All Chapters of The Perfect Wife Score: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

A second before the Perfect Wife app finished uninstalling, Ryan Keller called."Julia, you did good this time. Now certain people don't have an excuse to keep me from marrying you."Claire Snyder immediately scoffed in the background."Hey, don't act like I'm the one bullying her. You're the one who made that stupid scoring app. And after all these years, she barely scraped together enough points. Maybe you just have terrible taste in women."Ryan's tone turned cold."I've told you before. Julia's better than you in every way. You were so sure she'd never pass, and now that she has, you're trying to back out?"They started arguing almost immediately, dragging up old fights before long.They dated in college, but their relationship was a mess. Ryan hated Claire's constant drama, while Claire complained that he was cold and completely unromantic.At their worst, Claire even accused Ryan of cheating in school and stealing, then blasted the rumors all over the campus forums just t

Chapter 2

By the time I got home, the rich smell of bone broth filled the kitchen. Ryan poked his head out when he heard the door and held out a mug of hot water."It's windy out. Drink this and warm up."I glanced at the mug but didn't take it. "Where's the soup?"He smiled. "Claire's mom hurt her foot, so I'm taking it to her."I paused and looked at him. "My mom made that for me this morning before she left."He kept ladling soup into a thermos without even looking up. "So have her make another pot later. You're perfectly healthy. It's not like you need it."My eyes fell to the thermos in his hands.Two years ago, when Ryan worked late every night trying to get promoted and barely had time to eat, I went from store to store looking for the best insulated food jar I could find. I wanted him to have a hot meal no matter how late he got home.Now, he was filling it with the last pot of soup Mom ever made for me and taking it to another woman.I walked over and pressed my hand over his

Chapter 3

I had just set my phone down when the front door opened.Ryan rolled a suitcase into the entryway, then took Claire's coat and hung it up before finally looking over at me.After a short pause, he said, "Claire has a live-in caregiver staying at her place, so there isn't enough room. She'll stay here for a couple of days."My eyes dropped to Claire's suitcase.It was the exact same style as Ryan's, right down to the matching leather luggage tag.Somehow, even that made them look like a pair, while I was the one who didn't belong."Okay." I spoke quietly, then turned toward the bedroom. Ryan grabbed my wrist before I could walk away."Let Claire have the master bedroom. She can't sleep on a firm mattress."I stared at him for a second, almost too stunned to respond.Back when we had nothing, Ryan and I used to squeeze onto a twin bed. Night after night, I barely moved because I wanted him to sleep comfortably.I ended up hurting my back so badly that even now, a firm mattres

Chapter 4

I stared at the broken bracelet on the floor, and something inside me seemed to break with it.Before I could react, someone shoved me hard."Julia! What the hell is wrong with you?"Ryan scooped Claire into his arms and walked away without even looking back at me.I dropped to my knees and picked up the bracelet with trembling hands, ignoring the broken clasp digging into my palm. Tears blurred my vision."Mom, I'm taking you with me now."I made my way back to the apartment building, too numb to care about my dirty clothes or the looks people gave me.Then I dug the wooden box Claire threw away out of the trash.A phone slipped out from inside. The second I unlocked it, the last screen Mom had opened appeared.There were two marriage certificates on the screen.My hands started shaking as I tapped the voice message beneath them.Claire's smug voice cut through the recording. "Did you know your daughter's been sleeping with a married man?"A chill ran through me as I sudde

Chapter 5

"Julia, why are you coming out of there?"Ryan blurted it out, but his eyes quickly dropped to where my hand was clasped with the man beside me. His face darkened."What are you doing? Even if you're still mad at me, you don't need to grab some random guy and put on a show. Let go of him."When Ryan reached for me, the man beside me stepped in front of him with a faint smile."Keep your hands to yourself! Don't touch my wife."Only then did Ryan notice the marriage certificate in my hand. He froze for a second, then let out a cold laugh."You really went all out, huh? You even got a fake marriage certificate just to make me jealous? Julia, come here. I'll still keep my promise and marry you. Otherwise…"The man listened for a moment, then leaned closer and murmured in my ear, "Is he always this full of himself?"I couldn't help laughing.Ryan glared at him, anger flashing in his eyes. Then his expression suddenly changed."You're Henry Peterson, aren't you? Didn't your family

Chapter 6

Ryan barely registered what was happening as the security guards escorted him out. Rain came down in sheets, soaking him through, but he just stood there for a long time without moving.Then his hand brushed the folded marriage certificate tucked inside his coat. He pulled it out and stared at it for a few seconds before suddenly snapping out of his daze.Right. Whatever he owed Claire, he had repaid it a long time ago. Now he needed to divorce her and get Julia Griffin back.But the moment he reached Claire's house, he heard Claire and Lauren's voices through the half-open door."Mom, what if Ryan really divorces me? You said once I got him to marry me, he'd eventually accept that I'm his wife. But the way he looked at Julia today, he obviously still has feelings for her!"Lauren patted her hand. "What are you so worried about? Ryan may be smart, but once he gets something stuck in his head, there's no changing it. Back then, you were about to toss that bowl of soup to the dog

Chapter 7

In the end, the police had to restrain Ryan and sedate him before taking him to the station.Three days later, faced with overwhelming evidence from the Peterson family's legal team, Claire and Lauren finally broke down and confessed.Ryan cooperated with the investigation, gave his statement, and was released that night.The first thing he did was try to find Julia.But the number that used to answer no matter how late he called was disconnected, and every message he sent failed to go through. His hands shook as he tried again and again, until the truth finally sank in.This time, Julia really didn't want him anymore.Worse, he had no idea where she went.Ryan stumbled home, laughing one moment and crying the next. From that day on, he drank himself numb.Bottle after bottle went down, but the emptiness in his stomach only got worse. Sometimes, when he hunched over the toilet throwing up, he saw streaks of bright red in the bowl.He didn't care.Whenever he was sober, he sea

Chapter 8

When I went back to check the wedding venue, I saw Ryan.He was leaning against one of the columns, scanning every person who walked by. His wrinkled coat and tired face made him look nothing like the polished man he used to be.The second he saw me, his eyes lit up. He hurried over, but when he reached for me, he stopped himself and pulled his hand back."Julia, I've been waiting here for days."There was something almost hurt in his voice."What are you doing here?" I looked at him coldly. He ignored the distance in my tone."Julia, everything that happened was my fault. Yell at me, hit me, whatever you want. Just give me one chance to make it up to you."I stepped back. "I already told you. I'm not marrying you."His face changed. Then he suddenly grabbed my hand. "I know you're still angry about losing the baby. If you want, we can have another baby someday. I'm sure they'd look just like you."Pain twisted through my chest at the mention of the baby. I looked at him an

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