Chapter 21
At last, Ashton recognized the familiar male voice. The man before him was none other than Curtis.
He had seemingly gone through a lot over the past two weeks, evident from his drastic weight loss and sickly pale complexion. Even his eyes were eerily bloodshot. He grabbed onto Ashton’s sleeve and pleaded, “Mr. Gill, can you please leave my wife alone? I’m begging you–stop destroying my family!”
Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
The media covering the press conference immediately sensed the gossip and instantly turned their cameras toward Ashton and the kneeling Curtis.
Some reporters even looked like they were ready to charge forward, hoping to score an exclusive scoop on the drama.
Suppressing his raging fury, Ashton coldly pried Curtis‘ hand away. “You’re acting like a lunatic here. Claire and I have broken up! If anyone’s destroying families, it’s you. I’d been with her for six years!”
Amid all the chaos, Curtis flashed a twisted smile, one that no one else but Ashton could see. “So what? I have a marriage certificate. I’m Claire’s lawfully wedded husband. What do you have?”
For the past two weeks, Curtis had been treated like a servant by the Camey family. Since he couldn’t pay them back, they made him take care of Matilda’s parents in her place.
Jennifer nitpicked everything he did, and whenever she thought about Matilda in prison, she would take it out on him, beating and cursing him without restraint.
Worse still, Matilda’s two brothers held him down every time he tried to fight back.
He barely had anything to eat, was too afraid to close his eyes at night, and his body was covered in bruises.
Curtis had never suffered like this in his entire life. Just as he sank into despair, Claire finally showed up at the Camey residence.
He thought she was there to save him. Covered in injuries and full of pent–up misery, he ran straight into her arms and broke down in tears.
“Clairy, you finally came to save me. Please take me away from here. They torture me daily, and I’m in so much pain…”
However, Claire shoved him away. “You brought all of this on yourself. You made your bed, now lie in it. I’m only here to divorce you.”
As she spoke, she pulled a divorce agreement from her bag and laid it before him. “Sign it now.”
At that moment, Curtis finally understood one thing–she wasn’t going to save him anymore. So, he struck a deal with her.
He would sign the divorce papers, but only if she took him away from the Carneys.
Curtis blamed everything he had gone through on Ashton. In his mind, Claire never would’ve changed if it weren’t for Ashton.
Instead, she would’ve kept loving him, caring for him, and standing by him for the rest of his life…
Now, everything was ruined, and it was all Ashton’s fault.
Curtis was determined to drag him down; he wanted Ashton utterly disgraced.
Back at the scene, a few reporters could no longer hold back. They pushed forward, surrounding Ashton and clamoring with questions.
“Mr. Gill, is it true what that man said? Did you really wreck a family? Please respond.”
“Is what he’s saying accurate? Did you have an affair with a married woman?”
Seeing the situation escalate, Giselle rushed forward to shield Ashton, quickly calling on staff to restore order. Before long, security escorted Curtis out of the press conference.
The event resumed as planned, but unbeknownst to many, the commotion had been livestreamed online through a phone camera.
