His Last Command Came Back to Kill Him novel Chapter 81

Whitley stared at Clive, utterly incredulous.

"What do you mean, 'pretend I didn't hear it'?"

She stood rooted to the spot, her eyes locked on his.

From beginning to end, Clive remained a portrait of complete indifference. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his handsome, stoic features.

Faced with her question, he merely cast a sideways glance at her. "Yelena is pregnant. Once the merger goes through, you can take on some of her workload so she doesn't overexert herself."

Whitley took a sharp, trembling breath.

It wasn't that he didn't know how deeply she had been wronged. It wasn't that he was ignorant of the filthy, underhanded things Yelena had done.

He just didn't care. All that mattered to him was that Yelena was carrying his child. All he cared about was whether Yelena was tired, or if she needed someone to wait on her hand and foot.

And in his eyes, his actual, legal wife was nothing more than an assistant meant to shoulder the mistress's burdens.

Whitley stared blankly at the man in front of her. This was the same man who had once promised to protect her, to keep her safe for a lifetime, the man who had sworn his vows to her. Now, using his most gentle, even tone, he was arranging the most humiliating existence possible for her.

She wanted a divorce, and he dismissed it.

She was humiliated, and he treated it like an everyday occurrence.

He even wanted her to stay and serve the very woman who had stolen everything from her—the woman pregnant with his baby.

Did a lack of love really give him the right to trample on her like this?

Chisholm's eyes darkened. He stepped forward to intervene, but Whitley put a hand out, stopping him.

"Chisholm, let's go."

Clive's cold gaze snapped to Whitley. "You stay. Chisholm leaves."

Whitley's footsteps ground to a halt. She turned her head slowly, meeting his eyes.

The last lingering trace of warmth in her heart froze solid beneath his freezing stare.

"It's Yelena's celebration tonight. Why are you leaving?" Clive's voice was low, laced with undeniable authority.

Whitley's chest tightened. He made it sound as if she couldn't bear to see Yelena succeed.

Before she could even open her mouth, the soft sound of approaching footsteps interrupted them.

Yelena walked over holding a steaming cup of hot water, a perfectly crafted mask of gentle apology resting on her face.

She reached out, lightly grasping Whitley's arm, playing the role of the benevolent peacemaker.

"Whitley, please don't be angry."

"I don't know if you two are fighting because of me. Clive and I did get a little closer while we were abroad, but I swear, nothing happened between us."

"I can't drink alcohol right now because of the baby, so I'll toast you with this. If I've done anything to upset you, I sincerely apologize."

"If it really bothers you that Clive and I are close, I can keep my distance from him." Yelena looked at Whitley with wide, innocent eyes. "There's no need for you to fight with him like this."

Her tone was incredibly soft, her gaze entirely blameless. She played the part of the magnanimous, long-suffering sister to perfection.

Whitley looked at her nauseatingly fake posture.

She raised a hand and shoved Yelena's arm away. "Save it. I hope you two are very happy together."

At those words, Clive's expression darkened significantly.

Whitley figured it was because she had publicly humiliated him, openly painting Yelena as the other woman in front of everyone.

Her shove hadn't been forceful, yet the cup in Yelena's hand somehow slipped.

Yelena's expression also cooled. She hadn't expected Whitley to become so sharp, so utterly uncompromising.

"Absolutely lawless!" Xander Sherwood scoffed, taking a deep breath. "Yelena, don't lower yourself to her level. Your future is incredibly bright. Once the senior researchers at the institute mentor your dissertation, you'll be unstoppable."

"I'm not mad at her," Yelena replied softly. "Maybe she just feels that by returning to the Nash family, I've stolen everything that rightfully belonged to her."

"It's my fault," she continued, looking down. "I didn't explain things to her properly. Maybe it's because of the family, or maybe it's my relationship with Clive."

Xander frowned deeply. "She's not even a biological Nash. You are. Why are you being so kind? It only makes her walk all over you."

Yelena took a deep breath, her hand lightly resting on her stomach. She looked up at Clive. "Clive, I just want my baby to be born safely."

Clive lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on her stomach. "I will make her apologize."

Yelena shook her head. "It's fine. Don't ruin your relationship with your wife over this."

Xander chimed in again. "Yelena, you're carrying the Sherwood heir. There's no need to walk on eggshells."

When the time comes, there won't even be a place for Whitley in the family anyway.

She was utterly useless. After all these years, her stomach had remained perfectly flat.

Xander highly doubted his cousin had even slept with Whitley; otherwise, why hadn't she gotten pregnant by now?

***

Once they were outside, Chisholm didn't care about the drama they'd left behind. He immediately dragged Whitley to the nearest restroom to run her hand under cold water, then rushed her to the hospital to get it bandaged.

After everything was taken care of, his anger finally boiled over.

"He treats you like that, and you just take it? You've put up with this for years!"