All Chapters of Strangers Ever After: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Francesca Conley! Who gave you the right to talk about her like that?"Jase Conley's furious roar rang out as he grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me toward him. "Apologize."His grip was so tight I could barely breathe, but I still looked at him with open contempt. "She's your mistress. Why the hell should I apologize to her?""Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Jase ground out from between his teeth, tightening his hand. His eyes were razor-sharp, filled with murderous rage, bloodshot enough to make him look like something dragged straight out of hell.Anyone who had ever crossed him knew that look. It meant he was seconds away from losing control. And when Jase reached that point, the person who provoked him usually didn't live long enough to regret it.Instead of backing down, I laughed. "Go ahead. Choke me to death. Come on, Jase. Do you have the guts?"He didn't.Everyone in the underworld knew I'd fought beside him every step of the way.I'd been there when

Chapter 2

Jase looked at me, and the warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by cold resentment."Francesca, if you had even half of Aria's kindness, I wouldn't have to treat you like this."I'll have someone send you another divorce agreement. After ten years together, I won't shortchange you. But you're never to touch Aria again.""You heard her. She's pregnant. This is my first child, and I want everyone to know they're mine."The freezing wine soaking my body was nothing compared to the cold spreading through my chest. I looked up, forcing back the tears threatening to spill over, and smiled."Your first child? Jase, then what was ours?"For the first time, he looked stunned.Four years ago, we had a child—a little girl.She had been the easiest pregnancy I could have asked for. I was never sick, and she behaved perfectly at every prenatal appointment. Even my doctor said she'd never seen such a well-behaved baby.I named her Willa Conley.I'd decorated her nursery months in advance—

Chapter 3

The announcement was everywhere. It was as if Jase wanted the whole world to see how much he loved Aria, humiliating me just to get even on Aria's behalf.A week later, he brought her home.The moment he saw how pale I looked, he frowned. "Why do you look so terrible? I told them to—""Ah!" Aria suddenly clutched her stomach. "Jase, my stomach hurts."His expression changed instantly. He swept her into his arms and hurried upstairs, ordering his assistant to call in every top obstetrician in the city.As our eyes met, Aria gave me a smug look and flashed me her middle finger.That night, I was in the greenhouse wiping the leaves of the jasmine I'd planted. Aria walked over and kicked the flowerpot onto the floor.She sneered, "Shameless old hag. He threw the divorce papers in your face, and you still won't leave?"I looked at her coldly. "Pick it up."She laughed. "You think you can order me around?"Then she stomped on the jasmine's exposed roots. "I heard you planted this t

Chapter 4

"Besides me, you have no one left. I have a hundred ways to make your life a living hell. I don't want to do that to you, so don't force me." Jase shoved my hand aside and left.Later, Rachel told me Jase had his own doctor remove the bullet from Aria's leg. He held her hand through the entire procedure. The man who wouldn't even flinch after taking a bullet actually had tears in his eyes.Once upon a time, he'd done the same for me. I'd laughed at him for being such a baby, a grown man crying over something like that.He'd pulled me tightly into his arms. "If it means you'll get better, Fran, I'd cry myself to death if I had to."...Gripping the arm of my wheelchair, I slowly lowered myself to the floor.Handful by handful, I scooped the spilled soil back into the flowerpot. Then I carefully replanted the crushed jasmine.I sat there until late into the night, holding the pot of crushed jasmine in my arms.Then my phone rang.I answered.Aria's anxious voice came through th

Chapter 5

"But you? All you ever do is tell me to calm down, to think about the bigger picture. You always put the company's interests ahead of me."I want a wife who cares about me, who understands what I need. Not some strategist who starts every day talking about strategy and business interests."Jase took a slow breath and closed his eyes. "Fran, let's end this on good terms. I don't want you to become my enemy."I stared at him. Of all the reasons I'd considered, that had never once crossed my mind.It was so absurd I almost laughed.I'd learned long ago that emotions were useless in our world. Staying on top in Bellmont took caution and strategy. For his sake, I'd carefully navigated every threat, terrified that one wrong move could destroy everything we'd fought for. That was how we'd managed to live in peace all these years.Somehow, that had become the very thing he resented about me.Fine. If I couldn't be the kind of woman who soothed and understood him, someone else could.Bu

Chapter 6

I turned off my phone.Looking out at the silent night beyond the window, I gently rubbed my leg.…The wedding arrived right on schedule.Hundreds of millions had been poured into the wedding of the century, drawing Bellmont's wealthiest and most powerful families.Nothing like when Jase married me. Back then, all I'd gotten was a simple wedding band and a handful of solemn promises.Aria had recovered well. In the dressing room, she flaunted the enormous diamond on her finger."You know, Francesca, I actually feel sorry for you. You spent all those years following Jase around like a dog. You lost a leg, ruined yourself, and in the end, he threw you away like a piece of trash. What a waste."But you really have no shame. Ten billion dollars? What makes you think you're worth that? What could a cripple like you possibly need all that money for?"I continued filling in my brows and smiled. "Why don't you go talk to Jase, then? Tell him I don't want the money anymore, and I won'

Chapter 7

The giant screen behind me, which had been cycling through Jase and Aria's wedding photos, suddenly switched to surveillance footage.The first clip showed me at the house, my face deathly pale, while Jase was busy carrying Aria upstairs and calling in every top specialist in Bellmont for her. Yet the supposedly "weak" Aria turned around and smugly gave me the middle finger.The next clip was from the greenhouse. Aria deliberately provoked me, hurled vicious insults at Willa, and stomped on the jasmine I'd planted for my daughter. Then she'd turned around and played the victim.Jase believed her. For her sake, he'd pointed a gun at me. Even after suspecting Aria was lying, he'd still taken her side without question.Then came the intimate video Aria had sent me of her and Jase, complete with her exaggerated moans—a blatant taunt and an obvious attempt to flaunt their affair.Finally, a recorded phone call began to play."Jase, what if Francesca finds out that back then, you let

Chapter 8

"That was before." I looked at him calmly. "We're divorced now. Why would any promise I made to you still matter?"Besides, if your vows don't count, why should mine? What, you're allowed to betray me, but I'm not allowed to betray you?"Actually, I should thank you for this wedding. Without it, the Chief and I wouldn't have been able to round up you and all your men in one place."Jase suddenly understood. My sudden agreement to the divorce. My demand for ten billion. My willingness to attend his wedding... It had all been planned.I'd planned everything from the beginning."You set me up, Francesca!"Jase lunged at me in fury, but Duncan's men immediately forced him to his knees.Duncan pulled over a chair and sat beside me, crossing one leg over the other, the toe of his dress shoe pointed directly at Jase."All right. Let's settle everything you owe Fran and me. We'll start with what you owe me. Back then, you teamed up with the Lieutenant and shot me from behind, didn't yo

Chapter 9

"Aria, didn't you say I was just lucky enough to be there while Jase struggled through his hardest years? You said if you'd been in my place, you could've done the same. Fine. Now I'm giving you the chance to stand by him through hardship too."Jase isn't walking out of here alive today. But if you're willing to sacrifice one of your legs, I'll let him go."Jase was dragged away by the bodyguards and pinned down.I placed the gun in front of Aria and said quietly, "You only get one chance. He dies, or you do."Aria picked up the gun with trembling hands and aimed it at her own leg.Suddenly, she swung the barrel toward Jase and started crying, "Jase, this place is surrounded by their men. You're not getting out. Once you've lost your power, what's the point of dragging out your life like this? It's better if I stay whole so I can carry on your bloodline and take care of our baby."Jase stared at her in disbelief. "Aria, don't fall for this. She's just trying to turn us against ea

Chapter 10

Jase's expression changed. "Your... your leg...""Jase, so that's why you always told me it didn't matter if my leg never healed. That you'd take care of me for the rest of my life. Turns out you never wanted me to walk again in the first place."Good thing I never gave up on myself. And now it's time you paid what you owe me."I fired four shots in a row, each one hitting Jase in the left leg.I wanted him to know what it felt like to lose a leg and what it was like to live with a disability.He owed me that.…The power base Jase had thought was untouchable crumbled effortlessly before the Chief.And the ten billion I'd taken from him left his remaining men with no chance of ever making a comeback.Under the gang's rules, betraying the leader was punishable by a brutal death.However, Duncan said we lived in a civilized society now, so there was no need to get bloody. Instead, he had the tendons in Jase's arms and legs severed, leaving him bedridden for the rest of his life

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