Chapter 19
Chapter 19:
“Read them p>
“Well,” Lee hesitated. “She… she graduated summa cum laude. Top one percent of her class. She was the president of the Debate Society and the captain of the Chess team p>
Liam froze. The air in the office seemed to thin.
He had forgotten. Or maybe, in his arrogance, he had never bothered to know. He had married the Sterling heiress, the pretty face to merge their empires. He assumed her degree was bought, a decorative piece of paper paid for by her father’s donations. He had never asked her about her grades. He had never played chess with her.
“Top one percent?” Liam muttered. A seed of doubt planted itself in his gut. What else did he not know about the woman he slept next to?
Sea City University was a sprawling campus of red brick and golden autumn leaves. Students swarmed the pathways, laughing, stressing, living.
Liam’s black Mercedes cut through the campus like a shark in a koi pond. He spotted her near the central fountain.
Skye was sitting on a stone bench. She wasn’t looking at her phone. She wasn’t fixing her makeup. She was hunched over a stack of flashcards, her lips moving silently as she memorized formulas. She wore a simple beige trench coat and jeans. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun. She looked… young. Focused. Alive.
Liam felt a strange pang in his chest. He hadn’t seen this version of her in years.
He slammed the car door and marched across the grass. “Is this a joke, Skye p>
His voice startled a pigeon near the fountain, but Skye didn’t flinch. She finished reading the definition on her card—Black-Scholes model derivatives—before looking up.
“Hello, Liam,” she said calmly. “Lost? The business school is on the other side of campus p>
“I’m not lost,” Liam growled, looming over her. “I’m here to take you home. Lee told me about the exam. Finance? Really? You haven’t studied in five years. You’re going to walk in there, fail, and the tabloids will have a field day mocking the ‘dumb Kensington wife’ who thought she could play with the big boys p>
Skye stood up. She gathered her flashcards, tapping them into a neat stack against her palm.
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘯ovе𝗅 P𝖣𝗙ѕ oո 𝖻𝘦𝗅ո𝗈𝗏е𝗅s.с𝗈𝗆
“Then you should be happy,” she said, her voice cool and detached. “If I’m busy studying, I won’t be bothering you. I won’t be calling you during meetings. I won’t be waiting up for you p>
She took a step closer to him. “And if I’m busy failing, I certainly won’t be bothering Seraphina p>
The mention of his mistress shut him up for a second. His jaw worked.
Students nearby were slowing down, whispering. Phones were coming out.
Is that Liam Kensington? Is he fighting with his wife?
“Lower your voice,” Liam hissed, grabbing her arm. His grip was firm, possessive. “You are making a scene. Withdraw. Now. Go home p>
Skye looked down at his hand on her arm. Then she looked up into his eyes.
“No p>
The word was simple. Quiet. But it hit Liam like a slap.
He blinked. “What p>