Chapter 13

“Please, just go. I need some alone time.”

Tarquin sighed, knowing he had no choice but to step out for the moment.

As he closed the door behind him, his expression shifted dramatically. He was about to call out for Nola when she suddenly appeared at the foot of the stairs, her eyes red with emotion.

Seeing him emerge from Elijah’s room, Nola hurried toward him, her concern etched across her face, “Tarquin, how is Elijah doing now?”

Despite his icy demeanor, Tarquin refrained from lashing out. After all, Nola was the one who had saved Elijah’s life. It was Nola who had stumbled upon Elijah, who was abandoned at their doorstep, that gave him a second chance at life At first, Tarquin had his suspicions.

Was it really just a coincidence that Nola found Elijah? Had she hidden Elijah’s birth mother to get closer to him and orchestrated the whole rescue to win his gratitude?

It was a common plot straight out of a TV drama But after a thorough investigation, it was clear that Nola’s discovery was indeed a stroke of luck, and she had nothing to do with the disappearance of Elijah’s mother So, pite his lack of fondness for Nola, Tarquin always treated her with courtesy. He even allowed her to visit Elijah regularly to fill the void of maternal affection, causing rumors to swirl that he had feelings for her. Some even whispered that Nola might be Elijah’s birth mother.

But the truth was known only to those closest to him.

Tarquin’s heart belonged to Elijah’s birth mother, and he never led Nola to believe there chance for them together.

Just as he had told his son, he didn’t like her.

e was a Tarquin descended the stairs with a stoic face, noticing the white bandage wrapped around Nola’s arm.

“I’m sorry about Elijah hurting you,” he said.

Nola quickly reassured him, “It’s nothing, really. I’m just worried about Elijah. He threw a tantrum when he saw me today. Is it because I’ve been away shooting for too long that he became distant from me?”

She pretended to care deeply for Elijah and feigned innocence.

Tarquin glared at her, knowing full well that Elijah’s episode was triggered by her telling him that they would marry. With a cold voice, he said, “No, he’s missing his birth mother.”

Upon hearing this, Nola clenched her fists in secret. Both Tarquin and Elijah longed for the same woman, and it gnawed at her with jealousy.

After her bewildered rescue of Elijah, she was exhilarated, thinking that she finally had a ticket into Tarquin’s life.

When Tarquin expressed his desire to repay her, she had suggested that a child should not grow up in a single–parent home and offered to marry him- even if only in name.

But Tarquin had bluntly informed her that he was still legally married. To marry again would be bigamy.

Compensation, yes, but marriage, no.

That rejection had infuriated her! Unable to win his heart or the title, her frustration and angriness knew no bounds.

The three people she despised most were Elijah’s birth mother, Tarquin’s wife in name, and Elijah himself! She fantasized daily about getting rid of all three.

While resentment churned inside her, Nola’s face was a mask of self–reproach, “It’s all my fault. I haven’t provided enough motherly love for Elijah. That’s why he pines for his birth ‘her and has fallen ill.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s natural for a child to miss his own mother. You’re not his birth mother, and all your efforts can’t give him the maternal love he seeks.”

Tarquin never minced his words, and with that, Nola’s heart shattered once more.

She could never be Elijah’s birth mother- an unchangeable truth that would haunt her for life.