Chapter 62 Withered B*tch
Claire
Ian turned his glare on me, eyes blazing.
“Oh, this is what we’re doing now, huh? You're throwing me out of my house!!!”
I met his glare head-on.
“Your house? Did you just call it yours? It’s my house, Ian. And I want you out of it this instant.”
I was breathing hard now, teetering right on the edge of losing control completely.
“This hasn’t been our house from the moment you got yourself another woman,” I said. “From the moment you bought a place to shelter your infidelity, this house ceased to be ours. It’s mine only.”
I turned to the guards already positioned nearby.
“I said get this man out of my house,” I barked again.
Ian lunged forward, fingers clamping around my arm so hard I knew bruises would bloom later.
“How dare you, Claire,” he snarled, shaking me violently.
But the men moved fast. They grabbed him, yanking him off me. The second his hands released, Isa rushed over and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.
Ian wasn’t finished, though.
“You think you’re the prize, huh?” he shouted as they dragged him backward. “You’re nothing, Claire. You’re an old, withered bitch!”
He struggled against their hold, trying to twist free.
“Get away from me—I can walk by myself!”
One of the suited bodyguards replied coolly, “Then I suggest you move it yourself, or we’ll proceed to drag you out.”
Ian threw me one last hardened glare. I stared back, chest heaving.
He finally turned and stalked toward the door, the guards flanking him like shadows. One of them paused and came back to me with a subtle, professional smile.
“I assure you, Madam Anthony—we’ll do our job. He won’t set foot here again unless you allow it.”
I nodded. But in my heart I already knew: I would never allow it. Ian and I were done. Forever.
Withered bitch.
I couldn’t even blame him for thinking it. That’s how he’d seen me for a long time now.
It was the reason he started cheating in the first place, wasn’t it?
But was it really my fault? Was there something I did wrong? I tried, God, I tried so hard to hold this family together as tightly as I could. Was I the reason this marriage failed?
The questions kept crashing in: What did I do wrong? Where did I go wrong?
The bodyguard gave a small nod and left. Now it was just me and the children, all of them staring at me in stunned silence.
I took one long, shaky breath of relief, forced a smile onto my face, and turned to them. Isa was still clinging to my side.
“You see?” I said quietly. “We’ve gone to a place of no return. I hope you can understand.”
They nodded, awkward, wordless nods. Words had failed them completely.
But I couldn’t stay here any longer. I needed to retreat, to lie down, to pull myself back together before I shattered right in front of them.
“I’ll head inside,” I said.
Isa slowly let go of the hug. They watched as I climbed the stairs, leaving them below so they could talk among themselves, process what they’d just witnessed.
As far as I knew, this was the first time they’d ever seen their parents like this. Yes, my children had been well sheltered—maybe too well. And that was going to be a problem now.
They needed to learn that the beautiful, safe world Mummy had always shown them wasn’t always like that. If I’d let them see even a glimpse of how ugly things could get, maybe Isa wouldn’t have fallen so hard for that boy. Maybe she wouldn’t have given him her virginity. Maybe he wouldn’t have played her and broken her heart the way he did.
The moment I closed the bedroom door behind me, I pressed my fingers to my temple. The violent shake from Ian had made the headache explode again.
I staggered to the bed and lowered myself onto it slowly, resting my head on the pillow.
Truly, it had been a day filled with chaos.
And my “withered” body, as Ian so kindly called it, needed rest.
Liam
I stared blankly at my phone.
One tap and I could call Mrs. Claire.
But every time my thumb hovered over her name, something stopped me cold.
When I saw she was in the hospital, all I could think about was getting there. I hadn’t thought it through, hadn’t considered I might run into her children. Luckily it was only the big-mouthed daughter.
She looked so much like her father, but that sharp tongue? It was her mother's.
Her mother… Mrs. Claire, thinking back, that was the first time I’d ever seen her like that, so fragile, so brittle. One wrong push and she’d shatter into a thousand pieces.
It’s not my place to get involved in her family mess.
But if it’s taking this kind of toll on her, it’ll force me to do something.
Hell, I’ve wanted to do something since the moment I found out he’d hit her before. I’ve been holding myself back from beating that son of a bitch senseless.
But I still will.
I have plans for him. He’ll regret ever laying a hand on her.
A knock at the door pulled me out of it.
I knew that rhythm, Pattie.
I sighed low. “Come in,” I said, tucking the phone into my pocket.
She walked in. Her steps weren’t as bold as they used to be. Ever since I put her in her place, she’s changed a little. But I’m never fully convinced.
That possessiveness still glints in her eyes.
“Oh, I came to see you,” she said. “It’s really hard to do that these days. Can I sit?”
I nodded once. She sat.
“Is there a problem you want to see me about?” I asked, cocking my head.
“Should there always be a problem before I come see you?” she countered.
I stared at her, fingers drumming slowly on the desk.
“No,” I said. “But I really need to be alone right now.”
She twisted her mouth. “Well… you always like to be alone, Liam. When are you going to stop being alone?”
The question caught me off guard.
“You’ve always been alone,” she went on, “from the first time I saw you.”
For some reason it irritated me, deep, sharp irritation.
But I didn’t throw her out.
Because, damn it, she was right.
You don’t expect an orphan like me to have anyone.
So yes, I learned to be alone.
And I loved it.
It’s better if I keep everyone at arm’s length. Do my business with them, take what I need, and be done. Clean. Simple. No attachments, no mess, no weakness.
That’s how it’s always been.
That’s how I survive.
But there’s one now who’s slipped right past every rule I set.
Mrs. Claire.
The more time I spend with her, the more I ravage her, the more I want her all to myself.