The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 182

Following Mrs. Shaw's silent nod, the butler stepped forward and opened the gates.

The moment the doors parted, Preston stormed right in.

He was wearing nothing but a thin black dress shirt, the sleeves sharply rolled up to his elbows. His pale knuckles were stained with splatters of blood, and his dark eyes were a bottomless abyss of lingering violence in the fading light.

Meeting his gaze, Chloe instinctively took a step back.

As darkness descended, the rare warmth of the day's sun completely vanished.

A gust of frigid wind billowed in from the open doorway, chilling her to the bone.

Preston gave Mrs. Shaw a curt nod—a token gesture of etiquette—before stepping forward. Without a word of warning, he hoisted Chloe right over his broad shoulder.

Giving her absolutely no room to resist, he spun on his heel and strode out.

Mrs. Shaw moved to intervene, but Preston shot her an icy glare.

"Mrs. Shaw, Chloe is my wife."

It wasn't until they were completely out of the Shaw Manor's gates that Chloe snapped back to reality and began to struggle fiercely.

"Put me down! Let me go!"

"Preston, do you have any idea what respect even means? Have you lost your damn mind?!"

She felt utterly humiliated.

Especially in front of Mrs. Shaw.

Preston let her beat her fists against him, a dark smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"What, are you really that terrified of Mrs. Shaw finding out about our relationship?"

"What relationship?" Chloe screamed furiously. "Grandma's condition is stable now. Tomorrow, we're going to get our divorce finalized!"

She shoved against his chest with all her might, only for her palm to press against something sticky and warm.

Looking down, her hand was covered in bright red blood.

Chloe went rigid.

Preston's cold voice echoed above her, thick with suppressed rage. "We can talk about that after the papers are signed."

He dumped her into the back of the car and slammed the door shut.

"Drive."

Ken caught the heavy metallic scent of blood and asked hesitantly, "Mr. Hayes, should we head to the hospital to get that treated first?"

Preston let out a dark chuckle, his predatory gaze locked entirely on Chloe.

"Chloe, even Ken knows to ask how I am. From the moment I walked in until now, have you cared even once whether I lived or died?"

Chloe refused to look at him and kept her mouth shut.

The doctor paused before saying gently, "Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Hayes was the one who called me here."

Preston raised an eyebrow, staring at him. "Chloe sent you?"

The doctor nodded and handed over his phone. "Mrs. Hayes texted me ten minutes ago."

It was a brief, simple message, but Preston stared at it for a very long time.

Finally, he spoke.

"Come inside. Thank you for making the trip."

As he spoke, the suffocating hostility radiating from him dissipated almost entirely.

...

Chloe stood alone by the side of the road waiting for a cab, the night wind biting at her skin.

Suddenly, a sleek black luxury car glided silently out of the dark and pulled up right in front of her.

Having survived the last few ambushes, she instantly backed away, going on high alert.

A second later, the tinted window slowly rolled down.

When she saw the face in the driver's seat, she froze completely.