let out a deranged laugh.

'How long? '

Vivian's face drained of color.

'Cole-'

'How long has this been going on? '

Richard stepped forward.

'It isn't what you think, son, ' he said.

I turned to him.

'Then tell me what to think. '

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

I waited for a full ten seconds before I turned back to Vivian.

She was beautiful.

She was everything I had ever wanted.

She was my wife of six years.

The mother of my children.

The constant presence throughout the hardest times of my life.

She was the woman I had cried into the chest of when my mother passed.

She was the woman who had held my hand when my father decided I wasn't "prepared" to take over the family business.

She was the woman I had believed, up until this point, had loved me.

"Was I ever good enough for you? "

Her face twisted.

'Cole, that's not fair! '

'Fair? '

I stared at her.

'Do you want to talk about fair? '

She shook her head.

'I never wanted to hurt you, ' Vivian whispered.

'I know, ' I said.

But you did.

My voice cracked on the last word, and she flinched.

I looked at my father.

'Did you love her? '

He looked away.

'It's not the best time, Cole, ' Richard said.

I almost smiled.

'It's never the best time, is it? '

I took out my wedding band and stared at it.

Vivian's eyes locked onto it.

'Cole, please, ' she begged.

I removed the ring from my finger and tossed it on the desk with an audible clink.

She looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time since this conversation had started.

'Don't do this, ' she pleaded.

I stared at her.

'Tell me one thing, ' I said.

She hesitantly met my gaze.

'Did you marry me because you loved me? '

Her mouth opened.

No words came out.

And something inside of me shattered.

Maybe I never was the man Vivian wanted.

Maybe I was only the means to an end,

and if that was the case,

I wanted to know what that end