The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 6

Preston hung up a moment later and turned back toward the bed.

Chloe stared him down. "Who was that?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes before he answered smoothly. "Just a friend."

He paused, then added, "She just moved back to the States. I'll introduce you two when the time is right. Get some more sleep. I have to go handle a work issue."

He was already turning toward the door as he spoke.

Passing the en-suite bathroom, something caught his eye. He stopped and frowned.

"Why did you throw your clothes in the trash? You didn't like them?"

Just as he reached down to inspect the ruined fabric, his phone blasted that obnoxious ringtone again.

He answered immediately. "Don't panic. I'm almost there. They can't do anything to you..."

Talking the whole way, he reached the bedroom door. He paused for a fraction of a second, casting a brief glance back at Chloe sitting quietly on the bed. A faint ripple of unease washed through his eyes.

Last night, his assistant Ken had mentioned thinking he saw Chloe in an ambulance. His heart had nearly stopped.

Thank God Ken was wrong.

She was right here, perfectly fine.

...

Chloe's phone buzzed aggressively. Her mother and cousin were practically carpet-bombing her with calls.

They were relentless, clearly refusing to stop until she picked up.

Taking a deep breath, she finally answered.

Before she could even say a word, Linda's dramatic wailing blasted through the speaker. Her cousin Leon's panicked voice immediately followed.

"Auntie! Auntie, what's wrong with you?!"

He quickly rattled off an address and abruptly hung up.

"We literally had a pact that if we were still single, we'd just marry each other. I mean, we're basically soulmates... Ugh, I wouldn't mind if he married some gorgeous supermodel, but why on earth would a guy like Preston marry a disabled chick?"

A couple of male voices chimed in. Chloe immediately recognized them as Mason and Wyatt Davis, Preston's college buddies who had helped him launch his startup.

"Jenna, if you hadn't left for Europe, this wouldn't have happened. You're the only one who can keep him in line. If you were here, he never would've settled for damaged goods!"

"Exactly! When you left without a word, Preston got completely wasted and ended up in that car crash. Honestly, the more I think about it, the more sketchy that whole accident seems..."

Jenna practically jumped on the bait. "Sketchy? What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Who benefited the most from that crash?"

"Wasn't she supposed to be some hotshot interpreter? Word is, once her ear was ruined, her career was over. Ha! How much was she making anyway? Trading one ear for the title of Mrs. Hayes and a lifetime of luxury? She hit the absolute jackpot!"

Jenna gasped loudly, her voice practically vibrating with outrage. "What?! Are you saying he was blackmailed into marrying her? That she guilt-tripped him because of the crash?"

Chloe's hands curled into tight fists. Her blood boiled, rushing straight to her head until her temples pounded.

She stepped forward and viciously kicked the heavy door wide open.