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Home / After Three CEOs Abandoned Me, I Married the Disabled Billionaire / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of After Three CEOs Abandoned Me, I Married the Disabled Billionaire: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1

When the freezing water rushed down my throat, I could barely breathe.I clung to the stone edge, my fingertips too numb to feel anything.On the shore, Harrison only frowned."Vivienne, stop faking it. Chloe was in the water for less than a minute, and you had her shaking all over. When you shoved her in, did you ever stop to think about how she can't stand the cold?"Garrett stood in front of Chloe, shielding her.She was wrapped in his coat, her eyes red-rimmed, a few damp strands of hair clinging to her cheeks. She looked helpless and innocent."Vivienne, apologize to Chloe. She spent three months working on that design. You destroyed her computer and forced her into the lake. You owe her an explanation."My lips had turned purple from the cold, but I still managed a smile."The design was mine. She broke her own computer. And she jumped into that lake herself."Nathan stood further back.He didn't look at me. He just leaned down and wiped the tears from Chloe's face."Don't be sca

Chapter 2

The moment the door to the Lane estate opened, my grandmother, Eleanor Lane, dropped her teacup. It shattered on the floor.She took one look at my soaked clothes and ashen face, and her expression slowly hardened."Who did this?"I handed her my phone.On the screen was the marriage confirmation the Thorne family had just sent over."Grandma, I'm going to the Thornes."Eleanor stared at the agreement for a long time."Everyone's been saying the Thornes specifically asked for Chloe Stevens. But the response they sent back said only this: the Lane candidate."She looked up at me.My throat tightened.Eleanor set the agreement down in front of me."Chloe didn't want to go, and what does that have to do with you? Vivienne, you are not anyone's stand-in, and you are not anyone's backup plan."A sharp screech of brakes came from outside the door.Harrison, Garrett, and Nathan had followed me here.Eleanor pressed a pen into my palm."If you've made up your mind, sign it. This time, sign it

Chapter 3

I was packing in my room when Nathan appeared in the doorway.He didn't come in. He just stood there, staring at the suitcase on the floor."You're really going?""Yes.""For how long?""I don't know.""Damian Thorne isn't an easy man to be around. His legs are useless, and his temper swings on a dime. Marrying him won't be any better than staying here."I paused for a moment."Then who's going to treat me well?"Nathan didn't answer.I looked up at him."You? Or Harrison? Garrett?"He stood there, his face draining of color.Nathan was the one I'd loved the most.He knew I drank my milk without sugar. He knew I was afraid of thunder. He knew that when I was upset, I liked to hide in the closet.He understood me better than anyone.And he was the best at making me doubt myself.After Chloe came along, he kept saying I depended too much on other people.He said I didn't know how to stand on my own.He said Chloe, who studied on a scholarship and worked part-time to support herself, was

Chapter 4

The Thorne car had barely pulled away from the Lane estate when Harrison's sports car swerved in front of it.Garrett's car blocked the way from behind.Nathan walked to the rear door and knocked on the window."Vivienne, get out."I didn't move.Martin sat in the front passenger seat, his tone steady."Mr. Ward, please step aside."Nathan stared at me through the glass."Give me ten minutes.""I don't want to talk.""Just let me explain.""You've already wasted years of my life."The color drained from his face.Harrison wrenched the car door open. Cold air rushed in.He reached for me."Vivienne, you're really going to burn every bridge?"I shrank back, but he caught my wrist.The next second, a black cane cracked down on his knuckles.Harrison hissed and let go.A black SUV had pulled up nearby without anyone noticing.The door opened.A man sat in a wheelchair, pushed slowly toward the car by a bodyguard.He wore a dark overcoat, his features cool and remote, his presence so imposi

Chapter 5

I held that key for a long time without speaking.The plane cut through the clouds, and below us was nothing but thick, impenetrable night.Damian didn't rush me.But when he turned the page, I spoke."I still want to go to Southport."He looked up."Not because of Chloe. Not to run from Harrison and the rest. I want to leave that place and start my own life."Damian was quiet for a moment."Then this marriage arrangement will be on your terms."The plane landed in Southport.Damian didn't take me to a wedding venue. He took me to the county courthouse.Before I signed, he asked one last time."Vivienne, if you want to change your mind, there's still time."I took the pen."I'm not running from anyone. I'm walking toward myself."When the marriage certificate landed in my palm, Damian spoke softly."Mrs. Thorne is just a title. Vivienne Lane will always be who you are."Back at the Thorne residence, the attorney delivered a prenuptial agreement.Three years. That was the term.I would

Chapter 6

Chloe's university was hosting a charity design forum.She stood on stage in a shirt washed so many times it had faded to white, talking about studying on a scholarship and working part-time to support herself.The audience clapped enthusiastically."I've always believed that where you come from doesn't have to decide where you end up. If you work hard enough, someone will see you."When I pushed open the auditorium doors, every pair of eyes in the room turned to me.Chloe's expression shifted, but she recovered quickly, putting on that innocent look."Vivienne, what are you doing here?"I walked to the front of the stage and set the legal notice down in front of her."I'm here to sue you."The auditorium went dead silent.Chloe bit her lip, and the tears came instantly."I don't even know what I did wrong. You've already married into the Thorne family. Why won't you just leave me alone?"I looked at her."First of all, Harrison and the others were never mine. You want them? Go ahead.

Chapter 7

The next day, news that Damian Thorne had "faked a disability to trick Vivienne into marrying him" spread everywhere.Harrison gave an interview, his tone rigid."Damian Thorne deliberately concealed his physical condition. Vivienne was kept in the dark."Garrett had his lawyers issue a statement claiming the Thornes had used the marriage arrangement to gain access to Lane family resources, alleging commercial fraud.They were doing it under the banner of "protecting me."Once again, they went around me and made decisions on my behalf.I didn't hold a press conference.I just had Summit's official account post a video.In it, I sat at my worktable, my first batch of handcrafted jewelry arranged behind me."Whether or not Damian Thorne is disabled is his private matter. Whether I marry or divorce is my choice. I will not allow anyone to interfere with my life under the guise of protecting me."After the video went up, public opinion flipped instantly.By the time Harrison and the others

Chapter 8

I didn't shut down the studio, and I didn't retreat into the Thorne estate.I took the Summit team and started going through every record of the artisans my mother had supported years ago.Some had lost their orders and ended up cleaning buildings for a living.Some had been stiffed by business partners and were raising their children in basement apartments.Others had kept small workshops on the verge of collapse running for a decade, too afraid to close the doors.They were like Chloe in a way. None of them had ever had a safety net.But none of them had stolen someone else's life.On the day of the livestream, I sat in front of the camera.An embroiderer drew her needle through the fabric, her fingers covered in calluses."My mother taught me this stitch. Nobody used to want to buy my work. But now I want to use it to put my daughter through college."In the first hour, total sales barely hit three thousand dollars.The comment section was still full of venom."The heiress puts on a

Chapter 9

The next day, Chloe sent me a location pin.Harrison, Garrett, and Nathan received the same message.Chloe had deliberately lured everyone to the old factory in the northern outskirts.She wanted to see whether that ledger would make everyone turn against me once more.Damian turned over the coordinates, the account records, and Chloe's background file to the police.The police determined she might be in possession of original evidence and could potentially retaliate against me, so they set up a perimeter in advance.The old factory had been abandoned for years.The iron gates were rusted, the walls were peeling, and wind blew through the broken windows.I didn't come alone.I was sharing my live location.Police were stationed around the perimeter.Damian was in a car not far away.But I still walked inside.Because the person Chloe had asked to meet was me.Footsteps echoed from the second floor.I'd barely looked up when I heard Harrison's voice."The original ledger has to go strai

Chapter 10

The wind at the frozen lake was colder than it had been three years ago.Chloe stood on a wooden platform in the middle of the ice.The ledger was strapped beside a makeshift burner.The livestream camera faced her. It also faced me.The viewer count was climbing fast.She changed the stream title to:The truth about heiress Vivienne Lane driving a scholarship student to her death.I stopped at the safety line."Chloe, give me the ledger."She laughed."Give it to you? Why should I? You've had everything since the day you were born. The Lane family, Harrison, Garrett, Nathan, and now even Damian Thorne is standing beside you. What about me? My father died. My mother ran away. I put myself through school on scholarships, and people still looked down on me."I looked at her."It's not my money you hate. What you hate is that you won't admit some roads can only be walked alone."Chloe's face twisted."Don't lecture me! If your mother hadn't gone after those accounts, my father would never

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