When Love Breaks (Josephine)

Zayn's jaw tightened. "I didn't have a choice," he ground out. "I'm not about to let Yvan take my hard-earned money for free. I know you have high moral standards —that's why I never told you. I didn't want to drag you into this."

Then, his expression softened, and he cupped her face, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "But, baby... You've misunderstood me for far too long. I'm afraid if I don't tell you the truth now, you'll walk away from me for good.

"I let Nadine stick around because she knows everything; she's part of it. And with her personality, if I cut her off now, she'll burn everything down-even if it means destroying herself."

Was that really the case? Josephine took a deep breath, her chest tightening with the weight of his words. For a second-a brief, painful second-she almost believed him. But then... Something didn't add up.

Her eyes narrowed as she met his gaze. "You're lying. If that's all she was to you, then why did you two sneak off to kiss at the Forbes Group celebration? Was that part of your plan too?"

As soon as her words fell, Zayn's face went deathly pale. He stammered, "I-I was close with her, but it never went that far. She's into me, okay? And I used that. I dangled just enough of what she wanted to keep her in line. If I didn't-how else would I get her to do my dirty work?"

Josephine let out a soft, bitter laugh. and to think... Just moments ago, she'd actually wavered.

"Zayn, you're more than capable of building another empire from scratch if you wanted to. But you chose profit over us. You chose this path, and now you're stuck on it. You can't have it all!"

"I can have it all!" Zayn wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I can. The reason I'm moving the money is because twant a fresh start. What's mine-stays mine. Just give me little more time, Josephine. When it's all over, I'll erase Nadine from our lives for good! I'll give you the life you deserve-a life with everything you could ever want. I promise you."

He searched her face, his lips trembling as he dipped down to kiss her. However, her hand shot up, blocking his lips before they could reach hers. "Zayn, you should get the divorce papers ready. You betrayed our marriage once for profit. And if you could do it once, you'd do it twice. Or three times. I refuse to live like that."

Josephine pushed his arm aside and walked around him, her heels clicking softly against the floor as she headed for the hospital room.

"Josephine!" His voice cracked, raw and guttural behind her. "I'll have it all! I'll have the power, and I'll have you too!"

She didn't look back. But in her mind, her answer was crystal clear. "Then, you'll end up with nothing."

The air was warmer in the ward.

Josephine walked in and hung her scarf on the coat rack. That day, she wore a cream-colored, turtleneck knit dress. The snug knit clung to her slender frame, highlighting every curve. The long waves of her slightly brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her soft skin seemed to make the delicate fabric melt into her form.

Joe glanced at his daughter-in-law and couldn't hide a trace of satisfaction. Still, his mouth, ever critical, didn't let up as he nagged at Yvan. "You're a grown man now-what the hell are you wearing? Aren't you worried people will taugh at you? Cut that ridiculous hair of yours and dye it back to black. And for God's sake, what's that thing on your mouth? Take it off right now!"

Yvan flashed a carefree smile, patiently listening to Joe's rant. He sat at the edge

of the bed, eating cherries from the table, clearly tuning him out.