Chapter 1

"Urgh... Edward... Arghh, please... fuck me harder... I'm all yours."

Raya’s voice echoed through the walls, her moans blending with the rhythmic squeaking of the bed. My breath caught in my throat, my body locking in place as I stood at the doorway, unable to look away.

The moment my mother called after three years of silence, pretending to care, I should have sensed there was an ulterior motive. When she mentioned my step-sister had an accident and urged me to check on her, I should have known it was a lie.

But nothing could have prepared me for this.

My body went numb, all the blood rushing to my feet, leaving me hollow. I stood just a few feet away from the room, with the door wide open enough for me to see my husband, the man I had given five years of my life loving and supporting holding onto my step-sister waist as he slammed into her harder.

“Yes, fuck me,” Raya moaned louder, her voice slicing through my skull like a jagged arrow. A silent sob built in my chest, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I wanted to scream to demand the reasons, to rip them apart.

But I just stood there.

Who was to blame? My husband, who had grown distant and cold these past few weeks, feeding me excuse after excuse about late nights and extra shifts? Or Raya, the sister who had ghosted me, just like my mother?

I had ignored the signs, convincing myself that Edward was just busy, that our love, our five years together, still meant something.

How foolish I was.

My body moved on its own, my heels clicking against the marble tiles, yet they remained oblivious. I wiped my tears and kept walking, forcing myself not to look back.

The weight of my phone in my hand burned against my skin. I glanced down at the screen, a message lighting up from the woman who had never once treated me as her daughter.

{I’m sure you know now who Edward truly belongs to. Raya is the better choice}

The words seared into my mind, poisoning what little strength I had left.

Edward had been seeing Raya. For how long? Had they been laughing behind my back, enjoying their stolen moments while I played the role of the devoted wife?

I should have known. From the start, everyone expected Edward to choose Raya. She was the flawless one, the model with curves in all the right places, the daughter my mother paraded around like a prized possession. Meanwhile, I was her disappointment, the one she called ugly behind closed doors.

But he chooses me, and for the past five years I had clinged onto the fact that he loved me, until now.

I shoved my phone into my bag, swallowing the lump in my throat. The pain settled deep in my chest, replaying the image of Edward and Raya over and over again.

By the time I reached home, my legs felt like lead. I sank onto the couch, pressing my palm against my face, trying to quiet the storm inside me. But the silence didn’t last long before I heard the creaking sound of the front door and soft footsteps follows.

"Honey, I'm home," Edward's voice rang out, calm as ever, the same voice that once brought me comfort but now made my skin crawl. I didn’t move. I didn’t rush to greet him like I used to. I just sat there, my heart pounding against my ribs like a caged animal.

I waited until he was inside the living room that was when I lifted my head to meet his eyes. The pair of blue eyes stared at me with innocence as if he hadn't just cheated on me, as if what I saw in Raya apartment wasn't him but someone else.

His brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?” He glanced around, as if expecting to see some obvious reason for my coldness. “Did something happen while I was away?”

I stood, my legs trembling beneath me. My heart pounded so loudly it drowned out everything else. "Where have you been?“ The question slipped from my lips before I could stop it. I didn't know why I even bother to ask when I already knew he would deny it.

He shrugged as if the question was unreasonable and stepped forward. “I've been at work." He paused when he noticed, I didn’t react the way he expected. No weak, hesitant smile. No relieved sigh.

Instead, I reached for the envelope on the table, the one I had prepared the moment I stepped out of Raya's front door. I held it out to him, my fingers steady despite the storm inside me.

“Edward, I want a divorce.”

His entire body stiffened. His gaze darted from my face to the envelope, as if it were some foreign object he couldn’t comprehend.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded, his carefully constructed facade beginning to crack.

I let out a breath, steadying myself. “What do you think it means?” My voice was eerily harsh, even as my chest ached. “I want a divorce, Edward. I’m done believing your lies. I’m done being your fool.”

He scoffed, his lips twisting into something between disbelief and amusement. But he didn’t take the letter. Instead, he crossed his arms, his stare turning sharp. “You’re being dramatic, Juliet. Take that thing away and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

I almost laughed. He thought I would back down. That I would swallow the pain, just like I always had.

He really thinks I don’t know, that I didn’t see him.

For a moment, I pitied him—pitied the way he thought he could manipulate me, the way he assumed I would always be the naive wife who waited for him with open arms.

But I wasn’t that woman anymore.

I stepped forward, shoving the envelope against his chest. "I’m serious, Edward. It’s over. You don’t have to sneak around like a coward anymore, you can have Raya now."

His expression twisted in shock, then something else. For a moment, I thought I saw regret, but then, he laughed. A low, bitter chuckle.