Passion For Revenge

CHAPTER 4

Chloe lay awake in bed and stared at the ceiling, with the duvet barely covering her, but she didn’t care. Her whole body ached not just from their previous night together, but from the weight of what she’d done. She had slept with Nick Manchester.

Not just her husband by name, but the man she had promised never to let in.

The worst part of it was that a part of her had wanted it, but not with Nick, rather with her ex-lover whom she had kept herself for to be deflowered after marriage, but everything changed within the twinkling of an eye and her destiny took a different turn outside what she had long dreamt of.

Nick moved beside her, and she quickly turned her back and pretended to sleep, but he was already awake.

“You’re a light sleeper,” he said in a low voice, but Chloe didn’t answer.

He leaned up on one elbow, watching her. “Do you regret it?”

Chloe rolled over to face him, her expression calm but cold. “Does it matter?”

Nick didn’t look away. “It does to me.”

She sat up and held the sheet to her chest. “Why? Because would it hurt your ego if I said yes?”

"You didn’t exactly resist me,” Nick said.

Chloe got out of bed, ignoring the aches in her legs. She pulled on her robe and tied it tight.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said.

Nick stood in bed, bare-chested and relaxed. “We’re married, Chloe. This won’t be the last time.”

She turned to him, her voice sharp. “Marriage doesn’t mean I owe you anything.”

He stood up, and was as calm as ever. “But you didn’t say no.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted it.” she said.

Nick looked at her, confused. “You’re hard to figure out.”

Chloe let out a bitter laugh. “Good. Maybe that’ll keep you on your toes.”

She walked into the bathroom and slammed the door hard.

Later that day, they went back to their routine. Nick was busy with business calls and meetings while Chloe wandered through the mansion, feeling like a ghost. Every expensive room reminded her of how trapped she was.

She stepped out into the garden to receive some fresh air and calm her chaotic mind, hoping nature would do what logic couldn’t. The scent of the beautiful roses and lilies lingered in the breeze, but it brought no comfort to her.

She stood by the fountain and stared into the water.

Last night shouldn’t have happened, she kept replaying it in her head. His touch, his words, her own weakness.

"Was it passion or manipulation? Was she that easy to break? Or perhaps a dream that she ought to wake up from?" She thought to herself.

She pinched herself to be sure. She shouted 'ouch', "it's real. "I have been trapped," she said. "Or did someone trap me?" , she echoed it repeatedly and said "O Chloe, you're not dreaming."

Her phone rang and it was her father.

“Chloe,” he said, his voice tight. “Are you… settling in?”

She almost laughed. “Settling in? Like livestock in a new pen?”

He sighed. “You know I didn't have a choice.”

“You always had a choice, Dad. You just didn’t have the guts,” Chloe said.

Mr Raymond paused for a minute and said, “At least business is safe now. That’s what matters, right?”

She hung up the call without replying.

A maid came over with a tray. “Mrs. Manchester, someone left this message for you.”

Chloe gave a confused expression: "Who must have sent this message to me? Could it be nick? I doubt", she said to herself. Still wondering who the mysterious sender was.

Chloe took out the envelope, but there was no name on it.

She opened it and her hands shook as she read the note:

> You deserve the truth about your husband. Check his study’s locked drawer at midnight.

Her heart pounded and she wondered who sent this?

Nick never let anyone into his studies, not even her. She folded the note and slipped it into her robe pocket.

That night at dinner, she watched Nick closely. He was in a good mood, talking about stocks and some new deals. “Something wrong?” he asked when she stayed quiet.

“Just tired,” she said with a tight smile.

He reached for her hand. “Last night… it meant something, Chloe.”

She gently pulled her hand away.

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything else.

Later, the mansion was dark. Nick had gone out for a “meeting.” Chloe wasn’t sure if that was true, but it gave her a chance. She tiptoed through the halls, her heart beating fast. Her bare feet made no sound on the cold floor.

She reached the study door and slowly pushed it open.

The study room was dark. The only light in the room was the one the moon radiated, which shone through the window.

She went to the study desk, and her hands trembled as she checked the drawers.

She checked the top drawer; It was empty. The second drawer was just filled with papers while the third drawer was locked.

She stepped back in frustration. Then, she saw a shiny key behind a potted plant on the bookshelf.

She held her breath as she picked it up and slid it into the drawer lock, and it clicked open.

Inside was a leather folder labeled "Raymond Holdings - Acquisition Strategy".

Chloe froze for a minute.

She opened the folder. Inside were emails, contracts, meeting notes, documents…etc. Nick hadn’t saved her father’s company, rather he had masterminded the downfall.

Nick had it all planned out. He used secret deals, fake partnerships, and media tricks to push her father into debt.

Nick had destroyed her father's business on purpose and when her dad had no way out, Nick stepped in like a hero with a proposal and a marriage contract.

Chloe was so shocked by what she had just found out, her whole body went cold. Her discovery was less of an ordeal than she expected.

She fell into the chair behind her, her legs were too weak to stand.

It was all a setup. Everything was a lie from the beginning.

She flipped through the papers in the folder with shaky hands. At the end was a contract signed by her father. It handed full control of Raymond Holdings to Manchester Enterprises.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Everything was all a lie.

Her marriage, her feelings, the man she had started to care about were all built on betrayal.

"Had Nick used her father's downfall to trap her in marriage?" she thought to herself.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. She turned around and saw Nick standing in the doorway.

His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, with his jacket hung open while his eyes were sharp and locked in the folder in her hands.

“Looking for something?” he asked softly.

Chloe stood, fire burning in her chest. “You lied to me.”

Nick stepped into the room. He looked calm and cold. “I never promised honesty, I only promised a solution.”

“You ruined my father,” she whispered. “You made us desperate, then you offered a hand just to pull me into this sham of a marriage.”

Nick shrugged. “He made bad business choices and I saw an opportunity.”

She slapped him so hard that the sound echoed in the room.

Nick’s jaw twitched, but he didn’t move.

“You’re a monster,” she said, her voice shaking. “I gave up everything to save my father's business, and you’re the reason we lost it in the first place.”

“I did what I had to do to have you,” he said.

She stared at him. “You destroyed my family, all for what? For lust?”

“No,” he said, stepping closer. “For love.”

She took a step back. “You don’t even know what love is.”

Nick opened his mouth, but she was already walking past him, fuming with rage.

She went into her room and locked the door behind her and leaned against it, breathing hard.

She would get back at him. But first, she needed a plan.

She looked down at the folder in her hand and took a deep breath.

Then she said to herself with rage in her eyes, "If Nick could play dirty, so could I. I will make sure to take away everything he worked for, and I will destroy him just the same way he destroyed my father's business. And this I swear on my mother's grave."