La Esposa Olvidada Novels & Stories

"Well, the tonics really did the trick. No wonder the brand has the reputation it does." Marcus stepped in, visibly proud. "Ms. Cho, Eleanor's actually our daughter-in-law. Devoted girl, through and through." That was the first any of Julian's old classmates had heard confirmation he was actually married. "Huh." Frances raised an eyebrow. "So then, is Cassandra here the mistress?" Every eye in the group swung to Cassandra at once. She fought to stay composed, nails digging half-moons into her palms. "Ms. Cho, that's a rather harsh thing to say." Julian's tone stayed cold and even. "Cassandra's my high school classmate."

If I didn’t know that man was my husband—the father of my baby—I would have sworn they were a couple, happy and in love. “Isabella Caruso? The doctor is ready for your examination,” the nurse called. Vincent turned, his face drained of color, his eyes scanning the hallway. He must have heard my name. When his eyes landed on me, his mouth opened, but no words came out. I had been happily married to Vincent Falcone, my mafia husband, for nearly ten years. This year, I was finally pregnant with his child. He of all people should know how difficult is for me to have the baby now. How could he do this to me?

How on earth did Maria get involved with such a thug? “We don't have to fight,” I said, my bravado not matching the turmoil within. “She is Maria de la Fonte. My wife. Her family is prominent here, and she's been missing for six years.” He chuckled. “Julian, really? Maria de la Fonte? Your wife died in a car crash.” He pointed at her. “That woman over there is Catrina Lombardi. And she belongs to me.” He puffed a cigarette and threw it away.

“And you know this how?” Adrian doesn’t hesitate. “Because I know my wife.” Marcus whispers beside me. “That’s either extremely romantic or extremely dangerous testimony.” The detective crosses his arms. “Mr. Reyes, your wife has memory loss from the crash.” Adrian nods once. “Yes.” “So how can you be certain?” Adrian’s eyes flicker briefly toward me. And something warm settles in my chest despite the chaos around us. “Because love doesn’t disappear with memory.” The pier falls quiet. Even the wind seems to pause.

My work badge, my access card, and even my personal mobile phone were all confiscated. If they were able to find even the slightest evidence, I would be grounded for life. I didn't know how I walked out of the company office building. I went home feeling dazed. When I opened the door, what I saw was just an empty apartment. There was a file on the empty table. It was a divorce agreement. I opened it with trembling hands. The agreement was pretty clear. My wife wanted to divorce me, and I was to leave with nothing. The reason for the divorce was that I was disloyal and made a terrible mistake that ruined the reputation of our family.

My hand gripping the teacup suddenly tightened. Scalding tea splashed onto the back of my hand, but I felt nothing. Cassie watched my reaction, a flash of triumphant satisfaction crossing her eyes. She said, "20 years ago, your father, Richard Lambert, was Haven City's most famous genius designer, and my father, Bobby Wynter, was just his assistant. Your father was incredibly talented and designed a revolutionary piece of jewelry called Eternal Heart that caught the Zaharan Royal Family's attention."

My roommate, John Swift, asked in shock, “Pete, are you throwing that away? I thought you cherished that photo a lot.” I shook my head and cut Bella out of the family portrait. I tore it into pieces. John seemed to understand. “Pete, is your wife alive?” I pulled out my phone. Someone had sent me a text two weeks ago. [Bella’s still alive.] There was a photo attached to the message. It was a selfie of Bella and Carlson. Two weeks ago, I found out that my wife, who had supposedly been dead for five years, was still alive. When I first found out the news, I could not even sleep.

he chuckled, “and I almost forgot the truth that this marriage was just an arrangement.” I didn't move, couldn't even blink, my heart emptied completely, yet no tears came, just this strange hollow quiet. For five years, I had loved this man like he was my entire world. I sacrificed everything, my designs, the sketches I used to stay up all night working on, the racetrack, the feeling of speed, of freedom, of being alive and now, I couldn’t even remember who I was before him.

Suspiciously empty, as most of her shoes and bags were gone. “That bitch!” I cursed, yanking the wardrobe open to find all her clothes gone. I chuckled with disbelief. “If you think you can run away from me after that stunt you just pulled, think again.” Pulling out my phone, I called one of the best private investors I knew. “Pete, I need you to find my wife again.” A short chuckle came through the receiver. “It took you long enough to realize. Although you would have found out much earlier that your wife was the newly announced LG Group heir if you hadn't cut the call on me the last time we spoke.”

“I honestly thought that he would, but what’s strange is that he acted more like a stranger when he remembered everything about our relationship. Now that he doesn’t remember at all, he acts more like my husband— he’s cuter.” “Oh no,” she started off. “Maia! You’re falling for him even deeper.” My eyes widened, and I straightened my back. “I’m not! It’s just refreshing to feel that someone actually cares for you, especially your husband.” “Fine,” she sighed. “I’m not glad at all that he’s acting like this, especially now that he doesn’t remember anything at all, but I’m happy to hear your cheerful voice. It’s been a while since I’ve heard you talk like that!”