All Chapters of I Died Clinging to a Loveless Marriage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

As soon as the words left my mouth, I saw Jasmine Maynard's eyelashes fluttering just a little.She was sitting across from me at the table with that same look of weariness and resignation on her face. It was as though I had been the unreasonable one for the past three years all along.And now, she finally heard the answer she'd always wanted from me."It's good that you've finally come to your senses, Noah Hardin."She nodded slightly, her tone carrying a hint of relief—something that she probably never even realized she was expressing. Then, she retrieved a document from her workbag and slid it over to me."You'll get three properties, a 12% stake in the company, and the Maybach. They're all yours if you sign this. Plus 40 million dollars in cash. Take a look and tell me if you want to add anything else."She said everything so easily as though she'd already prepared and rehearsed this a long time in advance. She also seemed sincere about it. There was a tinge of concern in her

Jasmine slid an arm around the back of Dexter's waist and patted his back with the other hand, speaking in a gentle voice that I found extremely foreign."It's okay. I'm here."The concern and anxiety on her face were real. They were also something that I'd rarely ever seen in our seven years of marriage.I stood at the doorway, watching them, and suddenly broke into a smile.How hilarious.This woman, who thought of me as an obsessive madman, was actually treating another person with such tenderness.I opened the front door, allowing the night breeze to blow in. I heard Jasmine's voice behind me say, "Be careful on your way back."Who did she think she was fooling?…I went to my studio the next day and realized that the lock was broken. Someone had broken in and completely trashed my studio.My drafts and sketches had been ripped up and scattered across the floor, my easels and paintbrushes were broken, and three large words were spray-painted on the walls in red."Get los

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the entire hall fell completely silent. Everyone's eyes were on me.After all, my all-black ensemble contrasted sharply with the pastel-themed fresh flowers, champagne, chandelier, and the sea of guests in pastel-colored suits and dresses.Jasmine finally snapped back to her senses. She frowned at me and said, "Don't you dare make a fuss in public, Noah Hardin."I ignored her and turned to address the audience instead."Everyone, you probably don't know this, but this gentleman here, Dexter Hardin, is actually my younger foster brother."We grew up together in the same household. I paid for his college tuition, I recommended him for a job at his company, and I let him move in with me."I paused for dramatic effect, glancing at Dexter's gradually paling face."But his way of paying me back was by sleeping with my wife."The hall exploded with gasps and low murmurs at once. Some guests pulled out their phones to record the moment; some w

When I checked my phone again, the comments in the comments section were in a complete uproar."Holy shit, this is some damning evidence!""Does that mean Dexter has been seducing his own sister-in-law for three years? No, wait, since Jasmine's and Noah's first anniversary? Noah was still happily celebrating it with her back then!""Did you hear the recording? The part where Dexter said, 'Jazzy and I both think that bed is bad luck'? I got goosebumps just listening to it! He knew exactly what he was doing to Noah!""And his chat history? 'There's nothing special about Noah anyway'? Excuse me? Noah paid for that jerk's tuition and found him a job and let him move in, and that's how he paid him back?"Public opinion quickly shifted, and netizens soon picked apart Dexter's social media. He was labeled a "serial homewrecker", with no way for him to remove it.Dexter published a post with only four words."It's not like that."The first comment asked, "What's not like that? You mean

The only thing Jasmine responded with to Dexter's long wall of text was, "Stop overthinking. It's bad for the heart."In the past, whenever Jasmine said the same thing to him, it was always out of care and concern, and maybe a little panic. But now, it felt more like she was just brushing him off with the same words, merely perfunctory and performative, like there already was an invisible wall between them both.All of the tactics Dexter used on her to snatch her away from me failed because she didn't love him anymore. Or, perhaps she never loved him from the start. She probably just thought he was a better choice than me.But now, she knew that he was not better than me. In fact, he was a lot worse and "dirtier" than she expected.Jasmine soon began texting me.At first, she would use the guise of handling the divorce proceedings in a strictly businesslike manner."The tax bureau needs your signature.""Did you receive a copy of the share transfer agreement?"Then, it beca