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CHAPTER 24 — CATASTROPHE

ผู้เขียน: Angelina Marbell
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-12-02 01:56:10

Clair’s POV

I wanted to shrink into myself, to disappear, to erase the moment entirely. I could feel emotion welling up, but I wouldn’t allow the tears to fall.

Not yet. Not in front of her.

Sophie’s hands trembled as she lifted the DNA results, scanning them once more as if the paper itself had changed. “I trusted you… both of you. And this… this is what I get?”

Margaret leaned back, satisfied, letting the room’s tension escalate naturally. “Truth has a way of surfacing, Claire. No matter how cleverly you hide it.”

I finally found my voice, quivering but audible. “Sophie… I—”

Sophie slammed her hand on the table. “No. Don’t you dare. Don’t even try to speak.”

Ryan’s face twisted in guilt and desperation. “Sophie, listen—please. You have to understand—”

“Understand?” Sophie barked, tears spilling freely now. “Do you realize that the man I married and believed in has been involved with my mother?”

How am I supposed to understand that?”

I felt my chest tighten, lungs burning. I wanted to reach for her, to explain, to beg for forgiveness, but every instinct told me that nothing I could say would help. Nothing could undo what had been done.

Margaret’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade. “Perhaps it’s time to consider… consequences. Decisions need to be made. Before things get any more complicated.”

Sophie’s eyes snapped to Margaret. “You… you did this! You set this up!”

“Merely uncovered the truth,” Margaret said smoothly. “And perhaps gave everyone the opportunity to… act accordingly.”

Ryan’s hands tightened into fists. His eyes flickered toward me, full of regret, longing, and despair. I could read the silent apology in his gaze, the recognition of what we had both done. But it was too late. Too far gone.

Sophie’s gaze returned to me, sharp, piercing, filled with a mixture of disbelief and hatred. “I trusted you… I loved you… and this is how you repay me?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. My throat ached, my body felt numb, and my heart felt like it had shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

“You… you need to leave,” Sophie said finally, voice breaking. “Both of you. I never want to see you again.”

I stood slowly, feeling the weight of her words like a physical blow. Ryan moved to follow me, his hand brushing mine briefly—a silent plea for understanding—but I pulled away. I couldn’t bear the sight of his pain, nor could I confront my own.

As we left the house, the city lights blurred through my tears. Every step felt like a confession, every heartbeat a drum of shame. My life, once ordinary and fractured, had now become an unrecognizable maze of betrayal, lust, and consequences.

By the time we reached the car, Ryan’s voice was barely audible. “Claire… I—”

“Don’t,” I whispered, voice raw. “Just… don’t.”

And for the first time in what felt like eternity, I felt truly alone.

The days that followed were even worse. Sophie filed for divorce and restraining order almost immediately. Margaret remained triumphant, observing the destruction with clinical precision. Ryan was torn, agonizing, filled with guilt and a yearning he could not articulate.

I was left with nothing but regret. And yet… even in the darkness, there was a spark of something unspoken, a connection with Ryan that neither scandal nor rage could erase.

I understood then that nothing in my life would ever return to the way it was.

And yet, somewhere deep in the wreckage, I also knew the story wasn’t finished. Not yet.

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