Shadows Of A Forgotten Spring

Chapter 163

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Emma didn’t stop. She’d been silenced for far too long, bullied for too many years, but not today. “You want to talk about being chosen? Let me remind you of something, Annie. He may have divorced me, but he didn’t make the mistake of placing a ring on your finger. Because you don’t deserve it. You’re not me; you can never be me.”

That was the final straw. Whatever mask of control Annie had, slipped completely off. Her hands shook as she fisted them at her sides. The humiliation, the anger, the bitter taste of defeat surged inside her, blinding her to everything but her need for retaliation.

She lurched forward, grabbing Emma’s wrist with surprising strength. Her nails dug into Emma’s skin as her voice trembled with an in unrestrained fury. “Say that again!”

Anger flashed in Emma’s eyes, she jerked her hand angrily to get her wrist from Annie’s grip and the force sent Annie stumbling. “Get your filthy hands off me!” she snapped years of suppressed anger and pain in her voice

The unexpected push sent Annie crashing to the floor. Gasps erupted all over the hall as the guests turned to witness the

commotion.

Annie clutched at her stomach, eyes wide with pain and shock, as a high–pitched scream tore from her mouth. “Ahh! My stomach! Oh my God!”

as a crowd began to form around them, and she just stood rooted there, trying to fathom

anguish and accusation. Tears streamed down her face

The weight of all the staring eyes, murmurs, and Annie’s scream pressed down on her like a suffocating force.

crowd toward the two women. His eyes flickered

said, his

Annie cried again this time louder, “Alexander! She… she

locked onto Emma’s. The weight of the moment was unbearable, and Emma

push her. It’s some great big misunderstanding,” Emma said, shaking but firm in her denial. Her glanced darted between the crowd and Alexander’s piecing glare. Despite the haired that burned in her for Annie,

wildfire filled with doubt and condemnation, guests pointed their fingers in accusing whispers, others in shock, their mouths ajar. She could feel the weight of all those gazes pressing upon her, yet she would not bend.

concern etched on their faces wanting to tend to her till the ambulance arrived. But before anyone could so much as touch her, Annie struggled on to her feet, hands supporting her stomach protectively as if she was trying to protect the life within. Her face contorted into mask of

Wed, Jan 29

Chapter 163

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but sharp enough to hold

She couldn’t afford getting caught now. She needed the victim card on her side more now. She

Emma’s gaze, her face twisted in a look of pure venom, streaked with tears. Alexander pushed through the throng of people his face dark and unreadable as he moved toward Annie.

she yanked her arm away his grasp. She was angry, her face red with the injustice of it all. His betrayal. “Your car key,” she insisted, her tone sharp enough to cut

keep her safe. But under her piercing glare, he relented and handed her the key. “Annie, you cannot drive on your own,” he muttered softly, yet urgently. “Let’s wait for the ambulance. You need to…”