Chapter 3: The Truth Derrick Never Told Me

Derrick's silence followed me all the way back to our suite.

Neither Georgina nor I spoke during the drive.

The city passed outside the window in a blur of lights.

I kept hearing Rosalie's words.

"Your marriage wasn't supposed to happen."

"It was a business decision."

I had trusted Derrick for years.

I had believed every promise.

Every "I love you."

Every time he told me I was the only woman he had ever wanted.

Now I didn't know which part of my marriage had been real.

When we reached the hotel suite, Georgina immediately sat beside me.

"Vera."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

I forced a smile.

"I just need time to think."

Georgina sighed.

"Then take all the time you need."

"But don't let Derrick convince you that this was your fault."

I looked at her.

"You knew something."

She didn't answer immediately.

"Georgina."

"What did you know?"

She finally exhaled.

"I knew our families had discussed an alliance years ago."

"But I didn't know Derrick had allowed Rosalie to believe the arrangement still existed."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought Derrick had handled it."

"Apparently he didn't."

I laughed bitterly.

"He never handles anything when it involves women."

Georgina frowned.

"That's not fair."

"Isn't it?"

"He didn't marry Rosalie."

"But he gave her enough freedom to pretend he did."

"And he never told me."

Georgina had no answer.

A knock sounded at the door.

I knew who it was before the guard opened it.

Derrick walked in.

He looked tired.

"Vera."

"Don't."

He stopped.

"We need to talk."

"About the business decision?"

His expression tightened.

"You heard everything."

"Yes."

"Then let me explain."

"Go ahead."

He stood several feet away.

"Before I met you, my father wanted me to marry Rosalie."

"Her family had financial problems, and our companies were closely connected."

"It was supposed to secure the alliance."

"Did you agree?"

"At first... yes."

My heart sank.

"You agreed to marry her."

"Before you met me."

"Yes."

"And then?"

"Then I met you."

His voice softened.

"Everything changed."

"I ended the arrangement."

"But you never told Rosalie clearly enough."

"I thought she understood."

"You thought?"

"I was wrong."

I stared at him.

"You didn't just fail to tell her."

"You let her stay in your hotels."

"You let your employees treat her like your wife."

"You let her use your name."

"And today she almost killed my mother-in-law."

Derrick lowered his head.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

"Because if you did, you would understand why I'm questioning everything about us."

"Vera..."

"Did you ever love her?"

He looked at me.

The pause was brief.

But it was long enough.

"I cared about her."

I closed my eyes.

"That's not what I asked."

"I never loved her the way I love you."

"But I was young."

"I thought agreeing to the arrangement would protect our families."

I laughed quietly.

"So while I thought I married for love, you married me because it was convenient for everyone."

"No."

"That's not what happened."

"Then tell me what happened."

"The moment I realized I loved you, I stopped thinking about the alliance."

"But I still should have told you everything."

I looked at him.

"Yes."

"You should have."

He took a step closer.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apology yet."

"What do you want?"

"The truth."

Derrick nodded.

"Then I'll give you all of it."

"Rosalie's family has been struggling financially for years."

"They've been using our company's resources to survive."

"I allowed some of it because I didn't want them to collapse."

"But she started taking advantage."

"The hotel suites."

"The employees."

"The security team."

"All of it became normal to her."

I crossed my arms.

"And you let it happen."

"Yes."

"Because I didn't want a confrontation."

"You didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"Yes."

"And you were perfectly willing to hurt mine instead."

His face fell.

"I didn't think it would reach this point."

"That's the problem with people who avoid difficult truths."

"Eventually, someone else pays for the silence."

Georgina finally spoke from the sofa.

"Derrick, she's right."

"You've been trying to keep everyone happy."

"But you created a bigger mess by refusing to choose."

Derrick nodded slowly.

"I know."

Then his phone rang.

He looked at the screen.

The hotel's general manager.

"Answer it," Georgina said.

Derrick accepted the call.

"What happened?"

The manager's voice sounded panicked.

"Sir, we have a serious problem."

"Several confidential hotel records have been accessed."

"Which records?"

"Ownership documents."

"Management accounts."

"And the private guest registry."

Derrick's face hardened.

"Who accessed them?"

"The system shows Ms. Rosalie's credentials."

Silence.

Derrick looked at me.

"Are you certain?"

The manager answered immediately.

"Yes, sir."

Derrick ended the call.

Georgina stood.

"That woman is doing more than pretending to be your wife."

"She's preparing to take control of the hotel."

I looked at Derrick.

"Maybe she thinks she already owns it."

"Then we should find out why."

Derrick immediately contacted the company's legal department.

Within an hour, the preliminary investigation came back.

Rosalie had been accessing internal accounts for months.

She had requested financial transfers.

She had approved expenses.

She had even signed several internal documents under the title of Mrs. Hart.

My stomach tightened.

"How did she get authorization?"

Derrick looked at the documents.

"Someone inside the company gave it to her."

"Who?"

"We don't know yet."

Georgina frowned.

"Then this isn't just Rosalie."

"She has help."

Derrick nodded.

"Agreed."

The room fell silent.

Then my phone vibrated.

An unknown number had sent me a message.

"If you stay with Derrick, you'll regret it."

A second message followed.

"Rosalie is only the beginning."

I showed Derrick the screen.

His expression became cold.

"Don't respond."

"I won't."

"We're going to find out who sent it."

I looked at him.

"You see why I'm worried now?"

"Yes."

"And you still want me to trust you?"

"No."

His answer surprised me.

"I want you to judge me by what I do next."

I stared at him.

"That's the first sensible thing you've said today."

He almost smiled.

Almost.

Then Georgina's phone rang.

She answered.

"Hello?"

Her expression changed immediately.

"What?"

"Repeat that."

We both looked at her.

She ended the call slowly.

"The board meeting has been called for tomorrow morning."

"Who called it?" Derrick asked.

She looked at him.

"Rosalie."

Silence.

Derrick's jaw tightened.

"She doesn't have that authority."

"Apparently, someone thinks she does."

Georgina placed the phone on the table.

"Tomorrow, we're going to find out who."

I looked at Derrick.

For the first time since the pool incident, I wasn't thinking about another woman claiming my husband.

I was thinking about something much worse.

Someone was trying to take Derrick's hotel empire from the inside.

And if we weren't careful...

They might succeed.