Kay stood in their dimly lit bedroom, the document still clutched in her shaking hands.
Duke stood by the window, his silhouette dark against the moonlight, his back to her. He hadn't spoken since she read the file.
The air between them was thick. Too heavy.
She finally spoke, her voice quiet. "I didn't know."
Duke turned slightly, his jaw clenched. Still, he said nothing.
"You can't blame me for my father's mistakes," she continued, stepping forward, her pulse pounding.
Silence.
Then, finally, a chuckle. Low, bitter.
"Can't I?"
Kay swallowed. She knew this would change things. But she didn't think it would change the way he looked at her.
Like she was the shadow of a ghost he had never let go of.
"Duke, I had no idea."
"And yet, you're still here." His voice was cold. "You sleep in my house. You wear my ring. And you expect me to forget?"
Kay exhaled slowly, gripping the fabric of her dress.
This wasn't going to end well.
"We both know we can't end this."
Duke finally turned, eyes dark, unreadable.
"No. We can't."
Because their marriage was more than just a marriage.
It was a contract.
A merger.
A prison.
It wasn't a conversation.
It was a deal.
A week after the confrontation, Duke and Kay sat across from each other in his study, formal, distant.
"The world can't know." Duke's voice was calm, controlled. "We keep the image. The press sees nothing."
Kay nodded. Of course. Their entire world relied on that.
"And in private?" she asked.
Duke's lips pressed into a thin line. He exhaled. "I don't care what you do. As long as no one finds out."
A small, bitter smile formed on Kay's lips. "So we're opening our marriage."
Duke didn't react.
She leaned back in her chair, studying him. "And what about you?"
His expression didn't change. "I have no interest in anyone else."
Kay let out a humorless laugh. "Of course you don't."
Because despite everything, Duke had never let go of her.
Of Elena.
Kay had always known X was dangerous.
Not because he was reckless.
Not because he was charming.
But because he had always wanted what belonged to Duke.
The empire. The power. And now… the wife.
Long before the marriage, Kay had known X. There had been moments small, fleeting moments where she had wondered if life would have been simpler if she had chosen him instead.
But X was ruthless. A man who took what he wanted.
So when she finally called him after years of silence, she knew exactly what she was doing.
And when Duke found out?
He would burn.
Their marriage was built on power.
But even power had rules.
It wasn't enough to be married. They needed a legacy.
An heir.
The board members started whispering. Business partners asked questions. The media wrote about how their empire needed an "heir to secure the future."
And suddenly, Kay and Duke had another problem.
Kay wasn't going to have his child.
And Duke? He wasn't touching her.
But the world couldn't know.
So they found a solution.
A surrogate.
And that's how Nora entered their world.