Decided to Get a Divorce

Clyde's arms encircled me as soon as the words left me.

With a shaky voice, he pleaded, "You don't mean that, Anya. I promise there's an explanation. Let's go home, and I'll explain everything."

Bystanders started to glance at us with interest. I gave in, not wanting to become the center of attention online.

When we returned home, I sat stone-faced on the sofa and waited for his explanation.

He hesitated momentarily before crouching at my feet and looking up at me.

He had humbled himself.

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

He had always been a proud man and rarely showed me his vulnerable side.

He only allowed himself to be vulnerable once after learning I sold the property I inherited from my parents to bridge his financing gap.

Like he did today, he crouched at my feet, looking at me with guilt and helplessness in his eyes.

At that time, his expression pained me at first glance. I didn't have the heart to watch him swallow his pride.

But today, I just found him fake and pretentious. It was a fact that he cheated on me. I didn't understand why he looked repentant now. Thinking it was pointless, I looked away.

His attempt to appeal to my compassion didn't work, so he began to explain. "She's a neighbor from my hometown. When I visited my hometown last year, I witnessed her parents forcing her to marry an old man in the neighborhood, but she refused to. When she saw me, she begged me to take her with me, saying she would leave home at all costs.

"During that time, I frequently dreamed of my parents. In my dreams, they told me they couldn't rest peacefully because we didn't have kids. Then, a daring idea occurred to me. I asked if she would like to be the surrogate mother of my child. I would pay her handsomely to thank her for her efforts and ensure she lived a comfortable life after that. She agreed to it, and we…"

He was sidetracked instead of finishing the story. "I don't want you to see me as an irresponsible man who went back on his word. After all, we agreed not to have children when we got married. But I changed my mind later, trying to fulfil my parents' dying wish. That's why I have been keeping it a secret from you. Anya, I swear no infidelity took place. I just want my parents to rest in peace. Can you forgive me?"

My stomach churned.

He gave his behavior a plausible reason. I would be unreasonable if I got angry at him or blamed him.

After all, I told him I had partial ovarian dysgenesis and was infertile.

Like his father, he was the only child in his nuclear family. His parents passed away when he was young, so he had always dreamed of having a family.

He crouched at my feet, a sad look on his usually stoic face.

I would have believed him if I hadn't received the picture from the unknown number this afternoon. It was a reminder that he had committed cheating and would say anything to justify his actions.

He was lying. I was sure of it.

I doubted what he said was the whole truth.

She was her neighbor, and they had known each other since their youth—that was certain.

The rest were excuses.

He promised to cut ties with her after she gave birth to his child and guaranteed everything would remain the same between us.

I thought that was impossible. We were talking about his child, and family bonds were the strongest.

He would never be able to cut ties with the mother of his child once it was born.

My limbs went cold.

I asked him to give me time.

That night, we shared a bed, but we slept facing away from each other for the first time.

Between wakefulness and sleep, I felt Clyde habitually pulling me into an embrace and putting a palm under my belly to keep me warm.

We had a difficult financial situation and could only afford a damp basement in the past, and I would get chills in the winter.

It was worse if I was in my period. The painful experience would keep me awake the entire night.

During the nights, he would take me in his arms, rub his hands to warm them, and cover my belly with one.

He still did that for me, even when our lives were better.

He would pull me into his arms even in slumber.

He did it out of habit, not to pretend.

I was certain deep down he still loved me.

However, the same person cheated on me. Even after I discovered his affair, he still lied to me.

I drew his hand away, deciding to divorce him.

It wasn't a wise choice. His cheating only made a small impact on our marital assets division if I divorced him. I could only expect 10% of the share in this situation.

However, it didn't matter anymore.

Twelve years had passed since I first met him in college.

I believed our passion was real. Therefore, I didn't want us to end on bad terms.

Visiting the Mistress

The next morning, Clyde miraculously made me breakfast, clearly intending to please me.

Since expanding his business scale, he hadn't made me breakfast in a long time.

What I used to think was a sweet gesture now seemed worthless.

I disposed of the food. Then, I returned to the baby store and asked for the delivery address he had left.

I didn't want a confrontation. I simply wanted to put an end to our marriage. I was curious about how far he would go to protect her.

I couldn't help but be surprised when I looked at the address.

Doubts gnaw at me. I wondered whether I had wrongly accused Clyde.

It was in the neighbourhood. All it took was a five-minute walk to his mistress' place.

"The best place to hide something is in plain sight, isn't it?" I thought.

Before I realized it, I had crumpled the paper.

I calmed my running thoughts and knocked on the door.

The woman I met yesterday answered the door.

With an exaggerated look, she put a hand on her belly, making sure I wouldn't miss what she did.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Despite her surprised expression, a smug grin flashed across her face.

My gaze lingered on her belly before I scoffed. "Everything went according to your plan. You sent me the picture and gave the baby store your address, all because you want me to come here."

She didn't expect my straightforwardness. After the initial surprise, her grin grew wider. "You're cleverer than I thought."

She blocked the doorway, holding her chin high, looking nothing like the timid woman I met yesterday. She didn't match the description of an abused daughter, either.

"Aren't you inviting me in?" I asked calmly, my tone betraying no emotion.

Stepping aside, she made a gesture of inviting me in, but her smile was unkind.

Walking into her place threw me off guard.

Her presence was the only thing that reminded me I had left home.

Her house's layout mirrored mine. The only difference was that she had luxurious furnishings.

Watching me touch the dining table, she smirked triumphantly. "Isn't it a lovely dining table? It's a foreign brand, worth hundreds of thousands. I don't know much about furniture, but Clyde liked it and insisted on buying it. He likes to treat me with indulgence. That's just the kind of man he is. "

I recognized it as one of the world's top home furnishing brands.

The same table had caught my eye when Clyde and I visited a furniture exhibition two years ago.

He suggested purchasing the table, but I persuaded him otherwise. It was too expensive for a piece of furniture.

I remembered him getting upset at my decision, but he didn't dwell on the matter.

Now I knew he had gotten it for his second home.

'His second home.' My heart ached at the thought.

I scanned my surroundings. Two pairs of slippers lay side by side in the hallway, and two cartoon couple mugs adorned the dining table.

Her place was full of life, resembling more like a loving couple's home than the house Clyde and I shared.

My dejected look didn't escape her. It fueled her enthusiasm and confidence as she brought my attention to every corner of her house.

"Did you see that silly mug? At first, Clyde didn't even want to use it. He claimed the mug didn't match a man of his status. However, he eventually got used to it because I'm fond of them."

A memory pushed itself to the front of my mind as I stared at the mugs.

I once bought matching electric toothbrushes for Clyde and me. One was blue and the other was pink.

I initially hoped he could make do with the blue one, but he thought blue didn't suit him and refused to use it.

I tried my very best to persuade him. In the end, he asked his assistant to bring him a black one to deal with my persistence, while the blue toothbrush was left unused in the mirror cabinet.

Confrontation

I couldn't remember how I felt back then.

I was disappointed, for sure. Still, I told myself it was pointless to dwell on it. After all, it was no big deal.

His refusal to compromise on that matter didn't change anything between us, but the sight of the matching mugs on the dining table now pierced my heart like a knife.

The truth was, he could compromise for the right person, and that person wasn't me.

I staggered to the bedroom to find an elegant, ornate king bed.

The woman drawled, "Clyde had the bed custom-designed, saying the color complemented my complexion. He would pounce on me after I bathed and waited for him on the bed, every time. Oh, by the way. That time, I was wearing my black lingerie when he got me pregnant. He loves it when I wear them. Can you even get him aroused?"

Her words were a wrenching punch to my gut.

I could almost imagine Clyde holding her and being intimate with her on the same king bed on many nights without my knowledge.

I took a deep breath to numb the incredible pain.

The gilded mahogany headboard shone under the lights, reflecting the true color of the marriage I once blindly believed was happy.

My parents' words from eight years ago rang in my ears. I was determined to sell my property to help Clyde's finances back then.

They told me Clyde would take my sacrifice for granted, even if I played an important role in supporting his career. They told me marrying a man of his status would break my heart. They didn't want me to choose the wrong person, yet I believed he truly loved me.

Later, I thought I had proven my parents wrong when he proposed to me with a 5% share of his company and a hillside villa, promising he would never let me down.

It turned out there was a limit to his promise.

…

When I snapped out of my trance, the woman was still talking. She told me she had lived there for three years.

Over the past three years, Clyde actually "worked overtime" at her place.

They didn't meet anywhere else but here because it satisfied his need for a thrill.

"I bet you didn't know he would ask me to meet him in the supermarket when the two of you were on your grocery trip. We would brush hands whenever we walked past each other. It's exciting to have a tryst right next to you.

"Clyde isn't worried about you discovering it at all. After all, you fully trusted him and would never suspect anything. As expected, you're unaware that we have been flirting," she mocked.

The suffocating pain made way for indescribable resentment. It wasn't because Clyde cheated on me.

I resented him for feigning affection and showering me with lies and deception after he cheated on me. It was ignorant of me to have put every effort into cherishing him.

I wiped my tears away and sneered at the woman who grinned at me. Then, I cut to the chase. "I guess you want to replace me, which is why you exposed your affair. You want to break me by letting me learn that he has been committing cheating so that I'll divorce him."

She nodded without shame. "That's right. Well, you know what to do now."

I shook my head with a wry smile. "I planned to divorce him without dragging it out until just now. Your arrogance irritates me, so I want you to suffer as well. As long as I don't divorce him, he can never acknowledge you as his wife. You should remember that your furniture was bought with our money.

"Besides, you don't know Clyde at all. He's a businessman; his interests are his priorities. He's currently taking his company public, so he won't risk his business and allow himself to be involved in a scandal at this time.

"He can't afford to let the public learn about his infidelity. He would kick you to the curb without batting an eye to avoid that. Remember, you're disposable. Soon, another woman will replace you."

Her face visibly paled.

She blanched as I provoked her, yet she tried to appear powerful. She protested, "I don't believe you! I have known Clyde since we were young! He said I'm special!"

Clyde vowed to be loyal to me when we got married, too. His words made me believe I was special as well.

I stared at her, finding her as pathetic as I was.

When I looked sideways, the matching mugs came into my view and immediately got on my nerves.

I picked up a mug without looking at her. "Did he say so? Then, you don't know how pathetic you are. Watch this."

She shot me a confused look.

Narrowing my eyes, I smashed the mug onto the ground.

It crashed, and the impact sent the shards flying everywhere. One of them even left a trail of blood on my face.

She let out a shriek.

I didn't feel any pain. Instead, a thrill ran through my body.

At the same time, the door opened, and Clyde entered the room.

Covering my face with a hand, I cried between sobs, "Clyde, you have been lying to me, right?"