He Watched Me Shine Without Him novel Chapter 130

“Vivian, stop bothering Rose,” Houston said coldly. “Every time you show up, it’s just another display of your laughable, low-grade IQ.” With that, he turned and left her standing there, utterly humiliated.

Vivian stared after him, chilled to the bone. She dragged her feet back home, each step heavier than the last.

…

At the Marshall residence, Rose sat on the couch, gaze distant and confused. “Did I go too far?” she asked Houston softly. “She’s still in postpartum recovery…”

Houston sat down beside her and said firmly, “Vivian was the one who stole your boyfriend. Now she’s doing everything she can to drive a wedge between us. She can’t stand seeing you happy. If you don’t push back, she’ll keep treating you like a doormat.”

Rose sighed deeply. “Even though I got my revenge, I don’t feel happy at all.”

“Then stop,” Houston said gently. “You’re too kind for this. It’s not who you are.”

She leaned into his chest, trembling with sobs. “But I hate him, Houston. I loved him for ten years. If his feelings had changed, he could’ve broken up with me like a decent person. That would’ve been enough. But no—he betrayed me. Worse, he used me as a bargaining chip, handed me over to you in exchange for his future. How could he be so heartless?”

Houston held her tightly. “Then forget him.”

“I want to, but after everything he did to me, how can I let it go?” she cried.

“Rose, karma always comes around,” Houston murmured. His fists clenched, and a glint of fire lit up his eyes like molten steel. “They’ll get what’s coming to them.”

Eventually, Rose cried herself to sleep in his arms.

…

By morning, her composure had returned. The storm had passed.

She hugged Houston from behind, resting her cheek against his back. “Houston,” she whispered, “I won’t waste another second on people like them. From now on, I’m done.”

Houston smiled. He’d always admired how quickly she could find clarity.

“Rose, do you know how much it hurt me to see you cry yesterday?”

Her cheeks turned pink. “You must’ve thought I was pathetic.”

“I was jealous,” Houston admitted. “You cried over him—and not once for me. I mean, look at me. I’m better-looking, richer, I treat you like a queen. Yet I still lose to that guy? Come on, not fair.”

Rose giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I was wrong. From now on, I’ll only cry for you.”

Houston looked at Rose with all the loyalty of a golden retriever. “Mom, Rose makes all the decisions in this house.”

Rose gave him a death glare. For a man who was usually so cold and proper, he sure was good at throwing her under the bus when it suited him.

Linda turned to Rose next. “Rose, you know women are at their prime for childbirth before thirty. Better get started while I’m still young enough to help out.”

Rose’s face turned bright red.

…

Meanwhile, Ethan had vanished. Days went by without him returning home.

Vivian, gaunt and hollow-eyed, lay in bed like a ghost, too crushed to eat or speak.

Watching her daughter waste away, Grace was filled with regret. “If I’d known you were this hung up on him, I wouldn’t have driven him out. I should’ve swallowed my pride.”

Tears poured through her fingers as she covered her face, broken and exhausted. “Vivian, I gave birth to you—but I don’t owe you this. I never asked for that boy to become my responsibility. Why should I cater to him? And if I’m even the slightest bit cold to him, he storms out like a child. This man—he has no sense of duty. And yet you still cling to him?”

Vivian gave a bitter laugh. “Mom, if I don’t marry Ethan… what better options do I have?”