His Perfect Wife Died The Day He Made Her Kneel Chapter 03

His Perfect Wife Died The Day He Made Her Kneel Chapter 03

Chloe walked from high noon until the sun dipped below the horizon, her feet bursting with painful, bloody blisters. By the time she finally reached the front door of the Sterling mansion, she was starving, freezing, and on the absolute verge of a psychological breakdown.

Seething with resentment, she pushed the door open, only to find Victoria and Evelyn sitting comfortably on the living room sofa, laughing and chatting merrily with Robert.

The moment she stepped inside, three sets of eyes locked onto her, and a heavy, suffocating silence blanketed the room.

Chloe let out a cold, cynical laugh, throwing her hands up in mock apology. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Did I interrupt a lovely family reunion? Just pretend I’m not here. Please, continue.”

Victoria instantly wiped the smile off her face, forcing a fragile, victimized expression as she dabbed at her dry eyes. “Chloe, since you’re back, why don’t we have a proper chat? Is there some sort of misunderstanding between us? If I’ve done anything to make you uncomfortable, please tell me. I promise I’ll change…”

Hearing those pathetic, sugary words made Chloe’s expression darken instantly. “Dad, you shouldn’t let stray dogs into the house. What happens if they get rabid and bite someone?”

Victoria’s carefully constructed facade nearly cracked right then and there. Her eyes widened, glaring at Chloe with a look that suggested she wanted to tear her limb from limb.

Robert’s face twisted into an ugly, furious mask, his chest heaving violently with rage. “Have you no shame?!” he roared. “Get over here right now and apologize to your Aunt Victoria! How dare you lay your hands on her?! Have I completely spoiled you?!”

Chloe’s smirk only grew colder. “What’s wrong? Does it break your heart to see her hurt?”

Victoria lowered her gaze demurely, gently resting her hand on Robert’s thigh. “Let it go, Robert. Chloe is still just a child. It’s only natural for her to have some resentment bottled up inside.”

“That doesn’t give her the right to act like a complete lunatic!” Robert snapped. “Look at her! A young woman from a respectable family acting like a common thug! It’s utterly embarrassing!”

Chloe knew exactly what was going on. Robert was profoundly hurt on his mistress’s behalf. Seeing his beloved little lover sporting a black eye from a beating meant he wouldn’t let Chloe off with just a simple scolding.

How profoundly ironic.

When her mother was alive, he hadn’t shown a shred of empathy, yet he treated a cheap mistress like a fragile piece of porcelain.

Robert slammed his teacup onto the floor, shattering it into a million pieces as he bellowed, “Right now! Apologize to Aunt Victoria!”

A profound, freezing numbness washed over Chloe’s heart. She raised her eyes, looking at the distant, unrecognizable stranger who claimed to be her father. “Fine. I’ll apologize.”

She turned her body fully toward Victoria, bending forward in an exaggerated, sarcastic bow. “My humblest apologies, the home-wrecking gold-digger. Next time, I promise I’ll beat you so hard your own mother won’t recognize you.”

“You…!”

Robert’s face flushed a violent shade of purple, his breath catching in his throat from pure rage.

Victoria’s eyelids twitched violently, her hands clenching into tight fists as she spat back with venomous passive-aggression, “Chloe, dear, you’re a woman on the verge of marriage. Having a strong personality is fine, but you need to learn some restraint. Otherwise, it would be a real tragedy if your man throws you out like garbage…”

Chloe stopped dead in her tracks just as she was about to head upstairs. She whipped her head around, her tongue dripping with pure acid. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. If a low-class piece of trash like you can find a man to take her in, I’m sure I won’t die alone. But then again, even if I do end up completely alone, I’d rather die than be someone’s dirty little secret…”

“Unlike some people, I actually have self-respect.”

Victoria’s entire body began to shake uncontrollably, her eyes welling with tears of pure humiliation. Her caked-on makeup couldn’t hide how hideous her expression had become.

“You… you…!”

Clutching her chest, she began to gasp and moan as if she were having a sudden panic attack.

Terrified for her safety, Robert threw his arms around her, turning to scream at Chloe like a rabid animal, “Get the hell out of my sight, you complete psychopath!”

Chloe offered a triumphant, satisfied smile. She had finally avenged her mother’s memory against that wretched woman. With a leisurely stride, she made her way upstairs.

But before she could shut her bedroom door, Evelyn slid into the room right behind her.

“Chloe, Dad said that from now on, Mom and I are moving into the mansion permanently.”

A smug, malicious grin spread across Evelyn’s face, her eyes crinkling into cruel little crescents. “If I do anything to upset you in the future, I hope you’ll show some sisterly forbearance.”

Chloe threw her a freezing, dead-eyed glance but said nothing.

Evelyn, however, refused to drop the subject, murmuring with saccharine sweetness, “Dad also mentioned how much he regrets neglecting me all these years. He promised to make it up to me tenfold, giving me all the fatherly love I missed out on as a child. But honestly, I don’t feel bitter at all. After all, Dad has finally given me a complete family, and my mom is incredibly happy right now…”

“Shut your mouth!”

Chloe’s temper flared instantly. In one swift motion, she lunged forward and locked her fingers tightly around Evelyn’s throat. Her voice dropped into a deadly, venomous whisper. “The only mistress of this house is my mother. Even if she’s resting in a grave, a universally despised, homewrecking piece of filth like your mother will never have the right to take her place.”

“Go back down and tell your mother that if I catch either of you slipping up even an inch, I will personally throw both of you out onto the street right in front of my father’s face!”

Evelyn stared right back into her eyes, a smirk playing on her lips. There wasn’t a single shred of fear in her gaze—only a twisted sense of anticipation and utter disdain.

“Hehe… Chloe, my mom always says that the person who isn’t loved is the real interloper. Once my mom and Dad get officially married, who do you think everyone will view as the real outsider?”

Chloe’s heart seized sharply, the last traces of warmth draining from her eyes.

“Do you truly believe I won’t hurt you?”

Evelyn lifted her chin with arrogant defiance. “My mom is right downstairs.”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Chloe brought her hand down in a brutal, blistering slap across Evelyn’s face.

Evelyn stumbled backward violently, entirely losing her footing. She failed to realize how close she was to the grand staircase and went tumbling straight down the steps.

A terrified, blood-curdling shriek echoed through the mansion, accompanied by the horrific, heavy thuds of her body violently bouncing off the wooden steps.

“Ah! My baby…! How did you fall?!”

Following Victoria’s hysterical screams, Robert’s voice erupted in a thunderous, murderous roar from the bottom of the stairs.

“Chloe Sterling! What the hell have you done now?!”

Chloe stood at the top of the landing, looking down coldly at the chaotic mess below as the two of them scrambled in a panic. Turning on her heel, she walked back into her room.

Not even five minutes later, a loud, aggressive pounding rattled her bedroom door.

Chloe knitted her brows in annoyance, choosing to ignore it entirely.

A minute passed, and the knocking grew increasingly frantic, forcing her to finally rip the door open.

Evelyn stood at the threshold, looking entirely pitiful. Tears were still fresh on her cheeks, and her fragile, broken demeanor was designed to make any onlooker’s heart ache with profound sympathy.

“Chloe, I know you despise us,” Evelyn whimpered softly. “But I genuinely, truly want us to get along and be loving sisters.”

Chloe’s lip curled into pure disgust. “The Academy Awards really made a mistake by omitting you from the Best Actress category this year. Truly a loss for the cinematic world.”

Evelyn pouted, acting as though she hadn’t heard the biting sarcasm at all. “I know it’s incredibly hard for you to accept us right now, but I will prove my sincerity through my actions!”

Suppressing the urge to vomit from sheer disgust, Chloe waited for her to finish before offering a curt nod. “Are you quite done? Then get the hell out.”

Just as the door was about to slam shut, a large, powerful hand abruptly thrust through the gap, forcefully locking onto the edge of the frame.