Chapter 13: Pursuing LoveN
As soon as the lights flickered back on, it felt like looking into the sun. I squinted against the glare, but it was pointless; everyone else was already fixated. The entire room remained still, ensnared in a dreadful, stunned silence.N
Whispers quickly erupted, building like a tide.N
There I stood, left hand locked with Jacob’s, right wrist gripped tightly in Russell’s iron hold.N Harborview loved a scandal, but this?
This was something else. This was raw and messy and unfolding right in front of their eyes.
My fingers were shaking, but I forced them to stop.
I stood tall and looked Russell straight in the eye. “Russell, we’re already divorced. What exactly do you think you’re doing?“M He flinched–just barely–but I saw it.N
Russell’s hand went cold, and his voice dropped to a low, tight growl. “Nadine, I never signed anything. I never agreed to the divorce, It doesn’t count.“&
I let out a dry, bitter laugh. “Wow. Shouldn’t you be more worried about Claudia getting jealous? Or maybe you forgot how she used to lash out at me when things didn’t go her way? I’m not in the mood for another beating.”N
That one landed. I saw it hit him in the chest, sharp and fast. Guilt flickered in his eyes, chasing the ghost of every awful thing he’d let Claudia do.
And then, just like that, the dam broke.N
Nadine,” Russell said, breathless, his voice cracking like a dam about to burst. “I gave my heart to the wrong person. I was blind. The one I loved… it was always you. You were real. Kind. Honest. She tricked me. Claudia fooled me.“N
His words came pouring out, frantic and unfiltered. “But I’ve fixed it. I punished her Everything she stole from you–I’ll give it all back. Let’s run away together. Just us. Somewhere no one can find us. We can start over.“N
I stared at him. And honestly? I almost laughed.N
One confession, one pitiful apology, and I was supposed to forget everything?
The years of silence, the bruises he didn’t stop, the loneliness?
“Too bad,” I said, yanking my hand away like it burned. “I don’t love you anymore. Your last–minute love? It means nothing. Jacob and I are happy. Stay out of our lives.”
After that, I called out, “Security, get him out of here!“N
“Nadine!” Russell shouted, eyes red and glassy, panic written all over his face. “You don’t even know him! He’s just after your money! After your family’s fortune!”
Jacob didn’t flinch. He stepped forward, placing himself between us like a human shield.
“Apologies, Fraizer,” Jacob said smoothly, “but JN Corporation just made the Fortune Global 500. We’re now a state–owned conglomerate and the biggest in Harborview.”
He turned and looked Russell dead in the eye. “Let me be clear. I’m not here for money. I love Nadine.”N
I feit tears sting the corners of my eyes. No one had ever stood up for me like that before–not once, not like this.
Right then, Jacob’s hand tightened around mine.N
I nodded, swallowing hard, and stepped forward. “Russell, if you don’t leave right now, I’m calling the cops.“N
He stared at me, completely still. Then he laughed. Loud. Unhinged.§
And before anyone could stop him, Russell pulled a gun out of his coat and pressed it to his temple.N
“Nadine, come with me, or I’ll shoot myself. Right here. Right now.”N
My breath caught in my throat.”
“Russell, have you lost your mind?” I yelled and gritted my teeth.
“Yes! I’ve gone insane!” he screamed. “I’d kill Claudia for you! Let Fraizer Group burn for you! Without you, I’m nothing!” Russell’s smile was shaky, almost a grimace. “You’re kind. You won’t let me die. Come with me. We can start over.”N
Five minutes passed in dead silence. Five minutes that stretched forever.
My hands were clammy with sweat.
Noticing my reaction, Jacob leaned close and whispered, “Go.”
This was all part of the plan.”
Jacob and I knew Russell still had feelings for me, even after everything. He just needed the right kind of pressure. What I didn’t expect was that Claudia had already lit the fuse.
Russell blindfolded me and dragged me onto a plane.
“Where are we going?” I asked, but he didn’t say a word.!!
When the blindfold came off, I blinked in surprise.
Florence.
The pinan when he’d anan takana hullet for ma
9:06 AM
0
Ο
O
ם
The place where he’d once taken a bullet for me.>
Russell rushed me through the city to a familiar theater, renting out the entire venue so I could finally finish the show we’d missed years
ago.
He acted like he was madly in love with me, like it was all still there.
Even when I told him to get on stage and make a fool of himself, he did it without blinking.
“Do you like it?” Russell asked, wrapping his arms around me.}
I didn’t answer. I slapped him hard.
“Oh, so this is your new game?” I snapped. “Trying to recreate every grand gesture you did for Claudia? Is that how you plan to win me back?”
Then, I scoffed. “You gave her my charm necklace. You begged the British royal family for that gown she wanted. You posed as her groom. You bought her a wedding dress that cost more than most people’s homes. Do you even feel a shred of guilt?“>
His face flushed crimson. The sting wasn’t because I slapped him, but in the truth itself. He gasped for air, his chest moving in a shallow, painful rhythm.
“I can’t change the past,” Russell said quietly. “But if you give me time, I’ll make it right.“>
The next morning, I told him I wanted to go home. Russell nodded and put me on his private jet without protest. But once we landed, he locked me inside what used to be our house.}
He
cooked for me like we were a happy couple again.”
I stared down at the food and raised an eyebrow. “Did you seriously put peanut sauce in this again? And why isn’t it tangy? Isn’t that Claudia’s thing?”
Russell’s hand froze, his lips pressing together tightly.
“Nadine, ! remember. You’re allergic to peanuts. You don’t like spicy food. I made it the way you like it….“}
Disinterested in his explanation, I interrupted him, “And you did the same for her. You changed everything for her, too.“}
“You even built an underwater fantasy land to propose. You were so sincere.” I shake my head, scoffing.}
Right then, Russell’s face turned ghost–white.
My words hit like knives, one after another. But they were all true, and he knew it.
“Nadine,” he rasped, “I know I screwed up. I know I was awful. If you want revenge, take it. Do whatever you want to me.“}
“Revenge?” I laughed coldly. “You mean like when your goons beat me up? Or when you had my hands tortured?“}
Russell winced.
He swiftly approached me and reassured me, “If it makes you feel better, then fine, take my money. Take everything. I won’t complain.“}
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I slapped him again, this time with everything I had. The sting of my own hand was nothing compared to the anger boiling inside me.
“Who do you think you are, Russell? Some kind of martyr? You really think throwing money at me makes up for all the years you were gone?” My voice shook, but I kept it steady, letting every word land hard.
Russell just stared at me, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“You wanna know why I kept asking you for money all those years? Because you were never there. Always off on some ‘business trip,‘ while! sat alone in a quiet, empty house.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, but I refused to back down.
I took a shaky breath and pushed on. “I went to church and prayed for you. I donated in your name to help kids in the countryside. I prayed for your safety every single day.“}
That shut him up cold. My words hit him like a lightning strike, impossible to ignore. For once, he had nothing to say.”
