You Cheated I Moved On novel Chapter 1

“I’m sorry, Ms. Shaw, but this marriage license is invalid. We cannot process your spousal joint property registration without legitimate proof of marriage to Julian Summers.”

The clerk at the property registration office pushed the document back to Chloe, her tone rigidly formal, with a faint sneer on her face.

She flicked the license with her finger, the sound sharp in the quiet office.

Chloe Shaw froze, her voice catching in her throat. “That’s impossible!”

She and Julian had been married for exactly five years. Over those years, Julian had doted on her endlessly—so much so that on her 25th birthday, she’d decided to add her name to his property deed as a token of their commitment.

This license had been the cornerstone of their five-year marriage, or so she’d thought.

The clerk fell silent, her gaze cold and dismissive.

Chloe could read the judgment in her eyes—she was just another starstruck woman trying to leech off the wealthy Summers family, faking a marriage to claim a share of their fortune.

But property office clerks dealt with legal documents daily; they had no reason to lie.

A cold dread crept up Chloe’s spine belatedly. There had to be a misunderstanding—she needed to find Julian and get to the bottom of it.

Before she could pull out her phone to confront Julian, her editor-in-chief at Velocity Magazine, Jasper Clarke, called, his voice urgent.

“There’s a car accident on Sherwood Avenue. Get over there at once to cover it.”

“Mr. Clarke, I’m in the middle of an emergency…” Chloe hesitated, her mind still reeling from the fake marriage bombshell.

“It’s Julian’s car!” Jasper cut her off sharply, leaving no room for argument.

The words knocked the breath out of Chloe.

Julian had told her he was heading to New York on business yesterday—how could he be in a crash here?

A cold sense of desolation washed over her. Maybe this accident would finally tear away the lies and reveal the truth.

Chloe pressed for the exact location, hailed a taxi without delay, and raced to the scene.

By the time she arrived, fellow journalists and her assistant, Ashley Moore, were already waiting, cameras in hand.

Her gaze locked instantly on the familiar Rolls-Royce Phantom, its license plate impossible to mistake for anyone else’s.

It was Julian’s car, now crumpled and mangled.

Panic clenched Chloe’s chest. She squeezed through the onlookers, craning to see past the emergency vehicles.

Firefighters had already extracted the injured from the wreckage.

Julian came into view first. He was badly hurt—his handsome face streaked with blood, his white shirt soaked through, and he still wore the black suit she’d picked out for him days earlier.

Instinctively, she stepped forward, her voice catching in her throat as she prepared to call his name.

Then another stretcher emerged, carrying Jane Crawford—the woman Julian had always harbored feelings for.

Compared to Julian’s severe injuries, Jane only had a faint scrape on her forehead.

She clung to the paramedic’s uniform, struggling to break free. “Doctor, how is Julian? Is he going to be okay?” Her voice trembled with urgency.

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

“Isn’t that Jane Crawford, the war correspondent just back from the front lines? She’s always been so bold.”

“I saw them when they pulled them out. Her head was right near his lap… take a guess what they were up to?” Someone snickered, leaning in to share gossip.

“Scandalous! But I thought Julian was married?”

Chloe stood rooted to the spot, the world spinning around her.

Married? Yes, they were supposed to be. So why was her five-year marriage a complete fraud? Why was her husband—who’d claimed to be on a business trip—caught in a compromising position with another woman in his car?

Julian and Jane were quickly loaded into an ambulance.

Chloe stood in the drizzling rain, umbrella in hand, watching the vehicle vanish into the mist, her vision blurred by more than just the rain.

“Chloe… should we still livestream this?” Ashley asked worriedly, noticing her pale complexion and vacant stare.

“Yes,” Chloe replied, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

She told Ashley to switch on the camera and start broadcasting.

“Have you lost your senses? I told you to cover the accident, not spill details about how Julian and Jane were found! Look online—everyone’s calling Julian a cheater and Jane a homewrecker. Admit it—this is your personal revenge!” Jasper shouted, slamming a fist on his desk.

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