After the Cold Marriage His Crazy Love (Iris and Julian) novel Chapter 362

His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex–Wife

Chapter 362 Breaking Point

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In the past, whenever Arthur saw his mother being hit, he would always step in to protect her.

This time, though, he just stood there glaring at her and hurled the cruelest words he could find. “You had it coming. I told you to leave him, but you refused. If he kills you someday, that’s on you.”

With that, he turned and marched straight into his room, slamming the door behind him.

The sound echoed through the house–loud and final.

Sally flinched, her shoulders trembling. For a moment, she stopped crying, just staring at the closed door with a look of utter heartbreak and disappointment, her face pale.

Seeing his son finally take his side, Simon grew even more aggressive. His temper flared in an

instant.

He grabbed a nearby wooden stool, his expression turning vicious, and charged at Sally, swinging it hard into her shoulder. “You’ve been home all day and still can’t even put together a decent meal. I’ll teach you a lesson today.”

Clutching her throbbing shoulder, Sally crumpled to the floor in pain. She cried out, begging for help, struggling with everything she had.

But that only seemed to fuel her husband’s rage. Once he started, he couldn’t stop–as if he was feeding some dark, violent urge. The more he hit, the better he felt. The more he hit, the more he craved it.

Zoe had just gotten off work and was walking up to the building when she heard her mother’s screams from downstairs. She raced upstairs, shoved the door open in a panic, threw her bag down, and lunged forward to grab her father’s arm. “Dad, stop-!”

Before she could finish, he shoved her hard.

Small and slight, she was no match for his raging strength. She stumbled backward, nearly falling.

Once she caught her balance, she rushed over and threw herself on top of her mother.

The wooden stool came crashing down on Zoe’s back.

Blow after blow, pain shot through her like broken bones. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her whole body trembling until she coughed up blood.

Underneath her, her mother wept, holding her head–but all she did was cry. When she saw the

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blood, she sobbed even harder, shouting toward the bedroom, “Arthur! Get out here and help your sister! Your father beat her till she’s vomiting blood–oh God, why is my life so miserable?”

Simon finally wore himself out from hitting them. He set the stool down, sat on it, and caught his breath before growling, “You’ve got half an hour. Make me dinner now. If it’s not done, you’ll get another round.”

Shaking with fear, Sally slowly pushed Zoe off, wiped her tears, and whispered, “Honey, go put some ointment on your bruises. I’ll start dinner. And don’t call the police again–it’s no use. They never do anything about domestic disputes.”

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Zoe wiped the blood from her mouth and stared at the bright red stain on her hand. Her eyes filled with tears.

A violent father, a cold–hearted brother, a mother who kept coming back for more—and herself, stuck in this guilt–tripped trap.

What does Mom mean, the police don’t do anything? What does she mean, it’s no use?

Every time her mother was beaten, she forgave him. She refused to press charges. She refused to walk away.

How ridiculous. How could the police help someone who wouldn’t help herself?

Her mother always said she stayed for the kids, so they could have a “complete family“.

Screw that “complete family“.

Zoe pushed herself up, pain shooting through her body.

She leaned against the kitchen counter, head bowed, resting for what felt like a long time. Her back still throbbed with every breath.

In the kitchen, her mother scrambled to throw a meal together.

From the bedroom, deafening trap music blasted through the walls.

And behind her, her father sat leisurely smoking, blowing clouds into the air, looking completely at ease–as if he’d released all his violent urges and was now perfectly relaxed.

After a while, the sharpest of Zoe’s pain began to fade.

She picked up a vase from the side table, pulled out the fake flowers, and–without warning- spun around, rushed at her father, and smashed the vase over his head.

The attack took him completely by surprise. Simon never expected his own daughter to fight back.

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Chapter 362 Breaking Point

His head split open, blood seeping out as he fell to the floor in agony.

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Zoe didn’t give him a moment to recover. She snatched the wooden stool he’d used on her and, with every ounce of strength she had, started bringing it down on his chest, his arms, his legs.

“You like violence, huh? You like hitting people? Police don’t do anything about domestic violence, right?”

Hearing the commotion, Sally came running out of the kitchen.

When she saw the bloody scene in the living room, she covered her mouth in shock and screamed toward the bedroom, “Arthur! Your sister’s going to kill your father!”

The bedroom door finally swung open. Arthur took in the scene and rushed over to grab Zoe.

He had never seen her look so fierce. Fear drained the color from his face, and his voice shook. “Stop it, Zoe, just stop…”

Their father lay on the floor in a growing pool of blood, trembling.

Zoe caught her breath and slowly closed her eyes.

This was the first time in her life she had ever hit anyone–and it was her own father.

She was completely done with this family.

All this time, she’d put up with it for her mother’s sake.

But a person who stays too long in a swamp can’t be saved. If she stayed any longer, she’d drown in it too.

“I’m moving out today,” Zoe said flatly. She pushed Arthur aside and dropped the stool.

The heavy thud made her mother jump back, staring at her nervously.

Zoe looked at her mother with hopeless eyes. “From now on, if he hits you again, don’t call me. I’m done getting involved. And I’m never stepping foot in this house again.”

With that, she walked to her room to pack.

Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance arrived and took her father away.

Zoe finished packing, took a shower, put on a clean sundress, wheeled her suitcase out, and called a rideshare.

She didn’t look back as she left.

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