CHAPTER 186: A MESSAGE IN THE SILENCE
In the dining room, the atmosphere was tense, but she had prepared quite the dish. It wasn't just a meal, it was a spread. She had made all his favorite foods and more. Looking at the table, James blinked. How was he going to finish all this?
He looked at her, bewildered. "You prepared all of this?"
Diana bobbed her head up and down silently, trying to mask her nerves.
Nicodemus cleared his throat and responded from the side, "Sir, madam is being modest. She sent everyone out and refused any form of help. She spent five hours in the kitchen preparing all these delicacies for you."
James turned sharply to the woman standing quietly beside the table. "What, Diana?" he scoffed, mimicking her voice, "'You keep forgetting you're pregnant, right? And you don't need to stress yourself so much cause of the children in your womb!'"
Diana pressed her lips together and blinked. If the environment wasn't so tense, she might've laughed. She couldn't believe the man had just used her own words to slap her with the truth. She bit her lips and lowered her head in shame.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "for using emotional blackmail earlier. I understand how my words could've hurt you."
James clenched his jaw so hard it looked like it might break. "Diana, as long as I've decided to stay with you and take care of you, I know my duties and responsibilities, to you and to my children. But do not ever use them as a tool against me or even think of using them to blackmail me. This is the last time."
Tears pooled in her eyes, and her chest rose and fell in small, trembling movements.
"Well, you wouldn't listen to me," she said, her voice cracking. "And I wanted to appreciate you… for everything you've done for me so far. I wanted to show you that I don't take it for granted. How else was I supposed to make you listen to me, or even look at me?"
Her voice broke into soft sobs. "You say you know your duties and responsibilities to me and your children, what about to your wife, James? Did you even notice me? I dressed up for you tonight because I miss you. I miss everything… how you would always look at me with such love. I miss you telling me how much you love me. But most of all, I miss the feel of you being inside me, making love to me. I miss my husband, James."
She paused, clinging to the edge of the chair like it would steady her. "Baby, I'm exhausted. And you're not helping at all. Sometimes I feel like everything might finally be fine, and then the next minute, it's like we're back to square one again. Or are you intentionally punishing me?"
James exhaled a long, tired sigh. He looked at her, eyes dull with fatigue.
"Diana, please… There's just so much on my plate. I don't have time to attend to your needs the way you want me to."
Without another word, he stood up and walked away, the meal untouched. As he ascended the stairs, he didn't even glance back.
"Nic," he called out firmly, "Get me a cup of coffee. Bring it to my office."
And just like that, he disappeared, leaving behind a full table, a broken heart, and a woman who had only wanted to be seen.
Diana remained seated at the dining table long after he'd left, the warm aroma of the untouched meal slowly fading into the cold silence around her. She stared at the dishes she had poured her heart into, the delicate presentation now a painful reminder of how far apart they'd grown. A tightness filled her chest as she blamed herself again and again.
If only she hadn't acted so foolishly.
If only she had reached out to him from the start, asked for his help instead of letting her pride take over… maybe things wouldn't be this bad. Maybe he wouldn't look at her like that, with eyes full of anger, disappointment, and restraint.
She couldn't even fault the man anymore.
If he wasn't ready to forgive her yet, it was his right.
She placed a hand over her belly, whispering softly, "I'm sorry, my babies," then lowered her head onto the table as silent tears fell freely.
Meanwhile, James had showered and returned to his office, the lingering tension from their argument still clinging to his skin like sweat. As he stepped inside, something unusual caught his attention.
A message had popped up on his computer.
It hadn't been there before.
His brows furrowed as he approached cautiously, eyes narrowing on the computer. No name. No stamp. Just a message, typed and direct.
> "I know you've been trying to meet me.
I'm ready.
I will send a location in two days.
Meet me, and I'll tell you everything you need to know about yourself."
James blinked, his throat tightening.
The words were cryptic. But they hit with the weight of thunder.
Finally… someone was reaching out.
Someone who might have answers.
For over a decade, he'd searched, chased shadows across deserts, followed dead-end leads, hunted ghosts in labs and institutions long buried or burned. He had begged, bled, and bargained for truth.
And now…
Now, the man who had left him to rot, the doctor who had abandoned him many years ago in front of that hospital, his curse, was finally reaching out?
Or was it someone else?
His excitement quickly gave way to suspicion. Was this a trap? Another enemy's ploy? A distraction to lure him away from protecting Antonio?
His mind raced through the possibilities, but his heart… his heart was done waiting.
Whether it was truth or trickery, he was going.
He would risk it all for answers.
He had to.