Chapter 9 Shameless Curtis
Chloe stared in disbelief as Curtis continued, “Also, you should clarify that Sonya’s your friend too. Tell the press you were worried about her safety and asked me to protect her.”
For a moment, she almost thought she’d misheard him. “Have you no shame, Curtis? How could you even bring yourself to suggest that?”
Did he have any idea how much it had hurt when, in the middle of gunfire, he’d pushed her aside, and she’d turned around to see him shielding Sonya?
She’d believed that after three years of marriage, he would at least care for her even if he didn’t love her. But in that moment, she’d realized that when danger struck, he would abandon her without hesitation.
“Sonya worked hard to become a captain. Things like this will affect her reputation, and it’ll cost her future promotions,” Curtis argued.
Chloe almost felt like applauding. He cared so much about Sonya’s future, yet he seemed to have forgotten that it was Sonya who’d left him when he’d been at his lowest.
Chloe was the one who’d stood by him and supported him throughout all the challenges he faced starting his own company.
“I refuse,” Chloe said flatly.
“What?” Curtis looked stunned, caught off guard by her blunt refusal.
“I won’t lie to the public. You and I both know that it wasn’t a misunderstanding, and Sonya was never my friend.”
Curtis‘ face flushed with anger. “Are you trying to ruin her?”
“You forgot you were married and had an affair with her. You’re the one who put her in this position!” Chloe snapped.
“I never had an affair or cheated on you. She and I are just friends!”
“Some friend,” Chloe said with a bitter laugh. “The kind who keeps you out all night. Just one call from her has you running straight to her.”
“That’s because Sonya just transferred back to Corvessia. She’s a captain now, and I’m just keeping her company through events and dinners,” Curtis protested.
“Oh, so keeping her company matters more than being there the day I brought my parents‘ ashes home?” Chloe’s voice sharpened.
“Are you bringing that up now? All it takes is just a few words from you to help Sonya. What’s so hard about that?” he angrily retorted.
Chloe stared at him coldly. How could he toss out “just a few words” so casually and act like it was
Chapter 9 Shameless Curtis
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nothing? Was that really all it was?
“If you care so much about Sonya, why didn’t you file for divorce when she came back?” she asked.
Her words left him stunned. “What?”
“If you’d divorced me and told me you loved her back then, I wouldn’t have stood in your way. Her reputation wouldn’t be at risk now.”
“I’m not getting a divorce,” Curtis spat, clearly annoyed. “I haven’t forgotten the vows I made on our wedding day, Chloe. I told you I’d never let you down.”
Those words, “I’d never let you down“, sounded like a bad joke to her.
“You’re not refusing to divorce out of loyalty to your vows. You just don’t want to look like the man who got rich and dumped the wife who helped him grow his company. You want it both ways–your precious first love and a good reputation.
“If you never meant to let me down, would you have let your friends insult and humiliate me? Would you have broken your promise the day I brought my parents‘ ashes home, just because Sonya’s mom had a minor sprain?
“They’re my parents, Curtis, and I couldn’t even bring them into my house!”
Each accusation made the color drain from Curtis‘ face. He looked as if he’d been struck by something heavy.
After a long silence, he murmured, “I know you’re hurt, so let’s do this. This weekend, we’ll visit the cemetery together, and I’ll apologize to them. I should’ve been there when you brought them home.”
Chloe knew this was his way of making amends. In just over 20 days, they would be officially divorced, and she didn’t need him to visit Jenna and Walter’s graves at all.
But still… they deserved that apology.
“Fine,” she said.
But when the weekend came, Curtis stood her up again.
“Sorry, Chloe. An urgent meeting came up at the company today, so I can’t make the visit to your parents‘ graves. I’ll make it up to you next time,” he said apologetically over the phone.
“Alright. I understand,” Chloe replied quietly before ending the call. There were no fights or outbursts, and she didn’t even feel disappointed anymore.
Curtis had let her down too many times. If he could watch his friends mock and belittle her without saying a word, he certainly wouldn’t care about her deceased parents.
Staring at her phone, she tapped on her photo album. There were barely any pictures of her and Curtis. She only had a handful of them, and some were even group shots with their colleagues.
But Curtis had an entire photo album filled with pictures of him and Sonya on his phone.
Chapter 9 Shameless Curtis
One by one, Chloe deleted the few pictures they had together.
To save money, they hadn’t even bothered with pre–wedding photoshoots when they’d gotten married. In a way, she was glad that it saved her the trouble now.
She began packing her belongings in the villa. She didn’t own much–clothes, a few pieces of jewelry, and a pair of cheap wedding rings.
Those rings had barely seen the light of day because Curtis had insisted their marriage remain a secret.
After staring at them for a moment, Chloe placed them back in the drawer.
Once, she hadn’t cared about their price and only valued Curtis‘ sincerity. But now, she understood that in his eyes, she was likely just as cheap as those rings.
Suddenly, her phone rang with a call from Lena. When she picked up, Lena asked brightly, “Do you have some time today? Come with me to the horse ranch.”
“The horse ranch?” Chloe sounded puzzled.
“Word is Brian’s there today. I want to try getting noticed by him and maybe make a connection, but I’m too nervous to go alone,” Lena explained.
Chloe’s mind immediately conjured the image of Brian’s chiseled face and those dark, soulless eyes. He was a dangerous man indeed.
“You’re not actually interested in him, are you?” she asked.
“God, no! I don’t have a death wish!” Lena burst into a coughing fit. “I just heard the Steeles are looking to invest in drone technology. You know my company’s been developing applications in that field, so I figured I could try my luck.”
Chloe hesitated. In fact, she wasn’t too interested in meeting Brian again. Every instinct told her it was
better to stay away from him.
“Please, just come with me, Chloe,” Lena pleaded, playfully whining.
In the end, Chloe relented. “Fine.”
But when she arrived at the horse ranch, she was taken aback to see Curtis, who was supposed to be at
an urgent meeting, there with Sonya.
Dressed in riding gear, the two were on horseback, riding side by side like a perfect couple.
Chapter 10 Truth Unveiled
Chapter 10 Truth Unveiled
