All Chapters of The Scorned Wife Finds Love Again: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

As I shut the door behind Liam, I leaned against the door, sliding to the floor as the tears I’d been holding back came rushing out. My chest heaved with every sob, and the guilt churned in my stomach like acid. He hadn’t deserved the way I spoke to him. He was only trying to help.Liam was right, God, he was so painfully right about not making excuses for Dan. And I hated that he was. My life was a mess, and I was stuck, drowning in it.Dragging myself off the floor, I shuffled to my ensuite bathroom. The harsh light from the mirror made me wince as it highlighted the bruise on my cheek. My fingers hovered over the purple blotch before I pressed gently against it, hissing in pain.I opened the cabinet above the sink, fumbling for the aloe vera gel I kept on hand for moments like this. I wiped my face clean before applying it. As I smoothed the cool gel over the tender skin, I couldn’t stop the wave of bitterness that hit me. Sometimes, when Dan was mad, he forgot himself and hit me so

I placed the burner phone on the nightstand and stared at it, a ghost of a smile tugging at my lips. Talking to Liam had stirred a strange comfort I hadn’t felt in a long time.He had a way of making me feel seen, like I wasn’t invisible. I hated that. Hated how my heart fluttered at his attention, hated the warmth his voice carried, and most of all, hated that I was still thinking about him long after the call ended.With a shake of my head, I forced myself to focus. I was a married woman. No matter how much Dan and I had drifted apart, I had made vows. I closed my eyes, imagining what life would be like if Dan could just be the man he had once been the charming man who brought me flowers, whispered sweet promises, and made me believe in forever.I tried to remember the man I married—the one who used to hold me close and make me feel like I was the only one in the world. But lately, all I could feel was his anger. His dismissiveness. His cold indifference.Sleep found me eventually,

All through dinner, my stomach churned with anger and disgust. Every time I glanced at Maddie, her perfectly poised demeanor grated on me. She was sitting there, laughing at some lame joke Dan made, acting as though she wasn’t the woman I’d just seen exchanging intimate messages and photos with my husband. It was infuriating. The nerve of her, walking into my home, eating at my table,laughing in her face.And Dan. Oh, Dan. His audacity knew no bounds. At one point, he reached across the table and took my hand, giving it a squeeze like we were some blissfully happy couple. The heat of his palm against my skin made my stomach twist in revulsion. I wanted to rip my hand away, to shove him back and scream at him for this charade. Instead, I forced a tight smile and let him hold it, my fingers stiff in his grasp. My skin crawled, but I couldn’t let it show.“This chicken is delightful, Amber,” Mrs. Thompson said, smiling warmly. “You must share your recipe. I can never get mine to turn out

I woke to a pounding in my skull that felt like someone was using a jackhammer inside my head. Groaning, I shifted beneath the softest blanket I’d ever felt, my body nestled in the warmth of a bed that wasn’t mine. Panic jolted through me as I blinked against the dull light filtering into the room.Where the hell am I?The room was unfamiliar, painted in a soothing shade of gray that seemed at odds with the black curtains drawn tightly over a massive floor-to-ceiling window. A sleek, modern nightstand sat beside the bed, its surface polished to a mirror shine. On it, a digital clock glowed faintly, the red numbers reading five minutes after six. It’s morning.I sat up slowly, instantly regretting the motion as the world tilted and my head throbbed harder. Pressing a hand to my forehead, I tried to piece together the fractured memories of last night.The bar. Liam. Champagne.Oh, God.I groaned aloud, burying my face in my hands as flashes of my drunken antics came back to me. I’d aske

The past two weeks had been pure hell. Ever since I confronted Dan about paying back the money he borrowed, he made it his mission to remind me how powerless I was, or how powerless he thought I was.He became more vile, more aggressive, more hateful. He hit me at the slightest provocation, hurled insults like they were second nature, and told me I’d be nothing without him.“Ungrateful,” he spat the other night when I asked if he wanted dinner. “You’d be living in a dump if it weren’t for me. Remember that.”I remembered, all right. I remembered the lies, the manipulation, the way he sweet-talked me into believing he loved me and he was my savior when all he ever did was pull me deeper into the pit. But I didn’t let it show. I couldn’t. Not yet.Because I had a plan.Now, I was standing in an elevator, my heart pounding as it climbed floor after floor toward Liam’s office. Dan was out of town for one of his supposed “business trips,” though I knew better than to believe him. Last nigh