All Chapters of You Had This Divorce Coming: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

In five years of marriage, Gideon and Lucille had grown into each other. They shared habits, routines, and spaces that had gradually become inseparable. Pulling apart now meant carefully untangling all of it, piece by piece, like separating two things that had fused together.The days were manageable. The nights were not. The middle of the night was when her defenses broke, like now.They faced each other in the dim room as his familiar scent drifted over her, subtle yet immediate. It was the scent she had once said let her fall asleep anywhere, as long as he was beside her.One small movement, and she could go back. She could fold herself into his embrace, fall asleep the way they always had, and leave everything else until morning.Lucille did not move. Yet something within the wall of ice she had built shifted, almost imperceptibly."Come here." Gideon's voice was low, softened by a gentleness she had not heard directed at her in a very long time.He did not wait for an answer

Gideon had only learned in recent weeks how much his mother had been doing behind his back over those five years. Every bit of it had happened without his knowledge and had come at Lucille's expense.Looking back now, he realized Lucille had endured it all in silence. What he had mistaken for maturity and self-reliance had actually been the mask she wore to hide grief she never shared with him.The shame settled deep inside him, as though it would never leave.At the time, he had convinced himself that Rayne was far from home, fragile, and needed someone to look after her. He had accepted that justification without question. Now, he could finally see what it had cost.He reached for Lucille's hand, but she stepped back. His hand closed on empty air."Why didn't you tell me? When things were hard, why didn't you say anything?" he asked weakly."Tell you?" she echoed, her voice flat and final."You expected me to be sensible. You expected me to be independent and see the bigger pi

Gideon stood with slap marks on both cheeks, blinking as exhaustion settled over him.He turned to look at Rayne, his expression utterly cold. 'Of all the times for her to show up. What is she doing here, and why now?'Rayne looked at the marks on his face and instinctively reached up to cup his cheek. "Giddy, does it hurt?"He shoved her hand away and took two steps back. "How do you know this address? And how did you get inside?"Rayne nearly lost her balance from the shove. She steadied herself and quickly arranged her features into a hurt, plaintive expression. "You weren't answering my calls or reading my messages. I was worried about you. I got the address from the steward at Blossom Court. He told me you'd been staying here temporarily."She paused, and a coy smile touched her lips."The code was so obvious. You still use my birthday as your password. You've always been that way." She let out a small, delighted laugh. "I recognized it right away."Gideon went still. His d

Daphne had expected gratitude. She had expected Lucille to accept the opportunity she had been given and step away from the fight with grace, the way any sensible person would when someone extended a hand.Instead, Lucille had called in her friend to scream at her. She had pointed a finger in Daphne's face and publicly listed every way Daphne had failed as a sister-in-law, without stopping for a breath.It was the first time in Daphne's life anyone had spoken to her that way. She could still feel the sting of every word.The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that everything she had done for Lucille had been wasted: the thought, the money, and every compromise that had cost her a piece of her pride.'Lucille has a daughter. Fine. Let her find out what that is worth. Let her understand that the child's blood is Prescott blood, and that blood comes with rights the family fully intends to exercise,' Daphne thought.By turning this into a power struggle, Lucille

"Why would I come just because you told me to? Are you the King? What makes you think you can summon my daughter and me with a 20-minute deadline?"20 minutes? That's actually funny. What do you take me for? A delivery driver? Even when you order delivery, the bare minimum is common courtesy."Lucille was done tolerating every last bit of the Prescotts' self-importance. She had spent five years trapped in the haze of managing their egos, and she would never do it again.The speakerphone was on. In the Prescott mansion's living room, every word came through with perfect clarity.Lincoln's face went through several shades before settling into a dark, swollen red. The veins on his forehead bulged visibly."Lucille! I am your father-in-law! How dare you speak to me like this! You have absolutely no manners! What did your parents teach you? What kind of family raises someone so crude and disrespectful?"He was coughing now, his anger rising faster than his body could contain it.Befo