Free Web NovelChapter 29: Chapter 29
Riley’s POV
The words are barely out of my mouth before I turn away from Ethan and face the brothers, my heart still racing, my body shaking but my mind suddenly very clear.
"I would like to sign it now," I say.
The room goes quiet again, heavy and tense.
"Sign what, Riley?" Ethan asks sharply, stepping closer, his confusion cutting through his anger. "What are you talking about?"
I don’t even look at him.
Gunnar moves without a word, calm and precise, like he’s been waiting for this exact moment. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out the folder again, the same one that’s been sitting on the table like a loaded weapon since the beginning of all this.
He opens it slowly, then looks straight at Ethan.
"Your wife is agreeing to divorce you within thirty days," Gunnar says, his voice cold and flat, "so she can marry us."
Ethan blinks.
Once. Twice.
Like his brain refuses to process the words.
"What?" he gasps, then louder, almost desperate, "Riley? You’re not serious about that, are you?"
I finally turn to him. And I smile.
Not because I’m happy, not because this feels good, but because for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m the one holding the power.
"You think I’m joking?" I ask quietly.
Before he can respond, I reach out and take the papers from Gunnar’s hands. The weight of them feels real, like proof that this isn’t just words anymore. I flip to the last page, my eyes scanning the lines even though I already know what they say.
My name is right there.
All I have to do is sign.
I lift the pen.
And then Ethan moves.
He grabs me suddenly, his hand wrapping around my wrist, spinning me toward him so fast I barely have time to react. Before I can pull away, before I can speak, his mouth crashes into mine.
It’s rough. Desperate. Familiar.
For half a second, my body freezes, shocked, and then something horrible happens.
I almost lose myself.
The kiss pulls memories out of me I didn’t ask for. Nights when he used to hold my face like this. Mornings when he’d kiss me before leaving for work. The way he looked at me when we were newly married, when he treated me like I mattered.
My hands twitch, my heart stumbles, and for that brief moment, everything inside me goes soft.
Then he pulls back.
"Don’t do this," he says quickly, his voice lower now, shaky in a way I’ve never heard before. "Please, Riley. We can sort this out. I swear we can. Come home with me. Let’s talk. Let’s fix it."
His eyes soften as he speaks, and it hits me hard because I remember that look. I remember craving it. I remember waiting for years for him to look at me like that again instead of through me.
"Please," he continues, his voice breaking just a little. "I promise I’ll change. I swear I will."
And just like that, all my defenses crumble. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Because no matter how much I hate him right now, no matter how deep the hurt goes, the truth is still there, ugly and painful and impossible to deny.
I love Ethan.
I’ve always loved him. freёweɓnovel.com
I loved him when he betrayed me. I loved him when he lied. I loved him when he made me feel small. I loved him even when he didn’t deserve it.
And I’ve been waiting for this moment. Waiting for regret. Waiting for him to finally see what he was about to lose.
My chest tightens, tears burning my eyes as I look at him, really look at him, and for a second I see the man I married instead of the man he became.
I swallow hard.
Then I turn back to the brothers.
"I’m sorry," I say, my voice shaking but clear. "But I’m leaving with my husband."
The silence that follows is sharp and dangerous.
Ethan exhales like he’s been holding his breath the whole time. Relief floods his face, and he reaches for me again, like he’s afraid I’ll disappear if he doesn’t keep touching me.
But before he can say anything else, Gunnar speaks.
"You’re really as foolish as I thought, Riley," he says coldly. "Even more stupid than I imagined."
The words snap something in me.
I spin around so fast my head almost swims, anger flaring hot and instant.
"Don’t you dare talk to me like that," I snap back. "What’s really stupid isn’t forgiving and accepting my husband back. What’s stupid is you standing there thinking I’m going to marry all of you."
Caden’s brow lifts slightly, amused, but Cane’s face hardens.
"I mean, seriously," I continue, my voice rising, sharp and biting, "who in their right senses marries three brothers?"
The words hang in the air, daring them to respond.
Gunnar steps forward slowly, his expression dark, controlled, but there’s something dangerous simmering beneath it.
"You think this is a joke," he says. "You think this is some fantasy you can dip in and out of when it suits you."
"I think this is insane," I shoot back. "All of it. You, this contract, this whole situation. You don’t get to insult me because I chose my husband over you."
Cane steps in now, his voice calm but edged. "Your husband hit you just now do you realise that?"
My jaw tightens. "That’s between me and him."
"He called you a whore," Caden adds quietly.
"And yet here you are," Gunnar says, his eyes locked on mine, "running back to him the second he looks at you the right way."
I laugh bitterly. "You don’t know anything about my marriage."
"We know enough," Gunnar replies. "We know he’s cruel to you. We know he lies. We know he hurts you."
"And you think that makes you better?" I fire back.
"No," Cane says sharply. "We think you deserve more than your pathetic husband."
I shake my head, disbelief and anger crashing together. "You don’t get to decide what I deserve."
Ethan steps closer to me, possessive now, his hand settling on my lower back. "We’re leaving," he says firmly.
Caden tilts his head, studying me. "He’ll promise you the world tonight," he says. "He’ll beg. And then tomorrow, he’ll go back to being exactly who he is Riley, you’re just married to a stranger and he’s with you because of a reason, that reason you’ll find out one day, that is if it’s not too late for you to realize your silliness."
I feel torn in half, anger pulling me one way, fear and love pulling me the other.
"I’m done listening to this," I say. "Ethan, let’s go."
"You can’t leave with her Ethan until we say so" Gunnar growled immediately, his eyes turning molten gold..
