He Wants An Open Marriage? Done!

"You have got to be kidding me!" Richard snapped, his loud voice echoing off the walls.

"If that is your way of showing gratitude, then you are most welcome, brother," Nicholas said, his tone dripping with mock sincerity as he leaned back into his chair.

Richard’s jaw clenched so hard the muscles along his cheek pulled taut. "Don’t you dare speak to me, you bloody traitor," he forced out through tightly ground teeth. "Not after everything you have done behind my back."

Nicholas scoffed loudly, turning his face toward Margaret. "I told you I didn’t want to help him out of the mess he created, especially with this arrogant attitude of his," he remarked, a self-satisfied grin spreading across his lips.

"No, Nicholas," Margaret said, her stern gaze remaining fixed on her eldest son. "He will learn to be grateful for the family name."

"And why do I have to be the one to sacrifice my own feelings?" Cara asked, her voice rising in dramatic distress. "Why can’t Nicholas just marry Roxanne instead?"

"Don’t you even dare suggest that," Richard said, his tone dropping into a dangerously calm register. A fierce, protective fire flashed in his dark eyes as he stepped closer to Roxanne. "You have all chosen to remain completely blind to her schemes, and that is fine. But very soon, you will all see that she is not pregnant, and she is spreading these outrageous lies simply because she is bitter."

"That is not true!" Cara snapped back, her eyes flashing with instant indignation as she sat up straight.

"Of course it is true," Richard said, his face twisting with raw irritation. "Why don’t you just admit to everyone in this room that you are bitter because you know I am going to have a child with—" He cut himself off mid-sentence, catching his breath as he realized what he was about to reveal.

Around the room, an icy stillness settled over the space. Every face remained completely stone-still, processing the slip.

Everyone except Nicholas. His sharp eyes narrowed into thin slits as he stared at Richard, then slowly drifted toward Roxanne. His gaze dropped directly to her stomach, holding there for a long, uncomfortable moment before a subtle smile curled the corner of his lips.

Roxanne felt a sudden wave of heat rush under her skin. She instinctively placed a protective hand over her lower belly, physically blocking his intrusive gaze from her unborn child. She met his stare head-on, her expression unyielding.

Nicholas smiled wider, but the mock warmth never reached his dark eyes.

Richard let out a ragged sigh, running a hand over his face. "Cara is lying to you all, and I cannot believe what—"

"No, Richard," Cara interrupted, cutting him off with a harsh edge. "Why don’t you finish that statement right now?" She whirled her body around to face Roxanne directly, her hands trembling. "Are you pregnant? Just answer the simple question," she demanded, crocodile tears spilling over her mascara-stained cheeks.

Roxanne pressed two fingers against her forehead, letting out a soft sigh as she shook her head at the dramatic performance. She looked Cara dead in the eye, her posture straight and composed.

"When are you going to stop playing the victim and just move on with your life?" she asked smoothly. "If you put even half the energy you waste on sabotaging Richard into your actual work and personal relationships, you would be so much happier. How can a grown woman embarrass herself over a man to this extent?"

Cara’s dark eyes narrowed as she glared at Roxanne. "So you genuinely think I am making all of this up out of thin air?" she hissed. She looked around the circle of stern faces, then turned back to Margaret, her voice trembling with forced sorrow. "Is that what this entire family thinks of me?"

Margaret gently touched Cara’s trembling arm, giving a faint shake of her head. "It does not matter what any of us think," she said, her sharp voice echoing in the vast room. "We simply want this embarrassing mess cleaned up before the press destroys us."

"You should have never gone running to the media in the first place, at least not without speaking to Richard first," Pamela spoke up from her corner, her quiet voice breaking her silence. "You knew full well where Richard stood, yet you chose to publicly embarrass yourself and drag this entire family down with you."

Roxanne gave an almost imperceptible nod toward Pamela. Finally, someone in this family was delivering the blunt truth Cara needed to hear.

"And Mother, why on earth would you go behind my back and call Nicholas without speaking to me first?" Richard added, his voice heavy with deep disappointment as he turned back to Margaret. "Why would you not hear my side of the story before organizing this farce?"

"And why would I bother doing that?" Margaret shot back, her tone sharp and cold. "Lately, there is absolutely no reasoning with you. You completely refuse to see the reality sitting directly in front of your face."

Richard scoffed bitterly, turning away from his mother. "Oh, please, Mother," he said, waving a hand in dismissive frustration. "There is no mess here that requires a fake marriage. Roxanne and I were already handling the situation." He turned his eyes toward his father, who had remained silent in his leather armchair. "Why are you staying quiet through all of this, Father?"

Henry shifted in his chair and exhaled a heavy breath, his deep voice filled with regret. "I was defending your honor before you got here, son," he revealed quietly. "But Cara brought proof. She is indeed carrying a child, Richard. And until proven otherwise, you are the only man in her life."

"Me? I am not the man in her life! I haven’t been for years!" Richard snapped back, his voice rising in outrage. "There is only one woman I want, there is only one woman I have had my eyes on, and she is right here carrying my child!"

"Ah, so you managed to impregnate two women at the exact same time then," Nicholas chimed in from the side, his tone laced with heavy sarcasm. "What a mess."

Margaret pressed a hand against her temple, closing her eyes for a brief second. "How could you let this happen, Richard?" she asked, her voice tight with stress. "We have to fix this disaster immediately. We only have 48 hours before the board steps in to handle this scandal themselves. And you know what will happen to your position if they take control."

Richard clenched his heavy fists at his sides, stepping firmly onto the floor. "I am standing my ground, Mother. I have absolutely nothing to do with her alleged pregnancy."

Margaret opened her eyes, sitting up straight as her expression turned dark and lethal. "Listen to me very carefully, Richard," she said, her voice dropping into an icy register. "There is one final way to end this before the board takes control."

Richard’s brow furrowed in deep annoyance. "What?"

Margaret’s gaze moved between Cara and Roxanne. "One pregnancy can be publicly accepted. Two pregnancies will destroy this family," she said, looking directly at Richard.

The room went completely still.

"If you refuse Nicholas’s marriage arrangement," Margaret continued coldly, "then one of those pregnancies will have to disappear."

The air instantly left the room, leaving behind a suffocating silence.

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