She Was Never Just the Wife novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

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Beckham stood in the doorway, a few files still in his hand. His eyes met Celia’s just as she was about to turn and leave, and he visibly froze. Behind him, Chad and a few senior executives stopped in their tracks

as well.

“What are you doing here?” Beckham’s brow furrowed. His tone carried undisguised irritation at being interrupted.

Time seemed to stretch in that moment.

Celia turned at the sound of his voice and opened her mouth to explain, when a sharp, piercing wail suddenly split the air.

Everyone flinched.

Ricardo, who had been in Laylah’s arms just moments ago, had somehow wriggled free and was now wobbling toward the door, calling out, “Da… Daddy…”

Maybe it was the stranger in the room making him nervous. Maybe he was just excited to see his father.

Either way, Ricardo ran too fast. His foot caught on the edge of the thick carpet, and just as Celia turned around, his small body lost its balance and pitched sideways, straight toward the sharp corner of the marble coffee table.

“Ricardo!” Laylah’s scream tore through the room.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

From Beckham’s angle, all he saw was Celia standing with her back to him, right in the path of the falling child. And in the moment Ricardo fell, she seemed to turn, to reach out, to touch him.

But Ricardo was too quick. With a dull, sickening thud, his forehead slammed into the sharp edge of the

table.

Blood welled up almost instantly. It streamed down his pale temple, across his brow, over his lashes, and dripped onto the light carpet, blooming into a vivid red stain.

“It hurts… Mommy… it hurts…” Ricardo’s body convulsed with pain, his cries so piercing they made everyone’s heart clench.

Beckham’s mind went blank for a second. The next second, he lunged forward on pure instinct,

At the same time, Celia dropped into a crouch. She was closer to the child, and instinct as a doctor kicked in, making her reach for him right away to check the wound and press down to stop the bleeding.

Her hand had barely reached for Ricardo’s bloody forehead when Beckham shoved it away. “Get off!” The force of it sent Celia stumbling. Her elbow cracked against the edge of the table, a dull spike of pain shooting through her arm.

Beckham dropped to one knee. He scooped up Ricardo with careful urgency, pressing his palm hard against the bleeding wound. Blood seeped through his fingers immediately, staining the cuff of his custom suit, staining his shaking hands.

12:57 Sat, May 9 MMO

Chapter 21

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Laylah seemed to finally catch up. She dropped to her knees beside Beckham, her face crumpling at the sight of Ricardo’s bloodied face. Tears spilled from her eyes. “Ricardo, don’t be scared. Mommy’s here. Oh my God, so much blood… Ricardo…”

She looked up at Celia, her eyes glistening with tears, her voice shattered and trembling. “Ms. Ross, even if you don’t like Ricardo… you… you can’t push him. He’s just a baby.”

The words landed like a bomb in the silent office, drawing sharp intakes of breath from the executives standing in the doorway. Even Chad’s expression shifted.

Beckham’s head snapped up. His eyes were like blades sharpened on ice, cutting straight into Celia.

“Celia.” His voice shook with barely contained fury, each word ground out between his teeth. “You hurt a two-year-old child? What kind of monster are you?”

The office was dead silent. Only Ricardo’s broken, pain-warped cries and Laylah’s muffled sobs filled the

space.

Outside, the sun still shone brightly, but the light couldn’t reach the frozen air inside.

Celia stood where she was, her left hand lightly pressing against her bruised elbow. She looked at Beckham, at his eyes burning with rage, disgust, and undisguised hatred.

Then she smiled, the faintest curve of her lips, like breath fogging a window on a winter day, gone in an instant. But it never reached her eyes, which remained cold as a frozen lake.

“Beckham,” she said, each word slow and deliberate, her voice eerily calm, “do you really believe I would push a two-year-old and watch him crack his head open?”

“I believe what I saw.” Beckham’s voice was low and rough. The child crying in his arms was tearing him apart. “You wanted to leave. So leave. Why did you touch him?”

“I didn’t push him.” Celia’s voice stayed steady, but if one listened closely, there was the faintest tremor in it. “He tripped. I never touched him. I tried to catch him. I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Wasn’t fast enough?” Beckham laughed, a cold sound full of mockery and disbelief. “You were right there. How could you not be fast enough? Celia, if you’re going to lie, at least make it believable.”

Laylah clung to Beckham’s arm, tears glistening on her lashes. “Beckham, stop. Let’s get Ricardo to the hospital first. This is all my fault.

“I shouldn’t have brought him here. Ms. Ross, I know you don’t like me or Ricardo. But a child is innocent.”

With every word she said, Beckham’s face grew darker.

“Chad.” Beckham stood up with Ricardo in his arms. Blood had already soaked a large patch of his shirt. “Get the car. We’re going to the hospital now.”

“Yes, sir.” Chad’s face was grim. He pulled out his phone and ran for the elevator.

Beckham strode out with the screaming child. When he passed Celia, he didn’t even look at her. He left only one cold sentence behind. “Celia, if anything happens to Ricardo, I will make you pay.”

Laylah stumbled after him. As she passed Celia, she tilted her head slightly. On her tear-streaked face,

Sat, May 9

Chapter 21

behind those wet eyes, something flashed for just a moment, something she couldn’t quite hide, something like triumph.

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Her voice was barely a breath, meant only for Celia to hear, soft and still thick with fake tears, but the smugness underneath hissed like a snake’s tongue. “You’ll never win against me.”

Celia stood there, watching them disappear into the elevator.

Ricardo’s cries faded into the distance. The bloodstain on the carpet glowed red in the afternoon light. The air still smelled of sweet cookies and the faint, metallic tang of blood.

At the entrance of the executive office, a few secretaries peeked out, their expressions complicated with sympathy, curiosity, and undisguised contempt.

Celia turned slowly, then walked out of the office and stepped into the elevator.

The mirrored walls reflected her face, pale and calm, but a closer look would reveal her fingertips trembling slightly and a faint white line where her teeth had pressed into her lower lip.

The elevator went down. When the elevator reached the lobby, the receptionists looked up and saw Celia coming out alone, their expressions growing even more complicated.

One of them looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just lowered her head and pretended to be busy.

Celia walked through the silent lobby and pushed open the heavy revolving door. The midday autumn sun poured down without mercy, making her squint.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see a call from Haley.

“Cece? How did it go? Did you get it done?” Haley asked.

Celia stood on the busy street corner, watching the bustling yet indifferent city before her as Ricardo’s screams and Beckham’s voice asking, “What kind of monster are you?” still echoed in her ears.

She was quiet for so long that Haley’s worried voice came through the line again and again. “Cece? Cece, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“Hails,” Celia finally said. Her voice was light as a sigh. “Find me the best divorce lawyer. I’m filing a petition. As soon as possible.”

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