He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 45

Chapter 8

As her consciousness began to fade to black.

Chloe heard Ryan’s reply, “Keep going.”

Perhaps because, on some level, she had been expecting it, she didn’t feel particularly sad in that moment.

In fact, she thought, this was for the best.

Now, she would never owe him anything ever again.

After what felt like an eternity, Chloe woke up in a haze to find Ryan watching over her bed.

“Jessica was in the wrong this time, I know, but she also almost lost her own life. And with her mental illness, even if we took this to court, she wouldn’t be sentenced to anything. Chloe, can’t you just be the bigger person and let it go, please?”

“I promise, nothing like this will ever happen again.”

He had fully expected Chloe to wake up and cause a huge scene, or to at least cry and confront him.

But to his surprise, she just nodded calmly.

“Okay. I understand.”

Even though he had gotten the exact answer he wanted, a strange unease settled in Ryan’s heart. Something felt fundamentally different.

He was just about to speak when a nurse burst into the room.

“Mr. Blackwood, you need to come see Ms. Moore, quickly! She’s extremely agitated and she keeps demanding to see you.”

But Ryan refused her with a cold expression.

“I need to take care of Chloe. Don’t worry about her. If she wants to throw a fit, then just let her.”

The nurse looked troubled and clearly wanted to press the issue, but didn’t seem to know how.

Chloe, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly spoke up.

“You should go see her. If she causes another scene, there won’t be enough blood left to save her this time.”

Ryan froze, his throat feeling tight, as if something was lodged in it. After a long moment, he said in a heavy voice.

“Okay. I’ll go check on her. I’ll be right back to stay with you.”

With that, he reached out, stroked her hair, and then hurried off with the nurse.

A few minutes later, Chloe completed her own discharge paperwork, hailed a cab on the street, and went home.

Once inside, she went straight to the bedroom and pulled out her passport and other documents.

Then she grabbed her already–packed suitcase and headed straight for the airport.

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

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Chapter 8

Check–in, ticket retrieval, baggage drop, security screening.

Everything went smoothly.

Before boarding the plane, she blocked Ryan on all her contacts.

Without a single look back, she ran towards her brand new future.

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Chapter 9

Ryan pushed open Jessica’s hospital room door with a frown. Before he could even speak, a glass of water came flying at his face,

“Get out! None of you are allowed in here! All of you, get the hell out!”

Her shrill voice was practically dripping with hysteria.

He couldn’t dodge in time. The glass caught him on the forehead, and he cried out in pain.

Hearing his voice, Jessica immediately looked up, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes.

“Ryan, are you okay? Does it hurt?” She ran to his side, her feet bare against the cold floor. “I didn’t know it was you. I didn’t mean to.”

The stinging pain shot through Ryan’s nerves.

He forcefully suppressed the anger raging inside him and demanded in a low, dangerous voice, “Jessica, what are you doing now? Do you have any idea that because of all this, I haven’t slept a wink since yesterday? Can’t you just calm down for one second and let me rest?”

At his words, Jessica’s eyes instantly reddened with hurt.

She threw herself into Ryan’s arms, hugging his waist tightly, her voice choked with sobs.

“I’m just so scared! Ryan, I’ve loved you for eight whole years. You’re my entire life. Without you, what’s the point of me even being alive!”

Her tears quickly soaked the front of Ryan’s shirt.

After a long moment, he sighed in resignation and raised a hand to wipe away her tears.

“Alright, stop crying. What happened is over now. Just focus on getting better. In a few days, I’ll take you to apologize to Chloe. If you ever do anything to hurt her again, I swear, I’m done with you. Do you understand?”

Jessica pouted dismissively and gave a noncommittal mumble, then immediately changed the subject.

“I haven’t eaten yet. I can’t hold chopsticks, will you feed me?”

She put on a pitiful expression and showed him the fresh, blood–soaked gauze on her wrist.

Ryan’s gaze darkened. He lifted her into his arms, placed her gently on the bed, and then went to call for a doctor.

Jessica’s volatile mood shifted completely. She leaned against him obediently, letting the doctor change her dressing and re–bandage her wound without a fuss.

After dinner, she pestered Ryan to stay with her while she slept.

“Ryan, when you’re here with me, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, a strange sense of unease crept into Ryan’s heart.

But in the end, he couldn’t resist Jessica’s relentless clinging, and he leaned against the headboard, quietly staying with her as she drifted off to sleep.

After some time, Ryan woke with a start. The hospital room was pitch black.

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

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Looking at Jessica nestled in his arms, his expression softened. He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.

Then, he carefully slipped out of the bed, trying not to wake her, and prepared to leave.

Just as he stepped out of the room, he saw a few of his friends walking towards him, their faces etched with indignation.

“Ryan, are you out of your damn mind? Chloe was almost killed by her, and you’re in here taking care of her?”

Ryan instinctively glanced back at Jessica in the hospital bed.

After confirming she was still asleep, he let out a breath of relief, carefully closed the door, and turned to his friends with a frown.

“Did Chloe send you guys? Jessica didn’t mean to do it. She only made a mistake because she’s so deeply insecure. If it wasn’t for her feelings for me, she never would have developed these mental health issues in the first place. I have to be responsible for her.”

His friends‘ faces were masks of pure confusion.

“So you divorced Chloe just to be with Jessica?”

Ryan paused for a moment, then lowered his voice to explain.

“I already told you guys, it was just a sham divorce. The City Hall, the certificate, it was all fake. As soon as Jessica’s condition improves, I’ll publicly clear everything up. You don’t need to worry about this. Just go home.”

But when he finished, his friends didn’t move. They exchanged a look, and then one of them finally spoke up, his voice heavy.

“Ryan, your divorce certificate is real.”

“At the party, Chloe said you guys were really divorced. We didn’t believe her, so we went to check out the address you mentioned. It turns out, that City Hall was real. Dude, you guys are officially divorced.”

Ryan’s mind went blank with a deafening buzz. He stood there, frozen in utter disbelief, as if he had been struck by lightning.

His voice trembled. “How is that possible? Chloe clearly said it was a set built by her friend’s film crew.”

In a blinding flash, a series of fragmented images raced through Ryan’s mind.

She had said it was a fake City Hall, but the staff had been so serious, so professional, guiding them meticulously through the process.

He had even muttered to himself in confusion at the time, “It’s just a formality, why is there so much paperwork?”

And Chloe had just given him a strange, complicated look.

And that phone call about the job transfer he’d overheard, and all the couple’s things Chloe had thrown away.

There were so many clues, so many red flags. Why had he ignored every single one of them?

Ryan grabbed at his hair in a fit of agonized frustration.

At that moment, only one thought consumed him: he had to see Chloe.

If he could just explain everything, just make her understand, Chloe loved him so much, she would have to forgive him in the end. She just had

1. to.

Ryan pushed past everyone and sprinted towards the hospital room at the end of the hall!

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