Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Useless Wife Was A Queen : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Chapter 1Nora’s POV“Nora! Get up! Are you deaf?”Caleb’s voice roared through the bedroom as his hand landed sharply on my ass. The sting made me wince.I bolted upright, heart slamming against my ribs. The quiet comfort of the dark room vanished. My husband stood over me, face flushed, tie pulled loose.I blinked, trying to shake the fog from my brain. It was only six in the evening. I had lain down for twenty minutes to ease a pounding headache — something I almost never did.“Caleb? What’s wrong?” I rasped, rubbing my eyes.“What’s wrong is that I have guests downstairs and my wife is up here snoring like a lazy dog,” he snapped.He yanked the duvet off me, leaving me shivering in the cool air. “The guys from the logistics firm are here. They’re hungry. Go put something together.”I sat up slowly, the room tilting for a second. “I didn’t know you were bringing people home. You didn’t call. I was going to make a simple pasta for us tonight—”“I don’t care what you were planning,”

Chapter 3Nora’s POVThe afternoon sun beat down on the taxi windshield as I raced toward Steps & Stars Dance Academy. My head throbbed in time with the ticking meter.I had already spent two hours at the tailor, standing in a cramped back room while the man fumbled with the hem of Caleb’s tuxedo. Then I had rushed to the Magnolia Grand to fix the seating chart the event manager had misplaced. I was only halfway through the list when my phone vibrated.It was Mia.“Mom? Everyone is gone. The teacher is locking up the gate,” her small voice trembled.My heart dropped. “Mia, honey, I’m so sorry. Stay right by the security booth. I’m coming.”I dialed Tara right away. She was supposed to be only ten minutes away.“Tara, please,” I said the moment she answered. “I’m stuck across town running errands for your father. Can you pick up your sister? She’s waiting alone.”“Ugh, Mom, seriously?” Tara’s voice dripped with annoyance. “I’m at the café with the girls. I can’t just leave. It’s social

Chapter 5Nora’s POVThe Anniversary Gala was finally here. The Magnolia Grand ballroom glittered with gold chandeliers, expensive silk gowns, and the heavy scent of perfume. I had spent hours making sure every detail was perfect. I had argued with the caterers about the steak temperature, stayed up until 2:00 a.m. fixing the floral arrangements, and made sure Caleb’s favorite champagne was chilled to exactly 42 degrees.But as I stood at the very edge of the ballroom, hidden behind a massive marble pillar, I looked like a ghost.I wore a simple, modest dress bought with only a small part of the money Caleb had given me. My hair was pulled back tightly, my face pale. I did exactly what he ordered — I stayed in the shadows.In the center of the room, Caleb glowed. He wore the tuxedo I had fetched and pressed for him. He laughed with investors and slapped the backs of powerful men who controlled the city’s logistics. Tara stood beside him, radiant in a designer gown that cost more than

Chapter 7Nora's POVThe jet smelled like leather and fresh air. Mia was curled up in the wide cream seat across from me, her head resting against a small pillow, her eyes heavy with sleep. She had stopped asking questions an hour ago, somewhere over the dark stretch of highway between the life we left and the life we were flying toward. Now, she slept with her mouth slightly open and her dance bag tucked under her arm like a teddy bear.I watched her and felt something loosen in my chest. I was sitting straight, my hands folded on my lap, a glass of water untouched on the table beside me. Julian was seated across the aisle, working quietly on his laptop. He hadn't bombarded me with questions. He hadn't told me "I told you so," even though he had every right to. Eight years ago, when I walked away from everything, Julian had been the one standing in the doorway of my office with a look on his face that said this is a mistake. He never said it out loud, not once. He just waited. He

Chapter 9Nora's POVThe boardroom at Hamilton Global was exactly how I remembered it—long, quiet, and commanding.The table was dark glass, polished until you could see your own reflection in it. The chairs were high-backed and charcoal grey, arranged in a perfect row on each side. Floor to ceiling windows filled the far wall, and through them, the city spread out like something I had earned the right to look at.I stood at the head of the table. It felt like coming back to a room I had designed in a dream.There were fourteen people seated around the table, board members, senior directors, and two legal advisors who had flown in from New York the moment the news broke. They were all watching me. Some of them looked relieved and some of them looked nervous. One older man near the end of the table, a board member named Gerald Holt who had always been difficult, looked like he couldn't decide whether to stand or stay seated. I noticed.Julian stood to my right, a closed leather folder