Chapter 233
But once the company matters were temporarily settled, the pressure of everything else came crashing back in.
Trey had once believed he could endure it all—stay with Angela, push through family opposition, and wait for his career to stabilize before everything else fell into place. That future had once felt clear.
Now, standing in the middle of it, he felt nothing like triumph.
Only exhaustion.
Khloe was no longer part of the company’s daily affairs, yet she remained, officially, his wife. And worse—she still loved him with a sincerity that made everything heavier.
If he ended it now… if he exposed everything and walked away…
Would she hate him for it?
In the past, that question wouldn’t have mattered. Guilt, yes—but not hesitation. Khloe’s feelings had been something to manage, not something to weigh. His loyalty had belonged to Angela. Everything else had been a cost he was willing to pay.
But somewhere along the way, that calculation had changed.
Khloe had seeped into every part of his life without permission—quiet, steady, impossible to erase.
And now, the idea of letting her go felt… wrong.
—
After his shower, Trey returned to the bedroom.
Angela was changing clothes.
Whether deliberately or not, she was trying on different sets of lingerie—each one more revealing than the last, each one designed to catch attention without trying too hard.
Trey paused at the door.
Just for a second.
Then he stepped inside.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her—slow, familiar, practiced. From her neck downward, his touch lingered longer than it should have, as if searching for something unspoken.
Angela stiffened at first, then softened, her resistance melting away as she leaned into him.
But Trey suddenly stopped.
His eyes sharpened.
“Your birthmark…”
He pulled back slightly and brushed her hair aside, fingers tracing the skin behind her ear, then down toward her nape.
Nothing.
No faint crimson mark.
No trace at all.
His brows tightened.
It had always been there. Small, almost insignificant—something he wouldn’t have noticed on anyone else. But on that mountain, in the snow and wind, it had been the only thing he remembered clearly when he first met her.
A mark he had once associated with something unforgettable.
He turned on the light.
Angela froze under the sudden brightness.
“What are you doing?” she asked quickly.
“That mark,” Trey said slowly, each word sharper than the last. “Where is it?”
Angela hesitated for only a second before answering, “I removed it.”
Trey stared at her.
“You removed it?”
“It was… in an inconvenient place,” she said, forcing her voice to stay steady. “It was just a mole. I didn’t think it mattered. I had it taken off a long time ago. I think I told you.”
Silence stretched between them.
Trey’s expression tightened—not with anger at first, but with something colder.
Disbelief.
“You removed it because it was inconvenient?” His voice dropped. “That mark meant something to me.”
Angela looked away. “It was just skin. I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t think,” he repeated quietly.
Something inside him went still.
The warmth that had been there moments ago vanished completely.
He turned away, grabbed his cigarettes, and walked toward the balcony.
“I need air,” he said flatly. “Sleep if you’re tired.”
“Trey—”
But he had already shut the door behind him.
Locking it.
Outside, the night wind hit his face, but it did nothing to cool the pressure in his chest.
His hand trembled slightly as he dialed a number he hadn’t meant to call.
—
At that same moment, elsewhere, Khloe had just stepped out of the shower.
Her hair was wrapped up loosely as she stood in the kitchen slicing fruit for Nick.
Warm light filled the room. Everything felt ordinary—almost peaceful.
Then, suddenly, a familiar presence came up behind her.
A hand brushed lightly against her neck.
A fingertip traced the skin just behind her ear.
And a low voice murmured close enough to make her pause.
“Khloe…”
“…your mark is beautiful.”