After Divorcing my Captain Husband (Chloe and Michael) novel Chapter 561

"You don't have to push yourself like this. You've been entangled with him for so long. If it can't be cut off, maybe it doesn't have to be."

Chloe thought, "If I were just divorced and on my own, that would be one thing.

But now, I was carrying Michael's child. Whether I admitted it or not, that was a bond between us."

"He still cares about you."

"If this had been when I had first returned to the country, I wouldn't have said this. I would have just thought Michael was a loser who couldn't even protect his wife.

But after all this time, as a man, I could see Michael's determination to make it up to Chloe," James thought.

Chloe glanced at him and squeezed his shoulder.

James immediately yelped, "Ouch!"

"Do I need his care now? It's you who's injured. Why can't you just keep your mouth shut!"

"She was still as ruthless as ever. If I'd known, I might not have saved her just now!" James thought.

Chloe looked at James, who had taken off his shirt and stared at the bullet wound on his abdomen for a long time. "Does it hurt?"

James wasn't looking at her, and when he heard her question, it took him a moment to process it.

It was only by following her gaze that he noticed the old scar on his abdomen.

"It hurt at the time, of course, but now I don't feel anything."

Only that particular wound was concerned, James really felt nothing.

But the bullet still lodged in his body occasionally tortured him, causing him unbearable pain.

Chloe reached out her hand, wanting to touch the scar, but then realized that might be too far and started to pull her hand back.

However, James caught her hand and placed it on the scar.

"If you want to touch it, go ahead. I have a good body. It's normal for you to be tempted. Since we're friends, I'll let you touch it once."

James blurted out his teasing words but then froze when he saw tears welling up in Chloe's eyes.

"Don't cry! This scar is so old, it really doesn't hurt anymore!"

James had never been in a real relationship. The only one was with Maggie, and for years, he had lived by the gun. He truly had no idea how to comfort a woman.

Chloe didn't even know why her eyes were getting teary.

Maybe she was reminded of Smith, or perhaps Chloe simply found James admirable.

She didn't pull her hand back despite James' words. Instead, Chloe gently touched his scar.

The softness of her fingertips gliding over his abdomen made him tense up wholly, a sensation spreading through him that he'd never felt before.

He froze, not daring to look at Chloe.

Chloe then withdrew her hand. "I'll go get a nurse to re-bandage you."

She couldn't stand looking at her poor bandaging job any longer.

She turned to leave, but James unexpectedly grabbed her wrist. Chloe turned back and met his eyes.

"Chloe, aren't you tired of keeping everything bottled up like this?"

Chloe's breath hitched as he continued, "Just now, you were about to lose it, but then you forced yourself to hold it all back and ran off to find a doctor. How long has it been since you last had a good cry?"

"I'm not a child!"

"Only children cry to vent their emotions," Chloe thought.