The Divorced Heiress Is Getting Married Again!-Chapter 188: Keeping Up Appearances

Panting from both pain and numbness in her legs, Amelie made a few heavy steps forward, slapping away Richard’s cold, wet hands that still tried to pull her back to him. If it had not been for cold weather and sudden harsh gusts of wind, she would have reached the dog sooner, but the night was dangerously against her.

’I am not wearing a lot of clothes but my long dress is slowing me down; it is too heavy already...’

Whimpering desperately, Captain Pantaloons locked his big scared eyes with hers and Amelie’s heart broke inside her chest.

How could that woman do something like that to a defenseless animal?

"Captain Pantaloons, hang in there!" She yelled out to the struggling dog and finally, with yet another heavy step towards him, she stretched her arms out, wrapping them around his wet fur.

"Amelie!" Richard, too, wrapped his strong right arm around his ex-wife’s waist, taking advantage of her attention glued to the corgi, and placed his other arm under her knees, pressing the two of them brighter to his chest as he walked back to the beach.

Though annoyed, Amelie decided not to struggle this time. The dog was too heavy with his fur completely soaked and the numb sensation from the ice-cold water started spreading its tightening reign all over her body.

"Richard!" Samantha called out to her husband but the man completely ignored her, walking past his wife as if she were not even there.

In the last attempt to get his attention, she crouched, grabbing her bitten ankle and faking a sniffle, but that was still not enough. Richard simply did not see her. Or refused to see her.

’What the hell is going on?!’ She growled inwardly, her eyes widening in shock. ’Why the hell is he worrying about his ex so much while completely ignoring me, who has been attacked by that very same dog!’

Amelie, too, noticed it. Richard’s eyes never even wavered for a second when the woman called out to him and it made Amelie feel more than just strange.

’He must have seen what happened to her too, yet he showed her no concern. Is it because he knows that the child she is carrying is not his? What is really going on in his head right now?’

While Samantha continued to watch Richard carry Amelie in his arms, a small crowd started gathering around them, attracted by the slight commotion outside. freēwēbnovel.com

"Lily!" Both Amelie and Richard flinched at the sound of Liam’s loud, frightened voice, and Richard had no choice but to finally let go of his ex-wife, carefully placing her back on the sand.

With his eyes wide and his hands trembling, Liam wrapped his coat around Amelie’s shoulders, taking the dog away from her and passing him on to Austin who was already holding a knitted blanket, ready to wrap it around Captain Pantaloons.

"Take him inside and make sure to dry him well so that he doesn’t get sick. Call in an emergency vet just in case." Liam instructed his assistant and the latter nodded, hurrying back inside the villa.

"I am calling an ambulance," Angelina chimed in, dialing the number on her phone, her wound eyes firmly fixed on Amelie’s blue, trembling lips. "The nearest hospital is an hour away from here but if we get her all dry and warm, I don’t––"

"I will drive her there myself," Liam cut her off sternly, "Please draw her a hot bath and get some dry and thick clothes to warm her up. If you can make her some hot tea, that would be good too."

"Got it!" Angelina nodded as well and dashed back inside the house, urging the rest of the guests to follow her example. "Come on, people, nothing to see here! It’s too cold to stay outside, let’s head back."

As people started going back to the villa, Richard only stood there, silent, and watched Amelie being carried away in the arms of another man. His eyes were dark and full of a strange mixture of emotions encapsulating both fear, regret, and perhaps even longing.

Secret longing that he had been trying to bury for so long after Amelie’s second marriage. That very same longing that prevented him from enjoying his own.

"Richard..." He winced and turned around, noticing Samantha’s concerned expression while she slowly approached him. She carefully grabbed him by the wet sleeve of his shirt and the man recoiled somewhat abruptly, shaking her hand away with a violent motion.

Startled, the woman took a step back, widening her eyes in fear while Richard let out a long sigh, shutting his eyes tightly as a sudden wave of irritation washed over him.

"Richard," his wife’s voice was now barely above a whisper, and for some reason, it only irked him more.

’I saw her toss that dog into the water like it was nothing but mere garbage, but now she is trying to fake innocence again... I can’t bear to be next to her right now but I also can’t leave her alone like this. I still need to keep up appearances.’

With another heavy sigh, the man tried to soften his expression, motioning for his wife to stay away. "Don’t touch me... I am all wet, you might catch a cold. We can’t afford to do that while you are pregnant."

"What..?" Samantha couldn’t believe her ears. He did not care about her at all. All he cared about was the baby.

"I see you can walk properly," he jerked his chin at her ankle before concluding, "Go back inside and get ready. I will get my things and drive you to the hospital too."

With that, he walked away, leaving her standing there completely alone and utterly perplexed.

As Samantha watched her husband blend with the rest of the crowd, she noticed Daphne briefly placing something into Austin’s palm which the man then quickly hid in his pocket. The girl then nodded at him and fixed a rather large gold pendant hanging from her neck.

’How strange... Now that I think about it, that thing was hanging outside her scarf when I approached her... Surely, she did not stick it out just to brag...’