Chapter 10
When Caleb stood before Sydney, the harsh edge in his demeanor faded. He softened visibly,
though an unreadable shadow lingered behind his eyes.
“You’re back.” Sydney took half a step back and spoke softly. “Have you eaten yet? Nancy made dinner-”
“Sydney,” he cut in, his voice tight as he chose his words carefully. “About what’s online… It’s not what it looks like. I can explain.”
“Mm. I believe you,” she replied calmly, without hesitation.
Caleb froze. He had always known Sydney was obedient, but this was not a scenario he had prepared for.
Before coming home, his friends had told him he was doomed. No woman, no matter how gentle, would stay silent after learning her husband had cheated.
But Sydney did not cry. She did not scream or slap him. Nothing. That calm, almost
perfunctory trust twisted something inside him. Something was wrong.
He frowned, and a word surfaced in his mind. ‘Indifference.‘
Sydney did not care. She did not care whether he cheated or kissed another woman. Her face
showed no emotion. She looked as serene as ever.
She grabbed a coat casually. “I’m heading to the hospital to check on Grandma.”
Caleb suddenly felt something slipping away. Without thinking, he reached out, gently caught her wrist, and carefully probed, “Syd, aren’t you even a little angry?”
Sydney blinked, slightly surprised.
Being the Hampton family’s daughter–in–law was no easy task. She thought this calm reaction would ease Caleb’s mind. But no, it wasn’t relief he sought. He wanted her anger.
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As he waited anxiously, she looked at him calmly and asked slowly, “If I said I was angry, would you cut ties with Penelope?”
Caleb’s expression faltered. After a beat, he said, “Sydney, believe it or not, there’s really nothing going on between us. After my birthday, I’ll have her move out.”
“And you?” Sydney asked, looking him straight in the eye.
Caleb frowned in frustration. “What do you mean? Of course I’ll stay. This is our home.”
He added, as if to emphasize, “Sydney, I’m your husband.”
“Cal,” she said with a faint smile, “I wasn’t asking where your body would be. I was asking
where your heart is.”
He froze. In that brief pause, Sydney gently pulled her wrist free and walked out.
By the time Sydney reached the hospital, Dorothy was already asleep. She left again, driving aimlessly through the night like someone without a home. No, it was not just like that—she
truly had nowhere to go.
It was nearly midnight when she returned. The villa was silent. Nancy had left the foyer light on for her.
Passing the second–floor study, she noticed light spilling from the cracked door. Low voices came from inside. It was a heated argument. Then, unmistakably, Penelope started crying.
Sydney looked away, pretending not to notice. She returned to her room and took a long, comforting hot shower.
As she sat on the bed drying her hair, the mattress behind her dipped under added weight. A large hand gently took the hair dryer from her.
Sydney stiffened immediately.
To outsiders, she and Caleb were the picture–perfect couple–polite and harmonious, never
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fighting. What no one knew was how little intimacy they shared. Caleb had always kept her at a distance.
It took her a long time to recognize the difference between “busy” and “avoidant.” She once thought he was overwhelmed with work, too tied up to spend time with his new wife. Maybe that explained why he always slept in the study.
Now, as his fingers moved through her hair, drying it as if second nature, Sydney panicked. She stood abruptly and created some distance between them. Facing him, she blurted, “Do you have something you want to say to me?”
His behavior was so unlike him that she could not help but question him.
“Syd.” Caleb switched off the dryer. After a moment of hesitation, he met her eyes and finally said what he had come to say. “I need you to make a public statement online to help clear things up.”
Not interesting at all
