Entangled With My Rival CEO

Chapter 39

Clarissa stood in her spacious, luxurious kitchen, adorned with high-end appliances and polished marble countertops.

Dressed in a designer apron, she expertly cracked the eggs for her gourmet omelet, adding a sprinkle of fresh herbs from the herb garden outside her window.

The fragrant aroma of the dish wafted through the pristine room, filling it with a delectable scent.

Just as she was about to add the cooked asparagus and fried bacon mixed with some gruyere cheese over half of the omelet, a groan from behind her interrupted her culinary indulgence.

She turned around to find her husband, Reynold, draped with a towel over his neck. "Oh... Good morning honey," she said with a smile beaming on her face.

Instead of reciprocating her smile, Reynold looked at her with a frown etching on his face and asked, "What are you doing at home?"

Clarissa was taken aback by the question but quickly regained her composure.

She flipped the other half of the omelet to the other side and served it on a delicate porcelain plate with gold rims and intricate floral designs.

Approaching Reynold, Clarissa draped her arms over his neck and leaned in close. "Since the kids are at your mom's and I have the day off, I was thinking we could have some quality time together," she whispered seductively, trailing off with a suggestive pause.

But instead of responding to her advances, Reynold slowly took her hand off him and went straight to the omelet.

He looked at it and then back at Clarissa, asking, "You cooked. Why didn't you let Karen do that?"

Despite feeling disappointed that he hadn't reacted to her earlier words, Clarissa nodded and replied, "I gave her the day off today so that I could make your breakfast extra special," trying to maintain her enthusiasm as she spoke.

But instead of thanking her or showing any emotion, Reynold just looked at her expressionless and sat down to start eating, leaving her standing there awkwardly.

He continued to eat the omelet with little reaction, savoring the flavors but not showing any enthusiasm as Clarissa watched him in silence.

After some seconds, Clarissa tried to break through his cold demeanor. "How is it?" she asked, hoping to elicit a more enthusiastic response.

He took a moment to swallow his mouthful of food. "It's alright," he said in a monotonous voice, before taking another bite.

Despite her disappointment with his lackluster response, Clarissa decided to stay quiet after that.

Just then, her phone buzzed on the kitchen counter.

"Excuse me," Clarissa said as she picked up the phone and stepped away from the kitchen for a few minutes to speak with her elder sister, Sophia.

When she returned, Reynold was still eating with the same blank expression on his face.

Undeterred, she sat down beside him and started a conversation, knowing that his responses might be brief.

"Sophia sends her regards," Clarissa said, but Reynold merely grunted in response.

She took a deep breath before continuing, "What do you think of going for a family vacation to Bora Bora? The kids would love it. It's been a while since we've last gone on a vacation."

She looked at Reynold hopefully, but he still didn't lift his gaze or offer any real response.

Without missing a beat, she decided to change gears, "Oh, and speaking of family matters, what do you think of Alexander and his girlfriend's pregnancy situation."

She took a moment to collect her thoughts before continuing. "In my opinion, Isabel shouldn't have spread the news about the pregnancy without Alexander's consent."

"But what bothers me is that Camilla made a decision about the baby way too soon without talking to Alexander about it first."

"I understand that it's ultimately her choice, but it just seems unfair to drop such a bombshell on him without any discussion. They should have had a conversation about it and weighed their options together." She ended.

Reynold placed his fork down and met Clarissa's gaze for this time. "I don't see anything wrong with what she did," he said in a flat tone.

"I believe it's commendable that she was honest about not wanting the baby. It's better than some people who choose to terminate the pregnancy without telling the father. That's just wrong."

Clarissa's heart sank as Reynold's words hit close to home. She couldn't help but feel like he was intentionally alluding to their own past, and the hole it created in their marriage before having their triplets.

•~•~•~•~•

Flashback

•~•~•~•~•

Reynold frantically searched through his and his wife's room, rifling through drawers and scouring every corner.

He couldn't believe that his passport was missing, he was sure he had left it in the top drawer of his dresser.

As he searched through the final few places, his eyes fell upon the top of the wardrobe.

He knew it was a long shot, but he decided to check.

With a determined look, he made his way to the wardrobe and began to sift through the top.

As he searched, his hand brushed against a small bag tucked away in the corner.

His heart raced, he was sure he had found his passport.

But as he brought the bag down and placed it on the bed, his hopes were quickly dashed as he opened it. Instead of his passport, he found a bundle of papers.

Reynold felt a lump form in his throat as he flicked through the documents.

The documents were from the hospital, outlining the various contraceptive pills prescribed to Clarissa, as well as confirming an abortion she had undergone.

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he couldn't fathom how he had been completely oblivious to the time she had gotten pregnant.

He sat down on the bed in shock, unable to process the information he had just discovered.

As soon as he heard the front door open, Reynold looked up to see Clarissa walking in. "Honey, I'm back. Are you packed? Mike is waiting to take us to the airport," she said cheerfully.

But all she got in response was Reynold showing her one of the documents, his voice shaking as he asked in disbelief, "You were pregnant?"

Clarissa's face went pale as she noticed the bag beside him. "Reynold, I can explain," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Reynold's emotions boiled as he struggled to come to terms with what he had just discovered. "Wait, so you've been taking contraceptives and you had an abortion without even telling me?"

His voice quivered with anger and hurt. "I thought we had agreed to be open and honest with each other, Clarissa. How could you keep something like this from me?"

Clarissa took a deep breath and approached Reynold, crouching down before him where he sat on the bed.

"Please let me explain, love. I never intended to hide it from you. I just..." she began, hoping to find the right words to explain herself.

"I understood how much having a family meant to you, but at that time, my career was incredibly demanding, and I wasn't ready to take that step. I didn't want to hurt you by admitting my doubts, so I made decisions that I thought were best at the time." However, before she could continue, Reynold interrupted her.

"But you could have talked to me about this. We're partners, Clarissa. We're supposed to face these things together, not hide them from each other." He spoke with a hurt tone, trying to maintain his composure.

Clarissa's voice was quiet as she spoke. "I know, and I'm sorry. I should have told you." She said, watching Reynold's face for a reaction, unsure of how he would respond to what she was about to say, "But I'm pregnant again."

"I was planning to surprise you when we got to the Bahamas, but I guess it's better that you know now," Clarissa said, reaching out to hold onto his arm. But Reynold pulled away, stood up from the bed, and stormed out of the bedroom.

"Reynold!" she called out to him.

She had never seen him so angry before. He had always been such a sweet and gentle person, but today she was witnessing a completely different side of him.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Flashback Ends

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Reynold's gaze remained fixed on Clarissa as he paused for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

Then, he spoke again in a low voice, picking up where he had left off earlier.

"When I saw her at the auction, I knew she was someone who doesn't shy away from what she wanted. She was direct with Alexander about not wanting to keep the baby, even though she knew he might not agree. It takes a strong person to be that clear and decisive."

Clarissa's lips pressed together, and she furrowed her brow, a feeling of unease creeping over her.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to address the issue directly. "Reynold, are you taking shots at me for something that happened over fourteen years ago?" she asked, her voice barely concealing her frustration with her husband's seemingly childish behavior.

"If you are, please tell me directly so that I can appease your ego again." She continued, fixing a glare at Reynold, who rolled his eyes and scoffed, "What ego?" he asked, his tone bordering on hysterical.

"There's no need for you to make any kind of appeasement. All I wanted was for you to remember that before you judge others, take a moment to look at your own life," he added, his gaze fixed on her for a moment, before resuming his meal.

Clarissa felt a lump form in her throat, tears threatening to spill over as she gathered the courage to ask the question that had been weighing on her mind for a while now.

"Reynold James Becknard," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "Are you cheating on me?" Her voice broke as she spoke, the words heavy with emotion.

Reynold stiffened at her question and then shook his head in disappointment. He pushed the remnants of his food forward, stood up from the table, and said curtly, "I need to get dressed," before walking out of the kitchen and disappearing from view.

Clarissa sat still, her eyes shut tight as she bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, she grabbed the plate that had Reynold's left over omelet and hurled it to the ground.

The sound of the shattering plate echoed through the kitchen as Clarissa's hands flew to her hair and she let out a torrent of tears.