Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Pay up!
I yanked my arm out of his tight clutch, glaring at him. "What do you think you are doing?"
I would think it was impossible, yet the smirk that was already plastered across his face widened even further. "I told you, we are not done yet. Don’t think you can leave so easily."
A frown made its way to my face almost instantly. "What do you want? The papers are signed, we have nothing to do with each other anymore," I spat.
He reached for my arm again. But this time, his grip on my wrist further tightened, and his features turned ugly with a snarl. I could feel his sharp nails digging into my flesh, forming small crescent moons as pain shot through my body, but I remained calm.
"You couldn’t wait to get rid of me, huh?"
I let out a cold chuckle, my expression indifferent. "You don’t have the right to get mad over this. You were the one who left me over and over again for Jessica," I reminded him as I pulled my arm away from him, recoiling from his touch with disgust. I raised a brow, keeping my eyes on him. "Or did you forget about that?"
His eyes were narrowed into thin slits as he glared at me, and a loud scoff erupted from his throat. "Jessica is the one I’ve loved all these years, you should have known that. Did you really think I would choose you over her?"
Of course, he wouldn’t. He would never choose me. Old me was just too naive and foolish to believe that our marriage would work out despite its circumstances. I stayed for the sake of our daughter, but he only had my stepsister in mind the entire time.
A triumphant smile tugged at the corners of his lips as the words spilled from his mouth.
"Now, I can finally be with Jessica. I will propose to her and give her the grand wedding she deserves." I could tell he was trying to rub it in my face, but I couldn’t care less as he continued. "I can finally give her a legal status as my lawfully wedded wife after seven years."
A dark storm was cast over his features when he spoke again, and the softness that once lingered in his eyes vanished. "You robbed that away from us, and you ruined my engagement. I will never forgive you for what you did."
A humorless laugh slipped past my lips. Did he really think I care about getting his forgiveness? If what Rhys and I speculated was true, my life had been robbed from me too. Lucas wasn’t the only victim in this situation, as he naively believed. Why would I sleep with my stepsister’s fiancé? Why him? Nothing was adding up, yet here we were.
"I don’t need your forgiveness. I have done nothing wrong. Believe what you want, but the truth will come to light one day." I paused dramatically, watching as doubt crept into him, and an unreadable expression flashed past his features for a split second. "Then you will come to regret everything," I warned, but not out of kindness. He never deserved it.
"You—"
"But congrats," I said as my lips stretched into a sardonic smile as I happily cut him off mid-sentence. "I’m happy that the two of you finally get to be together after all these years."
"I don’t need your fake blessings," he snarled, his brows crinkling together.
"What makes you think they are fake?" I challenged, sticking my chin out as my eyes glistened. "I meant every word I said."
I wasn’t lying. I was happy that they were getting together. I didn’t care that my ex-husband was going to marry my stepsister. After all, this was good news for me. He was a good riddance. Once the divorce papers were signed, I was finally free.
"You two are perfect for each other, a match made in heaven," I added. A cheater and a willing third party, what could possibly go wrong, right?
A frown made its way to his face, carving deep lines into his forehead. "I won’t give you my blessings just because of a few nice words from you."
The corners of my lips curled upwards. "I’m not looking for your blessings." I took a step forward, forcing him to move back with a flustered expression etched into his face. "And I don’t need your blessings. Rhys and I will be perfectly happy without it."
He straightened his back, clearing his throat audibly before he spoke. "Fine, be that way. But you are not walking out of here without paying."
I watched as he threw a folder down onto the table that was once between us, landing on top of it with a soft thud.
"Pay up," he demanded shamelessly.
My gaze flickered down to the table and back up to him. "I don’t owe you anything."
"Are you sure about that?" He asked with a raised brow, every word that left his lips was dripping with accusation. "You were the reason Jessica ended up at the hospital last week. You cruelly pushed her even though you knew she was carrying our child."
His words sickened me. The way he could so casually toss out the words "our child" and "Jessica" in the same sentence. How someone like him existed was beyond me. How was I so unlucky to end up stuck in a marriage with him in the precious years of my youth?
"Let me make this clear. I did not push her. In fact, I didn’t even touch her. She fell on her own."
"So you are saying that she framed you on purpose?" He questioned with a scowl on his face.
My lips twisted into a smirk. "Exactly."
His eyes narrowed once more, disbelief and doubt were written all over his face. "And why the hell would she do that, what good will she even gain from it?"
I gave him a casual shrug. "I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her yourself when you go back to the apartment I paid for fully by myself?"
"You!" He snarled as anger reignited in his dark eyes. "I trust Jessica. She would never do such a thing. Besides, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw you standing there when she fell."
An incredulous laugh escaped my parted lips. Of course, he does. Just one word from her and he believes it all. Meanwhile, I could die trying to explain myself, but he would never budge.
"Did you actually see it, or did you just take her word for it?"
His mouth opened, then closed. His jaw tightened. "That’s not the point."
"It is exactly the point."
"You would still have to take accountability for what you did. She’s in the hospital because of you."
"I will not take accountability for something I did not do," I shot back immediately. "I bet she and the baby are doing fine, aren’t they?"
Lucas’ eyes flickered away for the briefest moment, and that tiny reaction told me everything.
"That’s what I thought."
"You don’t know what you’re talking about," he snapped.
"Then feel free to enlighten me." I folded my arms across my chest when he remained silent, still contemplating his next words. "Tell me, Lucas. What exactly did the doctor say?"
His eyes narrowed. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because you’re demanding money from me." I gestured toward the folder on the table. "You came here claiming I’m responsible for her medical bills. So tell me what injury I supposedly caused."
His fists were clenched tightly beside him. "Jessica was scared and stressed. If you hadn’t shown up at our house last week demanding that we pack up and move out, none of this would have happened. So you need to take responsibility!"
I blinked. Then I laughed. Like actually laughed. The sound echoed throughout the tiny cafe, causing a few people to turn around and stare with curious eyes.
Lucas looked stunned. "What is so funny?"
I shook my head. "No, please continue." My smile widened. "You’re asking me to pay hospital bills because Jessica got scared?"
His face immediately reddened. "That’s...that’s not what I meant."
"But that’s exactly what you said. You can’t even tell me what injury she suffered."
"She was under stress!"
"Oh, the poor thing." My voice dripped with sarcasm. "Maybe she should stop throwing herself onto the floor then."
"You—"
"Or maybe," I interrupted smoothly, "she should stop pretending to be a victim every time she doesn’t get her way."
His cheeks were flushed red. "Don’t you dare speak about Jessica that way."
"I will speak of her however I want," I retorted within the next second. "I’m not paying a single dime. Pull out the security footage if you want. Prove to me that I pushed her, then we will talk."
With that said, I spun on my heels to leave for good this time. The sky had grown dark now, the streets were now lit up by the white glow of the moon and the warm lights from the street lamps.
When my eyes finally landed on Rhys, who had been patiently waiting for me outside the whole time, a smile graced my lips as I called out to him. "Rhys!" I waved.
But then a sharp pain burst through me, and I felt my knees go weak. The next thing I knew, I was falling as the darkness consumed me.
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