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หน้าหลัก / Romance / Three Chances, Then Gone / Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

ผู้เขียน: Triple Threat
Hallie stood and grabbed Archie by the arm, yanking him hard.

"It hurts, Mom! That hurts!"

Archie cried out, begging her to be gentler.

"Hurt? What hurt? You're just as pathetic as your dad! Now get up—Stanley's on his way!"

She jerked him again.

Stanley'd had enough.

He kicked the door open, voice like ice.

"Hallie Shane. Don't you dare."

***

Loretta's POV

Hallie got reported—for child abuse.

Stanley told me flat, holding back fury. He'd been played, yeah, but he never blamed Archie.
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  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 10

    Hallie stood and grabbed Archie by the arm, yanking him hard."It hurts, Mom! That hurts!"Archie cried out, begging her to be gentler."Hurt? What hurt? You're just as pathetic as your dad! Now get up—Stanley's on his way!"She jerked him again.Stanley'd had enough.He kicked the door open, voice like ice."Hallie Shane. Don't you dare."***Loretta's POVHallie got reported—for child abuse.Stanley told me flat, holding back fury. He'd been played, yeah, but he never blamed Archie. Kid was five. Had Hallie in his head for years.He was just mad. Had Archie transferred to another hospital, brought in a legit child psychologist.Turns out, Archie OD'd on meds. His liver and kidneys? Wrecked.There were needle marks too—inside his thighs, hidden spots.Archie said his mom called it "teaching." Said he wasn't helpless enough, not like she wanted. So whenever Stanley didn't show or ran late, she punished him.Sometimes with needles. Sometimes pinches. Slaps too—but not of

  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 9

    Stanley must've picked up on it too. For the first time, his voice turned cold."Hallie, Loretta's my wife. I think she's great. Don't talk like that again."He hung up before she could get another word in.But seeing real anger in his eyes didn't make me feel better. It just made the bitterness sharper.I always knew he didn't like Hallie.So what?Just 'cause he stood up for me once? Just 'cause he only cared about a kid and not the woman behind him—am I supposed to be moved?No way.He loved me, sure. But he hurt our child.He loved Luca—but still made him swallow his feelings, over and over. Called it being a good boy.Maybe that kind of love was real.I didn't want it.I curled my lip and chucked the divorce papers straight at his face.Before he could even react, I shoved him out the door.The keypad lock slammed shut with a heavy bang.I stared him down through the glass and said, cold and solid—"I've signed the divorce papers. Think it over. If you won't agree,

  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 8

    I don't blame him for picking his buddy's kid over me and Luca, over and over.I don't blame him for not loving me like he used to.This house, this marriage—let's just leave it behind.Clean break.As for Luca... I'll love him ten, a hundred times more.Stanley doesn't matter anymore.Maybe he heard it in my voice—the part that meant done—because suddenly, Stanley choked up."You promised three chances. How can you go back on that?"His hands shook as he tried to set the cake down."I still have one more. You can't divorce me. You can't."Then his foot hit a box. Familiar."What's this?"He bent down, picked it up.His eyes locked on the tear-stained note inside. His pupils started to shake."There. That's your third chance," I said, lips curling into a cold, mocking smile.Luca finally spoke, voice soft but sharp as a slap."Mr. Gibson, you'll never get to give my toys to Archie again."Stanley went pale. Flustered, scrambling—"Let me explain. I didn't give it to h

  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 7

    He looked at Luca, smile warping into something fake and off."Luca, Mommy's drunk. Don't listen to her. Come on, I'll hold you while we cut the cake. Let Mommy rest, okay?"He reached for him, eyes rimmed red.Luca stepped back. Hid behind me, head down, wouldn't look at him.Stanley's smile froze. Like one of those creepy clown puppets in a toy store—too much and not enough at the same time.Kinda ridiculous. Kinda sad.But no one laughed.This wasn't a joke.It was just a divorce.I opened the front door. Pitch black outside.The yard—once neat—was now littered with bags.Stanley's clothes. His shoes. A few everyday things.The toothbrush cup we made the year we got married.After Luca was born, he'd made another—green this time—for the three of us, same little ceramics shop.The towels? From Christmas, two years back.Luca didn't have much allowance, but still begged the maid to take him shopping. He picked out three towels with cartoon characters stitched on them.

  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 6

    The room went still. Stanley didn't clock a thing.Later, I found out he'd dropped Hallie and Archie off, then hit up some bakery he knew and grabbed the last cake they had.Three inches. Pink. Topped with a glittery Barbie princess.Clearly meant for a toddler girl.In his head, it probably made sense—'So what if it's not perfect? It's late. At least I found one. Luca won't mind. He never does.'That's always how he thought.Like he hadn't told me that morning, dead serious on the phone,"Look, Luca didn't eat his cake yesterday, right? I'll book a place and get a new one. We'll celebrate tonight, okay?"Like he hadn't heard Luca reminding him over and over,"Dad, I like Transformers. Don't get the wrong one, okay?"He forgot all of it.Except one thing.After cutting cake with Archie, it got windy.So, he took them home first.I didn't bother guessing what was going on in his head.Just stared at the dumb pink cake in his hands.A cold laugh slipped out. "What's that?

  • Three Chances, Then Gone   Chapter 5

    Archie started bawling. "Daddy, you are my daddy! You're not gonna stop wanting me, right? I don't wanna be a kid without a dad!"Stanley panicked, trying to hush him."Don't cry, don't cry. Luca didn't mean it. I'm your dad. Just yours.""Stanley Gibson." My voice was ice. "Think hard. You've got two chances left. You really choosing him over Luca?"***Stanley froze.He looked at me, panicked, like he wanted to explain—but Archie's sobs pulled him back.After a beat, he glanced at us with that weak, sorry expression."I'm sorry," he whispered.Then he turned, hugging Archie tight."Don't cry, Archie. You're my only child. I'm only your dad."Drip.Luca's tears hit the floor.He slipped his hand into mine, voice raw."Mom, let's go. I don't want a birthday anymore. I just wanna go home.""Okay." My voice cracked. I held him close and didn't look back."Wait," Stanley called after us.He darted to the table, sliced the ruined cake, and held it out."Luca, happy birthd

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