All Chapters of My Husband Gave My Seat to His Ex, so I Left: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

When my husband, Alex Marino, gave my seat in the armed convoy to his ex, he didn't even ask me first.At the time, I was putting the last safe-passage papers into a folder. Seven maps were spread across the table, marking the roads south, the checkpoints, and the safe houses where we could stop. We lived in Liverpool's dock district. We could have taken ordinary roads to the south coast, but the Marino name was too recognizable and the family had too many enemies. Leaving the city without armed escorts meant putting our lives in the hands of whoever waited along the road.I'd spent six whole months getting ready for this ten-day trip.Alex was the Marino family's head of enforcement. All year long, he was either guarding the docks or settling shipping disputes for Don Marino. I just wanted to take him and his family to the coast for a few days during one of his rare breaks, so that for once, they could all sit down to a dinner without gunfire.I was a surgeon who ran a private clinic

By the time I got back to the villa, it was past midnight.All the lights downstairs were off, and only a few glowing coals were left in the fireplace. No one was waiting up for me, and no one had called the restaurant to look for me. Martha had left a small light on by the door. The whole house was so quiet it was like I'd never lived there.I took off my coat, went upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and was hit first by the smell of an unfamiliar perfume.It was so strong it made me cough, and it was laced with cigar smoke and the liquor on Alex's breath. The cashmere coat I'd bought him lay at the foot of the bed, and his shirt collar was open. And lying on my side of the bed, of all people, was Victoria.She was wrapped in my silk robe, her head on Alex's shoulder, her arm draped across his chest.I stood by the door for a few seconds before I turned on the light.Victoria screamed and shot upright. "Who's there!"I walked over and yanked the blanket off. When Victoria saw it

On my first morning in the north, I slept until the sun came through the curtains.In the past, I'd gotten five hours of sleep a night at most. Whenever a fight broke out on the docks, the family's cars would pull up at my clinic in the middle of the night. If James had chest pains, if Sarah's joints hurt, if Emma complained training was too tiring and wouldn't get up, someone would end up knocking on my door. I even used to tell the servants ahead of time which coat Alex would wear the next day.Now there were no hurried footsteps in the room, only the soft crackle of firewood in the fireplace.I had the waiter bring breakfast, then went through the accounts the clinic had sent. My surgical practice was in the hands of a partner doctor I trusted, and follow-up notes for important patients were delivered to the lodge by courier. Even without going back to the dock district, my clinics were running smoothly. I was even able to use a local convalescent home to arrange post-op checkups fo

Three days later, Alex finally signed the divorce papers.On the day the paperwork was finalized, the Marino family even sent a few elders to witness us end our family guarantees and property ties. When Daniel handed me the two stamped documents, I saw that Alex's hands stayed stiff the whole time. He didn't hurry everyone to wrap it up like he usually did.Victoria came too.She wore a brand-new dress, and around her neck was that same 50,000-pound diamond necklace. Emma and Sarah stayed by her side like they'd already decided she was the new lady of the house. Only James looked unhappy, sitting in the back row and refusing to even lift his head."Congratulations to you both." I put away my copy of the papers and looked at Alex. "Now you can finally be with Victoria in public."Victoria immediately clung to his arm and smiled smugly. "You don't have to remind me. Once you two are officially split, Alex and I are getting engaged in front of the family. We should've been together a long