My Husband Married Me for Revenge, I Ruined His Plan Chapter 06

My Husband Married Me for Revenge, I Ruined His Plan Chapter 06

The blizzard that nearly killed me finally cracked Winston’s composure for good.

Looking at me in that hospital bed, he could no longer hide the guilt in his eyes.

Besides, he was probably still lying to himself—believing he’d never truly loved me, that I was just payback against Cade.

Now that things had spiraled this far, the decent thing to do was throw money at the problem and walk away.

No reason to cling to a woman he didn’t love.

On the day we finalized the divorce, he didn’t even show up.

I got the papers from the lawyers.

He gave me plenty—more than most would.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that he never intended to cut ties completely.

Even after signing the papers, he had quietly left himself a way back into my life.

In the end, I kept only one property and returned everything else.

I kept it only because my father’s memorial portrait had been kept there once, for a year.

Afterward, I returned to Willow Ridge Valley.

Zachary’s clinic sat in a small town. They treated livestock. Treated people. Whoever needed help.

Every morning, I woke before sunrise and brewed a huge pot of cider.

We handed it out free to local ranchers.

In the afternoons, I’d ride out with Zachary into the mountains on house calls, until the insides of my thighs were rubbed raw and bleeding.

On the seventh day, I spotted Cade on a distant hillside, sitting atop his old black horse—watching, not coming any closer.

I raised my hand and waved.

The next second, he swung down from the saddle.

He strode down the slope, bringing the sun and the wind with him.

Before I could react, he wrapped me inside his oversized ranch coat and pulled me tightly against him.

His arms locked around me. He buried his face in the curve of my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

“Sorry,” he rasped. “Couldn’t help myself.”

He let out a shaky laugh. “Laurel…”

“Even if I spent ten thousand lifetimes learning to be civilized—you wave at me, and I’m still that savage who’d steal his bride.”

I laughed and punched his shoulder lightly.

“Cade. What are your plans these days?”

He lowered his head. The tips of his ears turned red.

“I expanded the ranch. I hired over fifty workers.”

Then he hesitated. “And… I enrolled in an MBA program. A correspondence program.”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Wanted you to see I can do better. I’m not just some sheep herder.”

At sixteen, Cade could ride anything with four legs and shoot like a marksman. His handwriting? A disaster.

I’d tease him, and he’d throw down his pen and say, “I herd sheep. Why the hell do I need to write?”

And now here he was. Head bowed, telling me, so serious, that he’d signed up for an MBA.

Warmth spread through my chest.

I didn’t say anything.

I just reached up and smoothed back the hair the wind had blown across his forehead.

His eyes reddened.

But peaceful days never lasted forever.

On the tenth day, Zachary stormed into the clinic and slammed a document onto my desk.

It was a suspension order. The clinic had been shut down.

The stated reason was health and safety violations.

County inspectors had shown up without warning. Equipment, medicine—everything sealed.

Zachary was furious. “This clinic’s been running for twenty years!”

“Last year we won an award for excellence!”

I stared at the notice. I recognized that seal right away.

It was the medical association, in the charge of Sterling Group.

I grabbed my phone and dialed the number.

Winston picked up. His voice was quiet, tired—hoarse. “Laurel.”

My grip tightened around the phone. “You went back on your word.”

Silence filled the line. A long silence.

Finally, he spoke, “Laurel.”

His breathing trembled slightly. “Come back.”

“I thought divorce would just be divorce. I thought I’d be fine.”

His voice grew lower. “But after you left, I went home alone.”

“There were no flowers. No soup waiting on the stove. The entryway felt empty.”

“There wasn’t even anyone waiting for me to come home.”

A bitter laugh escaped him. “I thought I’d just gotten used to you.”

“But after you left, I couldn’t spend a single second in that house.”

“I thought I had everything under control.” His voice broke. “I was wrong. And I regret it.”

“Come back. Marry me again. And the clinic—I can make that suspension disappear soon.”

I hung up. That was when I realized my hand was shaking.

That evening, Cade came to the clinic.

He didn’t ask a single question.

Instead, he placed a contract in front of me.

I looked down. It was a proposal for a rural health initiative.

Cade would personally fund the construction of new clinics throughout the county. The first location was ours.

At the bottom of the contract, beneath the official terms, was a handwritten note.

[Laurel Croft is to be the clinic’s sole Medical Advisor. Salary: to be filled in by Laurel herself.]

I looked up.

Cade leaned one hand against the edge of the desk.

His ears were red again. His gaze was direct and unwavering.

“Write down whatever you want,” he said, a grin pulling at his mouth.

“And if the ranch can’t cover it…” He stepped closer. “I’ll throw in myself too. Life included.”

“Laurel.” His voice softened. “Out here on this prairie, you do whatever you want. I’ve got the rest.”

I looked at him for a long moment. “Cade.”

“Hm?”

“You’ve finally speak up.”

He laughed.

That was when Winston showed up.

In his hand was a bracelet—the one I’d broken, now restrung, bead by careful bead.

I didn’t take it.

Behind me, Cade stepped forward and rested a hand on my shoulder.

Winston’s gaze fixed on that hand, the light in his eyes going dim.

After a long silence, he set the bracelet on the inn’s doorstep. Then he turned and walked away.

A little later, Zachary’s daughter came running over.

She picked it up and held it out to me.

“Laurel, this is so pretty!”

I smiled and patted her head. “You can keep it.”

Her eyes immediately lit up. She ran away happily, clutching it to her chest.

But Winston wasn’t done causing trouble for me yet.