When I saw my brand-new dress once again being worn by Daniel Brooks’s sister, I couldn’t hold back my anger and called him.

“Daniel, it’s either me or your sister living in this house—you choose.”

“Emma, are you insane? Chloe is my sister, and you’re actually jealous of her?”

I took a deep breath, my chest tight with frustration. “Don’t use ‘sister’ as an excuse. She’s not even really related to you.”

“If you won’t make her leave, then I’ll go. I won’t stand in the way of you two anymore.”

Daniel’s furious voice roared through the phone. “Emma, don’t push it too far. Chloe and I are innocent. You can dislike her all you want, but don’t throw dirt on her name.”

“Stop throwing a tantrum. I’m not falling for it. If you want to leave, then leave—I won’t stop you.”

And with that, he hung up.

Listening to the dead tone on the line, I froze for a moment before a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

After all these years, I had become nothing but a joke.

I once believed marrying Daniel was the best decision of my life.

But I hadn’t expected it to turn into the beginning of a nightmare.

If that’s the case, then I don’t want anything anymore.

…

I quickly packed a few things and left.

Before getting into the car, I dialed a number. “Dad, Mom, I regret everything. I want to come home.”

On the other end, Robert Carter was silent for a long time before speaking in a low, heavy voice. “Did that boy Daniel bully you? I told you this day would come. Tell me where you are—I’ll send someone to pick you up right away.”

When the call ended, I broke down in tears. I regretted everything—especially how I had once fought with my parents just to marry Daniel.

Back at home, my parents didn’t say a word. They just held me and cried with me until I had to force myself to comfort them instead.

With red eyes, my father said firmly, “Since you’re back, don’t work at the Brooks Group anymore. Come home and take over the family business.”

My nose stung as I nodded.

The next morning, I went to the HR Department to resign.

It was almost laughable—three years of marriage to Daniel, and I had worked as nothing more than a low-level employee in his company. No one even knew I was his wife.

Just as HR was about to accept my resignation letter, Chloe Miller walked in, snatched it out of my hands, and tore it apart.

“Why are you resigning all of a sudden? With your poor background, how will you survive without this job?”

“I’m doing this for your own good. We’re former classmates, after all, and I don’t want to see you broke and homeless after quitting.”

“Back in school, you almost went down the wrong path.” Chloe quickly covered her mouth, pretending she’d slipped. “Oops, I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry.”

Looking at her fake, self-righteous act, I felt oddly calm.

She was still wearing the new dress I had bought just two days ago.

This wasn’t the first time she provoked me. In the past, I argued, I raged, but now? Now I was just exhausted—too tired to even fight back.

“My business has nothing to do with you.” I reached out coldly to take back my resignation letter.

Chloe immediately stepped back, shredding it into pieces within seconds. “You’re still angry, aren’t you? But no matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t gamble with your own future.”

Then she told the HR manager to step outside.

Everyone in the company knew Chloe was Daniel’s sister, so HR didn’t question her and quickly left the office.

Once it was just the two of us, Chloe dropped her pretenses. She smirked and asked, “So, sister-in-law, do you think this dress looks good on me?”

“Yesterday I dirtied my own clothes by accident, so Daniel gave me this one. He even said it looks better on me than on you.”

“Emma, you see now, don’t you? In Daniel’s heart, I’m still the most important one—even though you two are married.”

With no outsiders around, Chloe Miller dropped her mask completely. Her eyes were full of disdain, a faint sneer playing on her lips as she looked at me with open provocation.

“Does it hurt? If you kneel down and beg me, maybe I’ll consider giving this dress back to you.”

For a moment I wavered, unsure whether she was talking about the dress—or about Daniel himself.

I suddenly remembered how, back when I married Daniel, not only had my parents opposed it, but Chloe had also thrown a fit for months. She threatened to kill herself while also making it clear she hated me.

Though she was only the Brooks family’s adopted daughter, she had grown up with Daniel since childhood.

My mother-in-law despised me for it, convinced I must have bullied Chloe in private, which was why she resisted me so fiercely.

At the time, I thought Chloe’s tantrums were nothing more than childish possessiveness, the inability to accept that her closest “brother” suddenly had someone closer in his life.

But after disappointment upon disappointment, I began to realize the truth.

The feelings between those two were far from innocent.

I let out a cold laugh. Since I’d already decided to divorce Daniel, there was no need to keep tiptoeing around his family anymore.

“No thanks. I don’t want anything used by someone else. And this dress isn’t yours. Just like Daniel—he’ll never be yours.”

Over the years of my marriage to Daniel, the only one who supported us being together had been Thomas Brooks, his father.

Back then, I thought Thomas truly valued me as a daughter-in-law. But later I understood—he had noticed the inappropriate bond between his son and his adopted daughter. For a family of their standing, such a scandal could never see the light of day.

So when he learned of my quiet crush on Daniel, he rushed to lock down our marriage, forcing Daniel to wed me in hopes that Chloe would finally give up.

Chloe’s face twisted, her eyes burning with venom as she glared at me.

“How dare you say that! If it weren’t for you standing in the way, Daniel and I could’ve been living happily together all these years.”

“You think quitting your job is some clever trick, so my brother will come chasing after you? I see through your little schemes completely.”

Then, all of a sudden, she lunged forward, gripping my arm tightly.

“You have no family background. If you lose this good job too, are you planning to end up on the streets just so my brother will pity you?”

Her words, so twisted and shameless, only deepened my exhaustion.

“Let go of me!” Feeling her nails dig into my skin, I instinctively shook her off.

Chloe fell to the floor with a thud. Just then, from outside the door, I heard the HR manager greeting Daniel.

In an instant, Chloe’s expression changed. Right in front of me, she began clawing at her own clothes and hair, transforming herself into a pitiful, disheveled mess in just a few breaths.

“Sister-in-law, I really know I was wrong. I’ll never touch your things again. That day I only dirtied my clothes while cooking, so I borrowed yours for a moment.”

“How could you accuse me like this? He’s my brother. How could you suspect anything improper between us?”

“Sister-in-law, if your words spread, how could I possibly keep on living?”

“These clothes—I can pay for them! Please don’t tear at me, don’t strip me!”

I stood there, stunned, as Chloe Miller staged her pathetic performance. Moments later, hurried footsteps sounded, and the door was shoved open.

Daniel Brooks stormed in. Without a word, he shoved me aside and rushed to Chloe, lifting her up with a face full of concern.

“Chloe, are you alright? With your brother here, no one will ever hurt you!”

Then he turned toward me, his eyes brimming with disappointment.

“Emma, when did you become this petty and disgusting? When we first married, you seemed so understanding and kind. I can’t believe it was all just an act. Over a dress, really? Did you have to make it this ugly?”

He took a deep breath, clearly suppressing his anger.

“I’ll admit, Chloe is wearing the dress you just bought. I shouldn’t have given it to her without asking you. But it was a special situation. And honestly, it’s just a dress. If you want another, I’ll buy one for you.”

His words made my breath quicken, a sharp ache rising in my chest. After years of marriage, he dared to call me disgusting—over this?

If it had only been this one time, I might not have been upset. But this wasn’t the first, nor the second. Every single time Chloe wanted something—whether from our home or from me—it always ended up in her hands.

“Daniel,” I said coldly, “I told you before. If in your heart your sister will always come first, then I’ll step aside. You two can love each other as much as you want. We’re done. I want a divorce. My lawyer will get you the papers soon.”

I thought saying those words would crush me. But instead, I felt nothing—no tears, no heartbreak. Just emptiness.

When Daniel once gave me a pet, Chloe saw it and insisted she wanted to raise it. She nagged until she took it from me—only to tell me two days later she had killed it. She even brought the tiny corpse back just to show off.

Whether it was birthday gifts from my parents or anniversary presents from Daniel—if Chloe wanted them, she always got them.

And Daniel always had an excuse: “Chloe’s just a child at heart. She’s my sister, which makes her your sister too. Do you really have to be so petty with family? It’s just a gift, what’s the harm in letting her have it?”

At first, I swallowed my hurt in silence. Later, I began to argue. Now, I was simply too drained to fight anymore.

Daniel’s expression flickered with hesitation. He stared at me in disbelief.

“You want to divorce me… over a dress?”

“Yes.”

Our argument was loud enough for the entire office to hear, especially since Daniel hadn’t even closed the door when he entered.

Everyone outside had seen and heard everything. The whispers grew louder and louder.

“So he’s been married to her all this time? I thought she was just an ordinary employee. Turns out she’s the boss’s wife. Funny how she never got any special treatment—no one even knew.”