Chapter 22
Brooke looked a little surprised. What Audrey just said was exactly what she had been about to say herself. Though it was not exactly the same, it was close enough.
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Audrey kept saying, “If you went to a parent meeting, would you tell the teachers Ivan’s always struggled in school, and that he’s moody, rebellious, barely talks to you?
“You don’t expect him to be successful but just hope he doesn’t go down the wrong path and lives a safe life?”
Brooke swallowed hard and whispered, “Oh, Audrey…”
Judging from Brooke’s reaction, Audrey could tell she’d hit the mark.
She added, “Mrs. Gomez, with the life you’ve got now, there’s no need to suffer just to prove a point or make yourself feel noble. Ivan’s in middle school. He’s got a driver. You’ve got plenty of time to live for yourself.
“You feel like there’s a growing distance between you and your husband, and you can’t control him anymore, so you’re trying to control your son.
“You want Ivan to see how much you’ve sacrificed, how hard it is for you to take care of him, so that if one day your husband betrays you, your son will take your side.
“You know Ivan hates ginger, but you still put it in the patties. Be honest- was it really because they’d taste worse without it, or because deep down, you needed him to obey you?”
Brooke couldn’t find a single word to say. Audrey led Brooke over to a bench and sat down.
Audrey said, “Mrs. Gomez, before you’re a wife or a mom, you’re a person first. Being a homemaker doesn’t make you invisible. If they don’t value that, then find another way to make them see your worth.”
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Brooke’s eyes welled up, and she gripped Audrey’s hand tightly. They sat a while longer, and in the end, Brooke bought that 500–dollar dress.
Back home, the first thing Brooke did was knock on Ivan’s door. “Ivan, I brought pizza for you with no onions.”
Ivan opened the door. His face was blank, but when he noticed the new dress on Brooke, his eyes flickered. He didn’t say anything though.
“The food outside is not really clean,” Brooke started to say. When she noticed Ivan’s lips pressed together, she then added, “But once in a while is okay. Audrey said you’ve been doing well with your studies lately. Enjoy it and get some rest.”
Ivan took the pizza and closed the door.
Later that night, Miguel came home. When he saw Brooke in a dress she normally wouldn’t even consider, he was a bit surprised.
“Picked by Audrey. What do you think?” Brooke did a little spin and asked.
“You look good,” Miguel said, sipping from the cup on the coffee table, his expression shifting into something softer.
They’d been married for over a decade, and Brooke knew exactly what that look meant. That night, things between them were exciting again.
However, things didn’t go smoothly on Clayton’s side. Right after Audrey hung up on him, Clayton got another call from Emilia. He was told that Stride Commerce, the firm’s biggest partner, canceled the deal too.
Clayton came to Stride Commerce’s office in person. The general manager was in a meeting, so he waited and waited. It wasn’t until nearly everyone had left for the day that a secretary told him the manager had taken the private elevator and already left.
Clayton thought bitterly, ‘He left? No one even bothered to tell me? They
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just left me sitting out there like an idiot?‘
The rage simmered in his gut like a punch thrown into a pillow. The general manager wouldn’t see him, and his assistant only picked up the phone long enough to say, “Clean up the PR mess before calling back.”
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How the hell did a story about Ashwood’s manager cheating and getting caught by his wife end up screwing over Blackthorn Legal?‘ Clayton thought as the fury cooled into confusion. ‘Someone’s behind this. But is it aimed at Leo or me?‘
At 10 p.m., Clayton dragged himself home. The moment the elevator doors opened, he saw Lillian walking out of his apartment.
“Oh, you’re finally home. We’ve been waiting the whole afternoon,” she said while turning back inside. Riley then flipped on the lights.
Clayton could tell his mother wasn’t in a good mood, and neither was he.
He walked in, grabbed the thermos, poured himself a cup, and took one sip. However, he immediately spat it out. After sitting in that thermos all day, the water had picked up a weird taste.
Clayton put the kettle on to boil again. Before he could turn around, Riley stepped right in front of him. “Uncle Clayton, you have to stand up for me. If you don’t, I won’t even be able to show my face at school.”
“What happened to your face?” Clayton turned and saw the swelling on one side of Riley’s cheek. His eyes instantly darkened. “How did this happen?”
Clayton thought to himself, ‘Riley’s the darling of her parents. Everyone in the family treats her like a little princess, and now someone dared to lay a hand on her?‘
Actually, Audrey only gave Riley one slap. The lipstick mark across her cheek made it look worse than it was. The swelling had gone down in a couple of hours and was barely visible now.
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But to make herself look pitiful, Riley skipped the ice and used warm compresses instead–just enough to puff up her cheek. Then she dabbed on some blush for dramatic effect.
“How’d this happen? Ask yourself,” Lillian snapped, smacking the arm of the sofa hard. “I told you to keep that woman in check. You didn’t listen. Now, she’s turning on Riley.”
Clayton thought in confusion, ‘Audrey? Audrey hit Riley?‘
The whistle of the kettle roared in his ears. He shook his head and said, “This must be a misunderstanding.”
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Audrey was an orphan from out of town. She had no one in Ironhaven, so she’d always tried hard to get along with his family.
Even though they split bills after getting married, she still prepared gifts with care for every birthday of his family member and holiday. She would even cook and suit each family member’s taste.
Riley had always been the type to say one thing and do another. She would complain that Audrey’s cooking was bland, but she ate the most at every meal. Clayton never warned Riley to respect Audrey. He figured she’d know it when she grew up.
Audrey wasn’t petty. She’d never complained, not even when she was stuck between his mother and him. She knew how hard that was for him.
Clayton just couldn’t believe she would ever raise a hand against Riley.
Still, thinking of how precious Riley was to his brother’s family, Clayton took a long breath.
A lawyer’s most basic skill was staying calm. But right now, his composure was shot to hell.
Audrey wasn’t just taking revenge on Valerie, she was destroying his business, and now laying hands on Riley? Clayton knew if his mother learned all of this, his marriage with Audrey would be over forever.
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Riley started crying as she spoke, “She broke Vally’s fingers. I went to talk to her and told her to apologize to Vally. But she slapped me and came at me with a knife. I’m not kidding. If I hadn’t run fast, I’d be dead meat by
now.”
The air around Clayton turned ice–cold. Rage coiled in his chest as he thought, ‘Audrey definitely lost her damn mind. First she said Vally cut her own wrist and tried to frame her. Now Riley too?
‘Is she really expecting me to fall for that crap and let her go on like this? She’s just some orphan from a small town. Thought she could use my name to claw her way into Ironhaven? She should’ve stayed in her lane.
“Mom, take Riley home. I’ll have Carson prescribe her something to bring the swelling down.” Clayton’s voice was flat. “I’ll bring Audrey over and have her apologize to Riley in person.”
“That’s it? Just an apology?” Riley’s voice cracked into a high–pitched whine. Just thinking of how embarrassed she’d been in front of her classmates made her want to rip Audrey apart.
‘Uncle Clayton always gives me what I want. Now I get slapped by Audrey, and he just wants her to say sorry?‘ Riley thought bitterly.
Riley protested, “Uncle Clayton, when she hit me, two of my classmates were right there. They’re definitely gonna spread it around. I’ll be a total joke at school.”
She sobbed harder. “You should hit her the same way she did to me. Starve her for three days. No, starve her for a week. Let’s see if she dares to act up again.”
Clayton narrowed his eyes and replied, “Abuse is illegal.”
Riley shot back, “Ashwood did the same to her. No one even got punished, right?”
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Chapter 23
