I Walked Away And He Fell Apart Chapter 03
“Gary, there’s no need to be so angry with Madelyn,” a soft, delicate voice called out.
Sabrina Esmond stepped forward from the back of the crowd, flanked by a tight circle of noblewomen.
The moment he saw her, Garland was at her side, his entire demeanor softening.
“Rina, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing—you’re going to catch a cold.”
Sabrina looked up at him, her eyes shining and slightly red.
“I’m fine, Gary. I just came to help you reason with her.”
She turned to look at Lorna and me.
“Madelyn, you left without a single word, and Gary spent so long looking for you. I had no idea you were out here struggling all by yourself, or that you had a daughter.
“Please don’t take what Gary said to heart; he’s just upset. At the end of the day, this child has Duke’s blood. We can’t just leave her to suffer on the streets.”
She took a slow step forward.
“Bring your daughter to the estate, Madelyn. I’ll raise her like she’s my own. As long as you behave and accept your place as an official mistress, we can both be there for Gary. Doesn’t that sound fair?”
The second the words left her mouth, the whispers in the crowd turned into vicious, open insults.
“Sabrina is way too nice. I can’t believe she’d even let a tramp like that in the house.”
“Right? She used cheap tricks to get into Garland’s bed, and now she has the nerve to show up and trap him into marriage.”
“If that were me, I’d have died of shame before parading a bastard child around in public.”
“So much for her ‘noble’ blood. She’s pure trash.”
Lorna was young, but she knew exactly what they were saying. She sobbed until she was gasping for air.
“My mommy’s not a bad person! And I’m not… I’m not a bastard child!”
My heart broke. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I clamped my hands firmly over Lorna’s ears to drown them out.
Suddenly, Sabrina’s personal maid, Christa, shoved me hard.
“You should be on your knees thanking my lady! She’s being far too generous.”
The shove knocked me off balance. To protect Lorna, I twisted and took the brunt of the fall, my knees slamming forcefully into the stone pavement.
I glared up at Sabrina.
“Drop the act, Sabrina. You drugged the tea back then so you could sleep with Garland. Your little plan backfired, and I was the one who ended up in his bed instead. So quit playing the victim.”
Sabrina’s face crumbled into perfect, practiced hurt, tears spilling instantly.
“Madelyn, how can you accuse me of something so awful without proof? I just felt sorry for you and your little girl. Why are you attacking me?”
Ignoring the throbbing in my knees, I pulled Lorna close and forced myself back to my feet. But the second I steadied myself, Garland struck me hard across the face.
“Rina goes out of her way to offer you a home, and you spit in her face?” he snarled. “Did you really think I’d just stand here and let you talk to her like that?”
Sabrina shrank back behind Garland, though I caught the smug, satisfied little smirk on her lips.
“It’s my fault, Gary,” she whimpered. “If Madelyn doesn’t want to be a mistress, we can treat her like a proper wife. Make her my equal. You two did grow up together, after all.”
Her little performance only cemented Garland’s belief that I was the bitter, malicious one.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson today, Madelyn,” he spat. “It’s time you learned your place.”
Seeing me take the blow, Lorna’s cries turned into hoarse, ragged screams. She lunged with her tiny fists, swinging blindly at Garland.
“Stop it! Don’t hit my mommy!”
Garland shot Lorna a look of pure disgust, then turned to the guards behind him, his voice ice-cold.
“Grab the kid.
“If you want to reject my generosity, Madelyn, fine. But this girl has Ridgley blood. I absolutely will not let her stay out here and make a mockery of us.
“She comes back to the Ridgley’s mansion with me today. As for you—get the hell out of London, and don’t ever come back.”
He was actually going to take my daughter and throw me out.
“Don’t you even think about it!” I screamed, my voice breaking. “Lorna is everything to me, and nobody is taking her!”
A guard grabbed my arm and ripped Lorna from my grasp.
“Mommy! Help! Mommy!”
Lorna shrieked in panic. Her tiny hands clutched fistfuls of my dress, refusing to let go.
Someone shoved me hard to the floor. My head slammed into a chair, and blood instantly started streaming down my forehead.
Lorna kicked her little legs, sobbing uncontrollably.
Sabrina stepped up to the guard and reached out for her.
“The poor girl is crying so hard,” she said. “Gary, take her back to the estate.”
Lorna sank her teeth into Sabrina’s hand. Sabrina shrieked and shoved the little girl away.
“Lorna!” I screamed in sheer panic.
Right before Lorna hit the floor, a massive hand caught her.
The man pulled her tight against his chest, then kicked the guard backward.
The guard crashed to the floor, spat up blood, and was out cold instantly.
He turned, rushed to my side, and gently helped me up.
When he saw the bleeding cut on my forehead and my swollen cheek, his face darkened with pure fury.
“Who gave you the right to put your hands on my wife and daughter?”