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All Chapters of The Aisle I Walked Away From: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

15 Chapters

Chapter 1

"I'm not signing anything today."My voice was flat. The smiles on both sets of parents froze.Tamsin Rigby's hand, still holding the paperwork, hung in midair. A few seconds later, her eyes turned red and her voice shook as she grabbed my sleeve."Gage, what do you want from me? Six years ago, your family threw 20 million at my parents to force me to leave Chase and marry you. I put up with it for six years and finally agreed to go through with it, and now you're backing out? Do you think this is some kind of game?"I glanced down at her reddened eyes, and for a split second, all I could see was the smug expression from my previous life.I pulled my wrist free. "My family never forced you into anything.""Never forced her?"Tamsin's mother, Lorraine Fairfax, was the first to explode. She slammed the envelope of cash the Coulters had given as a wedding gift onto the ground."Gage! My daughter spent six years breaking things off with her first love just to be with you. She waste

Chapter 2

I did not wait for anyone to react. I turned and walked toward the Maybach parked on the curb.Behind me, Tamsin's crying, Lorraine's cursing, and Dad's shouting all blurred together into noise.I did not look back. I pulled the car door open and got in."Mr. Coulter, where to?"Alec Reese, my driver and personal assistant, watched me through the rearview mirror. He had clearly been rattled by the scene."Grayfield Memorial first. Get in touch with Dr. Morgan Ellsworth in neurology and schedule a full physical for my dad. Make sure it's as thorough as possible. And have every bottle of blood pressure medication he's taken in the last six months sent to a lab for analysis."On top of that, pull all the security footage from six years ago when the Rigbys came to our house asking for the marriage, and get me all of Tamsin's financial records from the past six years. I want everything on my desk by three."Alec paused for a beat, but his professionalism kept him from asking question

Chapter 3

By the time I finished at the hospital and got back to the office, it was already 3:00pm.The moment I walked in, the front desk called. "Mr. Coulter, Ms. Rigby is here with her mother and about seven or eight relatives. They're causing a scene in the lobby, demanding you explain yourself."They're saying if you don't, they'll put up signs about how your family forced the marriage and then abandoned her. A lot of employees have stopped to watch."I spun a pen between my fingers. "Have security take them to the small conference room on the top floor. I don't want them disrupting the lobby."When I pushed the door open, Lorraine was already slamming the table and screaming, voice bouncing off every wall in the room.The second she saw me, she lunged, finger pointed right at my face. Security held her back, but that did not stop her."Gage Coulter, you heartless piece of garbage! You ruined six years of my daughter's life! You either go sign those papers with her right now, or you p

Chapter 4

The conference room went dead silent.Tamsin stared at the chat logs on the table, her nails digging into her palms.She looked like every ounce of strength had been pulled out of her. She gripped the edge of the table just to stay standing and looked up at Lorraine, her voice barely holding together."Mom, is what he's saying true? You went to the Coulters and asked for the marriage? They didn't force us?"Lorraine flushed. She jabbed a finger at the voice recorder on the table and shrieked. "It's fake! All of it is fake! Gage, you fabricated this to get out of the marriage, didn't you? It won't work! Either sign or pay. I'm not done with you!"She threw herself at the recorder but security pinned her down."I asked you if it's true!"Tamsin suddenly erupted, screaming, grabbing Lorraine by the arm. Tears landed on Lorraine's wrist."Tell me! Did you lie to me? Did you and Dad sell me off for money and then tell me the Coulters were the ones who forced it?!""So what if we di

Chapter 5

"What else would I be here for?"Chase frowned, looking at her like the answer was obvious. "You said he was in the wrong for calling off the wedding and that he'd definitely pay up. I sent you a ton of messages. Why didn't you answer?"Oh, and I just found a car I like. The downpayment's 300,000. Since you're getting five million, just buy it for me. We'll need one after we get married anyway."His eyes drifted to the hotel records and transfer statements on the table, and then he immediately tried to distance himself."This stuff's got nothing to do with me! You're the one who insisted on sending me money. I never asked for it! You threw yourself at me, so don't drag me into this!""Threw myself at you?"Tamsin looked at him. The last trace of color on her face disappeared."I stayed with you for six years. I fought with my family for you. I ruined my own life for you. I poisoned Gage for you. And now you're saying I threw myself at you?""You poisoning him has nothing to do

Chapter 6

Alec paused for a moment but did not ask questions. He tossed the iced coffee into the nearest trash can."Head to the hospital." I leaned back and closed my eyes."I need a full physical too. Focus on the bloodwork."By the time we arrived, Tamsin had already been brought in by ambulance. I glanced in her direction from a distance but did not stop. I went straight to the exam center to find Morgan.After the blood draw, Morgan held my results with a deep frown."Gage, the toxin levels in your blood are even higher than your father's. It's been building for almost a year. If you'd gone another six months without catching it, even if it didn't kill you, the kidney failure alone would've given you a few years at best."I gave a flat "mm" and left it at that.In my previous life, I died at 40, half a year before my father.Now I knew it was not the long hours or the stress. It was every cup of iced coffee she had handed me, one after another."Can it be treated?" I asked."Yeah,

Chapter 7

That finally made me frown.Last week, I had watched Tamsin spend half a month running around the house taking care of Mom. It softened me enough to approve the investment for Rigby Group. I never imagined it would become a cash grab for her entire family."Why are you telling me this?"I looked at her directly. "Perry's your brother. Douglas is your father. You're selling them out. What do you get from it?""What do I get?" Tamsin's tears ran down the car window."They ruined six years of my life for money. They treated me like something to trade. Chase pushed me into losing my baby for money, And now they want me to take the fall for all of them."Why should I protect them? I want them locked up for as long as possible. I want them to walk away with nothing."She reached into her pocket and pulled out an encrypted flash drive, holding it out to me."I had someone dig all of this up. It's got my father's gambling records, the transfer trail for the 10 million they moved, and e

Chapter 8

"Where's Gage? Get him out here or I'll gut his mother right now!"Tamsin, sitting in the passenger seat, reached for the door. I grabbed her arm and held her back."Don't. He's lost it. You go out there and you're dead too."I kept my voice low and pulled the baton I had stashed in the center console."I'll go through the front door and draw his attention. You go around to the back, call the police, and cut the power. Got it?"Tamsin bit her lip and nodded, eyes bloodshot. "Be careful. He's still got half a bottle of the poison. He'll use it."I gave a short "mm," pushed the car door open, and slammed it hard on purpose. I raised my voice."Chase, I'm right here. Whatever you want, take it up with me. Don't touch my parents."The noise inside the living room stopped.A few seconds later, Chase dragged Mom out of the living room. One arm was locked around her neck. The other held a kitchen knife pressed against her throat. He looked completely unhinged."Gage! You're finally

Chapter 9

Tamsin was wearing handcuffs when the officers put her in the car. She looked back at me, her lips moving. It looked like she was saying "I'm sorry."I did not respond. I just watched the patrol car pull away.Mom stood beside me and sighed."She's a pitiful girl, really. Her own parents lied to her for years."I said nothing. I looked down at the flash drive in my hand.My phone rang again. This time it was my executive assistant."Mr. Coulter, a few of the senior shareholders from Rigby Group just showed up. They said they already know about Douglas moving assets and they want you to step in and take over the company. They're willing to transfer all their shares to you."Also, Mr. Langdon from Langdon Holdings just sent over a partnership proposal. He wants to have dinner tomorrow to discuss the development of the west-side parcel."Langdon Holdings?I paused, then realized it was Morgan's cousin, Beckett Langdon. We had never had any dealings before. Why would he suddenly b

Chapter 10

I looked up and saw Douglas pushing through the front gate with over a dozen reporters in tow, microphones raised and cameras rolling, shoving past the security guards. He was wailing at the top of his lungs."Gage Coulter, you corporate parasite! You've destroyed my family! I'm going to expose you in front of every camera here! You forced my daughter into a marriage and then threw her away! You made her lose her baby! And now you're trying to swallow our company whole! What kind of man does that?!"The reporters swarmed in behind him, microphones shoved in my face."Mr. Coulter, is it true that Ms. Rigby's miscarriage was connected to your decision to call off the wedding?""There are reports that six years ago, you paid 20 million to force the Rigby family to give you their daughter. Can you confirm that?""Is the Coulter Group attempting a hostile takeover of Rigby Group?"I frowned and was about to respond when Beckett stepped forward beside me."I'm Beckett Langdon of Langd

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