The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet

Just moments after she had stepped inside, Thalassa found herself hurrying out again, her eyes fixed on the ground in a vain attempt to hide the tears that threatened to spill. With a voice she forced to be calm, she said, "No, it's fine, I'll just catch a cab back."

Brushing past the bodyguard, she quickened her pace towards the sidewalk.

Back at Royal Estates, Lysander had gestured for Rosalind to head upstairs alone. He stood by the door, his gaze lingering on the cobblestone path illuminated by street lamps, his handsome face taut with tension, his eyes as deep and stormy as the ocean.

Thalassa finally stopped at the base of the hill, collapsing onto an old bench, its paint faded by the sun to a dull red. The dam holding back her emotions finally broke, and tears fell in heavy drops, darkening the wood with their wetness.

It was as if the pain soaked into the very depths of her heart, growing heavier with each moment of accumulation.

Once, escaping Lysander's orbit, breaking free from his presence, was all she ever dreamed of.

But now, having achieved that dream only to witness him with another woman, the pain was unbearable.

When had Lysander managed to carve such a deep niche in her heart? The thought of forgetting him seemed impossible now. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Allowing her tears to fall unchecked, it took a while for Thalassa to catch her breath, to regain some semblance of control. Only then did she realize how leaden her legs felt, her knees aching with a sharp pain that furrowed her brow at the slightest movement.

Normally, a walk from Royal Estates to the base of the hill took an hour, but in her haste and distress, Thalassa had made the journey in half that time, her frantic pace masking the exhaustion.

Rubbing her sore knees, she tried to soothe the physical ache that mirrored the one in her heart.

Thalassa, why do this to yourself?

Lysander was to marry Rosalind. Whatever they did was their right, and she, now merely an outsider, had no place in their world.

The next day, Thalassa was still in bed when her phone's insistent ringing woke her.

"Thalassa, have you seen the news today?" Hertha's voice was a mixture of shock and excitement.

Bleary-eyed and confused, Thalassa mumbled, "What news?"

"Oh my god, I knew you hadn't seen it!" Hertha exclaimed. "It's about you and the Whitman family. You need to check your phone now. It's big news."

Sitting up, Thalassa ended the call and opened the news link Hertha had sent.

The headline screamed scandal: The CEO of the international conglomerate, the Whitman Group, admits to having an illegitimate daughter. Joshua's image as a devoted husband shatters, all for legitimizing his love child.

The article detailed how, at a recent jewelry design competition, Joshua had publicly acknowledged Thalassa as his daughter, breaking the facade of a man devoted solely to his wife. This revelation had sent the Whitman Group's stocks tumbling, threatening the company with catastrophic losses. Could this giant of the industry face closure soon?

The Whitman Group on the brink of collapse?

Thalassa's heart raced as she absorbed the news.