All Chapters of The Devoted Husband Act: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The thudding sounds inside the room finally stopped.Moments later, a familiar female voice drifted out, sounding cloying. "Mr. Gibson, can you give me a little extra this time? I want to buy those expensive designer bags, just like your wife does."That voice belonged to Susan Brown, the underprivileged student I had been personally sponsoring for four years.My hand froze on the doorknob as a bone-chilling cold instantly seeped from my fingertips straight into my core."Don’t compare yourself to her. She’s different," Jason Gibson’s voice rang out, carrying that lazy post-coital tone."How is she any different?" Susan let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Aren't we both just kept by you? The only difference is that she’s older, so it takes a bit more cash to keep her happy."Jason didn't take the bait. He just grunted in a low voice, "Shut up and go take a shower."Then came the rustling sound of someone getting dressed, and my hands shook as I backed away from the door.Those few

Chapter 2

Early the next morning, my phone vibrated with a message from Susan.The voice note was only a few seconds long, but when I tapped it, all I heard was her holding back choked-up sobs. "Hazel, my stomach hurts so badly. I think my acute appendicitis is flaring up again... Can you please come with me to the hospital? I'm all alone in my apartment, and I'm really scared something bad might happen..."I squeezed my phone tightly until my knuckles turned white. In the end, I still typed back, [Okay.]When we got to the hospital, the place was packed. The nurse at the triage desk took one quick look at Susan and frowned immediately. "That pain doesn't look like appendicitis at all. Head up to Gynecology on the second floor first to get checked out. Just in case it's something else.""Gynecology?" Susan’s body stiffened, a flicker of panic darting through her eyes.Soon, the test results came back. She was pregnant, six weeks along. Yet there was no panic on Susan’s face, unlike wh

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I headed straight to the office.This company was an empire, Jason and I had built together, and if I was going to get a divorce, I had to take back what was rightfully mine.However, the moment I stepped into the top-floor conference room, Director Connor, who used to be completely obsequious toward me, stepped up to block my path."Mrs. Gibson, this is an internal executive meeting. It’s not appropriate for family members to attend."Family?I let out a cold laugh and shoved his hand aside directly. "I'm the second-largest shareholder in this company. Since when did I become just 'family'?"Director Connor casually flipped through the meeting minutes in his hands, a flicker of pity showing in his eyes."Mrs. Gibson, you probably don't know, but a year ago, when you took a leave of absence to focus on trying to conceive, you signed a voting proxy agreement for your shares. As of now, the board only recognizes Mr. Gibson as the sole decision-maker."My m

Chapter 4

I walked out of the building in a daze, catching a cab straight to our home on the west side of town.A year ago, Jason had specifically bought this house so I could rest and focus on trying to conceive in peace.Sitting on the couch, I ran through my options for my next move when my phone suddenly vibrated like crazy."Hazel!"My uncle Jerry's voice nearly exploded through the receiver."Your mom had a sudden brain hemorrhage! The hospital says we need to pay ten thousand right now to clear her for emergency surgery!"My head went blank, and I scrambled to open my banking app and try to make a transfer.[This account has been frozen.]Refusing to accept it, I switched to another card, and then another. However, every single one was frozen.To help build the business, I had stepped back from my career years ago, funneling every cent of my savings into Jason's corporate accounts.With trembling hands, I dialed Jason’s number. He was my only lifeline left.The phone rang for a

Chapter 5

Early morning sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, landing softly on Jason’s face.Jason opened his eyes and instinctively reached out to touch the space beside him.From right next to him came Susan’s soft, nasal whimper. "Mr. Gibson, what time is it..."Jason’s movements stiffened. Staring at the youthful face on the pillow next to him, a strange wave of unexplainable irritability surged within him.He had stayed the night to placate Susan, convinced that leaving Hazel alone for a few hours would force her to come to her senses. Yet, with Susan lying by his side, his mind was consumed by the memory of Hazel’s tear-streaked face.He even harbored a ridiculous expectation that when he woke up this morning, Hazel would call him just like she usually did, begging him to come home while admitting her mistakes.After all, over the past five years, every single argument had always ended with Hazel backing down.She couldn't bear to let go of this relationship. Even m

Chapter 6

Dan kept his head lowered, not daring to look up at Jason. "It was a sudden brain hemorrhage. I heard that they didn't have enough money for the surgery last night, so the hospital couldn't operate in time. She missed the critical rescue window... and passed away early this morning."Jason collapsed onto his chair, his entire body deflating as if his spine had been ripped out.Not enough money for the surgery? How could that be? The cash he had casually tossed at Hazel last night was enough to buy multiple lives."Why... why didn't she tell me?" Jason muttered under his breath, his fingers trembling violently."Mr. Gibson..." Dan hesitated for a second, but decided to speak the truth anyway. "I heard that your wife’s uncle tried calling you multiple times last night, but the calls went straight to voicemail or were declined."Jason whipped his head up, his pupils shrinking in an instant.Constantly busy? Hung up?Last night’s memories flooded back in a split second.Susan had b

Chapter 7

I hadn't shed a single tear since Mom drew her last breath, moving through the funeral arrangements with numb composure.Even when Uncle Jerry fainted from grief several times, I was the one who calmly supported him and gave him water.Everyone said what a brave, sensible girl I was. But only I knew that half of my heart was already dead, gone into the cold, dark grave right alongside my mom.Three days after finishing the funeral arrangements, I sat in the empty old house, sorting through Mom's belongings.Tucked away at the bottom of a chest was a red sweater. Mom had been halfway through knitting it, intending to give it to me for the upcoming Christmas."Hazel is always so busy. Look at this neckline. It needs to be knitted a bit looser, otherwise it'll feel too tight around her neck..."I could hear Mom's voice echo in my ears as if she were still standing right beside me.I picked up the half-finished sweater, the tips of my fingers brushing against the soft yarn, feeling

Chapter 8

Three months later, crisp fall leaves blanketed the streets of Stepford.Looking into the mirror, I had lost a lot of weight, but my eyes no longer held a shadow of my past self.I had laid out all of Jason's infidelity "price list", records of his psychological abuse, and the direct causal chain showing how his deliberate account freezing prevented my mother from getting her surgery in time.Jason didn't want the divorce, though. In fact, he started using the most pathetic tricks to win me back.He had people block me at my company’s entrance, holding bouquets of red roses as he begged me for forgiveness.He sent dozens of text messages every single day, starting from "Hazel, I was wrong," to "As long as you come back, I’ll give you half of the company's shares."Staring at that text message, I only found it beyond laughable.Even now, he still didn't get it.The reason I left wasn't because of the baby, the money, or the cheating. It was because he decided to use money to hum

Chapter 9

Jason’s world was crumbling apart.Susan, the woman who used to obey his every whim for money, showed her true colors the moment she realized Jason wanted her to put the baby up for adoption to his ex-wife. Coupled with Gibson Group’s tumbling stock prices and frozen assets, she tore off her mask completely.She stormed into Gibson Group with the baby in her arms and caused a massive scene. Threatening to make the child inherit Jason’s mountains of debt in the future, she swore to sue him for abandonment.Overnight, negative news about Jason saturated the internet. Former business partners pulled their investments one after another, and debt collection notices from banks flew in like a relentless blizzard.He lost not only his persona as a devoted husband but also his reputation as a business prodigy.Late that afternoon, Jason squatted by the flowerbed outside my office building like a homeless man.Unshaven and hollow-eyed, the custom luxury suit he used to be so proud of hung

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