All Chapters of She Chose Him Over Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1 The Final Straw

"The bidding meeting has already started, and the presenter's still nowhere to be seen. Mr. Steele, are you seriously handing us the win on a silver platter? That's so kind of you."The owner of our rival company slapped me hard on the shoulder, his eyes full of undisguised mockery.I stood there stunned, unable to say a word.Today was supposed to be our final bidding meeting. If we won, the company would finally go public.More than a dozen employees were counting on the bonuses that would come with a successful IPO. We'd spent two full years working toward this moment, only for everything to fall apart at the very end.Gideon Miller, Valerie Cross' best male friend, uploaded a new post on social media."It's just a a few coughs, but she's already worried sick about me. She even dropped everything to come and keep me company."He attached a photo of Valerie feeding him some cough medicine, concern written all over her face.I discovered she'd gone to take care of Gideon becau

Chapter 2 No More Chances

"You've already gotten the divorce papers. Do you really think I'm joking?"I let out a cold laugh. "Sign them, then we'll make time to finalize the divorce. After that, we'll have nothing to do with each other."I hung up and headed straight for the office.The employees had plenty to complain about after what happened, but because they still trusted me, none of them quit.I couldn't let my personal problems drag them down any further.Thankfully, we still had enough cash on hand to keep things moving. Once I got back, I gave every employee a $5,000 bonus."This setback doesn't matter. We've got another shot at going public in two months. Let's work a little harder and make it happen."Everyone felt motivated, and they returned to their desks with renewed energy.I called in HR and told her to prepare Valerie's termination letter."Mr. Steele, are you sure you want to fire her? Ms. Cross might—""Fire her. Make sure she gets it today. From now on, whatever happens to the com

Chapter 3 When the Lies Spread

"It's just a divorce, right? Fine, let's get divorced. But don't come crawling back to me for forgiveness later."I stopped her and said coldly, "You may not care about this house, but I do. I bought it. Since you've made up your mind, sign the papers, pack your things and leave."Valerie glared at me, heaving. After signing the papers, she immediately called Gideon."Come pick me up. Grayson and I are getting divorced. He's making me pack my things and leave."I stood to the side, the corner of my mouth twitching when I heard that.The way Valerie put it, people would think I'd been bullying her.Thankfully, she signed the agreement. I could finally be free of this marriage.We'd been together for five years, and all this marriage had brought me was endless exhaustion.By the time Valerie finished packing and stood at the door, she realized that nearly everything in the house belonged to her.I barely had anything. I still had shirts that were five or six years old, and I had

Chapter 4 Nothing Left to Lose

I was stunned. I honestly couldn't believe I'd ever been attracted to Valerie in the first place.For all those years, I'd given her whatever she wanted and done whatever she asked. Now that I'd finally reached my limit and wanted a divorce, they were trying to twist the facts around and threaten me.After a while, Valerie spoke again. "If you want us to delete the post, we can do that. But there's only one condition. You leave the marriage with nothing."I chuckled coldly. "In your dreams. If you won't delete the post, then leave it up forever. I've already reported you to the police."Without waiting for her response, I hung up.By the time the police arrived, I'd also contacted a PR firm and had them immediately start working to fight back against the online attacks.When I met Valerie and Gideon again, both of them were still wearing the same smug expressions."If you insist on going down this road, I'll refuse to settle as well. You'll both end up with criminal records. Aft

Chapter 5 The Woman Who Waited

Charis got straight to the point, and I was caught off guard.She'd been in the same college club as me and had confessed her feelings to me several times back then. But at the time, Valerie was the only one I loved, so I turned her down without hesitation.Valerie and I had only just gotten divorced, but somehow, Charis had already heard about it and reached out to me herself.That was when I learned that she'd never dated anyone all these years, much less gotten married, waiting for me because she'd been waiting all this time for me.My feelings were complicated. I couldn't help being a little moved.I never imagined someone could love me that much, let alone willingly wait for me for years."You know I just got divorced. I'm really not in the right headspace for a relationship right now."After thinking it over, I still turned her down as gently as I could.Charis didn't seem bothered."That's okay. I can wait. How about dinner this weekend? I know what's going on with yo

Chapter 6 No Turning Back

I let out a derisive laugh when I heard that. Valerie really was unbelievable.After everything that had happened, she still thought I would take her back."Wait by the door. I'll be home soon."I hung up and headed straight home.Once I got there, I tore my half of the wedding photo off and handed the remaining half to Valerie.Then, I looked at her coldly. "Take anything else of yours now. I don't want anything to do with you anymore."Valerie stared at me in disbelief before slapping me across the face."What gives you the right to talk to me like that? Do you really think that little of me?"I had run out of patience. I forced her out of the apartment."That's enough." I stared at her coldly. I felt nothing anymore. "We're already divorced. What more do you want?"Valerie stood outside the door, tears welling in her eyes. "Grayson, are you really going to be this heartless? We were together for five years. Are you over it already?"I took a deep breath, forcing myself to

Chapter 7 A Fresh Start

"How dare you blame me? If you hadn't kept coming on to me, how would things between Grayson and me have ended up like this?"Watching the two of them, I couldn't help finding the whole thing ridiculous.Back when Valerie and I had our argument, I'd already had Gideon thoroughly investigated.He had a younger brother who was a lazy freeloader, while his parents relied entirely on Gideon's income. That was why he'd deliberately gotten closer to Valerie, hoping to get his hands on some of her money.Apparently, he couldn't be bothered to keep up the act anymore.Charis and I were just about to walk around them when Valerie spotted me. She ran toward me in tears, begging me to forgive her."Grayson, Gideon has been lying to me all along. Everything was an act. I regret it. Please, take me back."Her hand was almost on me when Charis stepped in front of me, clearly irritated.She glared at Valerie. "Stay away from Grayson. You were too blind to appreciate him and betrayed him, and

Chapter 8 A Chance at Love

I never expected Valerie to be this stubborn. Even after Gideon had hit her, she was still willing to marry him.But none of that had anything to do with me anymore.On my birthday, Charis went out of her way to surprise me. She came to my house early, bringing a cake with a gentle smile."Happy birthday, Grayson," she said softly, her eyes shining with anticipation.I was surprised. I hadn't expected her to remember my birthday, much less come in person to celebrate with me.We lit the candles together and made our wishes. The candlelight fell across her face, making her look especially beautiful."Thank you, Charis," I said sincerely, warmth spreading through me.When I'd been with Valerie, she never once remembered my birthday. After being disappointed multiple times, I stopped caring much about birthdays altogether.After we finished the cake, Charis suggested that we go for a walk. We wandered down the street, enjoying the rare peace and quiet.Suddenly, she stopped and p

Chapter 9 No Place for Her

In the end, the company went public, and Charis and I officially became a couple.I thought life would stay peaceful from then on, but Valerie still couldn't give up on me.She was already married, yet for several days in a row, she showed up outside the company, kneeling and begging to see me.Charis was ready to have security remove her, but I shook my head and went downstairs myself to have a final conversation with her.After all, Valerie was pregnant. If something happened to her, I could still end up being held responsible."I'm sorry, honey. I'm only asking you not to hate me."The moment she saw me, Valerie burst into tears and apologized.I looked into her deep, sorrowful eyes.Once upon a time, I'd wanted nothing more than to lose myself in those eyes and spend the rest of my life there.Back then, I had loved without reservation, giving her my whole heart and soul.But now, her tears could no longer bridge the distance between us, an impassable chasm we could never

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