All Chapters of Making My Ex-Husband Crawl: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Valerie’s POVI heaved a deep sigh as I looked over the well-arranged meals on the dining table. I had spent four hours preparing a five-course meal, even as my wheelchair held me back a lot of times. Every movement was a struggle but I was determined to make sure the meals came out perfectly well.I smoothed the front of my oversized grey knit sweater, my fingers brushing over the wool to calm the frantic beating of my heart. I had lived in this place like a prisoner for five years, not daring to take a step out.It wasn’t always like this. I lost my ability to walk when I was seventeen. I could still hear the screech of tires and the sickening crunch of metal as my father’s car spun out on the interstate. The last thing I remembered before the blackness swallowed me was the sight of my father slumped lifelessly over the wheel and the searing, hot pain in my spine that made me pass out.Cassian had appeared in the hospital like an angel in disguise. He was a distant acquaintance f

Valerie’s POVThe security guards did not hesitate. Their hands were rough as they grabbed the back of my wheelchair, jerking me around with such force that my neck snapped back. The laughs of the crowd filled the air, clearly thinking I was unstable but the only thing I could desperately wish for was for Cassian to look at me.But he was in the arms of his real wife and I was nothing but his gateway to riches."Wait! Cassian, look at me!" I screamed, my voice cracking under the weight of the humiliation.“Sorry for the inconveniences.” I heard Cassian say loudly to the crowd as I was being rolled outside. “We will make sure to make the security tighter next time to avoid beggars coming in here unannounced."Oh god.The cameras continued to flash, recording my downfall for the entire city to see. I looked back one last time, hoping for a glimmer of regret, but Cassian only watched me with an expression of pure boredom. He didn’t have a single care for me.The guards shoved me th

Cassian’s POVMy hands trembled as I stared at the countdown of the state infrastructure contract that was at zero. For eighteen months, I had bled for this. I had leveraged the penthouse, the private jets, and every offshore account I had managed to scrape together from Valerie’s old holdings. This contract was supposed to be my coronation and the moment I finally stepped out of the shadow of the St. Claire name and became a god in this city.A god that would be the talk of the town for years. I could already see myself ruling the world but just the thought made me more nervous. What if I didn’t win? I was as good as dead."Sir," my lead analyst whispered, his voice trembling. "The portal just updated. We... we didn't get it."The silence that followed was deafening. It felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room. I lunged forward, ramming my hand thoughtlessly on the table. "What do you mean we didn't get it? We were the top bidders! No one in the state has the liquidit

Valerie's PovDante walked into the corridor without rushing.He stopped a few feet from us and looked at Cassian, like the decision was done and this was just the closing out.Cassian let go of my arm."Sterling," Cassian said. He was trying to hold his voice level. He was not entirely succeeding."Walk away," Dante said."This is a private conversation," Cassian said."It stopped being private when you grabbed her," Dante said. "You and I both know that.”"You don't know what is happening here," Cassian said. "You don't know what she has done. What she has been doing for the last year to my….""I don't need to know," Dante said. "What I know is you had your hand on a woman who was not fighting back and I was standing right there. Walk away."Cassian looked at me, his jaw was tight. I looked back at him and said nothing."This is not finished," Cassian said."Not between you two," Dante said. "But tonight it is."Cassian straightened his jacket slowly. He looked at me one more time

Valerie's PovThe penthouse was not what I expected.I had expected something designed to impress. What I got was a long dining table near a window that took up an entire wall, two plates already set, and a man who had clearly cooked the food himself."You cooked," I said."I cook," he said. "Sit down.""You cook," I said again."Why is that surprising?""Because men who look like you and live like this usually have people who cook for them," I said."I had people who cooked for me," he said. "I got tired of eating food that had no opinion." He pulled out a chair and waited.I sat.He sat across from me and poured wine without asking whether I wanted any. I let him. We ate for a few minutes without talking. "You never told Cassian it was you," he said."No," I said."Why not?""Because watching him figure it out slowly is better," I said. "He spent five years making me feel like I was nothing. I want him to spend at least that long understanding exactly what nothing built."Dante loo