Chapter 3

After Gavin spent a month in the hospital, Audrey came to pick him up as he was getting discharged.

When I died, only Miranda showed up. But Gavin’s hospital room was packed. All his friends and family crowded inside. They were delighted when Audrey walked in.

“Ms. Kates, when are you going to marry Gavin? Look how worried you are about him! Gavin’s such a lucky boy.”

Gavin lowered his head and said sheepishly, “Don’t say that. Audrey’s already married! I don’t want Jasper to get the wrong idea about us when he hears this. I don’t want to be the other man either. Otherwise, he’ll make things hard for me again.”

One of his friends said sarcastically, “What’s so great about a petty guy who only knows how to get jealous? Audrey loves you! The one who isn’t loved is the real third wheel. Besides hurting you, what else can he even do? If I were her, I would’ve divorced him a long time ago.”

I found that laughable.

Was I really this third wheel?

That was so typical of Gavin. He always led Audrey to believe that everything was my fault.

But the real kicker was Audrey’s attitude. She did not say a word. She just helped Gavin pack his things while everyone else in that crowded room just stood there watching.

I thought back to my life after marrying Audrey. She always said she would love me forever.

But I was the one doing all the housework. I was the one who swallowed all the hurt. I thought she would have my back when things got hard. But it turned out that she was the one making things hard for me.

“Ms. Kates, Gavin has stayed single for you all these years. You can’t let him down,” a person said enthusiastically as he grabbed Audrey’s arm and tried to push the two together.

Bitterness filled my heart. So, this was how they talked about me in private. To them, I seemed to be the unforgivable one.

Audrey did not say anything. I figured she probably thought the same way.

Gavin went back to Audrey’s bachelor apartment. That apartment was Audrey’s private space after our fights. She had never taken me there before.

I should have realized it sooner. Gavin was Audrey’s only exception. She would bend every rule for him.

Audrey neatly arranged Gavin’s belongings. As she bent down, Gavin walked over and wrapped his arms around Audrey’s waist.

My heart ached. It had not been long since I had passed away, and the two of them had already gotten so intimate. It was like Audrey had never gotten married.

Her body stiffened. She wanted to pull away, but this only made Gavin’s arms tighten further.

He rested his head on her shoulder and whispered, “Audrey, please give me a chance? I didn’t mean to leave you back then. If my mom hadn’t gotten sick, I never would’ve taken your father’s money and left you.”

It seemed they had broken up because he had taken her father, Vincent Kates’, money for his mom’s treatment. How cliche!

Had Audrey held onto that for all these years?

Audrey laughed, but I could not tell what she was truly feeling.

“If you had just told me the truth back then, we wouldn’t have ended up with this regret. Are you implying that I couldn’t have come up with the money by myself that you took from my father?”

Gavin was taken aback for a moment.

But he was smart. He knew that she could not stand me at the moment. So, he quickly turned the topic to me.

“Is that why you stood by and did nothing when Jasper bullied me? Is it because you hate me? He sent people to my company to trash my reputation. He also had thugs beat me up! When I got sick, he wouldn’t even donate a kidney to me. Is this how you get back at me?”

He was lying.

Every word was untrue. I did not even know where Gavin’s company was.

Besides, I was just an orphan. How could I have any power or influence to hire a bunch of thugs?

If anyone bothered to investigate carefully, Gavin’s accusations would fall apart. Yet, Audrey believed them without a doubt.

It was even more absurd that he claimed Audrey did nothing for him. After she learned about all of this, she dragged me out of my company in front of all my colleagues. It was as if I had done something shameful.

To get back at me, she found a group of thugs and watched as I was humiliated and beaten.

I curled up in the corner, shaking in despair, while those people held up their phones and filmed my bare body.

Audrey just sat there watching the show. In the end, she waved her phone in front of my face and threatened me maliciously.

“If you ever dare hurt Gavin again, I won’t hesitate to upload these videos online. That would haunt you for the rest of your life.”

She ignored me as I pleaded that I had not done anything like that. She did not believe me even for a moment.

When Gavin brought up the old incident again, she did not tell him how she had tormented me because of his lies.

How ironic!

I did not understand why Audrey married me if she did not love me.