Divorced CEO's Forgotten Wife Strikes Back (Riley and Bryce) novel Chapter 60

**TITLE: Dreams Refuse Gravity by Leo Arden Knox**

**Chapter 60: Hit Her**

After three decades of unwavering service in the military, Nicolas exuded an aura of authority that loomed over Bryce like a storm cloud, heavy and oppressive. The weight of his presence was palpable, making Bryce feel small and vulnerable, as if he were standing on the precipice of a great abyss.

Before Bryce could muster a response, Amanda interjected with fervor, her voice sharp and unyielding. “Not for much longer! My son deserves far better than a woman like Riley!” Her tone dripped with disdain, as if she were dismissing a mere insect rather than a human being.

“It’s your son who doesn’t deserve Riley!” Nicolas retorted, his voice rising in anger. “A man who wouldn’t even accompany Riley to retrieve her parents’ ashes has no claim to be her husband!” The words hung in the air, charged with tension.

“Bah!” Amanda scoffed, her face contorting in disgust. “Ashes bring nothing but bad luck! Do you think I would let my son go pick up something so morbid? Dream on! When she came home with those urns, babbling about keeping them here, I smacked her before she could even finish her ridiculous request.”

“If she had dared to bring those ashes into my home, I would have shattered them to pieces. It was as if she was trying to cast a curse upon the Murphy family. What a wicked woman…” Her voice dripped with venom, each word punctuated by her contempt.

Nicolas felt a surge of fury course through him, trembling with rage at the appalling way they treated his friend’s daughter. The injustice of it all ignited a fire within him, a protective instinct that he could not ignore.

Vince and Lara exchanged glances, their expressions hardening. They looked ready to spring into action, fists clenched and hearts racing. Lara’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as the realization struck her. She understood now why Riley had been so desperate for a divorce—this situation was far more insidious than she had ever imagined. How could Bryce allow this to happen to Riley?

Amanda’s self-satisfaction grew as she continued her tirade, her voice rising in pitch and intensity. Suddenly, the sharp crack of a slap echoed through the hall, silencing her venomous words mid-sentence.

The entire room fell into a stunned silence, shock etched on every face. Riley had struck Amanda, and the impact of the act reverberated through the air like a thunderclap.

Amanda clutched her stinging cheek, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Riley!” she shrieked, her voice a mix of outrage and horror. “How dare you hit me! It’s no wonder you’re a motherless bastard—had no parents to teach you any manners! No wonder they died so—”

Smack!

Another slap cut through her tirade, silencing her once more.

“Riley! Have you completely lost your mind?” Claire shouted, rolling up her sleeves, her eyes aflame with anger, ready to leap into the fray.

Bryce’s face twisted into a mask of fury, his emotions swirling like a tempest.

As chaos threatened to erupt, an icy, commanding voice sliced through the tension.

“Stop them.”

The instant Sebastian’s command echoed through the hall, a phalanx of black-suited bodyguards sprang into action, forming an unyielding barrier before them.

Sebastian, his demeanor relaxed, idly twisted the pinky ring on his finger, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he regarded Riley. “Go ahead. Do whatever you want. No one can stop you.”

Riley’s fingertips trembled slightly, her heart racing wildly in her chest.

After years of grappling with bloodshed and chaos, she had learned to bear her burdens alone—nursing her wounds in silence, swallowing her grievances, her tears reserved for the shadows of her solitude.

But now, for the first time, someone had created a sanctuary for her—a shield against harm while granting her the freedom to express herself.

“Riley, do you really have to do this? You just want money, right? Fine, I’ll give it to you. Just leave my mother alone!” Bryce shouted, his voice a mix of fury and desperation.

The sound of slapping finally ceased, the tension hanging thick in the air.

Riley fixed her gaze on Bryce, her expression resolute. “Yes, I want money. But this 1.53 million dollars isn’t something you’re ‘giving’ me—it’s what you owe me!”

“When you needed startup capital for your business, I was the one who handed you that 1.53 million dollars in cash!” Her voice rang out, each word deliberate and cutting.

“Bryce, the only reason I’m not taking every single thing you have and simply demanding my 1.53 million back is because I want this divorce finalized as quickly as possible. I’m done being disgusted by you and your toxic family!”

Riley’s words echoed through the hall, her tone unwavering.

The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically. Bryce’s carefully constructed image as a self-made tech mogul crumbled when it was revealed that his wife had been the financial backbone of his entire startup. And now, during their divorce, he wasn’t even willing to repay her the money she had rightfully lent him.

“Say what you will. I could easily claim that my mom gave that startup money to my brother!” Claire snapped defensively, her voice tinged with desperation.

Lara shot Claire a withering glare. “If your family had that kind of cash to hand over to Bryce back then, he wouldn’t have been so broke that he had to get Riley a cheap two-hundred-dollar ring from a flea market!”

“But Riley’s an orphan. How could she possibly have that much money?” Claire retorted, her voice rising.

“That was the death compensation from Riley’s parents!” Lara’s words struck like a bolt of lightning, and the entire room fell into a stunned silence, the truth hanging heavy in the air.