My Husband Let His Pregnant Ex Move Into Our Home

Chapter 4

"The scandals in the entertainment industry never come out of nowhere. No wonder Grandmother has always refused to let her bear a child for the Ford family. What if she has a daughter and the girl inherits her promiscuity?"

"Shut up!" Driven to the edge by the blatant gaslighting, Chloe surged forward. But before she could take another step, Christian snatched her wrist.

He turned to her, his eyes brimming with profound disappointment, his words slicing into her heart like daggers. "The Ford family tolerating your career as an actress was already a massive compromise! Not only are you completely ungrateful, but you also drag our name through the mud with these cheating scandals. And now you’re trying to lay hands on Riles while she’s pregnant?"

Seeing the argument escalating, Riley stepped in, feigning a peacemaker.

She stumbled purposefully toward Chloe, and in the next heartbeat, threw herself violently backward onto the floor, clutching her belly with both hands.

"Chloe, even if you hate me, you can't just push me... If I lose the baby, it'll break Grandmother's heart..."

The sight completely obliterated Christian's control.

A second later, he raised his hand and delivered a brutal slap across Chloe's face.

The sheer force of the blow sent Chloe stumbling backward. Half her face immediately went numb, a high-pitched ringing filling her ears.

She slowly looked up. She stared at the man in front of her, whose eyes were flooded with agonizing concern and tenderness, but for another woman. She stared at the man who had just raised his hand against her for the second time, all to defend his ex-wife.

The corners of her mouth twitched into a broken smile. Tears streamed down her face as she turned and bolted out of the villa like a madwoman.

Out on the midnight streets, the trending topics had already done their damage. Several bystanders immediately recognized her.

"It's her! It's that homewrecker, Chloe Sterling! Destroying another woman's family while carrying a bastard child!"

"Beat the shameless b***h!"

A mob swarmed her. Rotten eggs, wilted cabbage leaves, and filthy water rained down on her from all directions.

Foul-smelling slime matted her hair and ruined her clothes. Curses and spits surrounded her in an impenetrable wall of hate.

She curled into a tight ball in the corner of an alley, freezing to the bone, feeling as though the entire world had turned its back on her.

Just as she thought she would be swallowed alive by the mob, a towering figure charged through.

With a thunderous, murderous expression, Christian shielded her behind him, fiercely dispersing the crowd.

He grabbed her arm and practically dragged her all the way back to the estate. His tone was as frigid as if he were addressing a stranger. "Go clean that filth off yourself."

Chloe numbly walked into the bathroom, letting the scalding water run over her body again and again. But while the physical grime washed away, the wounds inflicted on her soul would be branded there forever.

When she emerged, dressed in clean clothes, she was startled to find Christian still standing in her room. He wore a dark, brooding expression, as though hesitating to speak.

A suffocating silence filled the room, heavy with an awkward standoff.

With her back turned to him, she refused to meet his eyes. For a split second, she foolishly thought he was finally going to show a shred of remorse.

But then, a blood-curdling scream tore through the hallway. "Christian! My stomach hurts! It hurts so much!"

Christian’s face instantly drained of color. He bolted up and sprinted out the door without a moment’s hesitation, leaving her without so much as a backward glance.

Chloe stood paralyzed, her blood freezing in her veins.

When she finally followed him out, she saw Riley curled into a ball on the living room sofa, her face ashen as she clutched her abdomen. A maid stood nearby, shooting panicked glances at Chloe before stammering, "Sir... Miss Cross just had some... some premium wellness tonic that Mr. Arthur Sterling had delivered... Not long after, she started screaming that her stomach hurt..."

Christian's pupils contracted to pinpricks. He whipped his head toward Chloe, his eyes lethal. "Your father? You did this again? If anything happens to Riles or the baby, I swear to God I will end you!"

With that, he scooped Riley into his arms and bolted out of the villa, racing to the hospital.

Chloe remained rooted to the spot.

When did her father send over a premium wellness tonic? And why didn't she know anything about it?

A sinister premonition gripped her by the throat.

Her hands shook violently as she pulled out her phone and dialed Arthur's number. She called again and again, but the line just kept ringing out.

While she stood there drowning in panic, the villa’s front door was practically kicked off its hinges.

Christian was back. He emanated a terrifying aura of violence, his bloodshot eyes locked onto her.

Before Chloe could even ask about Riley’s condition, he stepped forward and delivered a vicious kick straight to her chest.

Chloe was sent flying backward, slamming hard against the floor. An excruciating pain bloomed in her ribs, and a metallic taste rose in the back of her throat.

"Chloe, how can you be so utterly venomous?!"

Christian crouched down and hoisted her up by her collar. "I've already spoken to your father. He confessed to everything! You were the one who ordered him to send the tonic! You deliberately spiked it with something harmful to pregnant women! You wanted to kill the baby in Riles's womb, didn't you?!"