Chapter 3

3.

"Charlie! Thank God, you're awake."

Morning light stabbed at my eyes. Julian was sitting in the armchair by my bed, his face pale and dark circles under his eyes.

He reached out to feel my forehead, his voice laced with anxiety. "Why didn't you call me when you had a fever? I almost called an ambulance when I found you unconscious this morning."

Call you? Weren't you busy reading fairytales to your mistress and your bastard child?

"I'm fine now," I said, my voice hoarse as I pulled away from his touch.

"You're angry," he stated, frowning.

"No."

"I can tell when you're not happy." He leaned down and kissed my hair. "You've always wanted to go to that private equestrian club in Greenwich, right? I booked it for this afternoon. Let's go clear our heads."

He stood up and started picking out riding clothes for me, his movements as gentle as they had always been.

I didn't want to arouse his suspicion, so I played along.

I had just finished changing into a Ralph Lauren equestrian outfit when Ivy appeared at the door. She was wearing a loose maternity dress, looking timid. "Are you guys going riding? I've never ridden a horse before… can I come and watch? My doctor said some light activity is good during pregnancy."

"Absolutely not. It's too dangerous," Julian immediately shot her down, his brow furrowed.

Ivy bit her lip. "But I get so depressed being cooped up in my room all day… my therapist says I need to be out in nature…"

My doctor says, my therapist says. I grabbed my helmet and walked out the door.

I knew Julian too well―he could never say no to a request that was wrapped in medical advice.

Sure enough, by the time I reached the front hall, I heard his resigned sigh. "Fine. But you have to stay in the viewing area the entire time. You are not to go one step near the horse stables."

So, Ivy came with us.

Julian helped her into the car, his hand protectively on her back the whole time, as if she were a fragile piece of Venetian glass.

When we got to the stables, he was even more attentive, completely forgetting who he was supposed to be there for in the first place.

"Watch the steps."

"The sun's too strong, use this umbrella."

"Walk slower, don't tire yourself out."

Every word of concern was like a dull knife twisting in my heart.

I walked silently to the stables, chose a gentle thoroughbred mare, and expertly saddled her up.

Julian was the one who taught me how to ride. On my twentieth birthday, he took me riding across the rolling hills of his family's Kentucky farm.

Now, the man who taught me to ride was adjusting a lounge chair for another woman, personally handing her a bottle of electrolytes.

He was only pulled away when his phone buzzed―an emergency board meeting.

He glanced at the screen, his brow creased with worry.

Ivy immediately played the part of the understanding partner. "You go handle your work. I'll just sit here and watch Charlie ride. There are staff members here, I'll be fine."

Julian made sure the bodyguards were in place before he finally walked toward the lounge to take the call.

I reined my horse to a stop by the fence, watching the scene unfold.

The sun cast a long shadow of him as he straightened his cuffs while on the phone―a habit I had known for twenty years.

"Mrs. Sterling."

Ivy had somehow dismissed the bodyguards and was approaching on a pony, a sweet smile on her face. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like if two horses collided? I've only ever seen it in the movies."

Before I could answer, she dug her heels into the pony's side and viciously whipped my horse's flank.

Both horses reared up in terror and crashed into each other! The pony went completely wild, bucking and charging toward the fence.

In my peripheral vision, I saw Ivy "accidentally" let go of the reins and tumble onto the sandy ground.

"Ivy!"

Julian, who had just finished his call, came running out, rushing to her side immediately.

At the same time, the spooked herd of horses broke through the fence and stampeded directly toward me!

"Julian! Help―"

I screamed as I was violently thrown about, my voice lost in the thunder of hooves.

I saw him lift a seemingly unconscious Ivy into his arms and run toward the exit to call for an ambulance, without a single glance back.

The moment the reins slipped from my grasp, I remembered my twentieth birthday, under the same setting sun, when he had told me, "Charlie, if you ever call my name, I'd turn back from the gates of hell itself."

The wind howled in my ears as I was thrown into the air.

Before my vision blurred, the last thing I saw was Julian's back as he carried Ivy to the car.

A sharp pain shot through my ribs, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of my heart being ripped in two.

I curled up on the ground, watching the sky spin, and closed my eyes.