All Chapters of The Wife He Replaced : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

CHAPTER 22Kate's povI had a feeling the moment Victor stopped paying attention to me upstairs.Victor Vale never ignored me, not completely.On his bad days he would always come back to me.He would touch my waist. Ask me a question and I could see it in his eyes when I spoke.Lately his mind was somewhere else.Rather it was with someone else.Rita.Just thinking about her name made me angry.It had been five years. She still had this effect on him.It was not right.I walked out of Victor's office with my purse on my shoulder, my heels clicking on the marble floor.The building was quiet now most staff had gone home.Victor was not inside.I frowned."Where did he go now?" I said to myself.I pulled out my phone to text him. Something told me not to.So I went to the parking area downstairs.Then I saw his car and the engine was off. The headlights were off.Victor was sitting inside alone still.I slowed down my steps.From where I stood I could see the side of his face through t

CHAPTER 24Rita's POVI woke up feeling really tired. Not a little tired. The kind that feels heavy in your chest and won't go away.My head hurt from not sleeping and my eyes still felt sore from staying up late talking to Aria on video call.She talked nonstop at night. About school.About her cartoon. About how she misses me already even though we talk every day.Me?I spent the call pretending everything was okay.Pretending New York wasn't overwhelming me.Pretending Victor Vale wasn't getting harder to deal with every day.I gripped the steering wheel as traffic moved slowly ahead of me.The city looked the same. I hated how quickly old memories came here.Every street reminded me of something.Every building felt familiar. I shouldn't have come back. It was too late now.By the time I reached the office building I was already running late.People moved in and out of the lobby while security greeted employees near the entrance.I adjusted my blazer. Headed inside.The second I s

CHAPTER 26Rita’s POVI walked away before he could see how much his words hurt me.My heels clicked on the marble floor fast and really hard but I did not slow down. If I stopped moving I knew I would lose it there in the lobby.I did not want to cry in front of Victor Vale.Not again.Not ever again.The elevator doors. I stepped inside really quickly. The second the doors closed I could finally breathe again."What just happened..." I whispered to myself.My chest hurt a lot. It was not a little hurt.It was the kind of hurt that feels like it is inside your ribs and it spreads slowly until it is hard to breathe.Whoring around with guys like I did before.I closed my eyes tight.God. Out of all the things he could have said...He said that. My fingers shook a little at my sides.I hated that he still had this effect on me. I really hated it. It has been five years.Five whole years.I survived things other than Victor's words. I survived leaving New York by myself. I survived bein

Chapter 28 Rita's pov My fingers dug into Ethan's jacket sleeve, my nails bending from the force. I pulled him toward the corner of the restaurant with all my might."Rita let go of me " Ethan said, his voice low and rough not like him at all. He planted his feet on the hardwood floor and refused to move another inch. His whole body was tense like a spring to snap.I whispered, "No keep walking Ethan please move." My chest was moving up and down fast I could hardly catch my breath.He yanked his arm breaking my grip and turned around his eyes burning as he glared across the room. Victor stood by the hostess stand, his face cold and arrogant.Ethan took a step back toward the front. "Did you hear what he just called you?" he said. "I am not going to let him walk away after saying that. I do not care who he is."I jumped in front of him my hands against his chest. His heart was hammering against my palms."Look at me " I said, my voice cracking. "Ethan look at my face."He finally lo

Chapter 30Kate's pov The rain pounded against the windows of Victor's car. It sounded like rocks hitting the glass. I was sitting in the seat all alone in the dark. The leather seat was cold under me. The air inside the car felt heavy like it was pushing down on my chest.I lifted my hand to my mouth. My hand was shaking. I bit down on my thumbnail. I pulled my teeth back. It hurt. A sharp pain shot up my finger. I tasted blood. I did not care. I moved my finger. I bit that nail down too.I remembered what Victor said. He said, let go. He said, get out of my sight, Kate. Victor had never looked at me like that before. He had never looked at me with disgust. He looked at me like I was nothing.It was all because of her. Rita. I stared through the glass at the front doors of the restaurant. The neon sign was blurry in the rain. She was there. The woman I got rid of. The woman I erased from Victor's life. She was back and in five minutes she had broken the perfect life I built.The dri