Secrets Of The Neglected Wife: When Her True Colors Shine

Chapter 328: Melany stood frozen, her words lost in the oppressive silence that surrounded her.

She felt the barely perceptible but unmistakable murderous intent emanating from Allison, as if she were a demoness who had clawed her way out of the abyss.

Allisons face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet when her eyes fell upon themcold and unfeelingthere was a chilling pressure behind her gaze.

Melanys fear escalated into a storm, leaving her trembling, her heart gripped by dread that coiled around her like a suffocating vine.

In that moment, Allison didnt seem like someone capable of simply slapping another.

No, she seemed like someone who, if provoked, could easily snap a persons neck.

Kellan, standing to the side, watched in silence.

His gaze was dark, profound, and full of curiosity.

Rather than being frightened by Allisons icy demeanor, he found it oddly captivating.

Yet beneath her tough exterior, he could detect a profound sadnessan unspoken sorrow bubbling just beneath the surface.

Allison let out a bitter laugh, one laced with mockery.

Colton, she began, her voice sharp as glass, if theres any decency left in you, you should at least remember how I cared for your parents, how I bent over backward to cater to your every whim during those three miserable years I spent slaving for your family.

Her disappointment had peaked when she divorced him.

She was the only one who remembered that when she was young, Colton had saved her, and they had made a childish promise to marry one day.

She had thought that even if their paths diverged, they could retain smeasure of respect.

But she had been dreadfully wrong.

I had wealth, power, and every reason to walk away, she continued, her laughter bitter.

But I stayed with your family, cooking and cleaning like a servant because I believed in us.

Yet you convinced yourself I had sulterior motive, that I was after Keanus Ruby Jade, even though I didnt know about it at all until his birthday banquet.

Her laugh rang out again, even colder this time, dripping with irony.

Colton had never loved her.

He had always believed she was scheming, that her loyalty cwith strings attached.

He fell silent for a moment, then muttered, What else could it be? His lips began to bleed from how hard he was biting them.

He should have been protecting the tearful Melany, but his gaze was fixed on Allison, as if drawn to her by a force he couldnt resist.

For three long years, Colton had clung to the belief that Allison had married him for money.

But now, for the first time, doubt crept in.

He fought to suppress the absurd thoughts swirling in his mind, telling himself over and over not to let Allison distract him.

Yet as she spoke again, his reality began to unravel.

I stayed, she said, her voice quieter now, because I once loved you.

I loved you so much that I foolishly thought giving up everything, sacrificing myself, would make you loveback.

These were the words she had never spoken, words she had buried deep inside.

To her, the promise they made as children and the fleeting joy of those early days had becwounds too painful to acknowledge.

After all that had transpired in their marriage, those memories had transformed into scars she desperately tried to forget.

Her stubbornness had led her down this path, and even though the wounds had healed, the pain still lingered, like a shadow haunting her every day.

But things were different now.

She wasnt hiding from the past anymore.

She was facing it head-on, no matter how painful it was to reopen those old wounds.

Colton, she said, her voice steely.

You disgustnow.

She knew there was no point in explaining herself to someone who had never truly loved her.

His feelingsor lack thereofno longer mattered to her.

Today, I slapped you because you owefor those three years.

As of now, were even.

Colton stood there, frozen, staring blankly into her eyes.

The onlookers, who had quietly gathered at first, began murmuring in shock.

Isnt it true that when Ms.

Clarke married into the Stevens family, it wasnt for money? I heard Mr.

Stevens was practically bankrupt at the time.

Right, and from what Ive heard, it was Ms.

Clarke who pulled the Stevens family back from the brink of ruin.

She saved their company.

Shes practically a benefactor to them! What on earth was Colton thinking? Ms.

Clarke gave up a golden future, all for love, and even beca housewife.

How could he not see that? Smen are blind to the treasure they already have, too wrapped up in their own arrogance.

The whispers grew louder, but Colton barely heard them.

He didnt even register Melany calling his name.

His mind was clouded, replaying Allisons words over and over.

Because I once loved you.

Colton, you disgustnow.

The lies he had told himself for so long, the delusions he clung to, were ripped away.

Deep down, he had always known the truth, though he had spent years burying it beneath layers of denial.

He hadnt dared face the reality that, once, a long tago, he had actually cared for Allison.

For three agonizing years, he had pushed her away, again and again, driving her to the brink, hoping she would finally give up on him.

He had tormented her not out of indifference, but because he couldnt handle the depth of his own feelingsfeelings he had stubbornly refused to acknowledge. But now, she had let go.

Completely.

And the moment she did, it felt as though someone had reached inside his chest and rippe out his heart, leaving behind a gaping, bloody wound that made every breath a painful struggle. He wanted to speak, to call out to her, to stop her from walking away.

Watching her retreating figure, so resolute and unyielding, he felt an instinctive panic flare within him.

He needed to say something, anything, to make her pause.

But as the tension in his chest tightenedperhaps aggravated by his unhealed injurieshe felt a bitter metallic taste rise in his throat. Allison... he managed to choke out, his voice barely above a whisper.

Suddenly, he doubled over, coughing violently.

Blood spilled from his lips, staining the floor beneath him.

His face turned deathly pale, the sight enough to send a shiver through anyone who witnessed it.