Chasing The Wife He Discarded
For five years, Nerissa Vane was the perfect, silent wife to Lysander Blackwood. She endured his coldness, his family’s disdain, and the humiliation of taking birth control every night to ensure she didn't "trap" a man who hated her. She was the woman who secretly saved his family from ruin, yet he saw her as nothing more than a desperate social climber.
When Lysander’s first love returns and falls pregnant, the mask finally slips. Lysander doesn't hate children—he only hates the idea of having them with Nerissa. After a tragic accident where Lysander leaves a bleeding, pregnant Nerissa behind to save his mistress, Nerissa realizes that love cannot be begged for.
She leaves behind a wedding ring, a positive ultrasound, and the truth about the debt he can never repay. By the time Lysander realizes he chased away the only woman who truly loved him, the "placeholder wife" is gone, and the powerful Vane Heiress has risen in her place. He wants her back, but this time, Nerissa isn't playing by his rules.
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Chapter: Ch: 43 All The Secret I Know.Lysander's POVMy tie was choking me. I had put it on this morning the exact same way I always did, but somewhere on the drive to the Hendricks gala, it decided to strangle me. I kept trying to loosen it without Seraphina noticing. It wasn't working."Stop touching it," Seraphina whispered. Her hand gripped my arm hard. "You look nervous.""I'm not nervous.""You've fixed your tie eight times." She flashed a huge, fake smile at someone passing by. "Relax. We're just here to be seen."Right. Just here to be seen. As if I didn't have a folder from Dr. Anh stuffed inside my jacket pocket, holding proof of attempted murder. It pressed against my ribs, making it hard to breathe.The ballroom was exactly what you’d expect. Too much crystal, too much gold. Near the entrance, a giant ice sculpture slowly melted, leaving dark puddles on the shiny marble floor. A waiter kept rushing over to wipe it up before anyone important noticed the mess.People kept coming up to talk to me about bu
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-05
Chapter: Ch: 42 old files.Lysander's pov She stood in the doorway, waiting for me to say something. Her feet were bare on the rug. The blue light from the computer screen was still hitting the desk, right next to the printed bank statements and the surveyor's report. I closed the laptop. "An old insurance file," I said. I said it too fast. Before she even finished her sentence, the words were out of my mouth. I swept the papers off the glass, shoved them into the top drawer, and turned the key. Seraphina leaned against the doorframe. "Insurance? At two in the morning?" "The underwriters asked for an audit on the southern land," I said. My thumb pressed against the edge of the small brass key in my pocket, digging into the skin until it hurt. "I wanted to check the numbers before my meeting tomorrow." She shook her head with a soft smile. "You work too much, Lysander. Come to bed. It's late." She rested her hand on her stomach. It was an automatic habit now, something she had done every d
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-05
Chapter: Ch: 41 Paperwork and Gunpowder.Lysander's POVDr. Anh set a grease-stained paper cup on the dashboard of my car. Rain hit the windshield in heavy, uneven slaps, blurring the red glow of the diner sign across the asphalt."The money didn't start in the Vale account," she said. She didn't look at me. She was busy wiping a splash of drip coffee off her coat sleeve with a wad of yellowing napkins. "Seraphina's father is sloppy, but he isn't that sloppy. The Vale account is just a trough. Somebody else keeps filling it.""Who?""Anders Cole Maritime Holdings." She tossed the wet napkins into the floorboard. "Cayman registration. Three layers of nominee directors."The name sat between us, cold and heavy. "Maritime?" I picked up the folder sitting on my lap. The edge of the cardboard was damp from the rain outside. "What does a shipping firm have to do with an obstetrician in Geneva?" "Nothing," Anh said. "Which is why I checked it twice. Three transfers into Whitfield's account over eighteen months. Every sin
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-04
Chapter: Ch: 40 The Registered Agent.Nerissa's POV"Mom, is Friday a party or a work thing?" Nicole asked around a mouthful of toast."Work thing," I said. "Very boring. Very important.""Can important things be boring?""Most of them are."She considered that with the seriousness she gave everything, then went back to her toast, satisfied. Nicholas was under the table hunting for a dropped fork, which he'd apparently decided was faster than asking for a new one."Found it," he announced, popping back up, fork held aloft like a trophy."Wash it first.""It's fine.""Nicholas."He sighed the sigh of a five-year-old wronged by hygiene standards and slid off his chair to find the sink.Some mornings I let myself sit in this exact kind of chaos a beat longer than I needed to, because by nine o'clock I'd be a different person entirely, and I liked knowing this version still existed underneath the other one.Priya was waiting by the car with two folders and the particular brisk energy she wore on days she'd already answered fo
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-04
Chapter: Ch: 39 What She Doesn't Know I Know.Lysander's POVI didn't sleep. I just couldn't stop thinking.By six, I was already dressed, staring at my reflection like it might have an answer I didn't. Downstairs, the house smelled like coffee and normal life.Seraphina was at the table, scrolling through her phone, hair still damp from the shower."You're up early," she said, not looking up."Couldn't sleep.""Again?" She finally glanced at me, some concern in it that used to work on me without effort. "You've been off for days.""Work stuff.""Mm." She went back to her phone. "Anything I should worry about?"I almost laughed. "No."I sat down across from her and poured coffee I didn't want, just to have something to do with my hands. She kept scrolling, thumb moving fast, and I watched her face for anything. Nothing. She was good. I guessed she had years to practice."I have a call this morning," she said. "With the caterer, for the baby shower Talia's planning.""Already?""She's excited." A small smile. "First grandchild."
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-03
Chapter: Ch: 38 The File That Answered Everything.Lysander's POVThe records came on a Thursday. Two days, exactly like Whitfield promised.A courier dropped the envelope at the front desk and left. I carried it up to the study and set it on the desk without opening it, just looking at the seal for a minute, like it might tell me something before I broke it.It didn't. Nothing ever does until you make yourself look.I slit it open and spread the pages across the desk.Ultrasound images, dated and initialed. Hormone panels with numbers next to reference ranges, everything sitting comfortably inside the lines. A signed intake form from five years ago. A referral note. Visit logs going back to the very first appointment, each one filled out in the same careful hand.I read through it twice, waiting for the gap. The missing signature, the smudged date, the number that didn't line up with the one before it. Something Anh could point to and say, there, that's wrong.There wasn't one.Every question I'd been carrying around for two days had
최신 업데이트: 2026-08-02
Chapter: Ch: 126 The Last Gift.Her hand was cold.She led me to the altar without a word.Behind me, I could hear Ares's breathing. Shallow. Wet. Slowing.Don't listen, I told myself. Don't look back. If you look back, you won't be able to do this.So I looked forward instead. At the stone. At the dark, ancient symbols carved into its surface that seemed to writhe in the flickering candlelight. At the shallow basin in its center, stained black from centuries of blood."It won't hurt long," Perla said softly.The laugh that came out of me was half a sob. "You know, for someone who claims to love me, you have a very strange definition of comfort."She didn't answer.I placed my palm flat against the cold stone. The Mark on my hand blazed immediately—white-hot, furious—as if it recognized what I was about to do and wanted me to stop. I felt it pulse against my skin like a second heartbeat. Like a warning.I know, I told it silently. But what choice do I have?Ares made a sound behind me. Something broken and desperate
최신 업데이트: 2026-03-10
Chapter: Ch: 125 The Choice.The wind picks up, howling through the ruined temple like a living thing. The candles around the altar flicker wildly but refuse to go out, as if held by invisible hands."Yara." Perla's voice has taken on a desperate edge. "Please. Just listen to me for one moment—""We're done listening," Ares snarls. His body is coiled tight, ready to strike. "We're leaving. Now.""You can't." Perla's hand moves to her belt, and suddenly she's holding a blade of her own—longer than the ceremonial dagger, wickedly sharp. "I won't let you."I feel the Mark on my hand flare hot, responding to the threat. Energy surges through me, the ancient power of my bloodline rising to the surface. "You're going to stop us? Your own daughter?""I'm saving us!" Perla's voice cracks. "Don't you see? This is the only way we can be whole again. The only way our family can be complete.""Our family?" I laugh, the sound bitter and broken. "You don't want a family, Perla. You want a resurrection. And you were willing to
최신 업데이트: 2026-03-05
Chapter: Ch: 124 Blood and Stone.The temple appeared like something out of a nightmare.It wasn't grand or beautiful like I'd imagined. It was ancient—older than anything I'd ever seen. Crumbling stone pillars rose from the earth at odd angles, covered in moss and vines that seemed to move even when there was no wind. In the center stood a circular platform, and at its heart, a stone altar stained dark with something I didn't want to think about."This is it?" I asked, my voice sounding small in the heavy silence."This is it," Perla confirmed, dismounting from her horse with fluid grace. "The Temple of Echoes. One of the oldest sacred sites in existence."Ares was already off his horse, his hand on the dagger at his hip. His silver eyes swept the clearing, cataloging every shadow, every potential threat. "It's too quiet."He was right. No birds sang in the trees. No insects buzzed in the grass. Even our horses shifted nervously, their ears pinned back."The veil is thin here," Perla said, walking toward the temple w
최신 업데이트: 2026-02-10
Chapter: Ch: 123 The Temple of Echoes.The two weeks passed too quickly.One moment I was agreeing to the ritual, feeling brave and certain, and the next I was standing in our chambers watching Ares pack supplies for the journey."We don't need that much," I said, watching him stuff another set of daggers into his travel bag. "Perla said the temple is only a day's ride from here.""I don't care what Perla said." He didn't look up, his jaw set in that stubborn way that meant arguing would be pointless. "We're going into unknown territory to perform an ancient ritual that requires your blood. I'm bringing weapons."I couldn't exactly fault his logic. I moved to the twins' bassinet, looking down at Lyris and Aldron. They were awake. In two weeks, they'd grown so much. Lyris's eyes were starting to look more green than blue, and Aldron had Ares's dark hair coming in thicker."I don't want to leave them," I whispered.Ares stopped packing. He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my should
최신 업데이트: 2026-02-09
Chapter: Ch: 122 The Gift of Trust.The four months passed in a strange blur of sleepless nights and precious firsts.Lyris smiled for the first time at six weeks old—a real smile, not just gas—and Ares nearly cried. Aldron discovered his hands at two months and spent hours staring at them like they were the most fascinating things in existence. By three months, they were starting to develop distinct personalities that went beyond "screaming" and "sleeping."Lyris was bold and demanding, always reaching for things just beyond her grasp, frustrated when the world didn't bend to her will. Aldron was quieter, more observant, but when he wanted something, he was just as stubborn as his sister. He just went about it differently."She's going to be a warrior," Ares said one afternoon, watching Lyris grab at a dangling toy with fierce determination. "Look at that grip. She's got her mother's stubbornness.""And Aldron?" I asked, rocking our son gently as he dozed against my chest."A strategist. He watches everything, figures
최신 업데이트: 2026-02-08
Chapter: Ch: 121 The Weight of Two Months.The weeks that followed blurred together in a haze of sleepless nights and stolen moments of joy.Lyris had her father's temperament—fierce, demanding, refusing to sleep unless someone was holding her. Aldron was quieter, more contemplative, but when he cried, it was with a fury that shook the walls. Between the two of them, Ares and I were running on fumes and adrenaline."She's doing it again," Ares muttered one night, or maybe it was early morning—time had lost all meaning. He was pacing the room with Lyris against his shoulder, patting her back while she wailed. "I've fed her, changed her, burped her. What else could she possibly want?""She wants to make sure we know who's in charge," I said from the bed, where I was nursing Aldron. "She's establishing dominance early.""Well, it's working." Ares looked down at his daughter with an expression that was equal parts exasperation and pure adoration. "You're a tiny tyrant, you know that?"Lyris responded by spitting up on his shoulder
최신 업데이트: 2026-02-07
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