Chapter 3

I didn’t leave the house yet. I stayed and slept in the guest room last night.

After Arzhel and Veronica walked out, the place felt too quiet. Even the maids avoided the living room. I stayed seated at the dining table for a long time, staring at the divorce papers like they might disappear if I didn’t touch them.

Eventually, my phone buzzed.

Adrian.

I ignored the first call.

Then another.

And another.

Until I finally answered.

“Lia, where are you?” he asked, concerned. “You didn’t answer my messages.”

“I’m home,” my voice low from having little energy.

“What happened?”

I looked at the papers again. “He thinks I cheated.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief.

“He saw photos. Someone followed me to the hospital.”

I wondered who took those. But I was not ignoring the possibility that it was my stepsister.

“Damn it,” Adrian muttered. “I didn’t know something like this would happen.”

I closed my eyes. “He already prepared the divorce papers.”

There was silence on the other end.

“What about the baby?”

I swallowed. “He doesn’t believe it’s his.” My voice almost cracked.

“Lia, you need to calm down,” Adrian said. “Where are you now?”

“At home.”

“I’m coming over.”

“No,” I said immediately while shaking my head even if he couldn’t see me. “Please don’t.”

“Why not?” he asked, confused.

“If he sees you here, it’ll only make things worse.”

The line went quiet for a second.

“Then let me at least send my driver.”

I wanted to decline his offer, but I knew very well that without Arzhel, I was literally nobody. No resources, no money, no connections. Adrian was the only one who can help me now.

“Thank you.” I simply said instead.

After I hung up, I finally stood up.

I walked upstairs slowly, back to our room. I was almost dragging my feet. When I reached our bedroom, my chest tightened.

The bed was neatly made. Arzhel’s side was empty.

I opened the closet. Some of my clothes were no longer there.

I looked at the side of the room. I saw three suitcases, and a pile of my unfolded clothes was there. I released a long sigh. He had planned this.

I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. My hands were still shaking. When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized myself.

I grabbed a suitcase and started properly packing my clothes.

As I folded my clothes, another wave of nausea hit me. I rushed back to the bathroom. I almost didn’t make it in time.

When I finished, I sat on the floor while leaning against the wall, breathing hard. I didn’t notice that some drops of tears started falling.

“I’ll be okay,” I said quietly and started wiping my face. “I have to.”

By evening, the house was empty again. I tried to wait for Arzhel. I didn’t know why I still had a little hope, but in the end, he didn’t come.

The driver took me to Adrian’s house.

When I arrived, he was already waiting by the door.

“Come in,” he said gently.

The moment I stepped inside, my strength gave out. Adrian caught me before I could fall.

“Easy,” he said. “Sit down.”

I sat on the couch while he poured me a glass of water.

“Did you eat?” he asked.

I shook my head.

He frowned. “I’ll ask the helper to make something light.”

While he walked away, I stared at the ceiling. My phone buzzed.

I received a message from Arzhel’s lawyer.

“Please review the documents. We expect your signature within three days.”

Was it really over between us?

I locked my phone and placed it face down.

Minutes later, Adrian came back. He guided me to the dining table.

While I ate, he leaned forward to talk.

“You know Arzhel. He won’t let this go easily.” His expression seemed to be a little worried.

I understood. After all, Arzhel was the most powerful billionaire we knew. No one wanted to mess with him. Not even me.

“I know,” I said.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’ll sign the papers,” I answered.

Adrian’s eyes widened. “Just like that?”

“I don’t want to fight him,” I said. “Not like this. I’m not a fool.”

He sighed.

“And the baby?”

“I’ll raise the baby myself.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment.

“You don’t have to do this alone,” he said as he reached for my hands.

“I know,” I showed a weak smile. “But I need to.”

That night, I barely slept.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Arzhel’s face and the expression he had while accusing me of betrayal.

The next morning, my phone vibrated nonstop on the bedside table. I thought it was my alarm at first, but when I grabbed it, my screen was already flooded with messages.

“Have you seen this?”

“Is this true?”

“Lia, please tell me this isn’t real.”

My chest started to feel heavy.

There was a link. I clicked it.

It directed me to a business news article. I read the headline.

“THERON GROUP HEIR FILES FOR DIVORCE AMID INFIDELITY ALLEGATIONS”

I sat up so fast.

The article included photos.

Not just the clinic photos. There were photos of me and Adrian at a café a couple of months ago. A photo of him holding an umbrella over me. Another of him touching my arm while we were talking. Those were from the time he had just come back to the country, and as my childhood friend, we decided to meet, since Arzhel was on a business trip and Veronica annoyed me in my own house.

Below it was a short statement from Theron Group’s legal team.

“Mr. Arzhel Theron confirms that the divorce is due to irreconcilable differences caused by betrayal during the marriage.”

My jaw dropped. I felt dizzy.

This wasn’t just between us anymore. I told him not to humiliate me, and there was a clause in the divorce papers that I wasn’t allowed to talk about it, yet he did. I was just nobody. I was his maid’s daughter. My family was poor. Why did he need to go this far?

I scrolled down.

Netizens were already tearing me apart.

“Gold digger”

“Cheater”

“Poor Mr. Theron”

“She got caught and still tried to lie”

My hands shook so badly that I dropped the phone.

The door opened.

“Lia.”

I looked up. Adrian stood there, his face dark.

“You saw it,” he said. His expression turned into full concern.

I slowly nodded. I felt like those comments took all my energy.

“I just got off the phone with my PR team,” he continued. “They’re already asking if I want to issue a denial.”

“No,” I said immediately.

He frowned. “Why not?”

“Because it’ll make it worse,” I said.

Adrian clenched his jaw. “He crossed the line.”

“He did it on purpose,” I said. “Maybe he wants to remind me who I am, a nobody. Maybe it’s his punishment for what he thought I am, a cheater. He’s making sure to remind me that I wouldn’t succeed without him,” I said, almost in a whisper.

I swung my legs off the bed and stood up.

“I need to go out.”

“Where?” Adrian asked.

“Theron Group.”

He stared at me. “Are you serious?”

“I’ll end this. I don’t want this to go bigger.”

Arzhel knew a lot of businessmen, politicians, and news companies. We were no match for him. I had been no match for him ever since. The only way to end this was to give what he wanted. Divorce.

I took the divorce paper inside my bag. I signed it without second thought.

Within an hour, I was already at Theron Group’s headquarters.

The moment I stepped into the lobby, people started whispering.

Some were secretly glancing at me. Some stared openly.

I walked straight to the reception desk, but the security arrived and stopped me.

“Ms. Analia,” one of them said politely but with authority. “You’re not allowed inside.”

“I’m here to see Arzhel Theron. Please, call him,” I pleaded. “Then I’ll leave right away.”

They hesitated, but I still saw someone talk to the receptionist. Five minutes later, the elevator doors opened.

Arzhel stepped out.

The lobby went silent.

“Why are you here?” he asked, with irritation as always.

“You turned my life into headlines.” I said bitterly.

He didn’t react.

“You shouldn’t have cheated.”

His words hit hard, even though I expected them. Of course, he would insist on those accusations.

“I didn’t,” I said in a tone that showed I was almost out of patience. “And you know it.”

He laughed lightly.

“You’re still lying?”

Suddenly, I started to see him differently, like he would never be the man who would choose me or even believe in me. Instead, he was the one who would always humiliate me.

People around us started pulling out their phones.

“You want the truth?” I said, loud enough just for both of us to hear. “Fine. Let’s talk about the hospital.”

His eyes darkened.

“I was sick,” I continued. “I went there because I was vomiting every morning.”

“And you took your lover with you,” he accused.

“I took a friend,” I snapped. “Because my husband was never home.”

His jaw clenched.

“Say it,” I said. “Say what you really think.”

He stepped closer. “I think you’re a cheater!”

“That’s a lie.”

“You got pregnant by him,” he said coldly, “and now you’re trying to pass it off as mine.”

The air between us felt heavy.

My vision blurred. I could tolerate him treating me like an outsider in our marriage, but him treating our child like an outsider too made my heart ache. Our child, my child, didn’t deserve that.

“Say that again,” I whispered.

He didn’t hesitate. “That child is not mine.”

Before I could say something, he took a step closer and said something low enough for only the two of us to hear.

“Every time we had sex, I used a condom, Lia. There’s no way that child would be mine.”

I let out a short laugh.

“So you don’t remember the last time we had sex a couple of weeks ago? You were so drunk, you couldn’t even open your condom?” His eyebrows started to frown. “You decided to just throw it away and go on without any protection?” I made him hear how pissed I was right now.

He paused. His eyebrows started to furrow while remembering that night. But his expression showed that he didn’t remember anything.

“You’re lying again! But if you really insist that it’s mine, I want proof. And if that’s really mine, I’ll take the child away from you. Only the child, because I don’t need a cheater wife.” He said with a gritted teeth.

Something inside me snapped. What he knew about raising a child, he might end up treating it the way he treated me.

“No need for that. Like you said, this child is not yours. I’ll make sure you never see the baby,” my voice almost cracked.

What I said caught his attention.

“What did you say?”

I straightened my back. “I already signed the divorce paper. I’ll disappear. You won’t hear from me again.”

“And the child?”

“You don’t want the child anyway,” I said bitterly. “So let’s keep it that way.”

For the first time, he looked unsure.

“Lia,” he said slowly, like he was thinking about what to say next.

But before he could finish his sentence, I took the divorce papers from inside my bag and handed them to him.

“Congrats, you finally got rid of me.”

I turned around without waiting for his reaction.

I placed my hand on my stomach.

Once your father found out he made a big mistake, it would be my turn to make him feel how unwanted he was in our life.