A Divorce He Regrets

Chapter 8:

I wanted to flee, to escape the weight of his gaze that felt like chains binding me to my past. I took a step back, but he remained still, an immovable force. My heart stopped, a mixture of anger and dread twisting inside me.

“So,” he said, his voice laced with disdain, “is this your new game? Parading yourself in front of everyone, pretending to be something you’re not?”

Raina

I couldn’t believe the nerve and audacity he had to corner me like this. The moment I saw Alexander’s cold, piercing gaze, I knew nothing good could come from whatever words he had ready for me. I tried to slip away unnoticed, to avoid this exact situation, but his grip on my arm was unyielding, almost painful.

“You’re still here? Still… doing this?” he sneered. His gaze flicked over me like I was something cheap, something worthless. “Whoring your way up to the top, sleeping with the right men. Is that the kind of example you want to set for Ava?”

The shock of the brutal, effortless way he lashed out—For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The idea that this was the man who was once everything to me, who had once whispered words of love in my ear, felt like a cruel joke.

“Let me go,” I whispered, barely able to contain the sharp anger simmering underneath. “I don’t have time for whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish here, Alexander.”

But his expression didn’t change, and the coldness in his eyes deepened. He leaned in, his breath warm against my skin, the proximity making my skin crawl.

“Maybe you’ve been watching me,” he continued, his voice dripping with disdain. “Waiting for the right moment to ruin things for me with the Grahams.”

His accusation stung. And yet, a dark sense of satisfaction bubbled under my anger—he wasn’t completely wrong. I had watched him over the years, watched and waited for the moment when I’d finally get my say, my piece of retribution. But this, his wild assumptions, the smug righteousness on his face… he couldn’t be more wrong.

“Get over yourself,” I spat back, twisting my arm free, though the spot where he’d held me throbbed. “You’re not even close to being worth that much of my time.”

I turned, my heart racing, hoping to escape his hateful stare, but then I heard her.noveldrama

“Oh!” Eliza’s voice, sharp and loud, sliced through the moment. I turned to see her flanked by Vanessa and his mother, all three of them staring daggers. It was as though they’d been waiting just outside, biding their time. She glared at me, jealousy and disgust written across her face.

𝕷𝖆𝖙𝖊𝓼𝓉 с𝗁αρ𝗍𝓮𝗋𝓈 g⍺𝗅𝗇𝖔ⲃ𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗈𝗆

“Eliza, not now,” Alexander muttered, though his grip still lingered on my arm, barely loosened, like he was reluctant to let go even with his precious wife glaring in our direction.

This family is really ugly in its own way. Eliza, the wife of a wealthy man, behaves like a country girl. Here she was, blinded by possessiveness.

“Maybe you should learn who you’re talking to before you start with the accusations,” I retorted, feeling my heart rate steady, my composure returning as I slipped my arm free from Alexander’s grip at last.

Alexander finally looked away, annoyed, as though the entire exchange were beneath him.

His mother, always cold and unflinching, only offered me a sharp, appraising look.

“Raina!”

Dominic’s voice was calm, familiar. I turned to see him standing just a few feet away, watching the unfolding scene with a cool, guarded expression. Relief flooded me, and I walked over to him, away from the chaos and the hurtful eyes fixed on me.

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