Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Forsaken Wife's Empire: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

(Raymond’s POV)“Who the hell did this?” I asked, my voice low and tight with fury.Patricia had a small cut on her lip. It wasn’t deep, but seeing even a tiny mark on her perfect skin made my blood boil. Someone had clearly attacked her, probably slapped her, and I hated the thought of it. She was my wife now. She belonged under my protection, and no one had the right to lay a finger on her.“It’s… uhm…” she stuttered, swallowing hard. “It’s nothing.”My jaw tightened even more. Nothing? Did she just call being attacked “nothing”?“That doesn’t look like nothing to me,” I said through gritted teeth, trying my best to stay calm.Patricia sighed softly, a weak smile forming on her lips. “It’s really nothing, Raymond. I already took care of it. So don’t worry about it.”I stared at her quietly for a while. She wouldn’t tell me who had hit her. She said she’d handled it, but how well? Was it enough to keep them away from her for good?“Do you need my help with that?” she asked suddenly,

(Mason’s POV) “Why did you lie to me?” was the first thing that came out of my mouth. “What… what do you mean?” Lucy stuttered, glancing briefly at Mum. “What are you talking about?” “You said Patricia attacked you for no reason,” I said, trying hard to stay calm. “But you were the one who attacked her first!” The room went silent for a moment. Both of them avoided my eyes. My chest tightened, they had actually lied to me. “How could you go to her office and attack her? How could you slap her, Mum?” I asked, disbelief heavy in my tone. “And what if I slapped her first?” Mum shot back, standing up immediately. “Who gave her the right to slap me back?!” “Exactly, Mason! How could she slap Mum back? She’s old enough to be her mother!” Lucy added sharply. I swallowed hard, my throat burning. I had said that same thing to Patricia too, but her reply was something I didn’t expect. For years, Patricia had hoped Mum would see her as a daughter. She respected her, loved her, even call

(Patricia’s POV) “What the hell?” I muttered. So this was their little game? I knew something was off that day... the way they had begged and played innocent about the company. All along, they had secretly recorded everything and planned to use it against me. “That person in the video…” Mrs. Salvador mumbled beside me, disbelief heavy in her voice. “Is that really you?” She turned slowly to me, her eyes filled with curiosity. My heart pounded hard in my chest... not out of fear of what the world would say, but because of her. I cared about what she would think of me. She had been the kindest, most loving mother-in-law I could ever ask for, and the thought of her being disappointed in me made my stomach twist. Now that she had seen the video, would she believe I was some arrogant woman with no respect for elders? Or a greedy businesswoman who stole other people’s companies? “Are you really the president of Smithfield Global?” she asked quietly. I gripped the edge of my dre

(Patricia’s POV)My heart pounded heavily against my chest as Raymond pulled me closer. His warm arms wrapped around me like I was a baby, like he never wanted to let me go.He had never hugged me like this before. Part of me liked it, but I couldn’t help wondering if he was really okay."Are you… okay?" I asked softly, my voice gentle against his chest.Raymond nodded. "Yes, I’m fine," he whispered.Then he pulled back just enough to see my face. His soft hands cupped my cheeks. I gasped at his touch, my fingers tightening on his shirt."It’s just…" He paused, swallowing hard.His eyes stared into mine. For a moment, I got lost in them. They held so many emotions I couldn’t read. Raymond was strikingly handsome, possibly the most handsome man I had ever seen."It’s just what?" I mumbled weakly, my eyes searching his."I’m… I’m happy you’re home safely," he said quietly, his thumbs brushing my cheeks. "I was worried about you."A soft smile curved my lips. I knew he was. He had always

(Patricia’s POV)The weekend had gone by quickly, like always. And now, here we were again... back at work at Smithfield headquarters.“The board members are all waiting in the meeting hall,” James said politely.I nodded once and tightened my grip on my handbag. I already knew there would be an emergency meeting about the news that had been spreading for days.The same news I hadn’t even paid attention to. It didn’t matter to me. I wasn’t afraid of the board members either... I knew exactly how to handle them.“Good afternoon, ma’am,” the security guard said as he opened the door.The moment I stepped into the hall, every head turned, and conversation stopped immediately. And I felt it again, like always… power.I stood at the door, staring at their faces. I had expected a room full of angry directors and investors, but instead, their reactions surprised me. They all looked calm, some even smiling.I blinked in surprise. Were they not angry or disappointed? Not that their anger matte