Rise of The Abandoned Husband (Liam Knight) novel Chapter 22

Terrible

22 Chapter 22–The Shocking Truth of the Ashworth Summons

22 Chapter 22 – The Shocking Truth of the Ashworth Summons

The stunned silence in the Sterling mansion felt like a physical weight pressing down on all of us. My declaration hung in the air, almost visible in its intensity.

“You’re delusional, Beatrice finally sputtered, her face twisting into an ugly mask of contempt. “How dare you come into our home and spew such ridiculous lies?”

I met her gaze without flinching. The old Liam would have lowered his eyes, maybe even apologized. But that man was gone, replaced by someone who understood that kindness shown to people like the Sterlings was only ever mistaken for weakness. “Believe what you want,” I replied coolly. “The truth doesn’t require your acceptance to remain true.”

Simon stepped forward, his face flushed with rage. “Three years! Three years we put a roof over your head, fed you, clothed you-”

“You treated me like dirt beneath your shoes,” I cut him off. “You made me sleep in the servant’s quarters. You mocked me at every opportunity. You turned your daughter against me from day one.”

“Because you were nothing!” Simon roared. “A penniless nobody without a family name worth mentioning!”

I shook my head slowly. “And that justified cruelty? That made it acceptable to strip a man of his dignity day after day?”

“You didn’t deserve dignity,” Beatrice interjected, her voice dripping with venom. “You still don’t. The very idea that the Ashworths would choose you over Gideon is absurd. Tell him, Gideon! Tell this delusional fool the truth!”

Throughout our exchange, Gideon had remained unnaturally still by the window, his back to us. Now, slowly, he turned to face the room. The expression on his face silenced even Beatrice.

Gone was the arrogant, self–assured man who’d lorded his supposed superiority over me for years. In his place stood someone haunted, his complexion ashen. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

22 Chapter 22–The Shocking Truth of the Ashworth Summons

“Knight,” Gideon addressed me directly, ignoring his in–laws. “I… I need to speak with you. Alone, if possible.”

“Anything you have to say can be said in front of us,” Simon blustered, though his confidence was clearly wavering as he observed Gideon’s strange behavior.

“No.” Gideon replied firmly. “It can’t.”

He moved toward the study door and held it open, his eyes never quite meeting mine. I followed him, curious about this unexpected development. Once inside, he closed the door and leaned against it, as though physically blocking the Sterlings from entering. “Knight… Liam,” he began, stumbling over my name. “I need to… I should apologize.”

I crossed my arms. “For what specifically? The list is rather long.”

He winced. “For everything. The way I treated you. The things I said. Taking Seraphina…” He ran a hand through his immaculately styled hair, mussing it further. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”

“Know what?” I prompted, though I was beginning to understand his fear.

“That you were… “He swallowed hard. “The Ashworth summons came yesterday. Not for me, but for you. Michael Ashworth specifically requested your presence at their estate tomorrow morning. His voice dropped even lower. “Alone.”

So that was it. The mighty Gideon Blackwood, terrified that he’d spent years tormenting someone who now held favor with the most powerful family in Veridia City,

“I see,” I said simply.

“I can fix this,” he continued desperately. “The house–you can have it back. I’ll sign it over today. And compensation, I can arrange-”

I raised a hand, stopping his frantic bargaining. “I don’t want your house. I don’t want your money.”

“Then what do you want?” His eyes were wide with barely concealed panic. “Just tell me what I can do to make this right.

I studied him for a long moment–this man who had everything handed to him on a silver platter his entire life, now reduced to begging for mercy from someone he’d

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considered beneath him just days ago..

“Nothing.” I finally said. “There’s nothing you can do.”

“Please, Liam,” he pleaded, dropping all pretense of dignity. “I have a reputation to maintain. If the Ashworths turn against me-”

“You should have thought of that before, I interrupted coldly. “Before you took pleasure in my humiliation. Before you stole my wife with promises of wealth and

status.

“It was a mistake,” he insisted. “We all make mistakes.

“No, I corrected him. “What you did wasn’t a mistake. It was a choice. A series of deliberate choices to crush someone you thought couldn’t fight back”

He had no response to that, just stared at me with naked fear in his eyes.

I moved toward the door. “Excuse me.”

Gideon reluctantly stepped aside. As I reached for the handle, he blurted out, “What are you going to do? When you meet with Michael Ashworth tomorrow?”

I turned back to look at him one last time. “You figure it out.”

The living room fell silent as I emerged from the study. Simon and Beatrice watched me with a mixture of suspicion and growing unease. I walked past them without a word, heading straight for the front door.

“Wait just a minute!” Simon called after me. “Where do you think you’re going? What did Gideon tell you?”

I paused, hand on the doorknob. “Goodbye, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. I sincerely hope our paths never cross again.”

“You can’t just- Beatrice began, but I was already through the door, stepping out into the sunlight of a beautiful day that felt like the first of a new life.

Behind me, I heard the study door open and Simon’s demanding voice. “Gideon! What in God’s name is going on? What did you say to that nobody?”

I didn’t wait to hear Gideon’s response. I walked down the driveway without looking back, each step taking me further from a past I was determined to leave behind.

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22 Chapter 22- The Shocking Truth of the Ashworth Summons.

As I reached the street, I heard the front door of the mansion burst open again. Rapid footsteps approached, and Simon’s voice called out, “Knight! Stop right there!”

I turned, unsurprised to see both Sterlings hurrying toward me, Gideon trailing reluctantly behind them.

What lies have you been telling?” Simon demanded, his face red with exertion and

anger.

“I haven’t told any lies,” I replied evenly.

“Then why is Gideon acting like this?” Beatrice gestured wildly at her son–in–law, who looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground. “What did you say to him?”

I shrugged. “Ask him yourself.”

“We did!” Simon nearly shouted. “He’s babbling nonsense about Ashworth summons and apologies!”

“Then perhaps it’s not nonsense after all,”

Beatrice grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. “You listen to me, you worthless-

I removed her hand firmly but gently. “Do not touch me again, Mrs. Sterling. Ever.”

Something in my tone made her take a step back. For perhaps the first time, she was looking at me with something other than contempt–there was fear there now, and confusion.

“The Ashworths would never choose someone like you,” she insisted, though her voice lacked its usual certainty.

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