Chapter 7
Jack knelt there in the schoolyard dust, his expensive sult collecting dirt as he called me his wife.
The scene froze every parent in place. Their smartphones hung forgotten in mid air.
The crowd that had been so sure of everything moments ago now stood in stunned silence.
Ashley’s perfectly crafted world cracked “What… what’s happening?
“Did he just call her… his wife?”“]
“That can’t
be right. There must be some mistake.”
The parents swarmed Ashley with questions she couldn’t answer. Their certainty crumbled like a house of cards.
The color drained from her face. The confident socialite facade shattered, revealing the desperate woman beneath.]
When she finally found her voice, it came out as a shriek. “Jack! What the hell is this? Why are you calling that whore your wife?”
Her designer handbag hit the ground as she grabbed his shoulders. “You told me our marriage was just paperwork! You promised we’d have a real wedding once you took over the company“]
Her voice cracked with hysteria. “We have a son together! And now you’re kneeling to… to her?“]
The carefully maintained composure of the CEO’s wife dissolved completely.
“You said I was the love of your
cheeks.
of your life! Was that all
il bes? ¿ Answer me!” She shook him violently, mascara running down her
Jack shoved her away with enough force to send her stumbling “Just shut up!”
“Can’t you see you’re ruining everything?”
Ashley staggered back like she’d been slapped. This wasn’t her charming, devoted Jack. This was a stranger wearing his face.
The man she’d built her dreams around had vanished in an instant]
But Jack was already focused on me, his only thought now self preservation. Still on his knees, his voice turned pleading.
“Baby, please. I know I screwed up badly. Give me one more chance. Just one.”
The polished CEO was gone. In his place knelt a desperate man who’d lost his script.[]
I looked down at him, feeling nothing. Five years of love had turned to ash.
“You remember what happened to my mother, don’t you? How my father’s affair drove her to suicide?”
“I told you betrayal was the one thing I could never forgive.”
“You stood there on our wedding day, swearing I was your everything. Look how that turned out.”
ut.–0
I gestured toward Ashley. “You didn’t just cheat. You built a whole second life.”
“And now I see everything clearly. That
face charges. You didn’t even blink w/scue‘ at Murphy’s Bar wasn’t chance, was it? You made sure those
you learned who my family was.”
“This was all planned from the start, wasn’t it?”
“You used my family’s money to play big shot CEO, funding your little side family the whole time.”
“Quite the long con, Jack. I have to give you that.”
guys didn’t
The reality hit me like a physical blow. Every tender moment, every loving gesture all carefully orchestrated steps in his master plan.
Emma and I had given him our complete trust. We’d believed he was our rock, our protector.]
“Sarah, please!” His hands clutched at mine, eyes wild with fear. “I swear I love you! This was a mistake. It’ll never happen again!”
Ashley still couldn’t grasp what was happening. “Jack, why are you begging her? Even if she is your wife, you’re the one with the power. You run Walker Corp!”
Jack whirled on her, face contorted with rage. “Because I married into HER family! Everything the money, the position, all of it–it’s
