The Wife He Dumped, The Queen She Returned As novel Chapter 87

Chloe stared at the familiar fruit, a wave of nostalgia crashing over her. When she was little, she didn't know what her father did for a living. She just knew he would disappear for months at a time. She spent her days counting down the hours in a mix of resentment and desperate hope. Every time he came back, he brought her these wild berries. They were vibrant and looked delicious, but they were incredibly sour. Her dad would patiently boil them down into sweet jam, promising that when the jar was empty, he'd be home again. But he lied. And she finally had to admit that those sour berries were never actually good.

Seeing her zone out, Preston chuckled and reached out to pull her close. "Stop being mad at me, okay?"

Realizing he had caused this situation, Mr. Lynch quickly intervened. "Chloe, don't blame Preston. It's my fault. I thought you two were just fighting, so I mentioned the berries..."

Chloe couldn't bear to see the old man blame himself. She silently took the berry, forcing a stiff smile. "It's fine. I'm not mad."

Preston leaned in. "Really?"

Chloe offered a plastic smile. "Really."

Preston pushed his luck. "Then kiss me."

Chloe went rigid. Her fist instantly clenched. She understood him less and less by the minute. Ignoring her barely concealed fury, Preston leaned even closer. "You're lying. You're definitely still mad."

Seeing them flirt, Mr. Lynch chuckled and quickly ducked back into the house to give them privacy. The moment the door clicked shut, Chloe lost it. She slapped him across the face.

"Do you feel better now?"

Preston brushed a thumb over his stinging cheek and smiled. "If you've vented your anger, you aren't allowed to be mad anymore."

Seemingly in high spirits, he strolled into the kitchen to help. Chloe stared at his back, her chest aching and her mind spinning. She hated her own traitorous heartbeat. She knew better than anyone that this was all a facade. All his kindness, all this sudden tenderness, it was just another trap to force her to compromise for Jenna's sake.

She was about to close the app when a trending video slammed into her feed. A terrifyingly familiar face filled the screen. At that exact moment, Quentin's name flashed across her caller ID. Suddenly, it felt like a giant hand had crushed her heart. She couldn't breathe. Trembling, she clicked on the video.

"Are you kidding me? I was his wife! I didn't even know he was a martyr..."

"Of course it's a fake! Forgery is so easy these days, anyone could print a fake certificate!"

"Exactly! I guarantee you, he was nothing but a deadbeat thug who abandoned his family and got beaten to death in an alley. The fact that someone like him is being called a martyr is the biggest joke of the century..."

Linda Rivers's shrill, venomous voice drilled into Chloe's ears. A deafening ring erupted in her left ear, tearing through her skull. Chloe swayed violently, the world tilting off its axis as the phone slipped from her fingers and crashed to the ground. In the next second, a strong arm wrapped firmly around her waist, catching her before she hit the floor.