She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 56

It felt less like he was delivering his boss's wife's divorce ultimatum and more like he was reading his own death sentence.

He couldn't fathom why he was always the one caught in the crossfire. Ever since the two of them started talking divorce, he had been living in a state of constant terror.

If this kept up, he was seriously going to need a cardiologist.

Dead silence filled the car once again.

Outside, the scenery was vibrant and full of life; inside, the atmosphere was suffocating.

"Hmm."

After what felt like an eternity, Caden finally gave a noncommittal grunt, turning his gaze back to the window.

*Hmm!*

Aiken was stunned. This reaction was infinitely calmer than the explosive outburst he had been bracing for.

Did this mean... they were actually going through with it this time?

—

Just as the nurse predicted, Shera's fever spiked again that afternoon. It went up and down several times before finally breaking for good by the next afternoon.

On the drive taking her home, Rhys received an urgent call from Port City. Something required his immediate attention, so the second he dropped her off, he rushed straight to the airport.

Back in her own space, Shera finally let out a long sigh of relief. The sterile smell of the hospital had been making her nauseous, and she had suffered through a string of awful nightmares the night before.

She dreamed something went horribly wrong at the competition. People were screaming that she plagiarized, and her father looked at her in disgust, saying she had brought shame to the family name.

Then she dreamed she was at City Hall with Caden, but no matter what she did, the divorce wouldn't go through. She found herself dragged back to the Hayes estate, surrounded by that suffocating family all over again.

When she woke up, she was drenched in cold sweat.

Suddenly, she remembered the text she had sent yesterday. In her hazy state, she recalled Aiken sending a reply.

She opened the chat thread. Late yesterday afternoon, Aiken had replied with a simple "Hmm," followed by a parenthetical note frantically explaining that the CEO had literally only given him that one syllable.

Dead silence on the other end. Then came Yara's stammering voice. "Look... you were totally wasted, and he just happened to bump into us. You guys are married. Was I supposed to physically fight him to stop him from taking his wife home?"

Panicking that she might have caused a rift between them, Yara quickly added, "Are you guys fighting because I dragged you to a club? Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Do you want me to call him and explain that it was entirely my idea?"

Shera lowered her eyes, realizing Caden must have pressured Yara into lying. "It's fine. It didn't cause any misunderstandings. It's not your fault."

She hung up and immediately pulled up the footage from her smart doorbell, scrolling back to that night. She watched the entire sequence play out.

And then she saw it... as Caden walked out the door, he was holding something in his hand.

*Caden Hayes.*

The high-and-mighty CEO of the Hayes Group, stooping to such a pathetic, underhanded trick just to protect his family's precious ego.

Fury exploded in Shera's chest. She grabbed her keys, ready to storm over to his house, when her phone suddenly started ringing, interrupting her.

It was Zena, and she sounded frantic. "Shera, something huge just happened."