She stole my wedding and home! I'm done! novel

Chapter 15 Breaking Ties After settling Ryan into his hospital room, Grace ordered some food, bought a few beers, and sat quietly eating and drinking by his bedside. Outside, the rain over Anston City hadn't stopped, heavy clouds pressing low until the whole skyline seemed wrapped in mist. Her phone still showed Ethan's message from earlier that afternoon. [Grace, once you're done fussing over your brother, get back here and assign the embroiderers. And deal with the fabric orders. Don't drag this out.] That commanding tone. How could he even say such things? She wasn't "Miss Miller" anymore.

He'd already forced her out of her position. Why should she still do his work? Grace didn't reply. When Ethan realized she wasn't answering, his temper flared. He called. She declined the call. Declined. Once upon a time, she'd have jumped to answer his every call, terrified of upsetting him. Even in her sleep she'd keep the ringer on, afraid she'd miss him. All that cautious devotion, all those years of trying to keep the peace, rewarded with nothing but Ethan's growing cruelty.

Grace stared at his name on the screen, and the cold, unyielding side of her that she had buried deep began to stir. She snapped her disposable fork clean in half. The phone rang again. "Answer it," Ryan said from his bed, eyes sharp and detached, the same cold anger she carried in her bones. She pressed accept. "Hello?" "Grace, are you blind? Didn't you see my messages? You done with work? Or you just quitting?" Ethan's tone was pure boss-to-underling.

1/3 ree Coins For a moment, Grace remembered two years ago, when Ethan had needed her help desperately on some deal that wasn't even her responsibility. Yet his tone then had been the same, as if she had ruined everything. Maybe, in his eyes, she had never been his girlfriend at all. Maybe she was just fooling herself. "... Yeah." "What did you just say?" Ethan froze. Grace took a long drink from her beer, the cold fizz hitting her throat. She perched on the small window ledge of the private ward, chewing at what should have been her only meal of the day but finding no appetite. "I said yes.

I quit." A beat of silence, then Ethan gave a short laugh, which swelled into a sneer. "You? Quit? Where do you get the confidence? Fine. Walk away. Let's see what becomes of you without me. Just don't end up warming glasses for drunks in some bar." The venom of it. Seven years together, and that was what she was worth to him? Grace's chest clenched, her eyes burning. Her voice cracked, but her words were steady. "Ethan, tell me, when have I ever wronged you? When have I ever failed you? Why do I deserve curses like this from you?" Her three questions cut deep.

For the first time, Ethan had no quick retort. "I know why," Grace whispered, her voice flat, neither shouting nor crying. "Because I've been pathetic. I thought if I just loved you enough, we'd be fine. But even when I've done nothing wrong, you still find ways to blame me." "You calling me a snake now?" Ethan snapped. "Seven years, and that's how you see me? If you hadn't kept picking fights, would we be here?" Grace laughed under her breath. The sound was brittle, cutting. "Tomorrow, I'll go to the office and clear my things.

And then we'll settle our accounts." "What accounts..." She ended the call. No room for him to speak. 2/3 Accounts? Without her, he would have starved years ago. Grace tossed back the rest of her beer, the bitter taste burning down. Seven years, she'd been blind, sewing away until she was numb. But no longer. If this was truly the end, then every penny she'd earned for him, every contract, every return, they would be tallied. She held twenty-five percent of Pinnacle Designs. That wasn't nothing. There were contracts, paper trails, financial records.

Ethan couldn't erase her from the books, no matter how hard he tried. The house, maybe she'd lost. But the company profits? That she would not. Ethan really had the audacity to think he could swallow up all her hard-earned money? Did he actually believe she'd been living off him all these years? What an arrogant fool. Meanwhile, back at the company, Laney was fussing over Ethan with her sickly sweet concern. "Ethan, you've been working so hard. Why not go home early? It's pouring outside.

I made you some soup." She thought he wanted a docile, gentle wife, so she played the part with every breath. What she didn't know, what neither of them had realized, was that what Ethan had fallen for in Grace had been her independence, her will, her fire. On that point, both she and Grace had it wrong. "Soup?" Ethan arched a brow. "Weren't you saying you've been too weak to even cook? How'd you manage that?" Laney stiffened. "I... I've been feeling a bit better lately. And I just wanted to take care of you.

Because, well, I don't know how much longer I'll..." 3/3 Cedella Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella's storytelling style is immersive and addictive-perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.