All Chapters of My Wife Threw Her Secret Child a Party: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Camille must have been worried I would ruin the celebration she had put together, because she had called in the bodyguards. I had barely stepped outside before a group of men came straight for me.I looked at them, and a bitter half-smile tugged at my lips."Mrs. Thorne? What are you doing here?"These were the same men I had personally hired to protect Camille before I left the country. Now, in some cruel twist, the very bodyguards I had paid for had been turned on me."Ms. Thorne hasn't asked us for a single thing in all these years, so when she finally did, we jumped at it. But this has to be a mix-up, right? There's no way she actually wants us to throw you out."I looked at their bewildered faces, shook my head, and said quietly, "It's probably just a misunderstanding."What was I supposed to say? That I had a home I could not go back to? That the moment I returned to the country, I discovered my wife was cheating on me and had a kid the age of their affair’s length to show

"I really don't understand. I've made myself perfectly clear. What are you still fixating on?"Come on, Elliot. Let's go. I'm done wasting my breath on him."Camille stepped forward, grabbed the man's hand, and turned to leave without so much as a glance back at me."Wait, Camille."I can't just leave him like this. I'd feel terrible. After all, I'm partly responsible for this whole situation."The man named Elliot turned and walked over to me, bent down, and helped me to my feet. His eyes were full of guilt."Mr. Thorne, I'm so sorry. This is all because of me. Please don't be angry with Camille. Neither of us had a choice."He kept one hand on my shoulder as though steadying me, while his other hand dug into my injured arm. He never stopped apologizing throughout.Back at the house, I had thrown up my left arm to block the hot soup Camille had flung at me. The layers I had been wearing spared me the worst of it, so the burn itself was not too bad. However, when the boy shov

I watched the scenery flash past the car window. I could not even remember how many times Camille had berated me since I had gotten back.Was I really as worthless as she made me sound?When we arrived, I was about to step out when the driver stopped me."Kid, love is supposed to go both ways."Life's long. Don't let it hold you hostage."His words caught me off guard. By the time I collected myself, the cab had already pulled away. I watched it disappear down the road and said quietly, "Thank you."He was right.In just a few short minutes, a complete stranger had seen what I had been refusing to admit: that what Camille and I had was never equal, and relationships built on that kind of imbalance rarely lasted.Why was I still lying to myself?However, every time the thought of divorce crossed my mind, it felt as though something had seized my heart and was squeezing until I could not breathe.Griffin spotted me and came over with a grin, pulling me into a hug."Man, it's b

"Camille, I'm not buying you anything else. Give me the necklace back."She had probably been trying to smooth things over. My response clearly caught her off guard."Ryland, what is wrong with you? Go get your head checked. You think I care about your stupid necklace?"Have I been too easy on you lately? Don't push your luck."The line went dead again.I sat in the dark, staring at the phone, then opened my message thread with Camille.Ryland: [Camille, let's get a divorce.]After I sent it, I texted my attorney.Ryland: [Mr. Harrell, I need you to draw up divorce papers.]Camille called back almost instantly. When I did not pick up, the messages started flooding in.Camille: [Ryland, I've had it with you. Are you seriously not done?]Camille: [Are you really going to do this over something this small? I already told you I'm putting on an act. Are you really using divorce to scare me?]Camille: [My parents are officially handing the company over to Elliot and me tonight. T

"Ryland! I really didn't mean to!"It was just instinct. Elliot has a fear of cars, a trauma. I wasn't thinking. It wasn't on purpose."I sat in the passenger seat, looking at her without expression. "Camille, the divorce papers will be at your door soon. Make sure you sign them."She opened her mouth to say something else, but Griffin had already hit the gas, and the car was pulling away."How are you holding up? You okay?"Seriously, though, do you realize how dangerous that was? Why didn't you move? Were you actually waiting for her to save you? In your dreams!"Wait. Tell me you're not still holding out hope for her."I shook my head and looked out the window at the passing scenery."No," I said quietly. "Never again."In the span of two days, my left arm had been injured three times. The doctor stared at me in disbelief. "How did you manage to rack up both internal and external injuries on the same arm?"I laughed and shook my head. I had nothing to say.Once the wounds