All Chapters of My Wife's Wishes All Named Another Man: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The smile on Ingrid Walton's face slowly faded.She set the cake on the table and reached for the notes. "John Rutherford, don't touch them."I held down one of the stars I hadn't finished unfolding. "Why can't I? Is it because they weren't written for me, or because I've finally caught on?"Her fingers froze in midair. After a moment, she pulled the slip of paper out of my hand."I wrote these before we got married. That was five years ago.""If it's all in the past, then why are you still doing every last one of them?"Ingrid lowered her head and gathered the notes, her expression returning to its usual calm. "Back in college, the four of us went into the mountains on a research trip and got caught in a landslide."Sarah pushed me out of the way and ended up with two broken ribs. You were at the hospital too, so you should remember."Of course I remembered. Back then, Ingrid, Charlie Barker, his sister Sarah Barker, and I all went to the same college.Sarah later spent most

Chapter 2

Ingrid stopped buttoning her coat for a second."John, don't make me think less of you."The door swung open. By the time the first low rumble of thunder rolled through, Ingrid was already stepping into the elevator. She didn't even notice the corner of my medical report peeking out from under the tablecloth the whole time.It clearly stated, "Severe gastric ulcer with signs of impending bleeding. Immediate hospitalization required. Strictly no exertion."I picked up my phone to call my lawyer. The moment the call connected, hurried footsteps came down the hallway.Ingrid was back. She opened the door and immediately asked, "Where's the spare key to Charlie's place?"I grabbed it from the drawer and placed it in her palm. "Don't bother returning it. He needs you more often than I do, so you should just keep it with you.""I told you—he's just scared of thunder.""Yeah, I know."My calmness only made her expression darker. She caught my wrist, her thumb pressing against the red

Chapter 3

When I reached my father's studio with the notice to vacate, the movers had already pried the door open."Stop. All of you."The foreman glanced at the project manager Ingrid had sent over. "Ms. Walton said everything has to be cleared out today. Mr. Rutherford, please don't make things hard for us."I planted myself in the doorway. "The drawings and models inside are private property. If anyone touches them, I'm calling the police immediately."Charlie got out of the car, holding the glass jar filled with stars in his arms. "John, I'm the one who told them to stop for now."I stared at what he was holding. "Why do you have that?""When Ingrid came over last night, she brought this with her."He stroked the glass jar with a gentle smile. "The notes were meant for me in the first place. She said keeping them at your place would just keep the misunderstanding alive."I held out my hand. "Give me the jar."Charlie didn't move. "John, you've had her for five years. Can't you give

Chapter 4

Ingrid's voice came through cold and flat."Since when was your health something you could joke about? Charlie just got out of the ER, and today's signing has to go smoothly. Just get through the ceremony first. I'll have the driver take you to get checked afterward.""I want to go now.""John, don't make me call your bluff in front of the investors. The doctor already said it's nothing but mild gastritis. You've been fine all this time, and now you suddenly cough up blood right before the contract signing? Do you really expect me to believe that?"My fingers slowly went cold.Three years ago, to land an investment for her company, I drank myself into stomach bleeding at a business dinner. That was when my stomach problems started.At the time, every sign that I was getting better seemed to make her happier than it did me.But as I kept having flare-ups, her initial concern gradually turned into indifference. I just never imagined that the one time it became truly critical, the

Chapter 5

Ten minutes later, the divorce papers and the copyright withdrawal notice were both sent to Ingrid's email.I put my phone on silent and let every message from her stay unread. When Curtis arrived at my hospital room, he had the copyright ledger from my father's studio with him. "The documents have been sent, and the company's legal department received copies as well," he said."Okay.""Once the withdrawal takes effect, the Evergreen project will be brought to a complete halt.""Then so be it."Curtis glanced at the box of medicine beside my bed. "Does Ingrid know about the perforation?""No." I handed him my phone. "From now on, you handle all her calls."After taking care of the paperwork, Curtis arranged for me to be transferred to another hospital.That afternoon, the Evergreen project officially received the copyright withdrawal notice. The company's legal department contacted Ingrid immediately.When she got back to the company, the blood on the floor was still there.

Chapter 6

Nonetheless, Ingrid still managed to find out which hospital I was at anyway.Two hours later, the door to my room flew open.By the time Ingrid entered, I was already dressed and ready to be discharged. Her gaze went past Curtis and settled on my pale face. "John." She took two steps toward me, then stopped at the foot of the bed. "Did your stomach really…"I didn't answer. I simply lowered my head and signed the discharge papers. When Ingrid saw the box of medicine beside my bed, her fingers began to tremble. "Why didn't you tell me where you were?"Curtis stepped in between us. "Ms. Walton, keep your distance, please.""This is between my husband and me.""Mr. Rutherford has entrusted the divorce to me."Ingrid looked at him coldly. "Get out."I capped my pen. "You're the one who should get out."Her face instantly went pale. "John, I know you blame me for this.""I don't blame you." I handed the signed documents to the nurse. "I just don't want you anymore."Ingrid g

Chapter 7

On the day of the re-tender, Ingrid sat at the center of the evaluation panel.The moment I walked into the conference room, she instinctively stood up to pull a chair out for me. "You're still recovering. You could've joined remotely.""Thank you for your concern, Ms. Walton," I said and took a seat beside Katie. "But as the one in charge of the bid today, it's only right that I attend in person."Ms. Walton. That form of address made the hand gripping the back of the chair go stiff for a few seconds.Charlie came in carrying the original proposal, his face grim. "John, if you revoke the authorization, everything the company has invested so far will be for nothing.""That's the price of using something without permission," I replied."But Ingrid already apologized to you."I opened the file in front of me. "Our personal affairs are not on today's agenda."Charlie bit his lip. "You can hate me all you want, but you can't take it out on the livelihoods of the hundreds of people

Chapter 8

Before work began on the Evergreen Theater, Charlie told the media that he was the original creator of the project proposal.Within 30 minutes of the interview being released, he had also made an old manuscript public. "This was the original draft I came up with while I was studying abroad."A reporter brought the manuscript straight to me. "Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Barker claims you used your marriage to take credit for his work. How do you respond?"I flipped to the last page of the manuscript. "This notebook belonged to my father."Charlie immediately shot back, "There's no name on it. What makes you think you can claim it's his?""There's a watermark of an old Evergreen Theater ticket stub in the bottom-right corner of the paper. Only my father's custom batch of paper had that."The color drained from Charlie's face. I set the forensic authentication report on the table. "The handwriting analysis shows that the first half was written 12 years ago, while the second half was added w

Chapter 9

After the board vote concluded, Ingrid was suspended from all her duties.She didn't protest and simply handed me the documents related to the Evergreen project."There are three irregular entries in the accounts. Charlie requested them under the name of the overseas team."Curtis flipped through several pages. "The total exceeded 20 million dollars, and you approved them.""Yes," Ingrid admitted calmly. "He said he needed it urgently, so I didn't verify the request.""You'll be held jointly liable for these losses.""I know."I closed the file. "Anything else?"She turned to me and, after a moment, handed me the divorce papers. On the last page, her signature was right next to mine. "I'll leave the house, the shares, and all my savings to you," she said."We'll divide everything according to the prenuptial agreement.""John, this is what I owe you.""You can't put a price on my stomach."She turned as white as a sheet. "I didn't mean it that way."I took the divorce pap

Chapter 10

A year later, the Evergreen Theater reopened.The dome murals my father had left behind were fully restored, and tickets for the opening performance sold out a month in advance.Katie set the first ticket down on my desk. "Dead center in the front row. It used to be your father's favorite seat."I brushed my thumb over the plane-tree leaf on the stub. "What about the seat next to it?""It'll be empty."I wanted to keep it open for my father. Just before the performance began, Curtis arrived with the divorce decree and the final execution report.Charlie was sentenced for commercial fraud and misappropriation of company funds, with all of the property in his name forfeited toward restitution.Ingrid had sold off most of her shares, covered the remaining project losses, and resigned from the company.By the time the performance let out, rain had started falling outside. Katie opened her umbrella. "The car's parked a long way off. Do you want to wait it out?""Let's just walk."

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