All Chapters of THE WIFE HE THREW AWAY: My ex-husband's regret : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

13 Chapters

{ OUR ANNIVERSARY, MY DIVORCE }

LEILA"Sign them whenever you're ready."My gaze followed the grey papers as they slid across the table, landing between us. The printed text blurred together for a second before I forced my eyes up to meet Karl Hawthorne."The settlement is fair," he said evenly. "My lawyers went over every detail. You can keep the apartment until December.”He stood across from me in his charcoal suit, his car keys hanging loosely from one finger. He looked exactly like he always did, immaculate, cold, and entirely out of reach.My fingers tightened into the edge of the table. "Karl…"The sharp ring of his phone cut through my words. He reached into his pocket without hesitation, and the moment he looked at the screen, something changed. The change was small, almost imperceptible to anyone else, but after two years of watching Karl Hawthorne, I had learned to read the things he never said aloud.The tension seemed to slip from his shoulders all at once. For the first time since he had walked through

{ PREGNANT AFTER GOODBYE }

LEILA The phone rang again, his name staring back at me in the dark. I held it for a moment longer than I should have, then I switched it off. I placed it face down on the desk and pushed it away. Karl Hawthorne was done with me, so I had to be done with him as well. I turned back to my laptop and opened the Apex Prize design application portal. When I started this project, it was because I thought that if I became exceptional enough, if I won something he couldn't ignore, he would finally see me. I knew Karl loved Natalia because she was always in the headlines, a celebrity admired by everyone. I had wanted to win something that would bring my name to the news too. I wanted Karl to stop and look at me properly, at the ambitious version of me. But that woman belonged to the past now. She was a woman still waiting to be chosen. My fingers moved across the keyboard. This time, I wasn't building this design for him. I was building it to survive. I stopped when I reached the final e

{ THE OTHER WOMAN AT MY TABLE }

LEILA The air in the corridor felt different. I rushed forward, my boots clicking urgently against the marble floor. My thumb brushed over the crumpled paper in my fist. I was going to show him. We were going to fix this. But as I rounded the corner toward the East Wing, the world stopped. The digital screens lining the hallway flashed a live broadcast from the VIP entrance. The internal news ticker rolled past in bright, mocking gold letters: "CEO Karl Hawthorne arrives with fiancée, Natalia Scott. Full hospital lockdown initiated for private medical care." I froze. The word fiancée hit me like a physical blow. "Did you see them?" a nurse whispered eagerly. "Mr. Hawthorne carried her from the car himself. He looked terrified. They say she fainted at a fashion gala." "He's spending millions to clear the top floor just for her," another whispered back. "They look beautiful together." The warmth in my chest died, replaced by a cold numbness. He hadn't tracked my phone. He hadn't

{ SHE FRAMED ME }

LEILA The door opened, but the air that rushed in wasn't the cool breeze from the hallway. It was thick with Karl's sandalwood cologne, mixed with a heavy, floral perfume I didn't recognize. It hit the back of my throat, triggering a sudden wave of morning sickness that made my hand move over my flat stomach beneath the tablecloth. Karl walked in, Natalia Scott's hand laced through his arm. He didn't look at me, nor did he acknowledge that I was sitting there as he turned toward the table. "Mom… Dad…" he said, his voice as easy as breath. "I'd like you to meet Natalia. My fiancée." The word landed in my chest like a dropped glass, shattering quietly where no one could hear it but me. I lifted my water glass and took a slow sip, because two years with the Hawthorne family had taught me never to give them the reaction they were hunting for. Natalia wore a smile too wide and too bright, giving me the briefest dismissive glance as Ellen rose from her seat. "Come, darling," Ellen said

{ MY FATHER CHOSE HER }

KARLThe silence inside the elevator was suffocating, broken only by the sound of Natalia's soft, hitching sobs against my chest."Is it bleeding?" she whispered, her fingers clutching my lapel. "Karl, it hurts so much. She looked at me with so much hatred before she pushed me...""We're almost at the car, darling. Just hold on," I murmured, pressing my hand against her back.But as I looked down at the top of Natalia's perfectly styled hair, a cold, unfamiliar irritation brushed against my mind. My father's words inside the dining room were still ringing in my ears like a physical alarm. Get her out of here. This is disrespectful, Karl.I had told Leila to show up tonight to play the doting wife because my father's health was failing, and his will was tied directly to the stability of my marriage. I had explicitly told Natalia to stay away, but she insisted on following me, forcing me to make a reckless executive decision to protect her dignity in front of my mother. And Leila...My j

{ CHOSEN BY HIS BROTHER }

LEILAThe elevator doors closed, cutting off the hum of the eleventh floor, but the scent of Natalia’s perfume and Karl’s sandalwood cologne remained trapped in the small space, triggering a sudden twist in my stomach. I pressed my hand against my stomach, swallowing hard against the rising nausea as the lights overhead blurred into streaks.When the doors opened at the lobby level, I forced my feet forward onto the polished floor. The marble pattern seemed to shift beneath my boots, liquefying until gravity dissolved completely. My knees gave out, the grand crystal chandeliers spinning violently as the ground rushed up to meet me.I braced for the impact.Instead, a sudden, iron grip caught me by the waist before I could hit the ground, lifting me back upright with an unyielding force. My face pressed against the crisp wool of his tailored suit jacket, a sharp scent of dark leather clearing the stale fragrance from my nose."I have you," a deep voice murmured.I forced my eyelids ope

{ GET OUT, KARL }

KARLMy eyes locked onto the bed, then slid sideways on my older brother.George sat inches from the mattress. His posture was relaxed, his eyes steady as they met mine. The calm radiating from him felt like a slap across my face."What is the meaning of this, George?" My voice echoed, sharper than I intended.George didn't flinch. He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. "You're making a scene in a hospital wing, Karl. Lower your voice."A sudden heat surged up my neck, tightening my jaw until the muscles ached. For two years, I hadn't cared where Leila slept, what she ate, or whose name she spoke. But seeing her here with George, made something raw claw at the inside of my ribs.I forced my features into a mask, stepping past George to cut off his line of sight. I sat on the edge of the mattress, the leather of my boots creaking in the silence."I heard she collapsed," I said, my tone dropping as I looked down at her. "Thank you for stepping in, George. But I'm here now.

{ WHAT HE STOLE FROM ME }

LEILAI lay back against the pillows as soon as Karl walked out."You are still legally married to me." The words repeated sharply in my mind. For two years, he had never once referred to me as his wife. Hearing it slip from his lips tonight did not bring comfort; it triggered an immediate alarm. As my eyes drifted to George, who was still standing by the window, a deeper realization hit me. Karl had not been looking at me when he said it; he had been looking at George.My marriage had not just been an invisible cage; it was now a weapon in a war between two brothers. I refused to let my life, or the life of the child I was carrying, become a trophy for the Hawthorne family to fight over. I needed both of them out of my space."George… thank you for bringing me here," I said, my voice steady despite the exhaustion pulling at my muscles. "But I would appreciate it if you leave now. I want to be alone."He did not move for a second. His dark eyes remained fixed on my face. I held his

{ "NATALIA, APOLOGIZE TO LEILA..." }

KARL"Karl... what are you doing here? It's almost four AM," Natalia said, rubbing her eyes as she pulled the door open.I didn't answer immediately. I strode past her into the brightly lit foyer of her apartment."Dress up," I said, not turning to face her as I unbuttoned my cuffs. "I need you to follow me to the hospital. Now."Her eyes snapped wide instantly. "Why, Karl? What happened?""Listen to me carefully," I said, my voice dropping into a low register as I finally turned to look at her. "The western market expansion project is facing a hard lock. I am about to lose an eight-hundred-million-dollar contract because Leila revoked the design access." Her brows pulled together, and she stared at me like she was waiting for the rest of the sentence to make sense.“This is a legacy contract that determines whether the Hawthorne Group breaks into a more powerful market. And she has everything. She won't release the encryption keys until you apologize to her."Her mouth parted sligh

{ I SIGNED THE DIVORCE PAPERS }

LEILA"She's here, Leila," Karl said. His voice sounded hollow. "The transfer cleared. Now, look at her and take your apology."I didn't answer. I glanced at my phone slightly, the screen was glowing with a notification on the bedside table. My gaze remained locked on Natalia. I wanted her to speak.Natalia pulled her arm out of Karl’s grip with a sharp jerk, adjusting her designer coat. She swallowed hard."Leila," she began, her tone carrying a practiced, dripping sweetness that made my skin prickle. "I'm truly sorry if there was a misunderstanding outside the dining room at the hotel. Tempers were high, and…""Stop," I cut her off. My voice was quiet.She froze, her lips parting in anger. Beside her, Karl’s jaw tightened, his fingers clenching into a fist at his side."That wasn't the condition, Natalia," I said, leaning forward slightly, my eyes boring into hers. "Look at your fiancé. Tell him exactly what you did on the threshold of that elevator while he was sitting inside the d

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