After the Divorce, He Begged Me Back Chapter 04
The next morning, I was gently cleaning the dust off my mother’s picture when a violent pounding interrupted me.
I opened the door to find Amber standing there, her chin held high with arrogance.
“Chloe, look at the time,” she snapped. “Why haven’t you made breakfast yet?”
She leaned forward, a vicious smirk playing on her lips.
“Don’t forget, you’re my hired help now.”
Refusing to engage, I turned around and placed the framed photo securely back on the desk.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” I replied coldly.
Amber sauntered into the guest room, her eyes landing on the photo with immediate disgust.
“Keeping a dead person’s picture out like this is a jinx,” she sneered. “It’s stressing me out, and it’s bad for my baby’s development. Cover it up.”
“You can choose not to look at it,” I replied, without turning around, carefully adjusting the alignment of the frame.
“Why you…”
Amber’s face flushed crimson, a malicious glint flashing in her eyes.
She sauntered over to the desk under the guise of looking around, then suddenly swung her hand, slamming my mother’s photo to the floor.
As I scrambled down to grab it, her foot came down hard on the glass. She covered her mouth in mock horror.
“Oh my gosh, Chloe, I am so sorry! My foot slipped. I didn’t mean to.”
Seeing my mother’s kind, smiling face crushed beneath Amber’s dirty shoe, the last thread of my sanity snapped.
I flew up and whipped my palm across her face. The force of the slap sent Amber stumbling backward until she caught herself against the edge of the table.
I grabbed her by the collar, raising my hand to strike her again, when a vice-like grip locked around my wrist.
“Chloe Vance, do you have a death wish?”
Holden’s roaring voice exploded from behind me.
He grabbed my arm with brutal force and threw me across the room.
“Chloe, have you completely lost your mind?”
With bloodshot eyes, I pointed a trembling finger at Amber.
“She threw my mother’s picture on the ground and stomped on it!”
Holden glanced at Amber. Instantly, she burst into tears and threw herself into his arms, trembling.
“I just wanted to move her mother’s photo to the living room where it would get a better spot,” she wailed. “But the moment I picked it up, Chloe attacked me like a psychopath.”
“I was so terrified that I tripped and stepped on it by accident. I swear I didn’t mean to!”
“You’re lying! You did it on—”
Before I could finish, Holden’s boot slammed into the back of my knee.
My legs buckled, and I crashed hard onto the hardwood floor.
“Chloe, you’re just green with envy because Amber is pregnant,” he barked down at me. “Stop causing drama and apologize to her.”
I forced my head up, glaring at him through the pain.
“I did nothing wrong, Holden. I will never apologize.”
Holden stared at the unyielding defiance in my eyes, freezing for a brief second as if an old memory had cracked open.
But Amber chose that exact moment to whimper.
“Honey, I don’t care about myself, but our baby hasn’t even been born yet and he’s already being targeted. It breaks my heart.”
She clutched her lower belly, sobbing pitifully.
The hesitation in Holden’s eyes vanished, replaced by an ugly, ruthless cruelty.
He raised his boot and stomped down heavily onto my bare hand.
“Apologize to Amber. Now.”
The excruciating pain rippled through my entire body, but I bit my lip until it bled, refusing to give him a sound.
Holden let out a cold laugh and finally lifted his foot.
Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, he walked over to my mother’s broken photo.
He looked down at me, his eyes filled with pure malice.
The split second his boot began to rise, I threw myself across the floor, crawling frantically to cover the picture with my own body.
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I’ll never do it again!” I screamed.
A satisfied smirk spread across Holden’s face. He turned, scooped Amber into his arms, and walked away.
“Chloe, if you ever touch Amber again, a crushed hand will be the least of your worries.”
They left without a single backward glance.
Clutching the cracked frame against my chest, I pulled my knees into my body and wept silently.
“Mom, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t even protect your picture. I’m so useless.”
“Just hold on a little longer. We’re leaving this hellhole very soon.”
Two days later, Holden and I finalized our paperwork at city hall, officially ending our marriage.
His wedding to Amber was scheduled just five days after that.
Amber was consumed with dress fittings and venue selections, leaving her with no time to torment me.
I used the quiet window to finalize every single detail of my escape.
The night before their wedding, I pulled out my phone and fired off a final text message.
“Tomorrow. Right on schedule.”
The reply came back instantly.
“OK.”
I stood up to lock my door, only to find Amber leaning against the frame, staring at me with a venomous grin.
“You really are pathetic, Chloe,” she sneered. “Your husband is having a baby with another woman, yet you’re still clinging to this house like a parasitic roach.”
I stared right through her.
“And what does that make you? You knew he was married, yet you spread your legs for him anyway.”
Her face twisted in rage, but she caught herself. A sickening, triumphant smile replaced her anger.
“Enjoy your high horse while you can, Chloe,” she whispered, leaning in close to my ear.
I tried to shove her away, but her next words locked my limbs in ice.
“You really think losing your uterus during that miscarriage was an accident?”
“Holden orchestrated the whole thing. He never loved you. To him, you were just a tool to relieve his urges.”
She feasted on the sight of my bloodless face, letting out a delighted laugh before sauntering down the hall.
My chest heaved as I fought for oxygen. My knees buckled, sending me crashing to the floor.
My hand trembled as it rested over my hollow abdomen.
So that was the truth.
A routine miscarriage cleanup didn’t just turn into a full hysterectomy by chance.
It was all a calculated strike.
Tears spilled from my eyes, the agony in my chest so intense I could barely draw breath.
“Holden Vance… you monster.”
The next morning, Holden stood tall in a custom tuxedo, surrounded by his groomsmen as they prepared to pick up the bride.
Before leaving, he pushed open my door.
“Chloe, this wedding is just a performance,” he said smoothly. “You’re the only woman I truly love.”
“Stay inside and be good while we’re away. I’ll make it up to you the second we get back from our honeymoon.”
Looking at him dressed exactly like the day he married me five years ago, I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and forced a nod.
Satisfied, he turned and left.
I stood by the window, watching his limousine pull out of the driveway, my gaze turning dead and hollow.
Thirty minutes later, a sleek black sedan pulled up to the front gate.
Clutching my mother’s picture, I walked out of the house. A man dressed in black stepped out and opened the passenger door for me.
Settling into the leather seat, I cast one final look at the mansion.
“Goodbye, Holden,” I whispered. “I hope we never meet again.”
