Chapter 777
Was this the reason Cale had always paid such unusual attention to Naomi? Why he cared about her in ways Lydia sometimes could not fully understand?
Lydia looked back at her husband, her sharp gaze colder than Naomi had ever seen before.
“So?” she asked slowly. “Is there another part of your life you still haven’t told me about, Cale?”
“Lydia.”
“No.” Lydia cut him off immediately. “Don’t use that tone with me right now, Cale.”
The room suddenly felt unbearably small.
Naomi did not even dare move anymore. For the first time since she had known Lydia, she was seeing the woman truly angry.
And honestly… Naomi understood why.
If she had been in Lydia’s position, hearing her husband talk about the possibility of marrying another woman while keeping their childhood photo in his wallet for years… Naomi would not have been merely angry.
Honestly, Naomi was not even sure she could remain as composed as Lydia was right now.
“I’m not hiding anything,” Cale finally said with a long exhale.
Lydia let out a short, humorless laugh. “Really?” Her eyes dropped to the photograph again. “Because to me, this looks a little too significant to be called ‘nothing.””
“Mrs. Lydia…” Naomi tried speaking again, her eyes already shimmering with tears. “Please don’t misunderstand. I only found out about all of this today too.”
But Lydia still could not calm the storm inside her mind.
“I came here carrying tea,” she said quietly while staring at Cale, “and then I hear my husband talking about the possibility of marrying another woman.”
“That’s not what we were talking about.”
“But I heard it!” Lydia snapped. Her hands trembled as she struggled to contain her emotions.
Throughout all the years Cale had known his wife, from the very beginning, from the days Lydia had lain helpless in a hospital bed trying to recover, from the countless therapy sessions he accompanied her to so she could walk normally again, through every painful and beautiful moment of her healing process, through sadness, gratitude, relief, and the deep love that had slowly taken root inside him for her… never once had he heard Lydia raise her voice like this.
That alone made Cale fall silent for several seconds.
Lydia rubbed her face in frustration. Naomi’s quiet sobs were starting to fill the room, making the tension even heavier. Tears streamed endlessly down the girl’s face now. Her eyes were red; her expression filled with guilt as she looked at Lydia.
But honestly… Lydia still could not fully process what was happening in front of her. Too many terrible thoughts were crowding her head. In the end, she spoke again, this time more softly. “I’m not angry because of Naomi.”
Her gaze settled completely on Cale now. “I’m angry because I didn’t know any of this.”
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Silence swallowed the room once again. And this time, Naomi could feel it clearly. This was far deeper than an ordinary misunderstanding.
This was about trust.
About the possibility that there were still parts of Cale and Lydia’s past that had never been fully opened to each other.
About a wife suddenly realizing there was a significant piece of her husband’s life she had never once heard about.
“I never intended to hide it from you,” Cale finally said.
“Then why am I only hearing about it now?” Lydia’s voice trembled despite her attempt to stay calm. “Did I really have to overhear a conversation like this first before you decided to explain everything to me?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Naomi lowered her head even further. Her chest felt painfully tight as she realized she had accidentally become the cause of their argument.
“This is my fault,” Naomi murmured softly. “I shouldn’t have said something like that. I…I shouldn’t have known either of you. I-”
“No.” Lydia immediately shook her head and looked straight at Naomi. “This isn’t your fault.”
But a few seconds later, Lydia turned back toward her husband.
“I want an explanation.” Her voice was calmer now, though the emotions lingering in her eyes were still impossible to miss. “And this time, don’t hide anything from me anymore, Cale.”