Betrayed by My Trash Husband, Surrender Myself to the Devil-Chapter 12: Isolation of A Housewife

Claudia POV

The officers pushed me into the backseat of the car, and once they got in, the younger officer said, "We can’t arrest you for now because the investigation is still ongoing, Mrs. Hoffman."

Then the older one warned, "You’re free to go, but you should know that the police will search for you if you ever go missing."

The officers were clearly biased against me, but I wasn’t surprised. It had always been like that growing up. Clarissa charmed her way into gaining praise and love from the adults around us, while they nitpicked every mistake I made just to make her happy.

So I simply turned my head toward the hospital building, already feeling a deep ache in my heart at the thought of leaving Aurora alone with Clarissa.

My daughter’s life was in Clarissa’s hands right now, and I couldn’t waste a single moment or that crazy woman might do something heinous.

"Just take me back to my house," I said.

The officers turned to look at me at the same time. The older one scowled, "Why are you treating us like your personal drivers? Do you have no respect for the officers protecting you?!"

"I don’t remember being protected by any of you," I replied calmly as I slowly turned toward them. "But I do remember being pushed around and shoved several times since last night. I don’t think that’s a sign of professionalism, Officer."

They were clearly caught off guard. The older officer snorted and turned back to face the front, while the younger one shot me an annoyed look.

"Just drive me home," I said. "That’s the last thing you can do."

"Just drive her, John," the older officer muttered. "I’m getting sick of this ungrateful child killer."

The younger officer nodded and drove off.

**

As the car approached the front gate of my house, my heartbeat began to race again.

I had driven back and forth through this gated area countless times. Though the place was nice, I had to admit—it was lonely. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

At first, we lived in a mid-level suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, where the neighbors were generally friendly and knew each other fairly well.

Here, it was different.

They called it a gated "community," but there was no sense of unity at all. I didn’t even know the names of the people living in the houses next to mine.

They stayed within their small social circles—mostly people born into wealth.

I wasn’t part of that circle. I wasn’t born rich, nor did I want to follow their lavish lifestyle, so I was deliberately excluded.

On top of that, I resigned from my job as a general practitioner at several clinics and became a full-time housewife after Miles’ property business took off.

Miles said it was a well-deserved rest. At first, I agreed, because I wanted to spend more time with Aurora who needed at least one parental figure by her side.

But that decision also isolated me.

Most of the staff at those clinics were my real friends. After I quit, our connections slowly faded until we lost contact entirely.

So I truly... had nobody.

No friends. No family. No husband.

As I thought about my isolation, I began to wonder if that, too, was part of Miles’ plan.

With no one to stand by my side, he could easily carry out his scheme with Clarissa and force me into an unfavorable decision—one that would strip me of my freedom.

The police car pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the house.

I remembered standing there last night, holding Aurora as she slept in my arms, waiting for Miles to come home and celebrate her sixth birthday.

Now everything had been turned upside down because Miles and Clarissa decided they wanted to ruin my and my daughter’s lives.

"We’re here. Do you want to leave on your own or should we shove you out?" the old officer sneered as an attempt to get back at me.

But I wasn’t bothered.

I gave them no thank you nor a little smile of gratitude. I simply opened the door and then walked out.

I waited until the police car drove away before checking the garage, and saw Miles’ car was parked inside. So he was home right now.

The last thing I wanted was to see his face. I wasn’t sure I could control my emotions after his betrayal.

Yet at the same time, a gnawing urge to confront him rose within me. I wanted to demand an explanation for everything he had done.

I foolishly hoped there might be even a hint of regret in him, so he could reflect for what he had done to Aurora.

But the moment I opened the door, it became clear how wrong I was.

There was no regret at all based on his current activity.

Miles was sprawled on the living room couch, shirtless, his beer belly exposed. The stench of alcohol filled the room, and several empty beer bottles were scattered across the floor.

Miles burped out loud. He seemed rather tipsy, because he didn’t react when the door was opened at first. But as I walked toward him, he finally noticed me and turned his head.

He stared at me with his lazy eyes and shrugged, "Oh, it’s you. What took you so long anyway"

He took another swig of beer, then tossed the bottle onto the carpet, spilling what was left.

"Go make me a sandwich," he said casually, turning back to the TV to watch a sports channel. "I’m hungry."

Once again, I was stunned.

How could he act so nonchalantly after what he had done to me?! Was that all just a game to him, something he could simply forget?

Just as I predicted, it was difficult to control my emotions, and I snapped, "You—Miles Hoffman—are you insane?! How can you act like this when our daughter is in a coma in the hospital!"