When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 62

“Answer me.”

Brody didn’t even flinch at Nelly’s challenge. All he cared about was getting the truth.

“Fine. You want answers? Sign the divorce papers first, then I’ll tell you everything.”

“I don’t tolerate betrayal. It’s right there in our prenup. If you’re leaving me for another man, I promise you, your life won’t be easy from here on out.”

He grabbed her chin, his breath coming fast and heavy.

“So, you can betray me, but I can’t do the same to you?”

“That’s right.”

Brody didn’t bother arguing this time. He just let out a cold laugh and shoved her hard against the wall. “You’re the one who signed that agreement. You were the one insisting on having our child.”

Nelly glared at him, but she knew she was no match for his strength, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath. Fear prickled at her skin.

“You’re right. It was all me. I did everything because I loved you so much.” Her voice cracked as she tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge. “But I never betrayed you. Never.”

“Never?” Brody’s anger faded just a little, but he still wouldn’t let go.

He stared at her lips, suddenly parched. For the first time, he felt a wild, desperate hunger he couldn’t control.

He crashed his mouth down on hers, pinning her to the wall. His kiss was rough, desperate, nothing like the gentle moments she once dreamed about. It was just like that night five years ago, when everything spiraled out of control.

Nelly’s mind shut down. Disgust and shame burned through her veins. She bit his tongue, tasted blood, and fought with everything she had to break free.

Her robe was already gone, and the towel she’d managed to hold onto slipped to the floor. She scrambled to cover herself, shaking from head to toe, feeling small and powerless.

Brody pulled back, wincing at the pain. He tasted blood in his mouth and wiped his lips, surprised to see red on his hand. He couldn’t make sense of what he’d just done. He didn’t even recognize himself.

When he turned back, he saw tears streaming silently down Nelly’s face.

“Brody, you saved my life once. Even if you don’t care about me, can’t you at least think about everything I’ve done for you? Let’s end this peacefully.”

Nelly couldn’t hold it together anymore. Her heartbreak was plain as day, raw and vulnerable.

Brody had never seen her cry like this.

She was always so strong in his mind. Even after their son passed away, she pulled herself together faster than anyone expected. She went back to work, took care of their daughter, never asked for anything.

No matter how cold he was, how many times he shut her out, she never tried to win his attention with tears.

Brody always thought she was unbreakable. He never realized that underneath her tough shell, her heart was so fragile it could shatter at a single touch.

A heavy sense of loneliness settled over him.

The girl who once donated blood for over a hundred days just to help him land a business deal had never shed a tear. Now, just for a divorce, she was crying like the world had ended.