Chapter 14 Just a Misunderstanding
Sloane's POV
What are they doing? Is this how they act when I'm not around?
The maid said Jared wouldn't let Keira get close, so what's this supposed to be? Should I not have come back and interrupted their little moment?
A huge sense of irony and humiliation flooded my brain. I felt like a complete fool. I could even imagine the smugness hiding behind Keira's seemingly innocent eyes when she saw me.
To hell with his stomach problems, to hell with my concern!
I didn't want to watch anymore. I turned around silently, wanting to escape this suffocating place.
"Sloane!"
Jared's hoarse and urgent voice suddenly came from behind me.
I paused but didn't turn around.
Rapid footsteps approached from far to near, and a strong force grabbed my wrist.
Jared had caught up from behind. The strong smell of alcohol on him surrounded me.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" His breathing was unsteady, and he gripped my hand very hard.
I didn't struggle, just said coldly, "Didn't want to interrupt your good time."
"It's not what you think." He immediately explained, a hint of panic in his voice. "I drank too much. Keira was just trying to help me up, and I accidentally fell on the couch."
Listening to his explanation, I just found it absurd and laughable.
Did he think I was stupid? Did he think I would still believe whatever he said like I used to?
I yanked my hand away with such force that even I was surprised.
"Jared," I turned around, "you don't need to explain to me. We're about to get divorced. Where you are and who you're with has nothing to do with me."
His face instantly turned ugly in the dim light. "Sloane, I told you it was a misunderstanding."
"Really?" I pulled at the corner of my mouth in a mocking smile. "Then should I thank Miss Winslow for taking such good care of my husband?"
He was left speechless by my words, just stubbornly reaching out again to pull me. "Come inside with me, let me explain."
"Enough!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, I jumped back a step, avoiding his touch, and shouted almost shrilly, "I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear a single word!"
I could no longer stand being in the same space with him. I turned and ran outside, like a defeated loser fleeing in panic.
The night wind blew on my face, ice-cold and piercing, but it couldn't blow away the fire in my heart.
I walked aimlessly along the street and finally stopped at a 24-hour convenience store to buy a few bottles of water.
I had just opened a bottle, the cold liquid not yet down my throat, when my phone rang sharply.
I glanced at the caller ID and couldn't help but laugh. Such deep mother-daughter love.
Knowing I had wronged Keira, she immediately called.
I swiped to answer, my tone unfriendly: "What?"
"Sloane! What exactly do you want!" Isabelle launched into a tirade, her voice sharp and harsh. "You know perfectly well that Jared was drunk, and Keira was kindly taking care of him. What's the meaning of you going back and making such a scene? Do you have to make it known to everyone and make our family a laughingstock?"
Listening to her twist the truth, I was so angry I laughed. "In your eyes, everything I do is wrong, isn't it?"
"Isn't it? You deliberately make things hard for Keira! You're just jealous of her!"
"Yes, I am jealous of her." Too lazy to pretend anymore, I coldly interrupted her. "I'm jealous she has such a good mother like you who twists the truth to protect her. I'm jealous she can easily get things I can never have."
There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Isabelle's voice became even sharper. "You... you ungrateful wretch! Our family raised you all these years, and this is how you talk to your elders?"
I tilted my head back and took a big gulp of water. The cold liquid slid down my throat but couldn't suppress the irritation in my heart.
Arguing was pointless. I was tired.
"Mrs. Isabelle Winslow, don't worry." I spoke calmly. "I won't ruin things for them. Our divorce is already being discussed. Soon I'll get out of the position of Mrs. Montclair and return it completely to your precious daughter."
Isabelle seemed not to have expected me to say this. Her tone faltered.
I laughed lightly and continued twisting the knife into her heart. "But if you really care about your daughter, you should advise her not to be so eager before I'm officially divorced. Otherwise, when the label of affair during marriage comes down, Jared might not care, but Keira will carry the stigma of 'mistress' for the rest of her life. Then it'll be the Winslow family losing face."
Sure enough, this hit Isabelle's sore spot.
What she cared about most was the family's reputation and Keira's image.
"You... what nonsense are you talking about!" She sounded somewhat flustered, but her momentum had clearly weakened.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you know in your heart." After saying this, I hung up directly.
So noisy.
The convenience store's air conditioning was on full blast. I sat in a corner, gulping down cold water one mouthful after another.
Waves of coldness came from my stomach, but the burning feeling in my heart just wouldn't go down.
I picked up my phone and randomly booked a room on a hotel app.
Tonight I didn't want to return to any place related to Jared.
The next day, I pulled myself together and took a taxi to the research institute where Lila worked.
She had mentioned a tricky case before. I wanted to personally look at the data - maybe I could find a better treatment plan.
I had just reached the entrance of the research institute building when a familiar figure came up to me.
"Sloane." Keira called out to me. She was holding a delicate crystal necklace that made her pale little face look even more pitiful.
I stopped and looked at her coldly.
"Can we talk?" She took two steps forward, her face showing some pleading. "Just at the coffee shop next door. It won't take much of your time."
I glanced at the crystal necklace in her hand, roughly guessing why she was here.
Fine. Some things should be made clear.
We sat down by the window in the coffee shop.