Chapter 13
When Kate decided to stay, insisting she’d move in, Claude nodded in agreement.
In the past, I would have let Kate stay without a word. Thinking back, I was too meek and submissive. And that only led to tragedy, with my unborn child paying the ultimate price.
I was chosen from the heavens above to be a mother, yet I couldn’t protect my own.
Things could have been different if I had signed those divorce papers earlier and left the bustling Crestview Metropolis behind.
If I could start over again, I wouldn’t have fallen for Claude, competed with Kate, or owed anything to the Hart family.
There Kate was, sitting between me and Claude, peeling imported grapes and handing them to Claude, who was buried in work, not refusing the gesture.
When Kate began peeling a mango to feed Claude, he caught the scent and frowned, “Why is there a mango p>
A small smile crept on my face, thinking maybe he remembered my mango allergy.
As a child, I had a severe allergic reaction to a mango cake, and Claude rushed me to the hospital just in time. I thought he cared.
Kate tossed the mango into the trash, turning to him with wide, innocent eyes. “You don’t like the smell of mangoes?” she asked.
“Yeah, too strong. Just like durian, not pleasant.” Claude replied.
My heart sank. I had thought Claude banned mangoes from the house, remembering my allergy, but it was only his dislike. He never really cared about me.
Then, as if the heavens were echoing my heartbreak, thunder cracked, startling Kate so much that she dropped the knife and clung to Claude. “Claude, I think I saw Claire. It’s terrifying. She was glaring at me p>
A lawyer by profession, Claude scoffed at the superstitious notion but then joked about keeping me tethered even in death, “If she returns, I’d tie her legs, so she can never leave again. She was spoiled and always running away!” I laughed bitterly, unseen and unheard.
“You still want to control me, Claude? You’re heartless,” I scoffed, though he couldn’t hear me.
Another clap of thunder roared as if in defense of my plight.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang amidst the thunderstorm. Claude answered to find officers in raincoats, led by Ronald, issuing an arrest for the suspected murder of me, Claire Floyd, based on forensic evidence linking a child to both me and Claude.
Kate panicked while Claude remained calm until the evidence pointed directly at him.
Just when it seemed Claude had seen my ghost, the narrative turned. The police officer said they’d mishandled the evidence and dismissed the case against Claude and Kate, and they were free to go.
The detective was confused, not believing all the mistakes happened in the same case. He scratched his head and checked the reports, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Relief and disbelief wrote all over Claude’s face. “I know she’s still alive. I know she won’t want to die just like that p>
I stood there, crying my eyes out.
“But why? What went wrong? The evidence of my demise was palpable That was my unborn child. Things went to a dead end when getting close to the truth, just like someone had claimed my severed ring finger last time. Who is stopping Claude from finding me p>
Claude got home but still couldn’t reach me. He texted me, threatening to divorce my spirit if I didn’t return for his mother’s birthday.
I sighed helplessly, regretting that I hadn’t divorced him earlier.
Claude threw his phone on the sofa. After some thought, he bombed me with many voice messages.
[Didn’t you always want to know why I imprisoned Richard p>
[I put Richard in jail because he told the media the Hart family was ungrateful, doing you wrong, and his words tarnished the Hart family’s name p>
It was all a show that Claude
brought me home from the orphanage, His actions and care were all a facade to salvage his
family’s reputation. No wonde net
Claude acted like a lunatic whenever he saw Richard.