(Kay's POV)
Kay had learned to live with silence.
It was the quiet that stretched between them at dinner, the unspoken words that hovered in their bedroom, the way they passed each other in the halls as if they were strangers instead of husband and wife.
But after that night after she burned the photograph of Elena it was worse.
It was no longer just silence.
It was war.
And Kay?
She was tired of losing.
She had spent years playing the perfect wife, maintaining the image of a strong, united couple for the world. She had attended events at Duke's side, smiled for the cameras, and nodded politely when people whispered about their "unbreakable bond."
But inside these walls, there was nothing unbreakable about them.
Not anymore.
And now, with new secrets stirring, Kay was determined to unravel the truth.
( Duke's POV)
Duke wasn't a fool.
He knew Kay was watching him.
Her eyes lingered too long when he returned late at night. She asked just the right questions, testing the limits of what he would reveal.
She thought he didn't notice.
But he did.
And he couldn't afford for her to find out the truth.
Because some ghosts should stay buried.
He stood in his study, the dim glow of candlelight flickering against the dark wood. His hand hovered over the locked drawer in his desk the one containing the letters, the reports, the real story of Elena's death.
A story Kay would never be able to handle.
A story that, if uncovered, could destroy them all.
And yet…
Something about Kay's persistence unnerved him.
She had always been sharp, but now she was relentless. Why now? What had changed?
Had she found something?
Or was she simply tired of the game?
Either way, Duke knew one thing for sure.
If Kay was determined to dig into the past
She wouldn't like what she found.
Kay was no fool, either.
She knew Duke kept secrets, but he wasn't the only one.
She had her own contacts, her own sources of information. And if Duke thought she would sit around, waiting for answers—
He was mistaken.
Late that night, after Duke left his study, Kay slipped inside.
She moved carefully, her fingers tracing the edges of his desk, searching for anything any clue that could tell her what he was hiding.
And then she saw it.
The locked drawer.
Her heartbeat quickened. This was it.
She reached for a pin in her hair, steadying her breath as she worked at the lock. It wasn't the first time she had picked one of Duke's locks.
After a few tense seconds click.
The drawer slid open.
Kay's eyes scanned the contents letters, documents, old photographs.
And then, at the very bottom, she found it.
A medical report.
Her fingers trembled as she unfolded the paper, her eyes scanning the words—
And then, suddenly, the room felt too small.
Too suffocating.
Because what she was reading didn't just change everything she knew about Elena's death.
It changed everything she knew about Duke.
Duke returned to his study with a heavy mind, but the moment he stepped inside
He knew.
Someone had been here.
The drawer was slightly ajar. The air felt disturbed, like the room had held its breath.
And then his stomach turned.
The report.
His hands clenched into fists as he turned toward the door.
There was only one person who would dare.
Only one person reckless enough to search for the truth he had buried.
Kay.
And now…
She knew.