Valerie's Pov

“I'm sorry, Mrs Montclair, but the baby didn't make it.”

The lump in my throat thickened. “I see,” I mumbled, breaking down inside but handling it like it was just a simple project proposal that fell through.

As if it wasn't my whole world falling apart.

“Has my husband arrived yet?” I asked, keeping my voice steady.

“Not yet, Mrs Montclair.”

I bit my bottom lip, “He is probably caught up with work,” I said unsure if I was trying to convince myself or the doctor.

As if to mock me, the evening’s breaking news shot from the TV hoisted in my ward room.

“Mr Declan Montclair, CEO of Montclair Enterprises is spotted again at the airport with Miss Sylvia Harlow, Director of Harlow Corporation picking her up minutes after her plane landed, he claims that he was only doing a favor for a close family friend…”

A deep red flushed under my skin, the doctor smiled at the TV.

“I don't know why he's in so much denial, the way he looks at her and being childhood friends too. I can't imagine there being another woman who would be a better match for him.”

A loaded weight formed in my chest.

I had my eyes linger on the screen, on the little details everyone could see. His hand was loosely but tenderly placed around her waist. Her eyes glittering as she looked up at him.

If I wasn't married to him myself I would have agreed with the doctor.

She seemed to notice her lapse in professionalism, straightened up and apologized.

“I'm sorry, Mrs Montclair, this might be a bit uncomfortable for you since he happens to share the same name with your husband.”

No, he is my husband.

But I can't say that.

Four years ago, I agreed to a secret marriage. One only known by him and his primary family members.

“Val, my parents are the conservative type. They won't accept our marriage and overlook your humble background, unless I force their hand by showing there's a child between us.”

I'd been tempted to tell him my background was anything but humble.

But I couldn't, he was the first man that saw me and not my family’s fortune. He was also well to do as the heir to the Montclair Enterprise.

We were married one sunny Tuesday in court, with his friends as witnesses. He looked at me like the sun set in my eyes and promised to love me forever.

Lately, I've been wondering if forever has an expiry date.

Now I was in the hospital waiting to tell him that we'd lost another baby, but he was in the airport with another woman.

I decided to call him myself.

He picked up on the third ring.

“Why are you calling me at this time?” was the first thing that came out of the phone.

“Declan, our baby -”

“Don't, just don't. Do you take me for a fool? I know what you're doing. You know I'm with Sylvia right now and you're trying to throw a tantrum so I'll come to you.”

I could hardly breathe, “is that all you think this is?”

“What else could it be?” He continued to tear my heart to shreds, “you've always been jealous and insecure of her, for no good reason I might add, I'm sure you saw us on the news and now you want to drag me away from her side but you won't be having your way tonight. Sylvia just broke up with her latest boyfriend and she needs the support.”

“What if…” I took a deep breath of the weight of a labor that only brought a dead child beginning to take its toll on my body, “... What if you just decided to believe me for a second? That our baby is gone? That you didn't show up when I texted that I was inactive labor? That I had to drive myself here to the hospital without you? And now after 12 hours of labor our child is no more…could you believe me for 1 second that all of that is true?”

There was a long pause long enough that I had to check if the call was still connected.

It was.

The silence lingered for a long while until it was broken by a wave of applause.

“My goodness with these skills you should have been an actress instead of a housewife, Valerie.”

His words destroyed me and any other feelings I could have had for him.

It was at that moment I decided that this relationship was over.

There were just no more fights left in me to give.

If Sylvia wanted him she could have him, I was tired of begging for crumbs.

In the face of my silence he got a bit uncomfortable then added awkwardly, “look I understand how clingy you are, don't worry when I'm coming back I'll buy you your favorite flowers-tulips right?”

Those were Sylvia's favorite, he'd bought them so many times I'd have to be blind to not know.

Then again I've been blind too many things.

“Do whatever you want and I'll do the same.”

I promptly ended the call cutting him halfway in the middle of his half-hearted apology.

As if on cue I heard footsteps, then in the blink of an eye there stood a 6’ 7 specimen in front of me, dark blonde hair, and blue eyes that could see right through me.

Behind him came the doctor.

“Mrs Montclair, your husband is here,” she announced.

2 years ago my family was badgering me to get married, setting me up with different men. I begged Declan to at least let me tell my family but he put his foot down saying it was too soon.

Then he came up with an idea, his best friend playing the role of my fake husband.

“This way they will stop pressuring you to get married!” he has beamed.

Adrian had been Declan's best friend since they were in diapers, but his family's company went bankrupt years ago, however they remained tight. Adrian owed his best friend a bunch of favors so he agreed to the absurd request.

I begged Adrian to keep my family status away from Declan and as far as he had kept that promise, I never thought I would ever get close to him especially since Declan was the only man on my mind, but now things were different.

Declan had changed and so would I.

I maintained a fake smile, something I had mustard over the years being more of an after thought than a wife. It continued until the doctor left me alone with my ‘husband’

“Adrian, I can't do this anymore.”

His thick brow furrowed, he walked closer.

“What do you need?”

I held his wrist staring at his fake wedding ring he never took off.

“Adrian…” I said slowly, “how about we get married for real?”

Valerie's pov

He didn't say anything but there was a flash of emotion moving so quickly past those eyes that I couldn't read them then they finally settled on concern.

“Val, maybe you need to lay back down.. perhaps one of your medications…”I grabbed his arm as far as my fingers could reach across those rippling muscles.

“Adrian I'm dead serious, I want you.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed, “...Val are you trying to say that you-”

“Yes yes…” I continued before he could finish, “I want us to get legally married right after I divorce Nick.”

I don't know if it was just my imagination but his eyes seemed to dip down with disappointment then lifted back up again.

“Are you sure about this?”

I popped up an eyebrow, “I thought that you would be happy about this or at least relieved to know that it was over between the two of us.”

Adrian wasn't stingy with his words when it came to dropping hits that his best friend could do better, and like the food that I was before I would leap forward with both feet and defend him.

But not anymore.

He placed his fingers over mine, “How I feel about this isn't important, but are you sure you're ready to leave him?”

He had said it as gently as possible and yet the words hit like a slap on the face. During these four years I had claimed I’d leave Declan about a dozen times, and I always came back.

All it took was a few pretty lies from him, maybe flowers when he's really messed up and I was falling into his arms again.

But not this time. It took me so long to confess to face the truth but now I could see it without rose colored lenses.

He didn't love me anymore.

Perhaps he never did

I held on tighter to Adrian's arm, he hardly flinched.

“Believe me Adrian I am done forgiving him, if he wants Sylvia then find they can have each other, I'm filing a divorce!” I said my voice was pitching up with emotion.

He studied me.

“I see that you mean it this time…” he said, his voice as gentle and firm as ever, “... But why do you want us to become a ‘real’ couple?”

I shifted on the bed uncomfortably, somehow I got courage from the warmth from his fingers reaching into my own.

“My family already thinks that there are some things I couldn't access as a single woman because of some conservative old farts in the family.” It was embarrassing but I got all up in his face, “just 2 years, I promise that afterwards when we get divorced you'll be leaving with a huge settlement.”

His eyes began to glimmer hearing about money and I kept going, hoping to convince him.

“And I'll make sure that you're as comfortable as my husband, you won't have to work. I'll take all of your bills and you can treat yourself I-” I understand,” his hand was on my waist guiding me back to the bed, I hadn't realized that I wasn't almost falling off the bed."Let's talk about this after you're divorced."

I was determined to get a more solid answer from him.

"Right after the divorce?"

He thought about it, his brow furrowing slightly, "can you give me 72 hours?"

My cheeks reached a light red flushing over my cheeks.

The longest I have ever been able to hold out from my soon to be ex-husband was 3 days, after 3 days I will crumble and go begging to reconcile. This was a test to see if I was really going to be able to cut off all ties with the man that had tormented me for all this time.

"Alright, 72 hours and not a minute longer."

"Yes, I'm not running away, don't worry I'm not the type to run." There was this gleaming blue eyes that made a shiver run down my spine, I looked away. Before I had squashed my reaction to his attractiveness because of my loyalty to Declan but now...

His hands went around my waist and I caught my breath as he embraced me.

My shock gave way to acceptance. The embrace was something I needed so badly. I melted like butter into his arms.

The irony of the whole situation was not lost on me My so-called husband was entertain another woman It was his best friend holding me close keeping me together into a million different pieces Before I knew it there was a stream of saltiness on my lips;tears were coming down and fast

Four years.

I had given him everything and anything and yet that was not enough for him to truly fall in love with me.

From that moment I promised myself that I would not be taken for granted anymore by this man.

First I had to heal, my body and heart had been torn and I had to put them back together, not perfectly but just enough.

I was in the hospital for two whole days, during that time Adrian practically lived there with me there was hardly a moment that I would look to my bedside and not see him there.

Then when I was discharged he was there too and drove me home in his car, you could tell it was secondhand at first glance but well cared for and apart from the habitual coughing from the engine the ride back to the Montclair Villa was mostly uneventful.

"Do you need me to come in with you?" He asked, opening the door and holding out his hand. I took it and he pulled me up to my feet out of the car.

"No," I said, looking towards the house, "this is my battle to fight.”

Valerie's POV

"Master Montclair and Miss Harlow are in the longue," the head maid informed me curtly, she just like the rest of declan's families were not my biggest fans to say the least.

Good news for them: they won't have to worry about me very soon.

I entered into the lounge, holding the divorce papers that had been delivered to me at my hospital bed and the final confirmation as to why I needed them was right in front of me.

There was the man who I unfortunately called my husband for the past 4 years. He was pressed behind Sylvia with only fabric and a thin sense of shame between them. They were at the billiard table. She was bent over his chest resting on her back and his hand was also placed over hers positioning it on the cue stick.

If I had found them in this position in the past I would have blown gasket causing a scene and making a fool of myself but now there was this a numbness where the pain should have been, I coughed to let them know of my presence and that was when they called away from each other not even at a sensible speed gradually taking their time to peel away from each other's bodies.

"Valerie you're back..." Declan announced as if I had just gone out to buy groceries and was stepping back in.

"Yes I'm back" I responded flatly then walked over and through the envelope on the billiard table, "this is yours."

He exchanged looks with Sylvia and then back to me again "is this another one of your tricks what are you plotting? "

"Why don't you check and find out?"

Sylvia with her smug smile not hiding too far away said to me, "I know you were really upset and you have every right to be so because I ended up monopolizing Declan's time that night. I hope you didn't overreact and do something strange."

I said nothing to this and just gestured to the envelope.

Declan looked at it as if it was a bomb that he had to detonate and finally he picked it up spilling out its contents when he read through I could see his eyes enlarging in real time he tossed them back to the bloody table his voice rising instantly.

"Valerie, what is the meaning of this? I knew you were going to pull something but this is low even for you!"

Sylvia looked at the documents too. There was a smile on her face but she quickly wiped it off hiding it behind a concerned downward curve of her lips.

"Vally," she called me by that annoying nickname that she had coined herself, "you can't be serious about this! You and Declan are meant to be! We're just friends, nothing more nothing less."

I looked at them, before I would have began to feel some sense of guilt embarrassment thinking that I was just crazy and overreacting misunderstanding a perfectly innocent relationship but if soft grinding on each other was what they saw as a friendship then I would let them have that to but I would know longer be in the picture.

"Sign the papers, Declan."

"What about the baby?" He said sounding triumphant, these past 8 months had been a nightmare and it was also when I was closest to leaving him but whenever I even mistakenly mentioned divorce he would talk about how I was ruining our child's life before it would even start then he said that he would give me to court and completely demolished me making sure that he got full custody and the if I was lucky supervised visitation.

Instantly all the anger I felt sizzled away at the thought of hurting my unborn child, more than anything in the world I wanted to protect them.

I brushed my palm over the swell of my belly once filled with life and now just an empty shell beginning to sag but still mostly upright.

To anyone else I still looked pregnant even though it couldn't be any further from the truth.

"Declan the baby is gone." I said my voice was wavering for a second.

He marched forward grabbing my arm.

"Stop joking, what's this?" He poked at my belly and instead of the firmness that was usually there his fingers sank a little deeper, he paused briefly as frozen as an eye statue, his mouth hanging open and then he closed it right back.

"What did you do to your belly?" He demanded to know still hiding within the confines of denial backing away from me as if I had slapped him which I intended to earlier.

"The baby is gone," I repeated again, "I didn't make it to the hospital in time, fluid buildup before it could get out...the baby..." I stopped speaking so that I would not end up breaking down in front of the two people that I had promised would never see my tears again.

The moment was short but it almost looked like Declan was coming down to earth and realizing how much he messed up but that was when Sylvia came from behind touching his arm.

"Declan I told you that you didn't have to come and see me in the airport, look at what you've done? Now Vally has to go so far to get your attention."

Once again she minimized my pain to an act, I didn't need to prove anything to her to any of them.

The hardness in Declan's eyes were set back, convinced once again that I was purely lying just as a way to pull a stunt.

"Let's go to the hospital right now," he said, "I want evidence before I believe anything you're saying."

I wanted to argue with him but then I thought about it and this was the perfect way to get exactly what I wanted.

"Then let's make a deal..." I said with complete seriousness, "when the test comes out to be true you'll sign the divorce papers.”