Ex's crazy pursuit After Divorce (Chloe and Adrian) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Fake Marriage?

Chloe had barely stepped through the front door when urgent footsteps echoed behind her,

“Chloe!” Adrian’s voice carried a note of urgency.

She stopped and turned, confusion flickering across her face. “What’s wrong?”

Adrian exhaled quietly in relief. He approached, trying to sound casual. “I was heading out anyway. Let me give you a ride.”

Chloe blinked, then shook her head without hesitation.

“Thanks, but no need. The subway station’s right up ahead, and with rush hour traffic, the train will be faster. My colleague’s waiting for me to switch shifts… I can’t keep her waiting.”

Her perfectly reasonable excuse left no room for argument, politely but firmly declining his offer.

Honestly, she found Adrian’s behavior strange. Why the sudden interest in driving her to work? Massachusetts General Hospital and Foster Group were in completely opposite directions, not even remotely on the same route.

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Adrian hadn’t expected such a direct rejection. His expression darkened, something turbulent stirring in his eyes.

“The next train’s coming soon. I should go.” Chloe’s voice cut through his thoughts.

She gave him a polite wave and jogged toward the subway

entrance.

Only after she went into the station did Chloe finally let out a

breath of relief.

Even though she’d decided to treat Adrian like a friend, his presence always made her instinctively pull away. Her heart would race uncontrollably–not from nerves or shyness, but from anxiety. Pure panic.

She knew her emotions were totally messed up, and she was done running from them. So when Nicholas told her to get therapy, she didn’t try to talk her way out of it.

The hospital entrance was just a few steps from the subway

exit.

Chloe walked through the main doors, smoothing down her

clothes.

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Just then, a familiar voice called out, “Chloe.”

Olivia Grant–her college roommate, best friend, and now colleague in the cardiothoracic surgery department.

Chloe turned and waved.

The moment Olivia reached her, her eyes turned red before she could even speak. Her tears welled up, making Chloe jump in alarm.

“What’s wrong? Did Marcus upset you again?”

At the mention of Marcus, Chloe’s face darkened with

irritation.

Everyone in Adrian’s circle was like that—always acting superior to everyone else.

Marcus chased after Olivia so hard back then that everyone at Harvard Medical School knew about this hot, lovesick heir from the Monroe family. Some people totally fell for Marcus‘ whole Prince Charming act, going on about how “rich guys can be such hopeless romantics.”

What a load of garbage. Their perfect “romantic” hooked up with some actress before they’d even hit their first wedding anniversary.

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Now, whenever Chloe heard the word “romantic,” she wanted to laugh at what a joke Marcus turned out to be.

Olivia wiped her tears and shook her head. “No, it’s not about him.” She looked at Chloe. “I just feel terrible for you.”

Chloe blinked, then smiled. “Feel terrible for me? Why?”

Olivia’s eyes remained red and watery, like she might start crying again any second.

“Chloe, I know everything.”

Chloe seemed to guess what Olivia meant. Her expression froze, her lips pressed tight.

“There was an avalanche in Svalbard. I remember your hotel was near where it happened. Those five days when we couldn’t reach you–it wasn’t because your phone had no signal. Something happened to you, didn’t it?”

Chloe opened her mouth to deny it, but Olivia cut her off.

“Don’t even try. There’s no way that avalanche didn’t affect where you were staying. Besides, you barely had time for that trip—you wouldn’t have just stayed locked in your hotel room the whole time. Something definitely happened, right?”

The moment Olivia finished, tears spilled down her cheeks. 4/7

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Finally, Chloe sighed and patted Olivia’s shoulder.

“Look, I made it back alive, didn’t I? They say surviving a disaster brings good fortune. I’ve got plenty of good luck coming my way.”

She remembered what that girl on the plane had told her and used it to comfort Olivia. But her words basically confirmed Olivia’s suspicions. Olivia cried even harder.

“I knew it. I knew something happened to you. Adrian’s such a bastard–how could he leave you there alone and not give a damn? Meanwhile, he’s off gallivanting everywhere with that bitch Natalie. What does he think you are!”

Olivia sobbed harder, cursing Adrian with every breath.

Chloe could only nod along while frantically wiping Olivia’s

tears.

“Stop crying, everyone’s staring. I’m fine now–that’s what matters. Really, it’s okay.”

Chloe wasn’t good at comforting people. She kept repeating the same phrases.

Olivia finally stopped crying and looked at Chloe with red–rimmed eyes, frustrated beyond belief. “After all this,

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please tell me you’re not going to forgive Adrian?”

Chloe froze, then smiled and shook her head. “There’s nothing to forgive between us. After all, he really didn’t have any obligation to come traveling with me.”

She was trying to say that she and Adrian didn’t have that kind of close relationship, and it wasn’t worth getting worked up over him.

But to Olivia, it sounded like Chloe was still making excuses for Adrian, which made her even angrier.

“You’re still defending him? You’re his wife! He has no obligation to be with you, but he has an obligation to be with Natalie?! You’re going to be the death of me.”

Olivia was practically bouncing with frustration.

Chloe quickly tried to calm her down. “No, I’m not defending him. It’s just that…”

“Just what? Stop making excuses for him!” Olivia fumed. “Birds of a feather flock together. Nobody in Marcus‘ circle is any good.”

Chloe quickly soothed her. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

She should’ve known this from the beginning. At least she 6/7

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finally saw the truth now.

L After thinking it over, Chloe decided to tell Olivia about her

fake marriage with Adrian. “Well, here’s the thing…”

When she finished talking, Olivia just sat there staring, totally lost for words.

After half a minute, she finally stuttered, “So… you’re just fake husband and wife?”

Well… they did have an actual marriage certificate, so she wasn’t sure if that counted as fake. But emotionally speaking, it was definitely fake.

“And the contract ends in two months?” Olivia asked again.

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, only two months left. I don’t want to waste any more energy on anything related to Adrian. Love, resentment, it’s all just a waste of time. I have to keep moving forward, right?”