The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 289

"I thought we were going back to the hotel?"

Stepping out of the car and staring up at the massive entrance of Sterling Bay Wonderland, Chloe was momentarily stunned.

"We're leaving the country tomorrow," Quentin said. "Come have some fun with me."

Chloe blinked, not fully processing his words. "Huh?"

He extended a hand toward her. "Let's go."

Chloe stared at his outstretched hand. She hesitated for a second before gently placing her fingers over his.

"...Okay."

Quentin froze slightly. His fingers curled instinctively as his other hand smoothly slipped the strap of her purse off her shoulder and took it.

It was only then that Chloe realized he had been reaching out to carry her bag, not hold her hand.

Her cheeks flared with heat. She yanked her hand back and hurried forward.

Amusement danced in Quentin's eyes as he matched her stride.

Right before they got on the roller coaster, he leaned in, his lips hovering near her ear.

"Chloe, you need to let your emotions out. You are completely free now. You don't have to keep burying it all down."

With that, he walked over to take the seat furthest in the back.

The safety harnesses locked. The machinery roared to life.

The steep climb, the brutal drops, the loops, the sheer weightlessness.

Surrounded by the deafening screams of the crowd, the dam inside Chloe finally broke. Tears began to stream down her face, and soon, she was sobbing uncontrollably, wailing out three years of suffocation and grief into the wind.

When the ride finally glided back into the station, Quentin walked over and handed her a bottle of water.

Chloe took it, her eyes red, but she suddenly noticed his complexion. "Why are you so pale?"

"It's nothing."

A memory suddenly clicked in her mind, and her eyes widened. "Wait, aren't you terrified of heights?"

Quentin paused. "...I got over it."

Chloe pointed toward the towering pendulum ride. "Then let's go on that one next!"

Quentin stared at the massive mechanical arm that hurled riders upside down into the sky. He was silent for several long seconds.

"...Okay."

Seeing his deadly serious expression, Chloe couldn't help but burst into genuine laughter. "I'm just messing with you. Let's go home."

She took two steps, then turned back to look at him. "We have to catch our flight tomorrow morning anyway. Didn't you book the earliest one?"

Chloe glanced at the screen, locked her phone, and flipped the ringer switch to silent.

On the highway, a sleek Bentley and a Rolls-Royce sped past each other, heading in completely opposite directions.

Eight-thirty in the morning. At the airport.

Standing in front of the boarding gate, her phone lit up with a call from Preston.

Chloe hit decline.

A rapid-fire barrage of texts flooded in:

[Chloe, if you see this, just come downstairs, please.]

[I'm waiting right outside your building.]

The final message came through after a long pause: [Do you remember what today is?]

Her calendar app automatically pushed a notification to her screen: [Today is your 3rd Wedding Anniversary.]

Every year, Chloe and Preston would use the Eternity Journal app to write each other a letter that could only be opened on the following anniversary.

She had already read Preston's entry early.

It was just one single sentence on the screen: [Chloe, happy third anniversary.]