The Husband Who Forgot Who I Was

I nodded and ended the call.

I couldn't shake the weight in my chest even though Ryan was on his way.

Dylan and I had been together for five years. Even if he didn't believe me, didn't I at least deserve a chance to defend my case?

I lifted my hand to knock on his office door when I heard Vanessa's sugary voice from inside. "Dylan, are you sure about firing her? What if she makes a scene?"

Dylan laughed. "What's she gonna do?"

His voice dripped with contempt. "She's had a comfortable life all these years because of me. She wouldn't even be able to hold down a job if it weren't for me. At best, she'd end up staying home playing house."

Ice flooded my body.

When I insisted on being with Dylan, my family opposed me at every turn. My parents were so angry they ended up in the hospital, and my brother… The same brother who always spoiled me had hit me for the first time in his life.

However, I remained firm on my choice.

So, I cut ties with my family and followed Dylan to this unfamiliar city.

Marriage turned out nothing like the dream I'd imagined.

Dylan always aimed high but never had the discipline to follow through. He bounced from job to job, never lasting anywhere.

I was the one juggling side gigs just to keep us afloat.

Eventually, my brother grew tired of watching me struggle. He left headquarters, set up a branch office nearby, and hired both of us. He provided opportunities for me to secure major contracts and enhance our lives.

I had kept quiet about being the CEO's sister because I didn't want anyone saying Dylan was riding on my family's name.

I tightened my grip on my phone, snapped a photo through the narrow crack in the door, and sent it to my lawyer. 'Draft the divorce papers immediately.'

Then, I texted Ryan. 'Terminate Vanessa immediately. Workplace misconduct and malicious defamation of a colleague.'

I had only been packing up my desk for a few minutes when Dylan stormed over. He looked furious.

He shouted, "Avery! Why did Ryan personally notify Vanessa that she was fired? Was this your doing? What exactly did she do that made you run crying to upper management?"

I blinked. 'Oh? Ryan works fast, huh?'

I looked him straight in the eye. "Vanessa hasn't landed a single meaningful deal since she got here. All she does is stir up drama and spread lies. Why shouldn't she be fired?"

I crossed my arms. "So let me get this straight. I'm supposedly damaging company culture, so I get fired, but Vanessa gets to spread malicious lies about me and keep her job?

"You're defending her awfully hard. Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know—"

I never finished.

Dylan's hand came down hard across my face.

Pain exploded instantly. My head snapped sideways, and a sharp ringing filled my ears.

Vanessa immediately grabbed his arm, putting on her pathetic act.

"Dylan, don't be mad," she said sweetly. "Avery's just upset because I exposed what she really is."

She lowered her eyes dramatically. "Now she's abusing her influence to get rid of me. I can't compete with that. Maybe I should just leave."

Dylan was already furious.

That speech sent him over the edge.

His face turned red as he snapped, "Avery! You're unbelievable! Your behavior is disgusting, and now you're trying to frame Vanessa?"

He stepped into my space, glaring. "Get on your knees and apologize to her right now. Do that, and I'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise, don't blame me for what happens next."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

There was a time when Dylan would've torn apart anyone who insulted me.

I had once been harassed by some drunks while I was working a side job.

Dylan didn't hesitate to protect me.

They broke three of his ribs.

Still, he stood there covered in blood, smiling at me and telling me not to cry.

He remained ever attentive as his career improved.

So I never believed my colleagues when they whispered that he and Vanessa were growing too close.

When he told me that they shared a hotel room during business trips when they shared a hotel room to save money, I foolishly believed him.

When Dylan saw that I refused to back down, his expression darkened. He grabbed my arm and yanked hard. "Didn't you hear me?"

His grip was so brutal it felt like my bones might crack.

I fought against him with everything I had.

He was about to send me sprawling when Ryan's voice boomed behind us. "How dare you hurt her!"

The Secret He Turned Against Me

Ryan arrived in a perfectly tailored suit, radiating the kind of cold authority that made people instinctively step back.

"Vanessa's termination was made by the company. If anyone has a problem with it, you can take it up with me."

Everyone knew Ryan spoke for my brother.

The second his gaze swept the room, the same coworkers who had been screaming insults moments earlier suddenly lowered their heads and went silent.

Only then did Ryan step toward me. "Ms. Whitmore, do you need to go to the hospital?"

I shook my head.

I just wanted to leave.

Before we could do so, Vanessa's pitiful voice rang out behind us. "Mr. Lowe, you work directly with the CEO. Why would you personally come all the way here for some branch office issue?"

She bit her lip dramatically. "Unless Avery means something to you."

Then, she turned to the crowd. "Actually, I've seen them together before. They were alone, grabbing coffee and looking way too at ease with each other."

She sighed. "I didn't say anything because we're coworkers, and I didn't want to ruin Avery and Dylan's marriage."

The room exploded.

Whispers of my supposed infidelity erupted in the office.

The looks people gave Ryan and me were pure disgust.

Dylan's face darkened with rage. He yanked his arm free from Vanessa and stormed toward me.

"Avery, you disgusting whore!" He pointed at Ryan. "So that's why you've been acting so smug? You dare flaunt your side piece right in front of me!"

At this point, I felt almost numb.

Ryan's expression turned thunderous. His voice cracked through the room. "Get your facts straight. Ms. Whitmore is the CEO's sister. I'm here because those are the CEO's orders."

Dylan froze before slowly turning toward me. "Avery... is that true?"

Before I could answer, Vanessa let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, please, Mr. Lowe. We're not fools. Look at her. She dresses worse than the cleaning staff."

She folded her arms and added, "She practically screams broke. You expect us to believe she's the CEO's sister? You definitely made that up to protect her."

Dylan immediately looked relieved.

Then, he gave me a once-over full of contempt. "She didn't even know proper etiquette the last time I took her to a fine dining restaurant."

He scoffed. "How could she be this embarrassing if she were actually rich?"

Pain stabbed straight through my chest.

I had dressed simply on purpose.

I knew Dylan was insecure.

Before we even got there, I quietly asked the restaurant manager not to reveal my identity. I even pretended not to recognize the place to keep Dylan comfortable.

Now, all those small efforts to protect his pride have turned into reasons to humiliate me.

I looked at the coldness in his eyes. Then, I noticed how he instinctively kept stepping in front of Vanessa.

Something inside me finally died.

My voice was steady. "Dylan, I want a divorce."

He blinked before exploding right then and there. "Really? You think threatening me with divorce is going to work?"

He stepped forward and grabbed my arm. "Not happening. Now come home and stop humiliating yourself."

Before he could drag me anywhere, Ryan shoved him back hard. "Mr. Mercer, this is a workplace, not your living room. Control yourself."

I rubbed my wrist, exhausted. "Ryan, let's just go—"

"No!" Dylan lunged forward and knocked over the box of my things.

Everything spilled onto the floor. Then, a paper drifted down—it was a pregnancy test report.

Dylan's eyes locked onto it. His pupils widened; his face lost its anger, replaced first by shock, then by wild hope.

He snatched it off the floor and grabbed my wrist. "Avery... you're pregnant?"

Vanessa's expression quickly shifted as her eyes filled with panic and turned red. She yanked the paper out of his grip. "Dylan, don't be foolish!"

She jabbed at the date. "That day, I saw her with Ryan in a cafe! They were sitting close. Talking privately."

Her voice rose. "Why do you think he's protecting her so hard today? That baby is his, isn't it?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "That meeting was about work!"

But Dylan shoved my hand away violently. "Work? You can't even lie properly! The doctor told you that you'd likely never conceive again after your miscarriage."

He threw the paper at me. His voice dropped, full of disgust. "So who exactly are you trying to fool? Are you expecting me to raise another man's kid?"

The words sliced through me.

There was a snowstorm that winter. Dylan told me he was working late and couldn't pick me up.

I was trying to save money, so I walked home alone through the freezing snow, pregnant and exhausted.

One wrong step was all it took.

I slipped and lost our baby.

When Dylan arrived at the hospital, he immediately blamed me for failing to protect the child, and I believed his accusation.

I held that tiny urn all night, apologizing to our baby.

After that, I secretly began trying again. I endured thousands of injections and hundreds of bottles of medication just to surprise him. But now, he didn't believe me for a second.

The stress became too much.

A sharp pain tore through my lower abdomen, and I grabbed Ryan's sleeve.

His face went pale with panic. He immediately bent down to support me. "I'm taking you to the hospital. Right now."

The second Dylan saw that, he snapped. He swung at Ryan. "This is all your fault!"

The two of them crashed into each other, causing chairs to overturn and desks to slam to the side.

I rushed forward to stop them, but Vanessa grabbed my hair from behind with force. Then slapped me across the face. "You little slut! Still trying to protect your side piece?"

Her nails raked across my cheek.

Hot pain lanced down my face, and tears sprang to my eyes. In my desperation, I screamed, "I am the CEO's sister!"

I glared at all of them. "If any of you touch me again, you'll regret it for the rest of your lives!"

They Learned Who I Was

Vanessa burst out laughing. "If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. If you were really the CEO's sister, would you be living this pathetic little life?"

Dylan frowned, disappointment written all over his face. "Avery, when did you become this kind of liar?"

I stared at their contemptuous faces, shaking with anger.

Dylan's executive position?

I had begged my brother to give it to him.

His connections?

I had built them for him from square one.

Everything he had now existed because I had paved the road behind him, and this was how he treated me.

What a joke.

Dylan tightened his grip on my arm, his eyes turning vicious. "Come on. We're going to the hospital right now, and you're getting rid of that bastard."

Ryan immediately stepped in front of him. "Let her go. If you hurt her, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

The coworkers around us were clearly intimidated.

"That's the CEO's assistant," someone muttered. "He has serious power."

Alas, Vanessa stepped forward and snapped, "So what if he's the CEO's assistant?"

She lifted her chin, and her voice sharpened. "Dylan is a key executive at this branch. He's handling several major projects right now.

"So what if you're the CEO's assistant? We're helping the CEO remove those that are damaging the company's reputation. He should be grateful."

The others heard that and quickly started nodding along.

"Exactly. We should teach these two cheaters a lesson!"

Several people rushed forward at once.

They surrounded Ryan and started hitting him.

Ryan was shoved to the floor. His forehead struck the corner of a desk, and blood ran down his cheek.

Even then, he kept struggling to shield me.

I trembled in terror, crying for them to stop. Unfortunately, Dylan held me tightly from behind. He laughed beside my ear. "That's what happens to your lover."

Panic squeezed my chest, making it hard to breathe. I lowered my head and bit his hand as firmly as possible.

Dylan cursed and let go.

I stumbled away, grabbed my phone, and screamed into it, "Help Ryan! They're going to kill him!"

The next second, Vanessa stomped on my phone. The screen shattered under her heel.

She smirked. "Still trying to call your lover?"

Then, she turned to Dylan with that fake, delicate voice. "Dylan, you were kind enough to give her a good life, but she cheated on you and got pregnant with another man's child. She's shameless."

Her gaze dropped to my stomach. "I don't think that baby needs to exist. Better than letting it grow up and embarrass everyone."

A chill ran through me as I looked at Dylan in fear.

He hesitated for a long moment, then he clenched his jaw. "That bastard can't stay."

In the next moment, Vanessa directed the others toward me.

Someone yanked my hair, another pushed my shoulders, and insults rained down from all sides.

Vanessa leaned close to my ear and whispered coldly, "This is what happens when you try to steal my man, Avery."

Her voice turned vicious. "Once that thing in your stomach is gone, I can give Dylan a healthy baby of my own."

My whole body went rigid, and I stared at her in disbelief. 'They already have a child together?'

Someone shoved me hard, and my forehead slammed into the corner of a desk. Blood immediately ran down my face.

When Dylan saw me bleeding, he froze for half a second. Something like hesitation flashed in his eyes, but his voice stayed cruel. "Come with me to the hospital and terminate this pregnancy. Do that, and I'll pretend none of this happened."

His expression hardened. "Refuse, and I'll make sure you can't stay in this city."

"It's your child!" I screamed through tears, blood running down my face.

Vanessa immediately clung to his arm. "Dylan, don't listen to her. A woman like her will say anything. She just wants you to raise another man's kid."

The last hint of doubt disappeared from Dylan's face. Full of rage now, his voice turned icy enough to halt my heart. "If you refuse to go to the hospital, then we'll settle this here and now, with your lover as witness."

The punches and kicks came again.

Vanessa grabbed a pair of scissors from the desk, smiling like a lunatic.

I shook in terror, and my entire body was so sore that I couldn't move.

She tore at my clothes, then raised the scissors toward my stomach.

At that exact moment, the office door was kicked open.

A furious voice cut through the chaos. "Who dares to touch my sister?"

My brother, Steven Whitmore, stood in the doorway. He was surrounded by bodyguards. The air around him was terrifyingly cold. His gaze swept across the room, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.