The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 288

"I'm sorry, I never thought it would end like this. I just wanted—"

"Preston, can you answer one question for me?" Chloe suddenly asked.

She stopped walking, but she didn't turn around.

Preston froze, staring at her back. She looked so thin and fragile, like a piece of paper that could be swept away by the wind at any second.

"One last question," Chloe said. "Please, don't lie to me anymore."

"Chloe, I won't lie to you," Preston replied, his voice dark and tight.

Chloe let out a self-deprecating scoff.

"Did Linda force you to marry me back then?"

Preston's face instantly drained of color. "Chloe..."

"I want the truth." Her voice was as dead and still as a stagnant pool of water.

Preston's Adam's apple bobbed hard. "That's all in the past. There's no point bringing it up now. I have never regretted marrying you. It really doesn't matter to me..."

"But it matters to me," Chloe cut him off.

She finally turned around, looking him dead in the eye.

"Okay. I understand now."

She took a deep breath, speaking slowly and deliberately. Every word was painfully clear.

"Preston. I am sorry."

"Even though I suppose it wasn't exactly my fault, I still apologize to you."

"It must have been so exhausting for you all these years."

Preston opened his mouth, but his throat seized. He couldn't utter a single syllable.

He had never heard Chloe speak to him with this kind of tone. It wasn't accusatory. It wasn't resentful. It wasn't even heartbroken.

It was just... calm.

Like she was saying goodbye to a stranger.

Finally, Chloe added, "Could you please give my Secret Diary back to me?"

Staring at her terrifyingly serene face, an inexplicable, suffocating panic surged in Preston's chest. "I didn't keep it from you maliciously. I just didn't want you to carry that emotional burden. I..."

And the calmness he was so fixated on wasn't shock. It was far more likely that she simply, completely, did not care about him anymore.

"It's fine. I'll make it up to her."

Preston suddenly straightened his spine, violently shoving the panic down into the darkest corner of his mind.

"That was a dog she raised with Quentin Shaw anyway. Tomorrow, I will personally buy her a new one."

He turned on his heel and strode purposefully toward his car.

"Also, contact the lawyers regarding Leon Rivers. Hit him with every possible charge. I want the absolute maximum sentence."

In the span of a single breath, the devastation and helplessness in his eyes completely vanished, replaced once again by his signature cold, calculating ruthlessness.

"Cancel all my meetings for today. We're going to the hospital to get my hands stitched up so Chloe doesn't worry when she sees them."

"Then we're going to the best breeder in the city to pick out the most expensive dog they have."

"And make sure to book that beachfront restaurant for lunch tomorrow. I'm going over there tonight to oversee the decorations myself..."

Ken nodded dutifully, taking notes. "Understood."