جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Winter stared at the divorce agreement inside the drawer and felt as if she had been frozen in place.Several thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant, and a chill crept up her spine.Three years ago, she had only been able to marry Chris because Mrs. Xander Sr. had taken a liking to her. Winter had always known that Chris did not love her. He had agreed to the marriage only to secure his position within the Xander family. With Mrs. Xander Sr.’s support, it had been much easier for him to push forward his ambitions.This marriage was something she had stolen.She had willingly let herself fall deeper, hoping that one day Chris would come to love her.She had overestimated herself. Even before the marriage, Chris had never been warm toward her. Afterward, they had lived like strangers under the same roof.Divorce had always felt like a hidden time bomb in her marriage.For three years, Chris had never mentioned it.Now it had come without warning, catching her completely

Chris pushed himself up from the sofa. His expression was cold as he glanced at Winter curled up in the corner. He picked up his phone, swiped the screen, and answered the call.“Focus on your recovery first. That’s the most important thing. As for anything else, have someone reach out to Gavin.”Whatever the person on the other end said, his response was gentle and incredibly patient. Nothing like the man he had been with her.After hanging up, Chris picked up the glasses he had tossed aside earlier. He did not look at Winter again. He stood, grabbed his suit jacket, and headed for the door.“Are you going to see Skyla?” Winter asked, her eyes burning red.Without turning back, he said, “That’s none of your business.”Bracing her aching right leg, Winter struggled to her feet. She looked at the man standing there, immaculate and composed, a stark contrast to her own disheveled state. Her heart sank to the bottom of her chest.“Chris Xander!”She staggered forward and wrapped h

It was Winter who had ruined his business.A sharp, scathing article she had posted online had gone viral online, stirring up a public uproar and getting Jacob’s bar shut down. Half a year of his blood, sweat, and money had gone down the drain.He had been itching to settle that score for a long time.His original plan was to have his guys beat her, assault her, and take photos to use as blackmail. Who would have guessed she would be lucky enough to escape? But today, she had practically delivered herself to his doorstep.“You really aren't afraid to die, are you?” Jacob sneered.He took the towel a bodyguard handed him and pressed it against the cut on his head. She actually had the nerve to smash a bottle over him. Luckily, he had dodged during the second strike, so it wasn't as deep as it could have been but the amount of blood lost and the sheer humiliation in front of the crowd made him see red.No matter what, he was not letting her walk out of here tonight.He leaned in

Toiletries were knocked over in the chaos, clattering to the floor as water poured relentlessly from the showerhead. The thick, swirling steam seemed to shrink the spacious bathroom, making it feel suffocatingly small.Winter’s wrist was caught in a hard grip.“Let go of me,” she shouted. “I can't even look at you without feeling sick! Get out of my room! Get off me!”He stepped closer instead. With one hand, he brushed the water from her face, his thumb pausing briefly at the cut on her cheek. His voice was low and cold. “This entire place belongs to me. There is no room here that’s yours.”“You bastard,” she spat.He ignored her curses entirely. Holding her in place with one hand, he used the other to pull off his glasses, now blurred and speckled with water, and threw them onto the floor.He forced Winter back against the wall and wrenched her arms apart. In that instant, the dark bruises covering her body were fully exposed. Even without his glasses, he could see them clearly

Outside the window, the ice and snow had begun to melt. Winter slept straight through until the afternoon before finally waking up.This was the longest she had slept in over a year without the aid of sleeping pills.She pushed herself up in bed and looked around the messy room. The memory of how out of control Chris had been the night before made her eyebrows tighten.Her body felt clean, without any lingering stickiness. Someone had clearly cleaned her up and changed her into fresh pajamas. The cuts from the shattered glass had been treated with ointment, leaving her cheek feeling cool rather than burning with pain.She didn't need to guess who had done it.Winter sat on the bed in a daze, but the growing pain in her ear and the feverish heat spreading through her body snapped her back to reality. She immediately remembered what the doctor had warned her only a few days earlier.“If you experience severe ear pain accompanied by a fever, come to the hospital immediately. A perfo