I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 139

Staring at his phone screen, a surge of irritable frustration flared up in Finnegan's chest. He hurled the phone onto the floor, the sudden movement jerking his battered back. He hissed sharply in pain.

Adelaide was still weeping beside him, wiping her tears while continuing her tirade. "Look at that ungrateful wretch! You let your back get torn to shreds for her, and she doesn't even have a single kind word to say! You never should have stuck your neck out for her!"

Finnegan's head was pounding. His wounds burned with blinding agony, and his mother's endless crying was drilling into his skull.

He tried to hold it back, but finally snapped, letting out a low, furious shout. "Enough! Stop talking about her!"

Adelaide froze, tears hanging on her cheeks as she forgot to wipe them.

She stared at her son in disbelief. "Why are you yelling at me? I just think you've been wronged! You gave her your heart and she tossed it in the dirt! I told you years ago that Nora wasn't the kind of woman you could build a life with. You insisted on marrying her anyway. Thank God you finally woke up and took on your brother's identity to start over. And look at her now—she's still a curse!"

Finnegan felt as if a vice was crushing his skull. His back, littered with thirty brutal lashes, was weeping blood and plasma. The stinging pain dug relentlessly into his very bones.

He closed his eyes and bluntly kicked her out, his voice utterly exhausted. "Mom, just leave. I want to be alone for a minute."

Adelaide stepped forward anxiously. "But I need to put your medicine on."

Finnegan waved her off, telling her not to bother.

Seraphina smoothly stepped in, her voice gentle and accommodating. "I'll do it, Adelaide. You're exhausted. Please, go home and get some rest."

Adelaide's expression finally softened a fraction. She patted Seraphina's hand, looking at her with approval. "Thank you, Seraphina."

She unscrewed the cap, her voice trembling and broken. "Finn, why did you defend her? Look what happened to you. Tell me the truth—are you still in love with her?"

Lying face down on the pillow, Finnegan gritted his teeth against the searing pain and forced himself to coax her. "No, Seraphina. I just felt it was a private family matter. Why should an outsider like Xander Harrison interfere? I wasn't defending Nora; I was pushing back against the Harrisons' arrogance."

Seraphina's fingers stopped moving. Refusing to let it go, she pressed harder. "Finn, you aren't stupid. You know exactly how powerful the Harrisons are. Even Alastair wouldn't dare raise his voice at their butler, yet you mouthed off to them in front of everyone... Are you absolutely sure you don't care about Nora anymore?"

Finnegan buried his face deeper into the pillow. The pain was making him break out in a cold sweat, and Seraphina's relentless interrogations were echoing in his ears.

His nerves had been frayed all night—from the dinner, to the whipping, to his mother's nagging. Now, Seraphina's tears were the final straw.