Chapter 3
Valerie gently touched Clayton’s arm and said, “Clay, it’s fine. I know Audrey hates me. I’ll just leave now.”
But she didn’t move a muscle. Instead, she looked up at Clayton with wide eyes, full of dependence and reluctance.
Clayton picked up the broken pieces and placed them on the coffee table. He was afraid Audrey might lose it again and end up hurting Valerie.
Clayton and Audrey got married just after they met each other. Back then, he was pissed at his family and randomly asked Audrey, who’d just dropped off a file at his law firm, if she’d marry him.
Audrey’s reaction was unforgettable. She was first shocked, then pure joy. She told him she was an orphan, just landed a job at a foreign company, and didn’t have much to offer compared to him. She promised she’d work hard, catch up to him, and be worthy.
Clayton made sure to sign a prenup, and the two of them got their marriage license without much fuss.
In the year since, Audrey worked her ass off at the office and at home. She arranged everything well, made his favorite meals, and never once complained.
Clayton could see how much she loved him in her eyes. He enjoyed being the center of her world. He believed she’d never actually leave him, and everything she said was just because she was angry.
Clayton said to Valerie, “Vally, can you go back for now?”
“Huh?” Valerie looked like she’d just been slapped.
Her eyes went wide in disbelief, and she thought, ‘Is Clayton seriously kicking me out for Audrey?‘
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“I need to talk to Audrey. I’ll come see you later,” he added, looking at her with a gentler gaze, like trying to soothe a sulking child.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you,” Valerie said, but her heels didn’t budge.
She turned to Audrey with a smile that barely masked her bitterness. “Audrey, Clayton and I have known each other since we were kids. If anything were going to happen between us, it would’ve happened a long time ago. Don’t you think?”
Just then, Zoe burst through the door, breathless. “Ms. Patterson, come here, Luna collapsed. Her face is blue. I didn’t dare move her.”
Valerie let out a sharp gasp and spun toward Clayton. “What should I do? She had an episode yesterday too. Clayton, I’m scared.”
Clayton didn’t hesitate. He turned around and went toward the living room. “Calm down. Let’s take her to the hospital right away.”
“Thank goodness you’re here,” Valerie said, sticking close to him. “Feel my hands. I’m freezing.“”
As Clayton grabbed his car keys, he suddenly thought of Audrey. His hand paused mid–air.
He turned back and looked at her, saying. “Vally is still new to Ironhaven. She doesn’t know the hospitals here. I’ll take Luna to see the doctor first.
Can we talk later?”
Audrey stared back at him, her face blank. She didn’t give him any
response.
Clayton frowned, and Valerie instantly took his arm and said, “What if something happens to Luna? If she dies, I won’t want to live.”
Without another word, Clayton grabbed the keys and rushed out the door.
Valerie followed right behind him, but before stepping outside, she turned around and shot Audrey a smug little look–one that screamed, ‘See? You
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lost again, Audrey. I’m the one Clayton cares about above all.
Audrey stood by the window and watched as Clayton carried Luna to the car, and Valerie slipped into the passenger seat. To any outsider, they’d look like a perfect family.
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Audrey thought bitterly, ‘How ridiculous. Her own kid passed out. Instead of checking on her, that woman ran straight to Clayton.
‘What if he weren’t here? Would she watch her daughter die? Either Clayton’s too blind to see through this pathetic act or he enjoys playing
her hero.’
Zoe then left too, and the house finally went quiet. Audrey went back to the bedroom and started packing her things. She wasn’t going to keep tolerating this broken marriage–not for another day.
Clayton was a lawyer. If he refused to divorce, she’d have to sue him, and she knew she’d be at a disadvantage. But she wasn’t scared. It was hard, but it didn’t mean it was impossible.
Back when they got married on impulse, Clayton suggested they take a year to get to know each other before becoming a “real” couple. Audrey agreed, but on one condition–she’d buy her own house with her own
money.
Now, she felt relieved that she made that decision. At least she still left herself a way out.
Audrey took out her suitcase and started packing her clothes and documents. Then, she opened her jewelry box on the vanity. Inside was the diamond necklace Clayton bought her. The diamond wasn’t huge, but it cost over ten grand.
She’d barely worn it, afraid it looked too flashy. Now, all she could think was how stupid she’d been.
She never asked Clayton to stop giving money to his parents. During
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holidays, she always paid out of her own pocket to buy his parents some gifts to avoid conflict.
She didn’t spend a dime of Clayton’s money, yet Valerie and her kid were living off Clayton just fine.
Audrey took a deep breath, opened a drawer, and grabbed the incident report and withdrawal form from Ashwood Mental Hospital, along with the clean bill of health the doctor gave her when she was discharged.
Then she hailed a cab and went straight to the apartment she bought herself–only to find the lock code had been changed.
Furious, she called the police. The police showed up with the building’s property manager in tow.
The manager looked nervous as hell and explained, “Mrs. Patel, Mr. Patel told us that woman and her daughter would move in.”
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Audrey held up her property deed and declared, “I’m the legal owner here. No one can move in without my permission. That’s trespassing. Officer, I want the door opened under your supervision. If they damaged my place, I’m holding them and this property company accountable.”
The manager wiped the sweat from his forehead and called in a locksmith. When the door swung open, even the police and the manager looked stunned.
The house was originally done in minimalist style–white walls, light tiles, nothing fancy. Audrey didn’t have enough budget to renovate it, but it was
clean and livable.
Audrey once ordered all the furniture online. Clayton told her the
dimensions were wrong and the stuff had to be returned. Thus, they didn’t move in yet.
But now, they really couldn’t move in.
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The floor was covered with takeout boxes, trash bags, soggy delivery containers, and so on. The once–pristine walls were scribbled with markers in every color. There were dark stains everywhere–god knows what caused them.
In the bedroom, bras and stockings were tossed all over the place. The air reeked of some cheap fruity perfume.
The plants Audrey had bought to clear out the formaldehyde were crammed onto the balcony, dried up like museum specimens.
With the police and building manager present, Audrey snapped photos of everything for evidence. Then she called a moving company. In front of everyone, she packed up all the junk, sealed it in boxes, and had it shipped off to Clayton’s place in Hightower Homes.
When that was done, she asked the police for a formal incident report, changed the lock, and headed to her office to deal with her resignation procedure.
*****
At Ironhaven Medical Center, Clayton’s good friend Carson Wilson pulled some strings to get Luna checked out fast.
After the exam, the doctor said, “She had an allergic reaction that led to temporary airway obstruction. You’ll need to figure out what triggered it. She got here in time, so she’s currently fine. Still, don’t take it lightly.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Valerie’s eyes were full of tears. She clung to Clayton and said, “Clay, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
But she noticed Clayton seemed distracted. Normally, the moment Valerie started crying, Clayton would be right there comforting her. Yet just now, when she tried to lean on him, he actually dodged a bit.
Valerie’s heart dropped, and she thought, ‘No. I can’t let him slip away. Clayton is mine. I have to keep him mine.‘
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Through tears, she said, “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have left Luna outside like that. But you know what Audrey did last time.
“Luna already has autism, and she’s still scared from that scene. I didn’t have a choice but to leave her in the living room.”
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