The Billionaire's Secret Quartet

She just couldn't wrap her head around it—a man like Alaric, who'd intertwined his life with another woman's to the extent of having a child with her.

It wasn't that she was a purist when it came to love, but the idea of sharing Alaric with another woman because of a child was something she found insurmountable.

Perhaps it was the depth of her love, the height of her expectations, that made accepting this version of him impossible.

Even if Hertha hadn't loved Alaric with such intensity before, hadn't yearned for a simple, undiluted life of domestic bliss with him, her sense of betrayal wouldn't cut as deep.

But it was precisely because of her deep-seated hopes that she couldn't come to terms with a blemished version of him-a man who had a child with another woman, outside of their family.

These were the thoughts swirling in Hertha's mind, unspoken to Alaric. Yet, the words she had uttered earlier made her stance painfully clear.

Alaric's once sparkling, fox-like eyes had dimmed, now filled with sorrow and pain.

seconds before dropping his gaze, his breathing heavy with the weight of his predicament, "What am I supposed to do? How can I fix this?" Indeed, everything had been orchestrated by Georgia behind his back. He had stumbled into that

that conniving woman went ahead and had

of this was what he wanted, yet

powerless and

Alaric in this state of despair tore at Hertha's heart, as if a

forced herself to suppress the pain, pretending to be calm as she said to Alaric, "We can't change what's happened, so let's figure

her, confused by

"Let's just be friends, okay? If you miss the kids, you can get in touch, come and see them. I won't stop you. But between us, let's

of wanting to cut Alaric out of her life completely had been

she realized