All Chapters of Married to the man who despised me : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The morning light filtered through the heavy curtains like an intruder, sharp and unwelcome. I woke with a start, my body aching from a night spent twisting in sheets that smelled of unfamiliar detergent, crisp, sterile, nothing like home. For a moment, I forgot where I was. Then it all crashed back: the vows, the cold eyes, the house that felt more like a mausoleum than a sanctuary. I sat up, rubbing my temples. My wedding dress lay crumpled on the floor where I'd peeled it off in the dark, a ghostly reminder of yesterday's farce. I hadn't unpacked yet; my suitcases stood sentinel by the door, as if they too were unsure about staying. The room was elegant, high ceilings, antique furniture, a four-poster bed that swallowed me whole, but it was empty. No personal touches. No photos on the walls. Just echoes.Downstairs, the silence was thicker. I padded barefoot through the hallway, the marble floor cold against my skin, sending shivers up my legs. I needed coffee, or tea, or somet

The study door clicked shut behind Alex, leaving me alone in the dim light. My legs wouldn't hold me anymore. I collapsed into the leather armchair, the fabric creaking under my weight like a protest. My hands still trembled from touching his sleeve, from the way he'd recoiled as if I were poison. Blame. That's all he saw in me. A convenient target for every shadow in his life. I couldn't sit still. Not with the locked drawers staring at me like accusations. If secrets were killing this family, I needed to know them. Before they killed me too. I stood, heart pounding, and approached the desk. The top drawer was unlocked, papers, pens, nothing. The bottom one rattled when I tugged. Locked. I scanned the room, eyes landing on a letter opener on the shelf. Sharp enough? My fingers closed around it, cold metal biting into my palm. I wedged it into the lock, twisting gently at first, then harder. Sweat beaded on my forehead. What if he came back? What if this was a trap? A soft sna

The hospital discharged Lucas two weeks after the crash. He came home in a wheelchair, ribs still taped, face bruised but eyes sharp. The house felt smaller with him in it.‎I avoided the garage after that night. The brake fluid bottle and the note stayed hidden in the back of my closet, wrapped in an old sweater. I told myself I’d burn them.‎Instead, I started noticing things.‎A silver hairpin missing from my dresser. My favorite scarf gone from the closet. Small things I’d mentioned in passing to Mrs. Thorne. Then, one morning, I found a photo of Anna tucked under my pillow. The same photo from the mantel. Someone had drawn a red X over her face.‎I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I found Mrs. Thorne in the kitchen, peeling potatoes. The room smelled of earth and herbs, a false comfort.‎“Mrs. Thorne,” I said, voice low. “We need to talk.”‎She glanced up, knife pausing. “What’s on your mind, dear?”‎I pulled the photo from my pocket, laid it on the counter. “This was under my pillow.

The next morning Rosa arrived without warning. The front door opened with a sharp click and her heels echoed across the marble foyer like gunfire. I was still in yesterday’s clothes, sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes swollen from crying half the night. My phone lay face-down on the nightstand, buzzing with notifications I no longer had the strength to read. She swept into the room in a cream silk suit, pearls gleaming at her throat, face composed as if she were attending a board meeting rather than confronting her son’s disgraced wife. “Sit,” she ordered, pointing at the small armchair by the window. I obeyed, too tired to fight. She took the chair opposite, crossing her legs with deliberate elegance. “You’ve made a mess,” she said, voice low and precise. “I didn’t do anything.” “Don’t lie to me, girl.” She leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing. “The internet is dragging your name through the mud. My son’s reputation is suffering. The family name is suffering.” “I didn’t c

Alex left the house before dawn. The sky was still gray, the city half-asleep, and he slipped out without waking anyone. The door closed behind him with a soft click that felt final. He didn't know where he was going, he only knew he couldn't stay inside those walls another second. The deal's collapse had left a hollow ache in his chest. The headlines still echoed in his head. Elena's face on every screen, the word "cheating" carved beside it like a scar. And beneath it all, the older wounds: Anna's accident, Lucas's crash, the endless suspicion that something inside his family was rotting.He drove through Yunshan's quiet streets until the sun rose, then pulled into the parking lot of The Velvet Lounge. It wasn't even noon, but the bar was open for the early crowd, businessmen nursing hangovers, night-shift workers winding down. He took a stool at the far end, away from the light, and ordered a whiskey neat.The first drink burned clean. The second loosened the knot in his throat. By