Eight years of marriage, eight years of biting my tongue, bending over backward to please the Albrights.
All I wanted was to salvage this marriage of convenience.
But it wasn’t until an unexpected pregnancy that Daniel’s family even bothered to give me a proper wedding.
I foolishly believed that with a child on the way, Daniel would finally settle down.
Yet here he was, right now, wrapped around Serena, kissing her with an intensity that made my stomach churn.
My jaw clenched so hard it ached, my heart a raw, throbbing mess in my chest.
In that instant, I was done. Done with holding back. Why did I always have to be the one to sacrifice everything?
Chapter One
My words clearly hit a nerve. Serena’s face drained of color, she swayed precariously, then collapsed into Daniel’s arms.
“Oh, Daniel… I feel so terrible. Is my condition acting up again?”
Daniel’s expression shifted instantly. He scooped Serena up and practically sprinted out of the hotel, throwing a furious glare and a parting shot at me. “Claire, you jealous shrew! If anything happens to Serena, I swear I’ll never forgive you!”
Neither his parents nor my own father could stop Daniel. Camera flashes popped like firecrackers, blinding me, and the emcee stood awkwardly beside me.
My father’s hand connected with my cheek with a stinging crack. “You useless girl! You can’t even control your own husband!” He then told me to sort myself out and stormed off, leaving me utterly alone.
My mother-in-law, Mrs. Albright, eyed me coldly. “Claire, it’s not that I’m trying to lecture you, but what kind of scene are you making in front of everyone? You’ve chased Daniel away. Now everyone will be laughing at both our families!”
In her eyes, joining the Albright family meant learning to swallow every indignity and suffer in silence. Never, ever embarrass your husband in public. How ridiculous was that? If that’s how it was, then I wanted out of this Albright family!
The guests eventually dispersed. I gathered the heavy fabric of my wedding dress and walked out the door, watching car after car drive away. Lightning streaked across the sky, thunder boomed, and the rain began to pour. Behind me, the banquet hall was a vast, empty void.
It wasn’t until Daniel’s family car was long gone that my father’s car pulled up in front of me. The rear window rolled down, revealing his grim face. Any trace of vulnerability I felt was instantly swallowed. I fought back the tears stinging my eyes and choked out, “Dad.”
Just as I reached for the door, I heard the click of the lock. I stood frozen in shock. My father’s voice, thick with fury, warned me, “Claire Hayes, this marriage was bought with your mother’s life! You better reflect on your actions and figure out how to get Daniel back.”
“You’re carrying an Albright heir now. No matter what, Serena can’t compete with that.”
“Dad, what are you talking about?” I asked, utterly aghast.
He ignored me, instructing the driver to go. The window rolled up, and the car sped away, leaving me splattered with mud from the puddles. Watching it disappear, my tears finally fell, hot and fast.
The hotel was a resort hotel perched on a mountain, and out here, there was no signal, no taxis. I borrowed an umbrella from a hotel clerk, not missing the pity in her eyes. Then, holding the heavy umbrella, my cumbersome wedding dress, and my high heels, I started walking down the mountain road. The rain was coming down in sheets, soaking me to the bone, and every step was excruciating. My heels were rubbed raw, bleeding.
When I was halfway down the mountain, my phone finally caught a signal. A dozen missed calls popped up, all from Daniel. There was also a text message, demanding to know why I couldn’t tolerate Serena, claiming he only saw her as a sister now. I let out a hollow laugh.
Daniel and I were childhood sweethearts. Serena, on the other hand, was just a student I’d sponsored in high school because she was struggling financially. When I was eighteen, Daniel came to my house to play. There was a fire, and my mother, with her last ounce of strength, pushed him to safety before perishing in the flames herself. Her final words were, “Daniel, take care of Claire.”
We got engaged, and he promised he’d always be good to me. But in college, he met Serena. She used the excuse of thanking me for my help, but slowly, subtly, she wormed her way between Daniel and me. Until she completely captured his heart. The one who promised to protect me now had someone else he wanted to protect more.
Chapter Two
I snapped back to reality when my phone buzzed with a video. It was from Serena. In the video, Daniel was holding Serena, his eyes red-rimmed, repeatedly kissing her forehead and pleading, “Serena, please don’t let anything happen to you.”
My heart squeezed tight. I remembered the time I was in a car accident, my legs crushed and fractured. I lay in a pool of blood, only to be taken to the hospital by a passerby. When I woke up, I begged them to call Daniel. He just coldly said, “If you’re not dead, why are you calling me? Am I a doctor? What can I do?” I stayed in the hospital for a month that time, but Daniel never once showed up. Later, I found out why.
That day, Serena and Daniel had an argument, and she accidentally tripped down the stairs, spraining her ankle. He’d transferred all his anger and worry onto me. I took a deep, shuddering breath, filled with bitter self-mockery. It was ridiculous that it took me this long to realize I’d wasted eight years on a man who wasn’t worth it.
I finally reached the bottom of the mountain and was about to hail a taxi when Daniel’s call came through. The moment I answered, he started screaming. “Claire! Serena’s anxiety flared up because of you today! Get your ass over here and apologize right now!” I struggled to hold onto the umbrella, which was being tossed around by the wind.
“I’m still at the hotel.”
As I spoke, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and the rain intensified. Daniel paused, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “You’re alone at the hotel? They didn’t take you back? Where’s the driver?”
“Forget it, I’ll come pick you up…”
He didn’t finish his sentence. Serena’s tearful voice cut him off. “Oh, Daniel, is Claire still mad at me? It’s all my fault…”
“I love you so much, I know I don’t come from a family like hers…”
Daniel immediately started comforting her. A few seconds later, his voice roared through the phone. “Claire, what are you even upset about? You have to make such a big deal out of every little thing! If you could just be a bit more understanding, I wouldn’t have…”
The last flicker of affection in my heart was extinguished. I forced a bitter smile and cut him off. “Daniel, let’s get a divorce.”
“I won’t apologize to Serena. I’m vacating the position of Mrs. Albright for you two.”
If they loved each other so much, then I’d just let that two-timing jerk and his conniving mistress have each other! He was the one who promised to take care of me forever, to love me for all eternity. That’s why I chose him so steadfastly. But why couldn’t he just control his own heart?
After hanging up, I got into a taxi. When the driver asked where to, I didn’t hesitate. “The hospital.” The wind-driven rain lashed at my face through the open window. My heart, which had been numb with pain, slowly began to feel again.
As I walked into the hospital, a nurse saw me in my wedding dress and asked if I needed help. I managed a small smile. “Could you help me schedule an abortion procedure?” The nurse froze, her eyes immediately filling with pity.
As I was paying the surgery fee, I actually glimpsed Daniel and Serena. They didn’t see me. I overheard their conversation. Daniel said coldly, “Serena, Claire made a mistake, she needs to apologize to you!”
“I’ve messed around with her for eight years, no one else would want her now. If she still wants to be Mrs. Albright, she’ll just have to obey.”
I stood rooted in the corner, stunned. I thought after everything today, my heart couldn’t ache anymore. But it still did. As I lay on the operating table, I saw the child on the ultrasound screen, and tears welled in my eyes. The doctor said, “The baby is very healthy. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?”
“You can still discuss it with the father.”
I thought of their faces, gritted my teeth, and said, “No, it’s fine. Please proceed.”
Chapter Three
After the surgery, I stayed in the hospital for two days. When I returned home, the house felt eerily silent and empty. It seemed Daniel had been with Serena all this time. Just as I thought that, Serena’s messages arrived as if on cue.
It was a video. Daniel, wearing an apron, was in the kitchen, making her soup. Serena’s text read, “Claire, so what if you married Daniel? He only loves me.”
I scoffed. She sent several more intimate photos. I clicked on her Ins profile. She’d posted a lot of updates these past few days: the highly sought-after Mr. Albright doting on her, taking meticulous care of her. Her followers were all gushing over how pampered she was. I screenshot all the evidence, saved it, then blocked Serena.
After that, I packed my bags and moved into a hotel. I took a long bath, then collapsed onto the bed, utterly exhausted. I hadn’t gone to work these past few days, resting at the hotel. During this time, my father called me several times. When he found out I wasn’t with Daniel, he immediately blew up, screaming, “If you don’t get Daniel back, I don’t have a daughter!”
I cut him off directly. “I won’t be with him anymore.” After hanging up, I blocked him too.
When I returned to the office, I noticed my colleagues looking at me strangely. My secretary, Chloe, told me, “Ms. Hayes, it’s all over the internet! We had no idea you and Mr. Albright were married…”
“Everyone thought Serena was Mrs. Albright.”
Only then did I open the trending sections of various websites. The top headline blared – “High Society Wedding Drama: Bride-Snatching!” I quickly skimmed the articles. It was just the media capturing the chaos at the wedding and spinning a wildly dramatic tale of a wealthy groom abandoning his rightful wife for his mistress. Even Albright Corp. was now feeling the heat.
Daniel’s call came in then. “Claire, you need to handle this online mess right away! What have you even been doing these past few days?”
I let out two cold laughs. “Your own mess, Mr. Albright, you should come back and handle it yourself.” With that, I hung up decisively. In the past, I would have ungrudgingly helped him deal with any scandal. But now that I was divorcing him, what standing did I have to help?
When I finished work, Daniel, uncharacteristically, was waiting for me downstairs at the company. He walked up, grabbed my arm, and without a word, shoved me into his car.
“What are you still throwing a fit about? Serena almost died, and she’s not even holding it against you. Why are you so petty?”
“You’re thirty years old, why are you still acting like a runaway teenager?”
“Alright, I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant. Just stop being childish.”
As he spoke, Daniel tossed a gift box at me. Inside was a butterfly brooch. The price tag was still attached to the box, a glaring six-figure sum in my currency that pierced my eyes. It made me think of how things used to be. Whenever Daniel and I argued, he’d buy me gifts, cook me delicious food, or make a list of things I could choose from to make up. But now, he had become so perfunctory. His affection was clearly priced, and he expected me to accept it without question.
I ignored Daniel’s expression, which clearly said, “You should be grateful,” and casually tossed the gift box into the car. “I don’t like it. You should give it to Serena instead.”
“After all, she’s already wearing my wedding ring from yesterday. What’s one more piece of jewelry?”
At my words, Daniel’s face changed. I continued, “And I’m not ‘throwing a fit.’ I’ve just thought things through. Since you and she are so desperate to be together, I can make room for you. Just find a time to finalize our divorce.”
It was funny, really. When Daniel and I first got married, he used the excuse of being “too busy” and wouldn’t give me a wedding. I didn’t mind. But at a party once, I saw him holding Serena in his arms outside the door, telling a group of friends, “I haven’t had much feeling for Claire for a long time.”
“But her mother did save my life, and the Hayes family company is helpful to the Albrights, so giving her the title of Mrs. Albright is compensation enough.”
“My love, though, is only for Serena.”
The two of them kissed passionately amidst the cheers, and outside the door, I felt my heart being shredded. Our marriage was a calculation, a handout, an act of pity… And now, I didn’t want it. I didn’t care for it anymore.
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