Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love

Rosemary, who hoped to play matchmaker with a heart of gold, was like, "??"

Her eyes went wide in astonishment when she watched Pearl cool as a cucumber telling fibs. When the heck did she throw up?

And compared to Victoria, who looked like she could barely catch her breath, Rosemary felt so perky she could knock out a cow, easy-peasy. Sick? As if!

But all the mental gymnastics Rosemary was doing didn't stop the paparazzi from shoving their cameras in her face. Some of them were in the loop and had heard the rumors but hadn't seen the two together and there was no official word, so they were sniffing around for the truth.

Now that Pearl, acting all mother-in-law-ish, had confirmed it herself, how could it not be legit?

"Mrs. Rosemary Templeton, did you know that Ms. Temple used your husband's invite to get into the auction?"

"Is Ms. Temple aware of your marriage to Mr. Templeton?"

Knowing they'd get zilch from Maxwell, most of the journos swarmed Rosemary. Wife tearing into mistress, that was like tabloid gold. And the mistress was kinda a public figure to boot. Tomorrow's front page was in the bag.

The crowd was so thick, two mics nearly smacked Rosemary in the face a couple of times. Maxwell, frowning, cut through the crowd and passed by an ashen-faced Victoria, who suddenly blocked his path, "Those snaps of you and Rosemary leaving the hotel, I know you are the one who leaked them to the media."

That drama made big waves; she caught wind of it even overseas, but maybe that was because she kept tabs on Maxwell.

Back then, she was baffled that any journo would have the guts to expose his scandal. She called it a scandal because Victoria just couldn't swallow the fact that Maxwell would jump into bed with another woman right after she left.

But as the situation blew up, her little self-deception couldn't fool her anymore.

Maxwell's eyes narrowed slightly, a chill flickering through them, but his voice was steady, just lower, "Vicky, you threatening me?"

This name, unchanging from the start, only made Victoria want to laugh now. Because she knew, this seemingly intimate nickname wasn't because Maxwell had feelings for her; he just couldn't be bothered to change it.

To him, it didn't matter what he called her Vicky or Victoria; it was just a label. Since it made no difference, why bother over a name?

"Maxwell, I'm a public figure; next tour's in Greenwood, in half a month."

So she couldn't afford any scandals. Gotta hand it to Victoria; she'd learned a thing or two lately, and knew when to back down to get ahead.

With her old holier-than-thou attitude, she'd never budge an inch, would rather go down in flames.

Pearl peeked through the crowd and saw them “exchanging amorous glances”, nearly passing out from the fury. There she was, busting her chops to win him a wife, and he was out in the open, siding with the other woman.

Maxwell caught her vibes and looked away from Victoria, moving past her without a word.

Rosemary grabbed the nearest mic; had to, or it would've ended up in her mouth with one wrong move. She flashed a smile and answered the media, "Sorry, but as for the deal with Mr. Templeton

and Ms. Temple, the people involved are right here. You should ask them for the clear picture."

Maxwell weaved through the journos towards Rosemary. The crowd parted, making way for him.

Rosemary's crisp voice came through the mic, "As for me and Mr. Templeton, we're working out a divorce. Once the papers are done, you guys will be the first to know."

"Sorry." Came Maxwell's voice as he made his way through the crowd; he took Rosemary's hand, and pulled her close before everyone, "My wife's been a bit moody; loves to joke around."

One lady reporter joked, "Must be pregnant then. Those pregnancy hormones can make one all over the place. Mr. Templeton's gonna have his hands full."

Maxwell visibly brightened, "Thanks for the favorable words."

These journos weren't newbies; they'd staked out Maxwell enough to know he was never this chummy. He even threw in the polite talk, and they were convinced: Mr. Maxwell Templeton and Mrs. Rosemary Templeton were lovey-dovey.

Rosemary glanced at him, and murmured sassily, "Liars get struck by lightning, doomed to impotence."

Maxwell leaned in, whispering back, "Are you hinting you want to make the pregnancy a reality?"

Someone skeptical wanted to dig deeper, "So, Mr. Templeton, what is the nature of your relationship with Ms. Temple? She had your invite earlier."

That brought the spotlight back to them.

Maxwell spoke up nonchalantly, "Ms. Temple and I go way back, just friends. The invite was just a favor; didn't mean to mislead or cause trouble for Ms. Temple. My apologies."

Rosemary couldn't be bothered to call out his BS. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't buy it. As if getting a new invite with his name on it was tough for Maxwell.

Let's be real, any seasoned player, let alone some Joe Schmo, knew what lending out an invite with one’s own name meant.

After shaking off the media, in order to let the two have their own space, Pearl made an excuse to chat with a friend and nudged them to go ahead.

Rosemary, chin up and a defiant grin on her lips, teased, "Wanna have your cake and eat it too, huh?"

Hoping to keep Victoria's rep clean while dragging his feet on the divorce.

Maxwell's brows furrowed, his voice a stern warning, "Rosemary Chambers, don't jump to conclusions."

When Rosemary was called by her full name, she cracked a wry smile and looked him in the eye, unflinching and defiant, "I'm not gonna let you have your cake and eat it too."

With that, she flounced off and strode into the auction hall. Rosemary had come with Pearl, and their seats were right next to Maxwell's, prime real estate in the front row with a killer view.

Rosemary had barely sat down when Maxwell showed up, "You're representing the Templeton family now, and with the media here, don't stir up trouble."

He didn't know what she was up to, but knowing Rosemary, he was sure she'd make a scene.

"Why don't you stand up and shout 'We're divorced' to the whole room? That way, I can't do anything to tarnish the Templeton family's good name."

Maxwell scoffed, his words clipped and deliberate, "Dream on about the divorce."

Rolling her eyes, Rosemary reached into her bag to grab some earplugs, intent on blocking him out, when she felt a shadow loom over her.

"Rosemary."

That familiar male voice rained down on her from above. Rosemary looked up and her face, usually dripping with sarcasm, suddenly bloomed with a genuine smile, "Hogan?"Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.