\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door had been forced open, the lock smashed. Splinters were mixed with blood that hadn\u2019t yet dried.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel, an artist since childhood, reconstructed the scene instantly in his mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He thought Vivienne had smashed the door open with terrifying force to get out, that she had hurt herself badly and hadn\u2019t even seemed to notice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew Vivienne was terrified of pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Huge blood loss without proper treatment was fatal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A nameless panic began to claw at Nathaniel\u2019s chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suppressing a dull ache in his heart, he ordered his assistant, who had caught up with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFind her. Check the security feeds. Find out where my wife went.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mind was filled with the image of her neat, elegant signature on the divorce papers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could she divorce me?\u201d he wondered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For eight years of marriage, his childhood trauma had left him barely able to live independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivienne had been there for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She handled every potential choice he might face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wanted to paint, so she managed the company his father had left behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She provided the financial backing and took care of all the networking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was never forced to choose between his dreams and daily life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through it all, her support came in the form of constant smiles and steady encouragement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had led Nathaniel to the delusion that Vivienne was perfect, that she loved him so much that she was willing to sacrifice everything for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How could she leave?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSir\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His assistant\u2019s voice cut through his thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSir, you ordered all the surveillance cameras in this private clinic removed to ensure the surgery proceeded without any interference. We\u2026 There\u2019s no way to track her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel drove his fist into the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t even feel any pain when the blood began to trail down the plaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment later, Estelle arrived, holding her cheek, stumbling to his side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She cautiously took his hand. \u201cNathan Ricky\u2019s surgery was a success. A huge success. Are you going to let him wake up alone in his hospital\u00a0<\/p>\n
room?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel\u2019s expression flickered with hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noticing his wavering, Estelle seized the opportunity to push further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan, Vivi is probably just jealous that you chose to help me. She\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
288 Vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
playing hard to get. A brilliant, celebrated artist like you? There\u2019s no way she\u2019d actually leave!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel wavered. \u201cReally?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Estelle nodded vigorously. \u201cShe\u2019s just a housewife. What is she without you and the company your parents left Do you really think she\u2019d walk away from that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNathan, just ignore her. When she can\u2019t stand it anymore, she\u2019ll come crawling back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel lowered his gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t correct Estelle. He didn\u2019t point out that all these years, he had been the one relying on Vivienne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel wondered, \u201cEstelle was right about one thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could she bear to leave me\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved me so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was just angry, throwing a tantrum because I\u2019d chosen to save Patrick over Veronica.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was playing hard to get.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce she comes back, I\u2019ll make it up to her. We can have another child. A healthier and promising one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivienne\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two days later, outside the crematorium, I clutched the small urn, crying until I felt I would collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claud let out a quiet sigh and helped me to my feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Sherman, the press wants to know when you\u2019ll release the tape and\u00a0<\/p>\n
59 01\u00a0<\/p>\n
the proof of Nathaniel\u2019s affair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only this topic brought a flicker of focus back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice was raw. \u201cIs a tape and evidence of an affair enough to put both him and Estelle behind bars?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claud paused. \u201cTo be honest, Ms. Sherman. It\u2019s likely not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nathaniel and Estelle had been planning this for so long, covering every possible angle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An audio file that might not hold up in court, and my testimony might put them in jail, but it wasn\u2019t far from being enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted Veronica\u2019s urn from the ground as if it were the most precious thing in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wiped my tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy won\u2019t let the people who hurt you get away with it,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to Claud. \u201cStart by clearing out everyone at the company who opposed me and supported Nathaniel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell the media to hold the story for a few more days. I want Nathaniel and Estelle utterly destroyed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the shadows, where I could not see. Claud\u2019s soulful eyes remained fixed on me, unwavering.<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Broken Yet Untouched by Mark Twain 5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Chapter 5\u00a0 Third person\u2019s POV\u00a0 The door had been forced open, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bound-to-him-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}