My Husband Let The Village Punish Me Chapter 07

My Husband Let The Village Punish Me Chapter 07

I returned to the Shaw house.

Caleb did not come back from the county medical center until the following day.

Something flickered in his eyes when he saw me, but I said nothing and continued packing my clothes.

Caleb lowered his head, his voice hoarse.

“Lila has four broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and seventeen stitches in her thigh. She lost the baby.”

He kept talking as though I had asked.

“She said some men in a remote mountain community raped her while she was there taking pictures, and that was how she got pregnant.”

“She said she had been afraid to tell me because she didn’t want me to worry or be upset.”

He was still worried about her.

Without saying a word, I took out Lila’s phone.

I had taken it from her after drugging her.

I knew better than anyone exactly what kind of person she was.

Caleb froze when he saw it, but he still took the phone.

The messages on the screen left him completely stunned.

The contact was saved as “Grant Prescott.”

Lila: [Grant, those seven days in Aspen were unforgettable.]

Grant replied: [Don’t put things like that in writing. Delete these messages.]

Grant: [You took $75,000 to spend seven days with me. That settled everything between us.]

Two months later, Lila messaged him again.

Lila: [Grant, I’m pregnant. What am I supposed to do?]

Lila: [My health isn’t good. I really can’t have an abortion.]

Grant did not reply until much later.

Grant: [How much do you want? Name a number.]

Lila sent a pleading-face emoji.

Lila: [I really want to have your baby.]

Grant lost his temper.

Grant: [Are you insane? I have a wife. You’re just an escort.]

Grant: [I’ll pay you $150,000 to terminate the pregnancy. If you refuse, I’ll have you taken to a clinic whether you like it or not.]

Lila accepted the $150,000.

But she never terminated the pregnancy.

She later messaged a close friend.

Lila: [$150,000 and he thinks I’ll disappear? Dream on.]

Lila: [Once the baby is born, I’ll demand an eight-figure child-support settlement.]

Friend replied: [You’ve already landed Grant Prescott. Why are you still wasting time on photography? It’s exhausting and barely pays.]

Lila gave a knowing little laugh.

Lila: [You don’t understand.]

Lila: [If I can call myself a freelance photographer, I’m no longer just another escort. I can double my rates.]

Lila: [If my work wins an award, I’ll become a well-known photographer. Then I can charge even more.]

She advised her friend:

Lila: [You need to build a respectable image too. Don’t assume you’re set for life just because you have Spencer Whitmore on the hook.]

Her friend sent a thumbs-up emoji.

Friend: [You really know how this works.]

Caleb went completely rigid.

For a long time, he stood there like a statue, unable to process what he had read.

I had nearly finished packing when I said pointedly,

“There are plenty more surprises in the camera roll. Take your time looking through them.”

Caleb’s body jerked.

With trembling fingers, he opened the photo gallery.

It was filled with pictures of Lila and different men.

Some were posed photographs. Others had clearly been taken without the men’s knowledge.

There were explicit pictures, nude pictures, and photographs of them in every position imaginable.

Caleb’s hand went slack, and the phone fell to the floor.

The world he had built around Lila collapsed.

He had believed she was independent and confident, someone admirable and innocent.

Behind that innocent face, however, was a woman who was utterly false and rotten to the core.

I had nothing more to say to him.

I picked up my suitcase.

Caleb scrambled to his feet.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving you.”

I did not slow down.

Caleb grabbed my wrist.

“Tessa, I know I was wrong. Stay, and we can start over.”

I tore my hand free.

“Caleb, tell me honestly. Was there ever a time when you had feelings for me?”

He was silent for a long time.

Then he gave an answer I had not expected.

“Yes.”

I was taken aback.

“I’ve never forgotten the way you looked in your wedding dress the day you came here,” he said quietly.

“I remember seeing you make oatmeal every morning. I remember you crouching beside the chicken run to scatter feed and humming while you tended the fish smoker. I noticed all of it.”

I stared at him, genuinely stunned by what he had said.

For once, I was genuinely stunned.

In three years, he had never said anything like that to me.

I had always believed he barely saw me at all.

Caleb continued, his voice growing quieter.

“But whenever I felt myself falling for you, I reminded myself that Lila was the woman I loved.”

“She faked her death and left home because of me. She was out there alone, drifting from place to place, and I couldn’t betray her.”

His eyes reddened.

“I’m sorry. I refused to admit how I really felt.”

“Lila deceived me, and I regret what I did.”

A faint, humorless smile touched my lips.

“Don’t put all the blame on Lila.”

“She never asked you to remain celibate for three years.”

“And the Blessing would never have happened without your approval.”

I looked directly at him.

“What you did was wrong. Nothing can change that.”

Caleb nodded frantically.

“Yes, I was wrong. We can build a good life together from now on.”

He looked at me pleadingly, like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting for a parent’s approval.

I shook my head.

“It’s too late. I want a divorce.”

Caleb immediately shook his head and tightened his grip on my hand.

“I won’t agree to it.”

“It doesn’t matter whether you agree.”

I pulled a document from my pocket.

It was Nate’s sworn statement.

It recorded in detail everything Caleb had said while they were drinking.

[Lila is alive.]

[Caleb has been sending her money every year.]

[Don’t go easy on Tessa.]

[Gag her, cover her face, and keep beating her because she won’t be able to say the words.]

I had gone to Nate that morning, and he had signed and dated the statement under penalty of perjury.

“I made three copies. One is mine, one is going to Greyhaven’s town council, and the third is going to the county sheriff’s office.”

“If you contest the divorce, I’ll make sure everyone knows that the Shaw family’s son entered a marriage under false pretenses, conspired to have his wife beaten, and refused to consummate the marriage for three years.”

The color drained from Caleb’s face.

He stared at the statement.

“Nate… He wrote this?”

“He did.”

“Why would he help you?”

“Because he’s still human, and he still has a conscience.”

Caleb fell silent and did not speak again for a long time.