He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 42

Ryan rushed in, his face a mask of cold fury, and shoved the bodyguards aside.

He carefully helped Chloe up, and only then did he see her right hand hanging limp at her side, a swollen, grotesque mess of purple and blue, with blood dripping steadily from her fingertips to form a small puddle on the tile floor.

His expression turned to ice. “Jessica, apologize to Chloe, Now.”

Jessica stubbornly jutted out her chin, refusing to speak. After a tense standoff that lasted several seconds, she finally, reluctantly, muttered, “I’m sorry.”

But a flimsy, meaningless apology was the last thing Chloe wanted.

She pulled away from Ryan’s grasp and grabbed her phone to call the police, but before she could even dial 911, he snatched it from her hand.

“Chloe, she already apologized to you. Let’s just let this go. I’ll take you to get your hand looked at, okay? Just listen to me.”

With that, he walked over and, ignoring Chloe’s struggles, forcibly picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the room.

Chloe’s eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

Jessica had nearly crippled her right hand, and Ryan was just saying they should ‘let it go‘?

The combined pain in her hand and her heart sent a deep chill through her entire body.

She shrieked, her eyes blazing with fury, “Let go of me! Get lost! Stay the hell away from me!”

But no matter how she bit, hit, or cursed at him, Ryan didn’t let go, not until the doctor had finished bandaging her mangled hand.

For the next few days, he stayed by her side constantly.

He not only cooked a different meal for her every day and meticulously checked her wound, but he also tried every trick in the book to cheer her up.

At ten o’clock that night, just as Chloe was getting ready for bed, Ryan’s phone suddenly rang.

“Ryan, there’s a man following me. I’m so scared.”

Jessica’s voice was thick with the sound of panicked tears.

Ryan’s expression changed in an instant. “Don’t be afraid, I’m on my way right now!”

With that, he strode out the door without a single moment of hesitation.

Chloe didn’t say a word the entire time.

She just let out a silent sigh of relief after he was gone.

She used to love spending every moment with him, but now, being in his presence only left her feeling suffocated and frustrated.

For the next few days, Ryan didn’t show up at all.

Instead, Jessica began a relentless campaign of sending her messages and photos every single day.

18:45 D

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

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Chapter 5

Pictures of Ryan taking her to watch the sunset at the beach, of him accompanying her to a Michelin–star restaurant, or texts boasting about how he’d splurged a fortune at an auction to buy several sets of jewelry just because she’d said she liked them.

Chloe just watched the stream of updates in silence.

On the day of her discharge, she handled the paperwork herself and took a cab home.

The living room had been cleaned up. She walked over to the cabinet and looked at the shelves, now restocked and full of souvenirs again, a

flicker of dark mockery in her eyes.

So what if he bought identical replacements?

A broken mirror can’t be made whole again.

And she and Ryan could never go back to the way they were.

Chloe went back to the bedroom and started packing her things.

Anything and everything that reminded her of Ryan was ruthlessly tossed into a trash bag.

Luckily, Jessica had already “helped” her get rid of a good portion of it beforehand.

Two hours later, the room was half empty.

Just as Ryan opened the front door, Chloe was carrying the last box out.

They ran right into each other, causing the box to fall to the floor and its contents to scatter everywhere.

He instinctively crouched down to help her pick things up, but when he saw the matching couple’s mugs and watches spill out onto the floor, a sudden, sharp panic seized his heart.

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