I Heard His Love For Her, I Ended Us

Chapter 3

Applause screeched to a dead halt.

The entire living room dropped into an eerie, unnatural hush. All you could hear was the nervous murmur of guests gawking at each other, unsure what to do next.

Leo's brow furrowed so tight it might as well have been carved from stone.

He'd announced the decision in front of everyone on purpose. He'd gambled that Evelyn would never dare call him out in front of all their senior colleagues.

She'd never risk destroying the professional reputation she'd spent years building up.

He leaned in close, and his voice dropped to a low, menacing growl:

"I have already worked everything out with the academy on your behalf. Chloe becoming your student is a done deal.

"Back down now. Don't make this awkward for everyone."

Evelyn held his gaze, not moving an inch.

Leo's jaw tightened. Finally, he softened his tone, speaking in a rare, almost pleading voice:

"Chloe's research aligns perfectly with yours. It doesn't match my specialty at all. I wouldn't be asking you for this favor otherwise. I'll owe you one for this, I swear."

As Evelyn looked at him, a sharp, bitter taste flooded her mouth.

"What if I said," she enunciated each word slowly and clearly, "I JUST REFUSE?"

Fury blazed to life in Leo's eyes. He opened his mouth to snap back, but his face drained of color in an instant.

He clapped a hand hard over his mouth, but stark, bright red blood still seeped out between his clenched fingers.

The next second, he pitched forward. A mouthful of blood went spraying straight across Evelyn's crisp white shirt, before he crashed heavily to the floor.

Evelyn instinctively reached out to steady him, but then she remembered what he'd done, and she stopped herself. Her hand dropped back to her side.

Chloe, who was already standing right next to him, only screeched and scrambled backward, pointing at Evelyn and screaming, "Evelyn! You made Leo so mad he coughed up blood!"

Evelyn watched the whole thing with cold detachment. "Talk about twisting the story. Wasn't he just taking that drink for you?"

In the end, this "carefully planned" fifth anniversary banquet ended with the shrill wail of an ambulance siren screaming into the night.

After emergency treatment, Leo stabilized and was moved to a regular ward.

No sooner had the doctor stepped out than Chloe, who'd vanished the entire night, reappeared.

Chloe's smile was a blend of smug satisfaction and ill intent.

"Aren't you even a little curious how Leo got his stomach ulcer?"

"Not interested."

Evelyn started to leave.

"Of course not!" Chloe's voice cut through the air, sharp and relentless. "Because you've never seen him love anybody. He chased me like I was the only thing in the world. He once drank so much for me he ended up with a ulcer. Has he ever taken a single drink for you?"

Evelyn's chest tightened.

She remembered all those gatherings—Leo not only refusing to help her out, but shoving her into the line of fire, making her drink round after round.

Chloe tilted her head and gave a light laugh. "So tell me, if I asked him to divorce you tomorrow, do you think he'd say no?"

"Then do it. I'd love nothing more." Evelyn's laugh was cold. "Go ahead. Talk to him right now."

She pulled out the dashcam footage, her smile turning sharp.

"I have proof that'll take every penny he's got. When he's got nothing left, will you still want him?"

Chloe went pale. She couldn't move.

Evelyn's lips curled. "I'm done with this marriage."