Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 152

Chapter 152

Once it was confirmed that Penelope was an imposter, Caleb would not just cut ties. He would make her pay every last one of her debts.

The thought of the real Precious, somewhere out there, possibly suffering all these years, made him want to strangle Penelope with his bare hands.

It was his fault too. Back then, he had been too desperate to find Precious. The moment he saw that pendant around Penelope’s neck, he had let his guard down, careless enough not to question it further.

Sydney clenched her palm. Without Penelope in the picture, she would almost have no excuse left to continue this cold war with him. But she had not forgotten her suspicion.

Looking directly at Caleb, she seized the moment. “Why was Penelope so afraid of you discovering the pendant wasn’t hers?”

Caleb fell silent. He had no way to explain. Their relationship was already fragile. If he admitted he had been searching for another woman all this time, the tenuous tie between them might snap completely.

Sometimes, he did not even understand himself. His heart was still tangled with Precious. Yet he could not accept Sydney’s insistence that they should live separate lives.

The thought of her standing beside another man made his chest tighten painfully, like someone squeezing his heart, until even breathing became a struggle.

He studied her clear, delicate features and, for his own selfish reasons, brushed it off. “Maybe she was afraid I’d blame her for something.”

Sydney did not believe it for a second. “Just that?”

Last time, Penelope had been ruthless enough to frame her by shoving her own child down the stairs. How could someone like that fear nothing more than a pendant?

Caleb had always defended Penelope without question.

“Yes. Just that.” He nodded, then quickly changed the topic. “Come on, I’ll help you move back.”

Only if she returned home could he feel at ease.

Never mind that their divorce papers were already signed. Even without them, she would never live under the same roof with him again.

“Caleb, I am not moving back-” Before she could finish, Caleb’s phone vibrated sharply.

He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and stepped aside to answer. “Speak.”

“Mr. Hampton, I tracked down the former director from the orphanage,” Gordon said, cutting straight to the point. “According to her memory, Ms. Monroe’s father was never a police officer. He was a gambler. One night, drunk, he beat his wife to death. He was sentenced for it, and that is how Ms. Monroe ended up in the orphanage. Ms. Monroe must have lied to you before.”

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Before Gordon could finish, Caleb’s expression darkened. He gripped the phone so tightly that his knuckles stood out, as if he might crush it.

He remembered the first time he met Penelope, the moment he saw that pendant. He had rushed forward, eager, asking if she remembered him and how she had once saved him and his family.

She had looked startled at first, then nodded quickly. But looking back, the signs had been there from the start.

He had assumed she was slow to react. In truth, she had had no idea what he had been talking about. Yet he had trusted her blindly, just because of a pendant.

Caleb narrowed his eyes and smiled coldly. “Good. Get back to Jouleston immediately.”

From where she stood, Sydney could not hear his words. But for the first time, she saw that chilling cruelty in his eyes, an expression sharp enough to freeze one’s blood.

She did not know exactly what had happened, only that it involved Penelope. Only Penelope could throw his emotions into such chaos.

He hung up and strode toward her, steps quick and firm. “I have something urgent to take care of.”

“Alright,” Sydney said, her voice calm and steady as always.