Marriage Lies and a Dangerous Obsession novel Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Chloe shot Ian a hostile glare.

Her face was pale, and her voice was weak as she said, “lan, you’re despicable!”

lan’s expression remained calm. “Your mom’s in the hospital. I’ll take you there.”

Hearing that her mom was sick, Chloe’s already pale face turned even paler.

She shoved Ian aside and ran to the curb to hail a cab.

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Ian stayed where he was, watching as Chloe hurriedly flagged down a taxi and took off. He didn’t try to stop her or go after her.

When Chloe arrived at the hospital room, the relatives who had come to visit had just left.

“Mom,” Chloe called out.

She crouched down by the bedside, feeling both hurt and anxious.

Jill sat up in bed, grabbing hold of Chloe’s icy little hand–and before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her heart ached for her daughter.

Jill kept saying over and over, “As long as you’re okay, nothing else matters. As long as you’re safe.”

Chloe tried to reassure her parents. “Dad, Mom, you don’t have to worry. I’m innocent, and I’ll get a good lawyer–I’m taking this fight to the very end.”

Frank and Jill shared a helpless look.

Jill spoke with concern. “Chloe, we know this is so unfair for you. Your dad and I wish we could help, but you don’t need to worry about us. Just think everything through before you decide, okay? Promise us you won’t do anything reckless.”

Chloe’s eyes blazed with desperate resolve. “Dad, Mom, trust me. I know what I have to do.”

Even if divorcing lan meant risking jail, she was willing to go that far.

As parents, Frank and Jill understood Chloe’s determination.

But thinking about their own daughter going to jail? It broke their hearts–they just couldn’t stand it.

Deep down, they were in agony, completely powerless to do anything about it.

*****

That afternoon, Chloe’s old neighbor, Ms. Judd, asked her to meet at a café,

When Ms. Judd saw Chloe, she kept sighing. “Honestly, I always thought you and lan were the perfect match

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Chapter 78

-you two just looked so right together. I never imagined things would fall apart like this.”

Chloe sat quietly, looking absolutely exhausted, like all the life had been drained out of her.

She said, “Ms. Judd, no point feeling sorry for me. No sense crying over a guy who cheats.”

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Ms. Judd reminded her, “You’ve got proof lan cheated, but Chloe, have you really thought this through? The Irvine family and the Hamilton family are worlds apart now. In all of Kingsford, no one can really stand against Ian.”

Chloe nodded, her face blank. “Ms. Judd, I know.”

Ms. Judd hesitated for a moment.

She said, “Chloe, your parents are getting older, your mom’s health isn’t great, and your brother’s got his SATS next year. If you want to go to war with Ian–if you’re set on fighting him to the bitter end–can you really live with whatever comes after?”

Chloe rested her elbows on the table, burying her fingers in her hair.

Chloe knew exactly what was at stake if she chose to go up against Ian.

But she had no other choice.

Ms. Judd said, “Chloe, you’ve got your parents, your little brother, your friends, your future, and your whole career ahead of you. Is it really worth wasting the best years of your life behind bars over some guy?”

After parting ways with Ms. Judd, Chloe wandered the streets alone for a long time, lost in thought.

‘Everything Ms. Judd said was right,‘ Chloe thought, ‘but I just can’t go along with it. I can’t pretend to be okay or give in, no matter how sensible it sounds.’

‘All this pain that’s invisible to everyone else–the wounds that no one sees, the torment that never lets up, day or night–it hurts more than dying,‘ she admitted to herself.

As long as she could escape Ian and break free from this cage of a marriage, Chloe was willing to give up ten years of her freedom without hesitation.

Desperate to get this whole mess over with, Chloe reached out to Neil Reed herself.

But Neil didn’t just turn down her case–he flat–out refused to even meet with her.

Before hanging up, Neil tried to talk her out of it, dropping hints that she should just let it go.

Chloe didn’t make a fuss.

After her call with Neil, Chloe hustled between law firms, hitting up four or five back–to–back.

But not a single place dared to take on her divorce, let alone any of the other charges hanging over her.

Any hope she had left was draining away, swallowed up by despair.

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Chapter 78

This was Kingsford.

This was lan’s turf

She should have known it would end up like this.

The night air in Kingsford was freezing.

:

Chloe stood by the curb, pulling her coat tighter around herself.

Mia called out, “Chloe!”

From not too far away, Mia rolled down her window and called Chloe over.

Chloe stopped in her tracks.

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While chatting, Chloe found out that Miranda was so angry and anxious over Chloe’s arrest, she ended up getting sick.

Patrick actually got into a huge fight with Ian because of her, and the two of them still aren’t talking.

Even Mia almost got shipped off overseas by Ian.

Anyone who tried to help her ended up totally shut down by Ian–he left them with no way to fight back.

Just as Chloe and Mia were talking, Chloe’s phone rang.

It was her dad, Frank, his voice shaking with anxiety. “Chloe, hurry! You have to come home–your mom just got rushed into the ER.”

Mia drove Chloe to the hospital, but Jill still hadn’t come out of the ICU.

The doctor told them not to crowd the hallway, but to wait in the hospital room.

As the three waited anxiously, a middle–aged woman ushered in a little girl and knocked on the door before entering.

Without saying a word, the woman immediately knelt before them.

The three in the room were all caught off guard by her sudden action.

Frank rushed over to help her up. “Clara, what are you doing? Come on, get up, please.”

Chloe recognized the middle–aged woman as Leo Irvine’s wife, Clara.

With tears streaming down her face, Clara pleaded, “Uncle Frank, please, you have to help us get Leo out too!”

Chloe snapped, “Clara, I’ve never wronged Leo. Why would he try to frame me?”

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