Chapter 2

Edmund looked at my gaunt face and then down at the divorce agreement in his hands. A flicker of heartache actually flashed across his eyes.

“Victoria, can you stop making a scene? Why can’t we go back to the way things were? Are you truly willing to throw our family away?”

“Edmund, don’t talk as if I’m the one who ruined this family. Didn’t this happen because you cheated?”

I stared intently at Edmund’s face, desperately searching for even a shred of guilt.

But there was none. His expression was full of absolute confidence, as if he were entirely certain I would never actually go through with the divorce.

Perhaps that used to be true. I really had loved him to a fault.

Seven years ago, our marriage had faced fierce opposition from Edmund’s mother. She believed a woman like me was completely beneath her son.

After the wedding, she made my life miserable in every possible way, treating me like an unpaid maid and denying me the most basic respect.

She constantly humiliated me in public, even going so far as to openly mock me at a gala, calling me a low-class, money-grubbing girl.

Back then, Edmund would always step in to shield me. But as time went on, he gradually stopped caring.

Then came a Christmas when I got pregnant with David. Just as I was bursting with joy and preparing to share the wonderful news with Edmund, his betrayal arrived before my happiness could.

“Victoria, today is Christmas,” he had said. “I don’t want Avery to spend it all alone.

“I know what happened to your parents, but Avery was just a child back then. She was a victim, too.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced myself not to let them fall.

His words were nothing less than a sharp blade driven brutally into my heart.

Why? Why did it have to be like this?

One was my sweet, loving husband, and the other was the illegitimate sister I loathed more than anyone else.

Edmund knew exactly how much I despised my sister, and how much I detested unfaithful husbands.

It was because of my own father’s infidelity. When my mother had hysterically confronted him all those years ago, her pain was met with a single, cold sentence: “I’m sorry, but I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with her.”

“That’s exactly what you told me back then,” I whispered.

Ultimately, my mother died on impact in a car crash on her way to finalize the divorce from my father. I was only twelve years old.

Not long after, my father brought that other woman into our home. It was only then that I discovered they had a daughter named Avery, who was just two years younger than me.

At that exact moment, I truly felt the crushing weight of my mother’s agony.

My heart was so painfully numb. Watching the man in front of me openly admit his affair made him overlap completely with the memory of the man who had once sworn before God to love me forever.

Except now, his eyes looked entirely like a stranger’s.

“Edmund, I hate you,” I choked out. “How could you do this to me?”

My voice was incredibly raspy, and my tears finally spilled over, betraying my resolve.

Suddenly, my vision went black, and I collapsed.

When I finally woke up, Edmund was kneeling beside my hospital bed. The rims of his eyes were crimson, filled with tears and an unspeakable amount of remorse.

“Victoria, you’re finally awake! You’re pregnant... I—I’m going to be a father!”

Edmund was so overwhelmed that he was practically incoherent. He gripped my hand tightly, terrified that I might vanish the next second.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I’ll cut ties with Avery. I promise.”

I had placed my hand over my stomach and, in the end, I chose to forgive him.

But history proved that constant forgiveness can never win back a man who has already lost his heart.

“Victoria, something came up at the company. I need to take care of it.”

“Victoria, there’s an issue with the project. I have to go check on it immediately.”

“Victoria, I have an important meeting today. I might be home a bit late.”

Eventually, Edmund did not even bother making excuses anymore. What he did not know was that Avery sent me photos of the two of them every single time.

Even on the day I went into labor, Edmund was out on a date with her.

Unable to bear the torture any longer, I had finally filed for divorce.

“Just sign it quickly,” I said, my tone cold and unyielding as I stared him down. “We won’t ever have to see each other again.”

Then, I looked down at David, my voice completely detached. “And I won’t bother you anymore, either.”

“Fine! See if I care!” David yelled back at me in a fit of pique. “Avery will take care of me anyway! Dad, let’s go back to Avery right now. I haven’t even unwrapped my presents yet!”

Hearing his words made me want to laugh. It turned out I was the only one who had ever cared about this family. For all these years, I had been the only one desperately holding it together.

Perhaps my childhood trauma had made me over-dependent on the idea of a family. But now that I was calm, I realized that divorce was truly the best outcome.

Edmund took the paperwork and finally signed his name.

As I walked out of the courthouse once more, the cold wind hit my face, clearing my mind completely.

Suddenly, the phone in my pocket began to vibrate.