He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 38

Chapter 1

Chloe Sullivan’s husband of three years had an obsessive admirer.

This woman had jumped into the ocean to retrieve a ting for him, stolen his worn clothes to keep as treasured relies, tattooed his name on hey eyeball, stripped naked to beg him to sleep with her, and slit her wrists to pray for his divorce–her madness was so sensational it became the talk of New York City.

Everyone said no man could possibly have the heart to turn away a love so fiery and devoter

But Chloe never gave her a second thought.

Because she knew, deep in her bones, that Ryan Blackwood loved her more than life itself.

When she was bleeding out after a car crash, he’d given 1000cc of his blood without a moment’s hesitation

When people mocked her for being nothing more than a trophy wife, he signed over every single share of his company to her name.

He even went out and got a vasectomy just because she once casually mentioned being afraid of childbirth.

Until their wedding anniversary, when Jessica Moore live–streamed her leap into the ocean for the entire world to see.

“Ryan Blackwood, this is it. The last time. If you still choose Chloe Sullivan, I swear, I will disappear from your life for good.”

Before Chloe could even process the words, Jessica grabbed her arm and yanked her overboard.

The violent, churning seawater instantly flooded her mouth and nose.

Chloe couldn’t swim, she instinctively tried to scream for help, but the saltwater choked her, burning a raw path down her throat.

She thrashed desperately, trying to get back to the yacht, but the waves relentlessly pushed her farther and farther away.

In her rising panic, she saw Ryan, ignoring the shouts of everyone trying to hold him back, vault over the railing and dive into the water without a second’s thought.

Pure, animal instinct took over, and Chloe reached a desperate hand out toward him.

“Ryan, help! Please, save me!”

But Ryan didn’t even give her a passing glance, he swam straight past her to Jessica Moore, hauled her limp body up, and started kicking back

toward the yacht.

An icy dread shot out from Chloe’s heart, spreading like frost through her limbs.

Before she could even begin to process the betrayal, a massive wave crashed down on her, a crushing weight that sent a shock of pain through her entire body before everything went black.

Memories of their life together flashed before her eyes like a frantic movie reel

From their first date to their wedding day, Chloe and Ryan had been together for eight years–and for every one of those eight years, Jessica had been obsessively trying to tear them apart.

She was always showing up, with no regard for the time or place, expressing her “love” in the most extreme, terrifying ways.

Ua Cave Her Strawberries. Gave Me Hives. I Gave Them Both A One–Way Ticket To BANKRUPTCY

15.19

Jessica had even cornered her before a birthday party once, demanding to make a bet.

“I dare you to bet that Ryan will choose me this time. And if you lose, you have to divorce him!”

She’d said the same thing, or some version of it, a hundred times before.

Chloe, not wanting to get dragged into her drama, had just casually agreed, the same way she always did.

Even when Jessica pulled her into the ocean, after the initial shock, a part of her was still absolutely certain that Ryan would save her. He always saved her.

But the reality was, she had lost the bet, and in doing so, she’d almost lost her life.

Chloe was unconscious for two full days.

When she finally woke up, Ryan was sitting vigil by her hospital bed, his eyes bloodshot and his face etched with exhaustion.

But the first words out of his mouth were, “Chloe, let’s get a divorce.”

As if terrified she’d misunderstand, he rushed to explain.

“It’s not real, just a sham divorce. I’ll have someone set everything up, we just need to take a few pictures, that’s it. The doctors are saying Jessica has some serious mental health issues, that she’s extremely unstable right now. I’m worried she’ll try to hurt you again. You have no idea what these last two days have been like for me. If anything had actually happened to you, I would never, ever forgive myself.”

His voice was thick with self–blame and heartache.

But Chloe just watched him quietly, a flicker of bitter self–mockery in her eyes.

Was he really worried about her getting hurt, or was he terrified of Jessica finally leaving him for good?

Remembering the bet, a wry, humorless smile touched her lips.

“Fine. Let’s go now. A friend of mine has a City Hall set for a movie she’s filming. We can use that.”

Ryan hadn’t expected her to agree so easily. He froze, a strange, unidentifiable panic starting to bubble up in his chest.

But when he saw Chloe walking out of the hospital room, he shoved his confusion aside and scrambled to follow her.

Signing the papers, filling out the forms, getting the certificate. The whole process went off without a hitch, unnervingly smooth.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify