Chapter 1

Justine's POV

I quit the live stream.

I stared at the table full of food, and yet, the first thought that came into my mind was that the food was getting cold and I had to reheat it.

I struggled to lift my head and stared blankly at the frantically flashing red dots on the security cameras.

Back then, my husband, Mitch Cooley, had been worried that I'd try something stupid again and installed CCTVs all throughout the house to keep an eye on my safety. He even installed an alarm system that would ring if I tried to sabotage anything.

He would cross 5,000 miles just to find me if he realized that I was missing from the cameras, abandoning projects worth billions of dollars overseas. But now, the cameras only felt like countless prying eyes fixed on me.

I couldn't stop trembling as I smashed dozens of the cameras to pieces.

But half an hour passed, then an hour, then two. My phone still remained silent as though it had already lost its function.

When Mitch finally came home, he saw the mess on the floor and went to grab a blanket before draping it over my shoulders.

I looked at his finger, with the red mole on the ring finger, and thought of the profile photo from the live stream earlier.

I couldn't hold back the anger anymore and demanded with bloodshot eyes, "Don't you have some explaining to do?"

Mitch was stunned for a moment. However, he didn't panic or get flustered like one would when they got caught red-handed.

"It was me," he admitted.

Those three words made the tears pooling in my eyes stream down my face like a dam had broken.

"How could you do this to me? Why did you have to lie to me about someone's death?" I demanded.

Ever since my ex-boyfriend, Arwin Foster, died in the car crash, his family had pinned the blame all on me and told me to kill myself to atone for my "sins". They accused me of being heartless and said that he would never have died in the crash if he wasn't distracted while driving after I told him I was breaking up with him.

I was haunted by their insults and curses and could barely sleep at night. I'd finally pulled through the darkest time of my life, but now, I was told that the three people who were the closest to me had betrayed me a long time ago.

I pressed my hand against my heart and felt a wave of suffocation washing over me.

Mitch saw what was happening and picked me up in his arms to feed me my meds. Then, he took a deep breath.

"I know you're suffering now. But instead of having two people suffer, it would be better off for you to just bear the suffering on your own.

"Lexie is frail and weak. She can't take your antics. Besides, it's not like we'd affected you in any way."

I was completely frozen in shock. Then, I slapped him hard in the face. Yet, I couldn't stop laughing as tears continued streaming down my face.

"Your love for each other is truly enviable, then!"

So, Lexie Moyer deserved to be pampered just because he thought of her as frail and weak? And yet, it was a given that I should have to suffer three betrayals just because I deserved it? And I was still supposed to feel sorry for her?

Why didn't anyone feel sorry for me?

Mitch refused to let go of me no matter how much I struggled, fought, or bit him. It wasn't until his phone rang loudly amidst the fight that he suddenly loosened his hold on me.

"I have an emergency to tend to. We'll talk after I get home."

I lost my balance and fell hard against the broken glass on the floor. He simply stopped in his tracks when he heard my groan and said, "No matter what my relationship with Lexie is, you will still always be my wife. Think carefully about what's more important to you."

The door then slammed heavily behind him. My white dress was soon dyed red, and it hurt so much that I could barely form a coherent sentence.

I hurriedly pressed the emergency contact button on my phone.

"Mitch… Come home quickly… I'm in pain…"

Mitch's voice was filled with impatience.

"Can you stop making such a fuss, Justine Gardner? I'm a very busy man! How can you coincidentally be in pain right after I left the house?"

I couldn't stop myself from moaning in pain. "But I'm bleeding…"

Just then, I heard Lexie's laughter float through the call.

"Shall we bring the kitten home, Mitchie? What's the matter? Is it Justine again?"

"Nothing important," Mitch replied. "I'll send you and the kitten home first."

Painful breaths caught in my throat. I couldn't even make another sound anymore.

My lips grew dry and cracked as I stared at the disconnected call on my phone. Suddenly, I realized that incidents like this had happened multiple times in the past.

When we went camping together and the tent collapsed, the first thing Mitch did was to protect Lexie's head. If both of us happened to stain our clothes during menstruation, he would always lend his jacket to her first.

Even now, Mitch still chose to abandon me without hesitation just for her and a kitten.

I stroked the red birthmark on my finger that matched Mitch's and heard his wedding vow echoing in my ears.

"We're bound together for life because we share the same birthmark, Justine. I promise that I'll never let you down or betray you!"

Tears streamed down my face as I tapped on the phone again, this time dialling another number.

"Mom? I agree to divorce Mitch."