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Ever since Mr. Reed’s death in the accident, my mother had been in a fog.
Each day was a blur of shuttling between the hospital and my mother’s house. Juggling my brother’s needs and my mother’s fragile state. had worn me down to the bone. Now, with that settlement signed, I’d lost my only leverage against Chloe.
All I could do now was finalize the emigration paperwork within these scant ten days, before Lucas could bleed me dry once more, all
for Chloe.
The next morning, I walked out of the agency, clutching the acknowledgment form the clerk had handed me, stating completion within nine days.
I let out a deep, shuddering breath, the grim thought echoing in my mind: It’s almost over.
Four years–four years of marriage to Lucas–all of it would end with me broken, shattered, unable to withstand Chloe’s sudden arrival.
I’d given up so much for Lucas, trusted him completely, loved him fiercely. And all I got in return was his callous, brutal betrayal.
Lucas, I thought, the words a silent vow, since your heart has strayed, I won’t waste another ounce of expectation on you.
I gazed down at the manila envelope in my hands. Inside, tucked beside the recently processed acknowledgment form, lay a divorce.
agreement.
My resolve hardened. I was going to end this agonizing entanglement with Lucas.
That evening, when I walked into the mansion Lucas and I shared, Chloe’s voice drifted from the living room, sharp and unmistakable.
“Didn’t we agree you’d get the evidence too?” Chloe whined, nestled on Lucas’s lap. “Scott Reed tried to rape me, and he even recorded it, hoping to ruin me. You have to get that video for me, not just the settlement papers.”
“What’s the hurry, angel?” Lucas’s voice, thick with indulgence, murmured back. “We have to take things one step at a time. Can’t have my wife getting suspicious.”
A sharp pain lanced through my lip as I bit down, hard.
So, Lucas was colluding with Chloe, just as I’d suspected. A wave of gut–wrenching regret washed over me.
Why had I ever married a man capable of such cruelty?
A strangled sob caught in my throat as I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest constricting with unbearable pain. I turned to flee upstairs, but Lucas’s voice snagged me.
“Wife.” Lucas’s voice, smooth as silk, cut through the air as he gently nudged Chloe from his lap. He moved toward me, a practiced smile on his lips, a soft chuckle escaping him. “What kept you so long? Have you eaten? I’ll have the maid whip something up for you immediately-”
“Don’t bother.” My voice was a frigid whisper, a stark contrast to the inferno raging beneath my skin. “I’m going to my mom’s tonight. She’s not doing well.”
Lucas nodded, a slow, deliberate movement. Then, his gaze piercing, he added, “Since you’re not staying tonight, Chloe can stay here,
can’t she?”
I froze, a cold jolt seizing me. My eyes snapped to Lucas.
My eyes rounded, disbelief warring with the cold certainty coiling in my gut.
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How dared Lucas throw such a blatant provocation in my face? It was an open challenge, delivered with infuriating nonchalance.
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“Chloe’s been quite shaken by the accident,” Lucas said, his voice laced with a tenderness that twisted my gut. His eyes drifted to Chloe, who was perched delicately on the edge of the sofa, looking fragile. “She needs someone around. If you don’t object, I intend for her to move in, permanently.”
I don’t agree!” I erupted, the words tearing from my throat, raw and furious. “I won’t allow that murderer to step foot in my home!”
Chloe sprang to her feet, her gaze narrowing, a hint of outrage tightening her lips. “Mrs. Thorne,” she spat, “watch your words. I haven’t harmed anyone. Your father insisted on stepping in front of my car. He was the one at fault.”
I trembled with fury, my patience shattered. I strode toward Chloe, my hand arcing up to strike.
But a powerful hand shot out, clamping around my wrist.
I whirled around, stunned, to meet Lucas’s cold, piercing gaze.
“Wife, you weren’t actually planning to strike Chloe in front of me, were you?”
