She Forgave the Crush Who Ruined Her Mom, I Divorced Chapter 02

She Forgave the Crush Who Ruined Her Mom, I Divorced Chapter 02 Broken Vows and Faded Devotion
Everyone noticed the expression on Zach’s face.
He ground his teeth together and let out a bitter sneer.
“Sloane, look what your husband’s done to me. What exactly do you plan to do about this?”
Every soul across the city knew Sloane and Zach were lifelong bitter rivals, locked in a vicious, years-long feud.
The pair could never occupy the same space without flying at each other’s throats the second they crossed paths.
At the peak of their unbridled hatred,
Zach took a blade and sliced deep gashes across Sloane’s face,
and Sloane drove a knife clean through his shoulder in retaliation.
Later, under strong pressure from their parents, they set ground rules:
Neither would provoke the other, so long as neither stepped over their hard-set personal boundaries.
Yet even after I’d only thrown a handful of punches at Zach just minutes prior, Sloane’s brows knitted tight with disapproval.
“Elias, this whole mess is on you, no two ways about it.”
“Zach was just messing around. You’re far too thin-skinned; you can’t even take a light joke.”
“Go over there and apologize to him right now.”
A hollow, mirthless laugh bubbled out of me, pushing past the burning ache stinging behind my eyes as I spoke in a quiet, flat tone.
“Sloane, every cruel, vicious thing he’s ever done to me. Are you ready to brush all of it off like it never mattered?”
“I wiped out his entire fortune just for your sake. What else could you possibly demand from me?”
Sloane’s tone sharpened with clear frustration, her frown deepening further.
“Can you stop making a scene? You’re the one in the wrong here.”
Her ridiculous words hit me like a cold slap, and for the very first time, she felt like a total stranger standing before me.
Back then, the year Zach hired men to abduct Sloane’s entire family. I’d charged in without hesitation, absorbing over a dozen stab wounds just to drag her safely out of harm’s way.
That day, she’d been covered head-to-toe in blood, clinging to my frame like I was her only lifeline.
She’d sworn she loathed Zach for murdering her mother.
She’d whispered how lucky she was to have me, vowing she’d love me for every single remaining year of her life.
The entire relationship suddenly felt utterly meaningless, and I twisted around to walk away.
Her fingers shot out to clamp tight around my wrist. Sharp, pointed acrylic nails dug hard into my skin, sending a searing jolt of pain shooting up my arm.
I ripped my arm free without pause and landed a sharp, ringing slap straight across her left cheek.
“Smack!”
Every single person in the room froze at the sight—all except Zach, who watched on with cold amusement.
Fire flared across Sloane’s left cheek, throbbing hot and raw beneath her skin.
All warmth drained from her expression in an instant; everyone in the room could tell her rage had fully ignited.
But what right did she have to burn with anger at me?
I turned my back and strode out of the private dining room, their muffled voices still drifting after me as I left.
Zach pushed himself to his feet, slinging one lazy arm over Sloane’s shoulders and huffing a dismissive, mocking scoff.
“So this fragile, hotheaded mess was the man you ruined my whole fortune to hold onto?”
“Drop that mournful, grief-stricken look like someone just died. I’m not gonna give you a hard time. After all the times you’ve bent over backwards to soothe me, I’ll cut you some slack and let you run after him to make things right.”
“Would hate to see him bolt for good and watch you drain my bank accounts all over again.”
Sloane’s forehead creased instantly with guilt, and she reached up to cup both sides of his face gently.
“Zach, I was the one who wronged you all those years ago.”
I’d once believed Sloane would carry unending hatred for Zach until her dying breath.
After all, he’d orchestrated the kidnapping that led to her mother’s death.
He’d also tied my injured, bleeding body up afterward, forcing Sloane to sign a legal release absolving him of all charges.
Back then, Zach had laid out only two stark choices for her.
Sign the release paperwork, and I’d walk away unharmed.
Or drive a blade through his heart then and there.
Her eyes blazing red with rage, Sloane hadn’t hesitated a single second. She’d sunk a knife deep into his shoulder, fresh blood pooling thick across the floorboards.
Only after that violent act did she scrawl her signature across the release form, her hands shaking nonstop.
Her voice trembled violently as she spoke to him.
“Zach, if you ever pull a stunt like this again, I’ll drag your entire bloodline down to the deepest pits of hell with you.”
“Scum like you is nothing but a waste of law enforcement resources, even behind bars.”
“Someday soon, I’m gonna make you beg forgiveness—for my mother, and for every wound you’ve left on Elias.”
Beneath Zach’s burning, venomous glare, Sloane took my hand and led me out of that room all those years ago.
That marked the first time she’d ever let her guard down and show raw vulnerability in front of me.
She’d clung tightly to my chest, crying uncontrollably, apologizing to me over and over again. She’d sworn she’d never let me get hurt on her account ever again.