Late at night, Cora retreated to her room to rest.
Ian stepped into the master bedroom.
Chloe lay flat on the bed, not even batting an eye when lan walked in.
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He stood frozen by the bedside, his gaze fixed on Chloe. Every part of him wanted to go to her, to pull her into his arms.
But it was as if his feet had turned to stone, too heavy to take a single step.
Chloe stared at Ian, her face expressionless. “So, Ian, are we really getting a divorce or not?”
lan swallowed hard and forced the corners of his mouth up.
His eyes were bloodshot as he said, “I’m not divorcing you.”
Chloe picked up her phone and warned Ian, “If you won’t divorce me, don’t blame me when everyone finds out the truth about your so–called son.”
Ian moved to the bed and caught Chloe by the wrist, pleading, “Chloe, please, just give me one more chance.”
Chloe fixed Ian with a steely glare and pressed him, “Divorce me, or I’ll spill the truth about Clint to Edward. It’s your choice–I’ll let you pick first.”
They stared each other down, faces just inches apart, neither of them willing to budge.
Ian met Chloe’s gaze and said, “Chloe, I know how much you’ve been hurt. As long as you don’t leave me, I’ll never get in your way–do whatever you want.”
As soon as Ian finished speaking, Chloe dialed Miranda’s number.
Right in front of lan, Chloe told Miranda over the phone that Andrea’s child wasn’t biologically lan’s, and that she herself had aborted lan’s baby.
After the call ended, both of them fell silent.
The air in the massive bedroom was so thick and heavy that it felt like they could barely breathe.
Jan’s eyes burned red as he held back every ounce of emotion, carefully pulling the blanket up over Chloe’s shoulders.
Chloe looked at Jan, her eyes cold and distant. “Tan, 1-”
Ian cut her off, his voice firm. “If you’re thinking about suggesting we live apart, just don’t.”
Ian caught Chloe’s frown.
Ian said, “I’ll sleep in the study.”
Chloe fixed her gaze on lan for what felt like ages, then asked quietly, “You’ve gone above and beyond for Andrea and Clint, yet you still refuse to divorce me. Why are you putting yourself through all this?”
Ian gripped Chloe’s hand, voice unwavering. “I know I was wrong before. I swear I’ll come clean to everyone about Andrea and Clint. Just give me one more chance, Chloe–trust me this time.”
He’d overestimated Chloe’s feelings for him, too certain that she loved him and would never walk away.
He thought he had total control over their marriage, that he could handle anything life threw at them.
That was why he’d felt untouchable, so sure nothing could go wrong–that’s what made it so easy to go along when Andrea asked him to acknowledge Clint as his own child.
But he was wrong.
He’d left Chloe completely heartbroken, and in the end, it was him who ended the life of his own flesh and blood with his own hands.
Chloe’s face was cold as ice as she snatched her hand away.
She said, “lan, you’re not worth my forgiveness–and you’re not worth my trust.”
She’d been overestimating her place in Ian’s heart, thinking she mattered to him more than she actually did.
Yeah, the Irvine family had gone under–she didn’t have the proud family background she once did.
Still, she was beautiful, had a great figure, was well–educated with a good job. She kept her circle drama–free. was kind, always outgoing, played the violin, could handle a race car, spoke several languages, and even knew chess and calligraphy.
She didn’t think she was the absolute best, but she sure wasn’t lacking, either.
That’s why she’d always thought Clint was Ian and Andrea’s love child.
She always figured Ian’s favoritism toward Andrea and Clint was at least partly because they had a child together.
But it never even crossed her mind that the kid lan went so far to protect–betraying their marriage, even hurting her–was really Andrea’s son with her ex–husband.
For the sake of Andrea’s son with her ex, her own husband broke her apart, leaving her utterly shattered and defeated.
How was she supposed to live with that?
Chloe rolled onto her side, turning her back to lan, and squeezed her eyes shut in pain.
Miranda jabbed her finger at fan’s nose, raging, ‘For the sake of some bastard, you forced your own wife to abort your own flesh and blood. Tell me, lan–does that finally make you happy?”
lan slumped weakly onto the couch, his whole body hollowed out. “Mom, it was Edward who forced Andrea to live overseas for six long years. She was assaulted and had a child because of that When she couldn’t take it anymore, she came back and found me. All I wanted was to somehow make it up to her–Lowed her that
much.”
Miranda’s arms were shaking with anger. “Making things right with her–did you really have to go so far as pretending to be her kid’s dad and wrecking your own family for it?
Chapter 164
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Ian shook his head, pain dripping from every word. “By the time Andrea returned, she was already dealing with serious depression. I promised I’d help her keep the kid’s true parentage hidden, because I was scared Edward would put her through hell again. I just wanted her to find herself again, to be able to raise her boy without having to look over her shoulder every second.”
Ian pressed his hand against his chest, as if somehow he could numb the ache burning inside him.
He really thought he could balance everything between Chloe and Andrea–thought he could somehow keep everyone happy and no one would get hurt.
But he never imagined it would all blow up like this, turning into such an unfixable mess.
And he never saw it coming–Chloe hid her pregnancy from him, went behind his back, and got rid of their baby without a shred of mercy.
Miranda snapped, “lan, I’m your mother, I know exactly what goes on in that head of yours. Divorce is happening–want it or not, you’re not getting out of this.”
Ian’s voice stayed firm even though pain flashed in his eyes. “I’m not divorcing!”
She was so angry, her whole expression twisted with rage.
“You keep claiming it was only about making things up to Andrea. Then tell me–how come you lied to Chloe and didn’t come home for a month? How about that cruise, the beach trip, all the flowers? You baked Andrea a cake yourself and blasted it on Instagram. Care to explain any of that?”
lan slumped forward on the couch, elbows braced on his knees, fingers buried tight in his short hair.
He was silent for a long stretch.
At last he spoke: “Mom, Andrea was my first love. Edward was the one who forced us apart. I won’t lie- running into her again messed me up, brought all kinds of feelings back. But I know where the line is. I never touched her–not once. I never betrayed Chloe, and divorce was never part of my plans.”
AD
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