The Billion-Dollar Divorce (Ian and Chloe) novel Chapter 110

Chapter 110

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Late that night, lan and Patrick arrived at Hamilton Manor at the same time.

Mia ran up to them, tears streaming down her face. “Patrick, you’re finally here! Chloe was pertand by family discipline. Grandpa forced her to kneel and wouldn’t let her get up

Before Mia could finish, lan had already rushed into the living room.

When Edward saw lan come back, he gave Thomas a look, and Thomas led all the bodyguards of the living room.

Ian walked over to Chloe, moving cautiously, and bent down to help her up.

Patrick pushed Ian aside. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”

Both Ian and Patrick reached out for Chloe at the same moment.

Chloe had been whipped across the back and forced to kneel for hours. Her face was pale, and she was trembling all over.

She lifted her eyelids to look at Ian, her eyes clouded over with despair.

She spoke weakly to Ian, “I’m fine. You should go be with Andrea.”

Their eyes met, and Ian’s chest tightened painfully. The hand he’d reached out toward Chloe hovered between them, frozen in the air.

Chloe looked over at Patrick, her lips quivering for a long moment, unable to utter a word as her eyes brimmed with tears and turned red.

Patrick gently gathered Chloe into his arms. “Listen to me, Chloe. The Ian you knew–your lan–died the night Andrea came back.”

Patrick shot lan a scathing glare. “The Ian standing here now is Andrea’s husband, Andrea’s child’s father. He doesn’t have anything to do with you anymore.”

Chloe closed her eyes, her head drooping weakly against Patrick’s shoulder, and gave a barely–there “Mm.”

That tiny sound felt like someone had taken a hammer straight to lan’s chest–it hurt more than anything he’d ever felt.

Patrick took Chloe to the hospital.

Ian didn’t leave right away.

He spun around to face Edward, losing control as he blurted out, “Grandpa, Chloe is my wife–how could you use family discipline on her?”

Edward shot back coldly, “She married you, so she’s part of the Hamilton family now. As the lady of this

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house, she let a mistress stir up chaos right under her nose. That’s her failure. For as long as you refuse to divorce her, she’ll have to take the consequences.”

With that, Edward headed back to his room, leaning on Thomas for support.

Shane glared at Chloe, full of disgust. “You’re supposed to be the lady of the Hamilton family, but you can’t even keep the household together? Pathetic.”

After Shane left, Miranda confronted Jan.

She said, “lan, you’ve bound yourself to Andrea for life–you’ve already let go of your wife. You’ve bern childhood friends with Chloe for over twenty years. For old times‘ sake, just let her go.”

lan’s face was so grim, his whole expression shadowed.

Miranda demanded, “You don’t love her–you can’t protect her, you can’t even give her the basic respect a husband owes his wife. She’s willing to step back and let you have your love, so why are you still keeping her trapped by your side? What do you really want from her?”

“Mom, no matter what you say, I’m not divorcing Chloe!” Ian blurted out, his voice trembling and face contorted with emotion. ‘Why does it hurt this much?‘ he thought, barely holding himself together.

Unable to control his emotions, Ian stormed out of The Old Hamilton Manor, feeling like he was running away from everything.

He sped all the way to the hospital, and by the time he got there, Chloe had already been taken into a hospital

room.

Patrick stepped out of the room and saw Ian standing there, looking completely lost. He pointed to the empty room next door. “I need to talk to you.”

They walked into the empty room next door, Patrick leading the way.

Ian closed the door behind him, only to be greeted by Patrick’s fist slamming straight into his face.

Ian let out a low grunt as he took the hit head–on, refusing to flinch.

Patrick threw another punch, but this time lan grabbed his wrist, stopping him cold. “Patrick, that’s enough!”

Patrick yanked his arm free and shoved lan hard, glaring at him. “You stood right in front of Chloe and swore you’d live and die with Andrea. Did it ever cross your mind how that would make Chloe feel?”

Patrick didn’t relent. “Chloe took all those lashes and knelt for over an hour just to make things easier for you two, while you couldn’t spare a second from worrying about Andrea. And you still have the nerve to say you aren’t rekindling things with her?”

Patrick’s voice was tight. “lan, Chloe and I grew up together, we’ve been friends since we were kids. If I keep standing by and letting you hurt her like this, I’m not worthy of being her brother”

Patrick’s voice was razor–sharp with fury. “You hurt her for Andrea and that illegitimate kid–after all you’ve done, you don’t even deserve to call yourself her husband”

‘Getting Chloe back cost me everything. Divorce? Not a chance. I’m never letting her leave me again, lan swore inwardly.

She thought about how fan had endured family punishment for Andrea so many times–every strike cut into him, every time left serious wounds.

He really embodied what it meant to love someone so much it hurt, making his feelings for Andrea painfully

clear.

She knew lan was right there at her bedside, but for now, she had no intention of speaking to him.

Ian knew Chloe was awake. He simply stood by quietly, just watching her, waiting–never saying a word.

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Chapter 110

Their silence was stifling, the tension in the room almost unbearable.

At 2:30 a.m., Chloe’s IV drip finally finished. fan called the nurse to remove the needle, and Chloe slowly opened her eyes.

She brushed off lan’s attempt to help, pressing the cotton swab down herself.

Ian leaned over, his hands dangling uselessly in the air, caught between wanting to help and not wanting to cross her boundaries.

His eyes, dark and intense, never left Chloe’s pale face. Ian tried–and failed–to pull off a smile, his words catching awkwardly in his throat before he managed to speak.

lan asked, barely audible, “Does it still hurt?”

As soon as he said it, Ian wished he could take it back.

He’d lost count of all the times he’d taken a whipping himself–even as a grown man, he’d had to grit his teeth through the pain. Chloe was so fragile, and she’d been scared of pain ever since she was a kid. ‘How could it not hurt her?‘ Ian thought, his chest tightening with guilt.

Chloe lay on her side, quietly watching Ian, his brow furrowed in distress.

She managed a weak little smile, her voice faint as a feather.

She said softly, “No… it doesn’t hurt.”

Their eyes met, and Chloe forced a frail, almost imperceptible smile at lan.

Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through Ian’s chest.

He said, his voice rough and full of concern, “Chloe, I know you’re hurting. If you’re upset, just let it out- don’t hold everything in like this. You don’t have to pretend you’re okay.”