After the Divorce, He Begged Me Back Chapter 02
After finishing my mother’s funeral arrangements, I clutched her memorial photo close to my chest and took a cab back to the mansion.
The moment I stepped out, the skies opened up.
Standing at the front door, watching the rain dance beneath the porch light, I was instantly dragged back fifteen years into the past.
It had been pouring that day, too. My mother and I were walking home when we spotted a small boy huddled next to a dumpster behind a local diner.
He wore a filthy, oversized T-shirt, his spine curved as he scavenged through the trash.
He managed to pull out a piece of moldy bagel. Just as he was about to shove it into his mouth, he slipped, and the bagel washed down into the storm drain.
He sat there on the wet asphalt, rain pelting his face, biting his lip raw to keep from crying out loud.
My mother couldn’t bear to watch it. She walked over, pulled him up by his hand, and brought him straight into our warm home.
He was an adopted kid. His foster mother was a gambling addict, and his foster father was an alcoholic who beat him regularly and withheld food.
Once my mother learned about his situation, she told him to come over whenever he was hungry.
From that day on, Holden carved his way into my universe.
Since we were the same age, we walked to school and came home together every single day.
Whenever I had a treat, I always split it evenly with him.
We grew from shy kids into sweethearts, and right after college graduation, he proposed to me.
At our wedding, he tightly held my mother’s hands, his eyes full of devotion.
“Mom, thank you and Chloe for giving me warmth when I was at my absolute lowest,” he vowed. “I promise to protect both of you for the rest of my life. I will never let either of you suffer.”
“If I ever break this oath, let lightning strike me down.”
A sharp, giggling moan drifted from inside the house, instantly shattering my memories.
“Oh, stop it, you perv! The doctor said we have to wait until the first trimester ends before we can… do that.”
“Be a good boy, honey. Can’t you just hold it in for a bit?”
Then came Holden’s deep, gravelly voice.
“You little temptress, how do you expect me to control myself?”
“One more week and the three months are up. That’ll be our wedding night, and I’m going to make you pay for making me wait.”
My hands tightened around the wooden frame of my mother’s picture.
I forced a deep breath into my lungs and pushed the front door open.
On the living room sofa, Amber sat astride Holden’s lap, her robe pulled down to expose her chest. She was wearing my pajamas.
Neither of them showed even a shred of remorse when they saw me walk in.
Amber shot me a venomous, triumphant look, deliberately pulling the silk fabric even lower.
Holden gave her hip a rough squeeze before turning his arrogant gaze toward me.
“You made up your mind already?”
I didn’t utter a word. I simply nodded, pulled out the signed divorce agreement, and tossed it onto the coffee table.
Holden picked up the papers. Seeing my signature next to the word “Agree,” he visibly froze for a second.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to sign so seamlessly. A strange, suffocating sensation seemed to catch in his throat.
“Don’t worry, Amber and I have a deal,” he muttered, trying to break the tension. “As soon as the baby is registered under the family name, I’ll divorce her.”
“Then you and I will remarry immediately.”
“Whatever,” I whispered flatly.
Holding the picture tightly, I turned to walk toward the master bedroom.
“Hold on,” Holden called out.
I paused, turning my head back with a blank expression.
“Amber is staying in that room now.”
“What?” The word slipped from my mouth before I could process it.
Holden’s brow furrowed in annoyance.
“The master bedroom gets the best sunlight and fresh air. Amber is pregnant, Chloe. You need to have some self-awareness.”
I looked at Amber, who let out a soft, mocking laugh.
“Oh, honey, I told him it wasn’t necessary,” she cooed. “But Mr. Vance insisted I move in.”
“I guess there’s no choice. Since I’m carrying his firstborn heir, we have to be extra cautious. Don’t you agree, Chloe?”
