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He Never Chose Me
He Never Chose Me
مؤلف: Adam

Chapter 1

مؤلف: Adam
It was Valentine's Day, and Arthur had reserved the most exclusive restaurant in the city for our dinner.

The table was laden with an elaborate seafood spread and three place settings.

He sat across from me, carefully peeling each shrimp and arranging it in a small bowl.

But I was allergic to seafood.

He slid the bowl toward the empty seat beside him, then wiped his fingers with a damp towel.

I watched him, crumpling the ultrasound printout in my fist. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

He glanced at his phone.

"I..." Before I could finish, he shot to his feet and hurried toward the entrance.

My gaze followed him instinctively.

The instant I saw who was beside him, a dull ache spread through my chest, slow and relentless.

His ex-girlfriend and current business partner, Lora Smith, stood at his side with her hand wrapped around his.

They spoke and laughed softly, and Arthur wore a warmth and tenderness I had never once seen directed at me.

Lora settled into the seat beside him as if she belonged there. Her gaze drifted over me, cool and dismissive, barely concealing her contempt.

She feigned surprise. "Oh, Catherine's here too. Am I interrupting your date?"

Arthur never showed a hint of softness in public, yet he gave her an indulgent smile. "It's just a Valentine's dinner. Come on, look. Everything here is your favorite."

Lora lifted a spoonful of shrimp to her mouth and chewed it slowly, savoring every bite.

Every time she looked up, her gaze landed squarely on me, the challenge in her eyes unmistakable.

I managed a bitter smile. "Right. I almost forgot today was Valentine's Day."

Arthur frowned.

"Lora and I have a Family celebration to attend later. Things have been tense lately, so I thought we could all go together after dinner."

"Catherine, aren't you coming?"

Lora wore a sly smile, and every word found my sorest spot.

Arthur never appeared with me in public. That was why her words cut so deep.

Before I could respond, Arthur dismissed the idea outright.

"She's never liked crowds, and she doesn't know anything about Family business anyway."

Lora shrugged, picked up a napkin, and casually wiped a smear of sauce from the corner of Arthur's mouth.

The intimacy between them stung so badly my eyes ached.

She glanced at me, then leaned close to Arthur's ear. "I stopped by your office this afternoon and got the safe combination wrong again. More than once."

My knuckles went white, nails biting into my palms.

Arthur had never allowed me to set foot in his office.

The safe that held the Family's most sensitive secrets was something I had never even laid eyes on.

"Your memory is terrible. Just change it to your birthday."

My heart felt like it was being scraped with sandpaper, raw and stinging.

"Then it's settled!" Lora giggled. "Oh, and I'm not sold on this dress, either. It is a Family gathering, after all. Blue would be more appropriate."

"Blue?" Arthur paused, then looked at me, showing a rare flicker of guilt.

Inside the gift box was a custom blue gown scattered with tiny diamonds.

He had commissioned the finest designer and spent two full weeks choosing it. It was supposed to be my Valentine's gift.

"Catherine, you and Lora are the same size, so maybe the dress could go to..."

I couldn't take it anymore. A bitter laugh tore out of me. "Arthur, I want a divorce!"
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  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 10

    Three years later, I was living on the shores of Lake Lucerne, Switzerland.The first snow fell in silence. A thin skin of ice glazed the lake, and the distant mountains were gently folded in mist.I sat bundled in a thick cashmere shawl by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the water, a book of poetry open across my lap.On my left ring finger, a simple platinum band caught the light with a soft glow.Reid had placed it there the day the doctors declared me fully recovered.Steady footsteps came from behind me. A pair of warm hands settled gently on my shoulders."What are you reading?" He leaned down, his chin resting lightly on the top of my head."Nothing." I smiled softly.Outside, a white swan glided across the still lake, leaving a narrow wake behind it.I remembered the smoke-filled gallery, Arthur's back as he walked away without hesitation, and the earth-shattering pain that followed.When I thought of it now, all that remained was a quiet emptiness.It felt like watchi

  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 9

    Lora had come completely undone. She smashed everything within reach."Ma'am, our people have found Catherine's location. It's the estate outside the city."Her informant reported my whereabouts in a low voice."Good. Since Arthur can't make up his mind, I'll finish her off myself."She thought her plan was seamless. She didn't know that the moment she set foot on the grounds, she had walked straight into the trap Reid had laid.The estate was silent. Only the wind stirred the leaves.Lora crept along the outer wall until she reached the bedroom window. Through a gap in the curtain, she saw me sitting at the vanity with my back to her.Now!Venom blazed in Lora's eyes as she raised the gun and aimed through the window.BANG!The shot rang out, but it wasn't me who fell.Lora looked down in shock at the bloom of red spreading across her chest.She spun around in disbelief and saw, in the shadows, one of Reid's men lowering a silenced pistol, his expression utterly impassive."You..." Lo

  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 8

    I was recovering at a private estate outside the city.A dull ache still throbbed in my lower belly. The life I had lost was a constant reminder to sever every last tie to the past.Reid came in carrying a bowl of oatmeal cooked until creamy.He sat down, scooped a spoonful, blew on it until it cooled, and lifted it to my lips."Arthur won't find this place for now." Reid's voice was calm. "But he won't give up easily. Catherine, you need time to recover, and you need to make a decision."He paused. "Del Smith, Lora's uncle, hired the Crowe Syndicate to kill your father. But Lora was the one who buried the evidence and erased the trail. Arthur trusted her blindly and never looked deeper. So no, he didn't knowingly hide the truth from you."I lowered my lashes, hiding the storm behind my eyes."What do you want to do? And do you think you could ever forgive him?"Reid watched me, a thread of tension in the question. "Of course, whatever you choose, I'll be right behind you."Of course I

  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 7

    Reid Thorne.The name hit him like a gunshot.Of course he remembered Reid, the boy who had once followed Catherine around like a shadow."Impossible..." Arthur's throat closed, and his voice came out as a hoarse rasp he barely recognized. "She's carrying my child... She wouldn't leave...""The child?" Lora laughed as though she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. Tears still streaked her face, but her mouth split into a grotesque grin. "You think she still has that child? She bled so much... While you were holding me, she was right behind you, bleeding out! Arthur, your child is long gone!"Each word drove deeper into Arthur's heart.The footage flashed behind his eyes again: that dark red stain spreading from beneath Catherine's dress.He had erased the last thread connecting them with his own hands."Shut up!" Arthur lunged and closed a hand around Lora's throat, eyes bloodshot, veins standing out along his arm. "It was you! You did this to her! You lured her there and planted t

  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 6

    Arthur clutched his phone. He hadn't heard a word from me in five full days.An uneasy feeling nagged at him.He had spent every one of those days at Lora's side, tending to her without pause.Every time he thought about reaching out to me, Lora would cry out in pain and pull his attention away.Even he knew that abandoning his pregnant wife for five days without a word had gone too far.He tried calling. My phone was off."Eric, has there been any word from Catherine?" Arthur forced down the unease clawing at him and asked in a low voice.Eric's expression shifted. He glanced uneasily at Lora."Tell me!" Arthur caught the look on Eric's face, and the dread inside him deepened."Sir, Mrs. Warren..." Eric began, but Lora cut him off in a gentle voice."Arthur, I'm thirsty!" Lora's cheeks were rosy, her eyes coy and inviting.For the first time, Arthur ignored her. He fixed Eric with a hard stare and snapped, "Tell me!""Mrs. Warren, she's missing!" Eric dropped his gaze as he forced out

  • He Never Chose Me   Chapter 5

    The next moment, one arm slid beneath my knees and another around my back, lifting me off the floor.A voice I knew down to my bones trembled against my ear. "Catherine, look at me."I forced my eyes open. Through the blur, I found a pair of eyes filled with naked anguish.He wore a long black coat. Behind him, dozens of heavily armed guards formed a wall against the debris raining down around us.Reid Thorne.He was my childhood friend, and my father had once wanted us to marry.That ended when I fell for Arthur at first sight and cut Reid out of my life entirely.He had gone overseas and built his own empire. We had barely seen each other in all these years. The rumors that trickled back said he had all but monopolized the arms trade, his influence stretching across continents.I had imagined countless versions of our reunion. Not one of them looked like this.His eyes blazed with a fury I had never seen in him before, raw and savage. "When you insisted on marrying Arthur, I thought

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