All Chapters of Her Tiny Hand Chose My Freedom: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Shawn Hartman's expression changed instantly when he saw me sign the divorce papers without hesitation."Karina Decker, are you crazy? Those divorce papers were just something Nancy accidentally slipped in. It's not real.""Accidentally? Are you saying you accidentally drafted the divorce papers and then accidentally signed them?" I lowered my head and let out a bitter laugh. "Shawn, do you take me for a fool?""Oh, come on, Karina, is it really that big of a deal? Those divorce papers were just a silly dare Shawn lost. We were all just messing around. If it bothers you that much, how about I tear it up for you? I promise that Shawn won't say a single word against you."With a look that conveyed her annoyance, Nancy Ortega reached over to grab the papers on the table.Shawn frowned and said, "It was just a joke. If you're going to be this sensitive about it, I'll just tear up the divorce papers right now, okay?""Enough!" I could tell from his tone that he thought I was being u

Chapter 2

It was as if Nancy had truly made up her mind to cut ties with Shawn forever. Before leaving, she didn't forget to take with her the nightgown and thong she had "accidentally" left behind.Shawn panicked instantly. "Nancy!"He made to run after her. But before he could even take a step, Clementine's cries stopped him in his tracks.And the moment his friends saw that Nancy had left in a huff, they immediately swarmed around me and turned their anger on me all at once."Karina, look at what you've done! Nancy came here out of kindness to celebrate Clementine's birthday, and you just had to drive her away!""What do you expect from a gold digger? She'll always be petty and tacky. If Nancy really had intentions toward Shawn, do you honestly think a florist like you could have married into his family?""Shawn, Nancy might not hold what happened today against you, but as her friends, we have to demand justice for her!"They all fixed their eyes on me simultaneously."If you two don'

Chapter 3

I stood at the doorway, watching the taillights of Shawn's car disappear into the night.It wasn't until Clementine pressed her tiny, warm body against me that I finally snapped out of the numbing cold. I held her tight and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then, I turned around and went back inside to start packing.Clothes, documents, Clementine's baby formula and vaccination records—one by one, I erased every single trace of my presence in this house. The moment I finished booking the plane tickets, I suddenly felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.By the time Shawn came back, the sky had already brightened. He pushed open the door and froze for a second when he saw the open suitcase sitting in the middle of the living room."Karina, what are you kicking up a fuss about now?"Instead of answering, I just kept folding Clementine's clothes.He grabbed my wrist and yanked me to a stop, his voice simmering with suppressed anger."Nancy got into a car accident

Chapter 4

In the middle of the night, after finally managing to put Clementine to sleep, I had just closed my eyes when the sound of laughter and flirtation suddenly drifted in from the next room."You know I can't stand being away from you for even half a day, so why did you deliberately give me the silent treatment?" Shawn asked."That's what you get for sticking up for that old hag and forgetting all about your friends," Nancy replied, her voice uncharacteristically coquettish and petulant."I'm sorry, okay?""Sorry about what?""About… letting you go half a day without seeing me?""That's it? Aren't you going to make it up to me somehow? Shawn, I'm not as easy to brush off as that old hag of yours.""How about this, then? Satisfied?""Shawn, you dog. Take it easy—if you leave marks, you'll be hearing from me!"The man who had sworn that Nancy and he were just good friends now seemed to be pouring out all his pent-up frustration and desire in one go.The sound of the headboard slamm

Chapter 5

"Can you forgive me now?""I'll forgive you if you bark like a dog.""Woof woof.""Tell me, who's better, me or that old hag of yours?"The moment the lewd sounds began to play from the phones, every single person in the room froze.It was painfully obvious that everyone recognized the two people in the video to be Nancy and Shawn."You shameless brat! What on earth is this?"Nancy's father, Salvatore Ortega, was so furious that his face turned beet red.The Ortega family, like the Hartman family, was a prominent and well-respected name in their circle. But now, a video of his own daughter carrying on with a married man was on full display before every guest.Mr. Ortega raised his hand and slapped Nancy viciously across the face."You disgrace! I didn't raise you to go out and make a spectacle of yourself like some shameless whore!"Nancy was knocked staggering two steps back. She clutched her face, looking completely stunned."N-No, it's not like that."Neither she nor Sh

Chapter 6

When Shawn saw Nancy being humiliated like this, he felt a surge of protectiveness explode inside him.He rushed forward and stood in front of Nancy. "What are you all doing? If you have a problem, take it up with me!"But Jasper looked at him like he was a complete fool."You idiot. Nancy is a rotten whore who's been passed around by god knows how many men, and you're the only one who treats her like she's some kind of treasure. Guess why she suddenly came crawling back from abroad?"She was sleeping with a married man until the wife caught her and she had no choice but to run. Do you know how many of us she's tried to seduce or string along? Shawn, all I can say is you're a complete and utter fool."The moment those words left Jasper's mouth, the entire room erupted into an uproar.Nancy let out a shrill scream, tears bursting from her eyes. "What nonsense are you all spouting? It's all that bitch Karina who put you up to this, isn't it? She told you to slander me, didn't she?"

Chapter 7

"Karina? I'm home," Shawn called out.There was no one in the living room, and the curtains were drawn halfway. The slanting rays of the setting sun streamed in, illuminating Clementine's empty crib and the toys scattered across the floor."My darling Clementine, Daddy's back."But the only reply was his own echo."Where are they? Where did they go?"He turned around, a little lost, and looked at the housekeeper, Maya Brooks, as she stepped out of the kitchen.Maya wiped her hands and said with confusion, "Mr. Hartman, Mrs. Hartman left with Ms. Clementine the day before yesterday."Shawn froze for a moment. "What? They left? Where? Why didn't you stop her?""I called you at the time, but you said you were busy and told me to wait until you got home to talk about it."She called? Shawn looked down and pulled up his call log. The calls were from two days ago. Only then did he remember that he had been at the hospital that day, busy feeding chicken soup to Nancy, who was throwin

Chapter 8

I let out a laugh and replied, "Clementine doesn't need an irresponsible father like you."I once believed that after marrying Shawn and having Clementine, the three of us would live a kind of cliche but happy life.In the mornings, before going to work, he would kiss Clementine on the cheek.In the evenings, he would come home and present me with a bouquet of flowers.On the weekends, we'd push the stroller to the park. He'd teach Clementine how to walk, and I'd take photos from behind.I truly, genuinely once believed in that."Shawn, can you honestly say you were a good father?"He opened his mouth, but no words came out."Where were you when Clementine was hospitalized with a high fever, and I held her in the emergency room for four hours trying to soothe her? You were busy going bungee jumping with Nancy. You couldn't even be bothered to answer my calls."When Clementine was crying night after night, and I didn't get a single night's sleep for two weeks straight—where wer

Chapter 9

One crisis barely passed before another hit.Shawn was diagnosed with AIDS.When he got hold of the medical report, both the Ortega and Hartman families, along with Nancy's so-called friends, had a complete meltdown."It was you, wasn't it? You did this to me!"Shawn stared at Nancy, whose face was just as ghastly pale, with bloodshot eyes."No, it can't be. It wasn't me!"Shawn shut his eyes in despair.He suddenly remembered that back when Nancy had just returned from abroad, someone at a friend's gathering had kindly warned him, "Nancy was pretty wild overseas. You'd better be careful she doesn't drag you down into the gutter with her."At the time, Shawn had laughed and told them to get lost.But now, he couldn't laugh anymore.The news spread like wildfire. The scandals of both the Ortega and Hartman families became the talk of the town overnight.Under the crushing weight of public opinion, the hospital went as far as to throw Shawn and Nancy out.One after another, t

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP