Wilder’s answer came without hesitation.
Magnus fell silent.
Wilder waited.
The longer Magnus failed to answer, the more obvious the problem became.
“You seem very certain that my wife belongs to you,” Wilder said, his tone remaining almost conversational.
“Yet when she was in the hospital, you apparently had no problem introducing yourself as someone else’s fiancé.”
Magnus’s eyes widened.
I saw the realization hit him again.
He had forgotten that Wilder knew.
Or perhaps he had never considered that his lies might eventually collide with one another.
“That isn’t what happened,” Magnus said quickly.
Wilder raised an eyebrow.
“Then what happened?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“From what?”
Magnus struggled to answer.
“From… from the situation.”
Wilder gave him a faint smile.
“That’s convenient.”
Magnus’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t know anything about us.”
“I know enough.” Wilder’s voice remained controlled, but there was an unmistakable edge beneath it now.
“I know you came to my house demanding money from my wife.
I know you were refused.
I know you came here afterward and caused a scene because you saw her with me.
And now you’re standing in the middle of my hotel claiming that she is your girlfriend.”
He paused, letting the words settle.
“So tell me, Mr.
Brock.
What exactly do you believe gives you the right?”
Magnus stared at him.
For the first time since entering the hotel, his anger seemed to falter.
He had come here expecting to intimidate me.
Instead, he was being forced to explain himself in front of an audience that had already heard him contradict his own story.
“I didn’t come here for this,” he muttered.
“No,” Wilder replied.
“You came here for money.”
Magnus’s expression changed.
That single sentence seemed to expose far more than Magnus wanted anyone to know.
He glanced around the lobby.
People were watching.
Some were whispering to one another.
His polished image was beginning to crumble in front of them.
Then a sharp voice came from behind him.
“What did you just say?”
Nova.
She had been silent throughout the confrontation, but her expression had changed several times as she listened.
Now she was staring directly at Magnus.
He turned toward her.
“Nova, not now.”
“Not now?” Her voice rose.
“You just called her your girlfriend.”
Magnus rubbed a hand over his face, clearly losing patience.
“I was angry.”
“So you were lying to me?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You said she’s your girlfriend!”
“You told me she meant nothing to you.
You told me you had already moved on.
You told me she was the one who couldn’t let you go.”
Magnus glanced around uneasily.
“Lower your voice.”
Nova gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Why?
Are you embarrassed?”
“Nova.”
“No.
Answer me.” She pointed toward me.
“You just watched her standing there with another man and completely lost your mind.
You ran across the entire lobby because she was with him.
Then you called her your girlfriend in front of everyone.”
Magnus’s expression hardened.
“You’re making this worse.”
“I didn’t make anything worse.
You did.” Her voice cracked with anger.
“You’ve been telling me for months that you chose me because you loved me.
You said Nyxia was your past.
You said she couldn’t accept that you were going to marry me.”
Magnus looked at her sharply.
“I never said she meant nothing.”
The moment he said it, Nova went silent.
I watched the realization spread across her face.
Neither did Magnus seem to understand what he had just admitted until it was too late.
Nova stared at him.
“So she still means something to you?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
Magnus took a step toward her.
“Nova, calm down.”
She stepped back.
“Don’t tell me to calm down.” Her voice echoed through the lobby.
“You just stood there and called another woman your girlfriend while I’m supposed to be your fiancée.
What exactly am I supposed to think?”
Magnus’s frustration finally broke through.
“I told you, I was angry!”
“Angry enough to forget that you chose me?”
“I didn’t forget anything!”
“Then why were you so desperate to get to her?”
Magnus fell silent.
Nova stared at him, breathing heavily.
Her eyes slowly moved toward me, then toward Wilder’s arm around my waist, then back to Magnus.
The answer seemed to become obvious to her.
“You’re jealous.”
Magnus immediately shook his head.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You’re jealous of her.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why can’t you stand seeing her with him?”
Magnus’s jaw tightened.
Nova’s voice became sharper.
“You don’t want her back, do you?”
Magnus didn’t answer.
That struck him hard enough that his expression changed.
“Stop it.”
“No.
I’m done stopping.” Nova’s anger had turned into something much uglier now.
“You told me she was nothing.
You told me you had chosen me.
You told me I was the woman you wanted.”
“I did choose you.”
“Then why are you acting like she still belongs to you?”
Magnus had no answer.
Nova laughed bitterly, and there was something almost broken in the sound.
“You’re a liar.”
“Nova.”
“You lied to me about her.
You lied about what happened between you two.
And now you’re standing here pretending you have some right to be angry because she’s with her husband?”
Her last words drew another wave of whispers from the guests.
Magnus looked humiliated.
“Enough.”
“No!” Nova shoved his hand away when he tried to approach her.
“You’re the one who dragged me here because you said Nyxia owed us money.
You said she would give it to us because she always did before.
You said we just needed to make her understand.”
Magnus’s expression changed.
“Nova, stop talking.”
But it was already too late.
Several people nearby had heard her.
So had I.
And so had Wilder.
Nova looked at Magnus with growing disbelief.
“You really came here for money, didn’t you?”
Magnus didn’t answer.
She stared at him for several seconds before turning her gaze toward me.
I stood beside Wilder in silence, watching the two of them unravel themselves without needing to interfere.
Only hours ago, they had been standing together as though they were the perfect couple.
Now they were exposing each other’s lies in front of a room full of strangers.
Wilder’s hand remained around my waist.
I could feel the quiet satisfaction in the way he held himself, but he didn’t interrupt them.
He simply watched, allowing Magnus and Nova to destroy the story they had built between themselves.
And strangely enough, I no longer felt the urge to defend myself.
For years, I had wanted Magnus to understand what he had done to me.
I had imagined confronting him, forcing him to acknowledge every sacrifice I had made and every time he had taken me for granted.
But standing there now, I realized I didn’t need his apology anymore.
I didn’t need him to regret choosing Nova.
I didn’t need him to realize that he had lost someone who had genuinely loved him.
He had already shown me exactly who he was.
And that was enough.
Beside me, Wilder leaned slightly closer.
His voice was quiet enough that only I could hear it.
“Enjoying the show, wife?”
I glanced up at him.
Despite everything that had happened, a reluctant smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
“More than I expected.”
His smile deepened.
Across the lobby, Magnus and Nova were still arguing.
And for the first time since I had opened my eyes in that hospital bed, I didn’t feel like I was the one trapped inside someone else’s story.
They were.
I was simply watching it fall apart.