All Chapters of Overlooked Wife, Officially Done: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

By the time I got through my dad's funeral, it was already past midnight.And yep—Millie had just dropped another update.She and Dylan were out there, chilling by a bonfire with the locals, stargazing like it was some indie movie.Dylan—who never posted anything—left a comment under her photo:[As long as you like it.]Our mutual friends flooded them with blessings.They all knew I was his wife, but still treated Dylan and Millie like the real couple.I felt like the extra—like I snuck in while Millie was on a coffee break.Dylan huffed and puffed over a beach trip with me, but for her? He was suddenly fine hiking up where the air's thinner than his excuses.I could beg a hundred times—it'd never beat one look from Millie.I was done.After everything, I stood on the hospital rooftop, staring at the pale moonlight over Seavora.That's when Dylan finally called. Not to ask how I was. Not a word about the funeral.Just to circle back to what I'd said hours ago."You bring

Chapter 2

After that night, he went all in. Full-on pursuit.I thought it was love.Thought I was the one.But the second Millie came back, everything flipped.He stopped coming home. Squeezed every spare second to be with her.Eight years wiped away her betrayal—but not his feelings for her.Turns out, I was just the stand-in.A clown stealing a little joy while the real star was offstage.I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and texted Dylan:[Let me know when you're back. I'll bring the papers—you sign, we go to the courthouse, and it's done.]He replied faster than he ever had before:[Millie's sick. She really needs me. Don't make a scene. Just stay home and wait for me.]Yeah, no. Like I had time to sit around waiting on him.The nurse told me I needed rest, so I signed myself in for a hospital stay.Honestly, after two straight months here taking care of Dad, the nurses felt more like family than Dylan ever did.And Dylan—he was the one who chased me. Married me.He knew

Chapter 3

"To you, Millie's highland drama obviously takes top billing," I added. "So no hard feelings."Dylan clamped his mouth shut, fingers twitching like he was trying to reboot."You hungry? I made a reservation—French place. Your fave. Let's go.""Hard pass." I shook my head. "I'm wiped. And FYI? I hate French food. I'm small-town, remember? One raw oyster and I'm in the ER."I wasn't about to waste energy on his last-minute guilt trip.***I wasn't the one obsessed with French food. That was all Millie.Miss artsy-boho-wanders-the-world-for-"inspiration."To Dylan and his crowd, I was just the small-town extra—background noise. A nobody trying too hard to climb into their world, hanging onto Dylan like a desperate groupie.He never said it out loud, but not once did he shut them down when they trashed me.He hesitated, then said, "I've just been swamped. The highlands trip with Millie? Totally work. She's hunting for inspiration for our next line. Not really your thing, so don't

Chapter 4

Millie gave Yana a look—Yana's jaw looked one insult away from shattering. Millie patted her hand, then turned to me."Just because Dylan's mom likes you doesn't mean you've locked in the Mrs. Leveson title."Locked in?Girl, I wasn't even trying to stay in this circus.I didn't explain. Just came to say hi to Patricia and dip.Didn't plan on seeing Dylan stroll over, holding Patricia's arm."Why are you back?"I was about to lay it all out—make him stop blaming me for everything.But then he looked at me... and smiled. Not fake. Real.I froze.Millie stood, tilted her head, and hit him with that fake-innocent look. "Judy told me I don't belong... said I should leave...""Judy?" His smile died fast. Ice glare on full blast. "I've put up with a lot. Millie's just visiting my mom after forever, and you show up late just to throw her out?"His jaw tightened. One look at Patricia—yeah, she wasn't buying it."Mom, you saw it. Judy's way outta line. Don't blame me. Honestly? I r

Chapter 5

Dylan stepped in, closing the gap fast.His breath hit my face—shaky, uneven. "You really dare to divorce me?"Oh, I dare.Patricia rushed over, hands shaking as she clutched mine. "Judy, why so sudden? Did Dylan do something?"She shot him a death glare. "Apologize. Now."He blinked, totally thrown. "If something had happened with Millie, why would I have married you?"Voice all soft like that line ever worked.Old me would've melted. Would've clung to that sliver of fake tenderness, convinced he still loved me.Not now."Dylan," I said, calm as ice. "Dad's gone. You can drop the act. We're done. Go live your little Millie fantasy."He flinched. Then boom—sneer mode activated."This whole meltdown's 'cause I didn't take you to the beach? You're still salty about Millie?"He turned to Patricia. "Mom, you're seriously taking her side? Look at her—what part of that says 'respectable'? Millie and I were working. Judy just nags and throws the divorce card. She needs to be locke

Chapter 6

Dylan's eyes flicked away.Yana planted her hands on her hips, all fired up. "You're the one who can't get pregnant. How's that Dylan's fault?""Maybe," I said, "it's because Dylan's the one with the problem.""You—!" His face went beet red, finger jabbing at me.He looked ready to explode... but didn't.I stepped closer. "Go on. Prove it. Show me the receipts."But he just stood there, hand in the air, dead silent.I used to think it was my fault too.Back then, we hadn't crashed and burned yet.Millie was still his favorite ghost.We were clingy, all smiles and cuddles—playing house like it meant something.But after two years of no protection and still no baby? Yeah, something wasn't adding up.Worried it was me, I went to the hospital to get checked.That's where I saw him—Dylan, picking up a prescription.I almost called out... until I heard him say,"I can't let her have my child. That'd be like betraying Millie. She hurt me, but I can't do that to her."That stop

Chapter 7

"You moved out?" he asked.Wow. He noticed?All I took was the wooden carving Dad gave us as a wedding gift—the one that sat by the door forever. Dylan used to dump his hats and scarves on it like it was just another coat rack. Figured he stopped seeing it a long time ago."Yeah," I said flatly.Silence.For a second, I thought he hung up. Then finally—his voice came through, rough and low."Come back. I didn't mean what I said. I was just angry."Softer than I'd ever heard him. Almost... desperate.Funny. A few hours ago, I was just the "unworthy" wife. Now? He's suddenly humble.I said, "Didn't I basically give you what you wanted by asking for a divorce? What's there to cry about?""No... Millie and I—it's not what you think."He kept fumbling, stuck on repeat.I cut in. "Dylan, I KNOW exactly what you're trying to hold onto. You look down on me, but you're too chicken to actually choose Millie—too scared she'll wreck you again."So you kept me in your back pocket, ditc

Chapter 8

To keep up with Prof. Beaufort, I had to hit the textbooks like a college kid during finals week. Late nights, lots of coffee.Good thing muscle memory's a real thing—once you've studied it, it comes back fast.TA work wasn't too bad. He handled the lectures; I was the behind-the-scenes person, juggling tasks with corporate partners.I never worked at Leveson Corp, but Dylan ran his mouth on so many calls at home, I picked up more than he ever realized.Setting meetings with investors felt like second nature.What I didn't see coming? Dylan walking into one of those meetings.***It'd been over two weeks since I walked out on Dylan.Court date was still a ways off. No texts, no calls—from either of us.If he really wanted to find me, he could. But Millie was probably keeping him busy.At this restaurant on my way to a meetup, I caught a table whispering about their boss.Apparently, he was mid-divorce—total mess for two weeks."Even Ms. Stone tried to comfort him and got ki

Chapter 9

"A woman? No way she understands chemistry," he snorted."She's the one Prof. Beaufort at Arlington U practically begged to skip straight to the PhD track," Dylan said, stepping out from behind me. "She's published more ACS papers than you've signed contracts. She doesn't understand? Do YOU?"Mr. Phalen blinked like a deer in headlights. "Mr. Leveson... So, you two know each other?""She's my wife." Dylan smiled at me, clearly expecting a gold star."I'm not," I said.***Dylan's grin died on the spot.He opened his mouth to salvage whatever ego he had left, but another hand brushed his off my shoulder.A new guy walked in, flashing me a warm smile. "You're Judy Jolliffe, Prof. Beaufort's TA, right? I've heard great things. I'm Trevon Tyler—your senior."Ah. The guy from the overseas lab Prof. Beaufort mentioned. He was joining the project."I've seen your past experiments," Trevon added. "Been wanting to meet you. With you on board, this project's only going up."I nodded a

Chapter 10

Trevon just shook his head. "I ordered extra for them. It's not here yet."Okay, fine. No way to say no after that.So we ended up sitting in the lab hallway, eating fried chicken straight from the box like a couple of broke grad students again.Back then, food in the lab was basically a crime. When I got too hungry, I'd sneak takeout into the hallway, thinking I was slick—only for Prof. Beaufort to catch me every single time.Turns out Trevon used to pull the same stunt.Somehow, in those shared screwups, we found this little pocket of nostalgia—two exhausted scientists laughing over old mistakes.Until Dylan's leather shoes slid into view, slicing our little moment in half.He was holding a food container, reaching it out. "You didn't eat much at dinner. Your stomach will hurt."Oh, he remembered.Back when I used to run on fumes during experiments, my stomach gave out. He'd rub it, back then."I've eaten," I said. "Take it back."He looked wrecked. "Do you really have to

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