I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 123

Paxton looked at her, his expression entirely unreadable.

He just stood there, waiting for her to finish her tirade before he finally spoke.

"Are you done?"

Chloe blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

Paxton let out a laugh.

His laughter grew louder, echoing sharply down the quiet corridor until he was genuinely chuckling.

"What's so funny?" Chloe's voice trembled with rage.

"I'm laughing at how stupid you are," Paxton's smile vanished as he leveled a cold stare at her. "Give it a rest. Don't pull that card with me. I treat your father better than you ever did, so how dare you?"

Chloe's face went completely pale.

"If we're talking about ungrateful parasites, you fit the bill perfectly," Paxton's tone was deliberate and unhurried, yet every word hit like a hammer. "Yolanda treated you exceptionally well, constantly trying to force you into the Fletcher family as a daughter-in-law. And look at her now? She's in an ambulance fighting for her life. And what are you doing? You're standing in the street throwing a tantrum, entirely consumed by your own petty interests."

Chloe opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come out.

"Your little speech just now didn't hurt me at all. So what if I grew up an orphan? I didn't choose how I came into this world, but I act with a clear conscience," Paxton glared at Chloe, his eyes turning glacial. "Your father's grave is a premium plot at the cemetery. I pay thousands of dollars a year in maintenance fees out of my own pocket. I visit him every holiday. I don't flaunt it, but I never forgot him. What about you? Have you ever paid a single dime? How many times have you even visited? You have a lot of nerve lecturing me, you absolute idiot."

Chloe's face morphed into an ugly shade of purple, her entire body shaking.

She had thought she could use "debt and gratitude" to break Paxton, expecting him to feel guilty, soften, and show vulnerability.

But he hadn't.

Paxton stood there, spine perfectly straight, unyielding as a deeply rooted tree in a storm.

Chloe utterly snapped.

She let out a piercing shriek, lunged forward, and swung her heavy handbag directly at Paxton.

The thick strap whipped across his shoulder, the metal buckle slicing a vicious line across his skin.

A sharp, burning sting flared instantly.

Paxton didn't dodge, nor did he strike back. He just stood there, taking the hit.

"How dare you treat me like this! How dare you!"

Chloe swung with reckless abandon, eventually tossing the bag aside to scratch and claw at him with her bare hands.

Two bloody scratches appeared on Paxton's cheek. He merely furrowed his brow.

He wouldn't raise a hand against her.

He figured he would let her vent until she had destroyed whatever shred of goodwill remained between them.

It was a twisted way of paying his final respects to his mentor.

Chloe's jaw dropped, tears streaming down her face as if she were the victim of a grave injustice.

"When did you become like this?" Finn asked, his voice drained. "Nothing but lies and violence. Chloe, what exactly is your endgame?"

Chloe slid down the wall, burying her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why does everyone think I'm the one in the wrong? Aren't I the one who's suffered the most? Why does everyone have to make my life so difficult? What kind of spell did Sienna Sterling put on all of you to make you side with her?"

Finn stood a few feet away, his gaze already shifting away from her pathetic display.

Paxton leaned against a pillar, raising a hand to casually wipe the blood from his cheek without so much as a wince.

He dropped his hand and looked at Finn.

"Your mother is on her way to the hospital. Sienna went with her. With Sienna there, you don't need to worry."

Finn nodded.

"Are you heading to the hospital?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go together."

The two men walked down the steps, side by side.