When I Stopped Loving You

The city’s spectacle today: my husband’s mistress threatening to jump, demanding I, his wife, be the negotiator. Through sobs, she claimed, “Your husband has kept me trapped in a villa for two weeks, refusing to let me out of bed. Today he hurt me so badly I needed eight stitches. I can’t take it anymore!” I kept my voice steady. “What is it you want?” “Promise me he won’t be so… rough next time.” From below, Nicholas called out with indulgent amusement, “You’re the one who teased me, darling. And you enjoyed it, didn’t you?” “Stop it…” she whined, her face flushed. “Come down now, and I promise to let you rest tonight,” he coaxed. “Only if she helps me down,” she said, pointing at me. I reached out. She pulled hard. I lost my balance and fell. Beside the airbag, Nicholas held her, watching the blood pool beneath me. “Darling, quite a scene you’ve made. You’ll handle the mess, won’t you?” Swallowing blood, I smiled bitterly. The ten-year battle with Nicholas’s mother was finally over — and I’d won. … Nicholas seemed pleased with my reaction. “Sienna’s had a scare. I’m taking her to the hospital.” “She’s young. Just take whatever punishment the old lady dishes out. Don’t say anything you shouldn’t. Understand?” I remained silent, nodding. An onlooker muttered in disgust, “Are all the high-society wives in this city such pathetic doormats?” Someone else sneered, “Don’t drag the rest of us down with her. The only one who debases herself like this is Victoria Song.” I curled my fists, forcing back the tears. Over the years, every time a scandalous photo of Nicholas surfaced, I was the one who faced the Thorne family’s “discipline.” The family’s official social media page even live-streamed my punishments. Afterward, I was forced to write a public apology, confessing my failure to guide my husband, which led to his debauchery and the tarnishing of the family name. I became infamous in high society as the “Doormat Wife.” Nicholas even created a special section in the city’s online tabloid called “Did Victoria Get It Today?” where people could place bets. Winners got a chance to win a new phone; losers had to buy ten copies of the paper. He and the tabloid made a fortune off my humiliation. “Always bet ‘yes’,” someone in the crowd advised. “Otherwise, you’ll be out the cost of ten papers again.” Another person was skeptical. “But she looks like she’s miscarrying. Can she even take the punishment?” “A miscarriage is nothing,” the first person replied. “It won’t stop them from sticking needles in her fingers.” “Trust me, Victoria Song has no self-respect. Just wait for the Thorne family livestream later tonight.” Every word was a poisoned dagger to my heart. They were right. For all these years, I had clung to Nicholas’s side, a pathetic, groveling creature, tolerating his endless parade of mistresses, refusing to let go of my title as Mrs. Thorne. But today, finally, I didn’t have to endure it anymore. At the hospital, the doctor shook his head regretfully. “It was a healthy baby boy, Mrs. Thorne. My condolences…” I thanked him numbly, feeling no overwhelming grief. Nicholas’s mother arrived quickly. She looked down at me, her expression as impassive as ever. “How much? Name your price.” The exact same question she had asked five years ago when Nicholas first brought me home to meet her. Back then, she had been blunt. “You’re not right for him.” “The love in your eyes is too pure. It doesn’t belong in his world.” “Forcing it will only bring misery to you both.” But I hadn’t believed her. I couldn’t believe that Nicholas, the man who had valued my life over his own, was a mistake I was forcing. I refused her money. She stopped objecting. “The Thorne family door is easy to enter, but difficult to leave.” “Sign this agreement, and I will consent to your marriage.” Like a moth to a flame, I signed the prenuptial agreement. And through Nicholas’s endless betrayals, I finally understood what she meant by “difficult to leave.” I looked up at her, a bitter smile on my face. “A divorce, and one billion dollars.” Her expression remained cold. “The money and the divorce certificate will be in your hands in one month.” “But until then, you are still Mrs. Thorne.” I understood her meaning and nodded. After his mother left, my phone rang. It was Nicholas. “You’re at the hospital? Did you get checked out? What was all that blood?” His voice was laced with irritation. I didn’t want to argue. “It’s nothing serious.” He let out a sigh of relief. “Come to the international wing.” “Sienna lost ten papers’ worth of bets because you didn’t get your punishment today, and she was embarrassed in front of her friends. Now she’s mad at me.” “You need to come and apologize.” I was about to refuse, but then I remembered his mother’s words. A small, cold smile touched my lips. “Alright.” When I arrived at Sienna’s private room, it was filled with people. Nicholas was cooing at her. “My little darling, she’s here. What will it take for you to forgive me?” Sienna shot me a disdainful look. “I’m not an unreasonable person.” “It’s just that my friends all lost money because of her. If she goes around and has a drink with each of them to apologize, I’ll let you sleep in the bed tonight.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Nicholas agreed. “Fine. She’ll drink.” I stared at him in disbelief. He knew. He knew I was allergic to alcohol. One sip, and I would struggle to breathe. Years ago, when I first started my career, a team leader forced me to drink. I ended up in the emergency room getting my stomach pumped. Nicholas had been so distraught seeing me in pain, his eyes had turned bloodshot with rage. The next day, he bought out the entire company for five hundred million dollars. At the celebration party, he forced the team leader to drink until he had to be hospitalized with internal bleeding, and then had him blacklisted from the entire city. “From this day on,” he had declared, “if anyone ever makes Victoria drink again, I won’t hesitate to ruin their life.” No one had dared to offer me a drink since. And now, to appease his mistress, he was telling me to drink. When I didn’t move, Nicholas tried to coax me. “Darling, we’re in a hospital. There are doctors everywhere. A few glasses won’t hurt you.” Sienna started to cry. “If she doesn’t want to, then fine. Just send her home. You can stay the night there, with her.” Meeting my furious gaze, Nicholas just smirked. “I hear the chief is thinking about downsizing the negotiation department. I wonder where all your old, crippled colleagues will end up.” “The traffic department, maybe? Writing tickets all day, serving the public.” Most of my colleagues were former officers, injured in the line of duty. They had been shuffled from department to department, treated like errand boys, until the negotiation unit was formed. It was the only place they felt they had value. They had always been kind to me, ignoring the public ridicule, pulling me back from the brink of despair time and time again. I bit my lip. “What do our personal issues have to do with them?” A grin spread across Nicholas’s face. “I don’t want to involve them. But I also don’t want to sleep on the couch.” “The choice is yours, darling.” “You have three seconds.” I knew I had no choice. “I’ll drink.” Numbly, I downed glass after glass, murmuring apologies. At some point, the glass slipped from my fingers, and I collapsed to the floor. Someone sneered, “Stop faking it. It’s only been a few glasses. If you don’t want to drink, just say so.” Someone kicked me. As the world went dark, I thought I saw a flicker of panic in Nicholas’s eyes as he rushed toward me. “What are you all standing there for? Get a doctor!” His panicked expression was identical to the one he wore five years ago, back when he still loved me. A tear slipped from the corner of my eye and hit the cold floor. But it was too late, Nicholas. I would never love you again. I woke up to find Nicholas sitting by my bedside, his eyes red-rimmed. He took my hand and kissed it gently. “Darling, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you had miscarried…” “It’s all Sienna’s fault for being so dramatic. I’ll deal with her.” “You just focus on getting better. We’re still young. We’ll have another child.” The look of concern in his eyes was as deep and convincing as ever, but the scent of another woman’s perfume on his clothes made my stomach turn. “Perhaps your children and I are just not meant to be.” He didn’t understand. He squeezed my hand, his eyes filled with a fierce determination. “You’re my wife. My children will only ever be with you.” “I may fool around, but I have my principles. Only you are worthy of bearing my child.” Just as the words left his mouth, the door opened. Sienna stood there, tears streaming down her face. “Nicholas, so… you don’t want our baby?” She turned and ran, leaving a sonogram picture fluttering to the ground. In an instant, Nicholas dropped my hand and chased after her. When he returned, he was holding a velvet box. “Victoria, Sienna is pregnant. Your child is gone, but this one has come at the perfect time.” “You know the Thorne family needs an heir.” I laughed bitterly. Just three hours ago, he had sworn that only I would ever bear his children. I clenched my fists. My unborn child, just like me, was being cast aside to make way for someone else. Nicholas was, as always, dictatorial. “I’m bringing Sienna home. I want you to personally take care of her. It’s the only way I’ll feel at ease.” “Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.” He pressed the velvet box into my hand. I recognized it immediately. It was the sapphire necklace I had glanced at in the airport a few weeks ago. I tossed it aside. “Don’t buy me things anymore. I don’t need them.” “Then what do you want? A new car? A new apartment?” My voice was flat. “Nothing.” He feigned nervousness. “Then what? Me?” “Darling, I’ve told you before, you can’t be greedy. My heart will always belong to you. But my body… you’ll have to let the younger girls have that.” Through his teasing smile, I spoke calmly. “Go be with her. I’m tired.” Nicholas froze for a second, then smiled and placed a light kiss on my forehead. “You have no idea how lucky I am to have married you.” The curve of his smile, once so familiar, now felt completely alien. Back then, the heir to the Thorne fortune, a man who had his pick of any woman, had fallen for me, an orphan from a broken home. He knew my story, knew that I was the product of a brutal assault on my mother, knew that my mother had killed my attacker to protect me. Everyone told him to stay away from me, that I had tainted blood. When I was falsely accused of theft in college, and my classmates petitioned to have me expelled, he stood against them all. He found the evidence to clear my name, defending me at every turn. He pursued me relentlessly for four years, but the pain of my past had made me withdrawn and insecure. 99 proposals, 99 rejections. The summer of my senior year, an earthquake hit my hometown. I was buried in the rubble of the orphanage where I had grown up. Ignoring everyone’s warnings, Nicholas flew to my side. He dug through the debris with his bare hands. When an aftershock caused a pillar to collapse and break his leg, he didn’t stop. After a day and a night, he finally pulled me out. When the light hit my face, I felt like I was seeing my savior. My god had been broken for me. I wept, telling him I wasn’t worth it. Nicholas’s eyes were red-rimmed. He told me, “Victoria Song, you’ve never understood. In this world, there is nothing that can stop me from loving you.” In that moment, he entered my heart. At our wedding, he cried like a child. “Victoria, you have no idea how lucky I am to have married you.” The same words, five years later, with a completely different meaning. Then, he was lucky because he had married me. Now, he was lucky because I was willing to accept his cheating and allow him to have a child with another woman. But it was alright. I no longer felt the pain. Sienna moved into our home. Nicholas threw our wedding photos into a storage room, saying he didn’t want to upset her. He gave her our master bedroom, saying a pregnant woman needed more sunlight. He had the rose garden I had planted torn up and replaced with lilies, Sienna’s favorite. …