Abandoned Wife: Now Untouchable

Chapter 3 You Won't Take a Single Child

Anabella Clayton's POV:

By the time I pulled Elinor out of Chroma Feast, the rain had intensified from a downpour into a relentless deluge. Elinor's skin was scorching to the touch, and her small body wouldn't stop shaking. I stood at the curb, waving my arms frantically until I finally managed to flag down a taxi.

Half an hour later, I was pounding on the door of my private physician, Malina Lawson.

"Help me! Malina, please. Elinor has a fever." I was soaked to the bone, my gown splattered with mud. In my arms, Elinor's face was flushed a terrifying crimson, her breathing so heavy it made my heart ache.

"My God, Anabella, what happened?" Malina gasped. She moved with clinical precision, taking Elinor from my arms and carrying her straight into the first-floor examination room.

As she performed a thorough check-up, Malina's expression grew increasingly grim.

Finally, she pulled the stethoscope away, her voice tight with suppressed fury. "Anabella, she's your own flesh and blood! There's crackling in her lungs. It's the onset of acute pneumonia. If you'd brought her two hours later, we'd have needed emergency treatment. How can you two be so careless? And where's Bowden? I haven't seen him in ages. Don't tell me he's 'busy with work' again."

I opened my mouth to speak, but my throat was so parched I couldn't make a sound.

"It's not my mommy's fault!" Elinor had opened her eyes, her voice raspy and thin. "Our car got stuck in the mud... and then it started raining really hard. Mommy held me the whole time."

I gripped Elinor's hand, drawing strength from her small fingers. My eyes burned. In a night where the whole world seemed to have turned its back on me, at least I still had Elinor.

Malina shot me a look, then reached out to touch my forehead. She frowned. "Just as I thought. You're running a fever too."

"Mommy..." Elinor murmured, her eyes shimmering with worried tears.

Malina sighed and found us some clean, dry clothes. After Elinor took her fever medication, she quickly drifted off to sleep on the examination bed.

I forced down the sandwich Malina had prepared for me. "I think I need some coffee."

Malina glared at me. "You still have a fever! Take your medicine." She handed me the pills and a glass of water.

"Your car broke down, and Bowden didn't even drop you off in this weather?" Malina asked. "What kind of man treats his wife and child like that?"

I shook my head, unable to recount the night's horrors. I looked up at her, my gaze suddenly sharp and resolute. "Malina, I've decided to divorce Bowden. I'm going to raise the kids myself. I don't need him anymore."

Malina blinked, startled, then nodded slowly. "I've known something was wrong for a long time. That man doesn't deserve you—and he certainly doesn't deserve a daughter this good."

Later that night, as the rain drummed against the windowpane, I bolted awake. Elinor, lying beside me, woke up too. Like a frightened deer, she burrowed into my arms, her tiny hands clutching my shirt.

"Mommy, are you really going to divorce Daddy?" she whispered, her voice laced with anxiety.

A sharp pang of guilt twisted my heart. I kissed the top of her head. "You heard us, baby? I'm so sorry. I'm sorry we let you down. But this life... It's bringing us too much pain. It has to end."

Elinor was silent for a long moment. "But what about Dexter?" she asked softly. "Even though I really hate him sometimes... are we going to leave him behind?"

I took a deep breath, my voice steadying. "I will never abandon my children. Not you, and not Dexter. I will always be with both of you."

Reassured, she closed her eyes and fell back into a deep sleep.

But sleep was a stranger to me now.

I slipped out of bed and walked to the window. The night wind caught my hair.

I picked up my phone, which had been charging, turned it on, and dialed a number I hadn't touched in years.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end sounded irritated, typical of someone interrupted in the middle of the night.

"It's me, Anabella Sullivan," I said calmly.

There was a dead silence for five full seconds. Then, a frantic rustle of blankets as the person sat up. "Jesus, Anabella? The Apex? You finally remembered you have a friend?"

I let out a soft, tired laugh. "I never forgot you, Jewell. I need your help."

"Oh, this better be the news that you're coming back."

"Something like that. I need a divorce agreement." I stared out into the dark night, a ghost of a smile touching my lips. "I'm finally going back to being who I really am. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Aha! I live for a good divorce battle. Let that goddamn Clayton name go to hell," Jewell Cullen laughed.

*****

The following evening, I brought Elinor home.

Bowden was sitting on the sofa, while Dexter was on the floor, glued to his tablet. Analia was flitting about the dining table, adjusting the flowers like she was the lady of the house.

"Back already? Where did you stay last night? Another hotel?" Bowden stood up, his voice simmering with suppressed rage. "I called you a dozen times last night. How many times are you going to play this 'runaway' game?"

"Anabella, Bowden was just so worried about you." Analia walked over, her face wearing that nauseating mask of fake concern. "There might have been some misunderstandings last night. Bowden and I really wanted to explain, but you wouldn't pick up..."

"Shut up." I cut her off with a freezing glare. "You have no place in this conversation."

"Why are you taking it out on Analia?" Bowden bellowed. "You ruined Dexter's birthday party yesterday. You have no idea how disappointed he was. Thank God Analia was there to comfort him."

He frowned, eyeing me from head to toe. "What are you wearing? You look no better than a vagrant. Look at yourself—do you have even a shred of dignity left as Mrs. Clayton?"

"I have no desire to be Mrs. Clayton," I replied with a self-deprecating smirk. "I'm sure Analia is dying for the title, though."

Analia pouted at Bowden, looking appropriately slighted.

"Enough!" Bowden slammed his hand on the table. "I work sixteen hours a day to provide for this family. Analia helps me with everything, and you? What have you given me? All you do is spend my money and make unreasonable scenes. If you ask me, you're not a fit wife. You're a disgrace to the Clayton name."

"Perfect." I nodded, my disappointment crystallizing into absolute certainty. "Then let's divorce. I'm taking both children and leaving."

Bowden let out a harsh, mocking laugh as if I'd told a hilarious joke. He stepped closer, loitering over me.

"Divorce? Anabella, you seem to have forgotten—you haven't worked a single day since we got married. How do you plan to survive without me? You think you can use a divorce to snatch my assets and become a millionaire overnight? Dream on! I'll make sure you don't get a single penny. As for custody? You won't take a single child. No court would hand children over to a penniless parasite!"

"Is that so?" I met his gaze without flinching, a cold smile playing on my lips. "We'll see."

I grabbed Elinor's hand and headed upstairs, quickly packing a few essentials. Ten minutes later, I walked back down, suitcase in hand.

As I passed the living room, I stopped. "Dexter, come with me!"

Dexter didn't even look up. He waved a hand dismissively. "You're bossing me around again? No way, I'm not going. I'm almost at the final level of my game."

My hand tightened around the handle of my suitcase, a sharp pang of agony slicing through me. Leave Dexter? I couldn't bear the thought.

Bowden stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, looking down at us with disdain.

"You'll regret this, Anabella." His voice echoed through the cavernous hall. "If you walk out that door today, I promise you'll come crawling back, begging for my forgiveness."

I had no choice. I had to leave now.

"We'll just have to see who ends up crawling."

I didn't look back at Dexter. Clutching Elinor's hand, I pushed open the door and walked out into the world.