Chapter 1
My hands were raw, bleeding from digging to save him.
Their kiss, however, was splashed across the media, hailed as a testament to enduring love in the face of disaster.
“Anya, Willow and I are trending as the ‘rubble romance’ couple. For the company’s sake, let’s get a fake divorce at the courthouse. Once this blows over, we’ll remarry.”
Damon and I had kept our marriage a secret for seven years. He always said a single image was better for the company.
“Clear your stuff out of the master bedroom. Willow’s moving in.”
“Don’t worry, though, you can stay in the maid’s room.”
I calmly packed my bags.
He didn’t know this time, I was actually going to divorce him for real.
At their wedding, I stepped into another man’s Maybach.
“The reporters will be here any minute.”
Damon frowned slightly. “Willow’s not familiar with the house, so you’ll act as a maid and look after her.”
Willow gave me a playful smirk. “Oh, you’re too kind, Damon’s wife. But you’re dressed so nicely to serve me, you don’t really look like a maid, do you?”
Hearing that, Damon’s eyes lingered on me.
“Change your clothes.”
“Take off that bracelet and give it to Willow.”
The jade bracelet on my wrist was a gift from Mrs. Harrington the day Damon and I got married. She said it was a Harrington family heirloom, passed down to the daughter-in-law.
I’d been abandoned at an orphanage as a child, and Mrs. Harrington took me home when I was nine. She cherished me like her own daughter, showering me with love, making up for the mom I never had.
“Anya, don’t make me say it twice,” Damon said, his voice flat.
I’d heard that tone before, at his birthday party.
That day, Willow complimented my dress, and Damon ordered me to change.
When I refused, he had someone forcibly remove my dress right there. The burn scars on my back, from saving him years ago, were exposed for everyone to see.
He just covered Willow’s eyes and said blandly, “Don’t look, it’s disgusting.”
I took off the bracelet and handed it to Willow. “This is a Harrington family jade heirloom, meant for the daughter-in-law. It’s only right for you to have it.”
Damon seemed pleased with my obedience. His tone softened. “Anya, I’ll give it back to you after the interview.”
The moment the bracelet touched Willow’s hand, she reacted as if stung, crying out that her wrist was hurting and itching.
Damon immediately threw the bracelet to the ground, glaring at me furiously. “Anya, did you tamper with the bracelet on purpose?”
I stared at the bracelet, now shattered into several pieces, and many memories in my heart began to crack as well.
I mumbled, unable to utter a single word.
Damon’s face darkened further. “I knew you wouldn’t say anything. Anya, no one needs to constantly babysit your emotions.”
I used to love talking to him.
But ever since Willow came into his life, I slowly stopped speaking.
If he didn’t come home late at night and I asked about it, he’d complain I talked too much, that I was annoying, unlike Willow who could actually help him.
When he drank too much and hurt his stomach, if I showed concern, he’d still complain I only gave hindsight warnings, unlike Willow who was more thoughtful.
Even during intimacy in bed, he’d suddenly get a cold look, get up, and head straight for a cold shower, not forgetting to lecture me in between.
Chapter 2
“You should watch some movies, learn a thing or two. Your moans are a total turn-off.”
“Willow’s so much better at it than you.”
I sat on the bed, shame creeping all over my body.
“Alright, clean up the floor. The interviewers are arriving.”
I picked up the shattered jade pieces and stood beside Willow.
Willow and Damon sat together, a picture-perfect couple.
After some routine questions, the reporter suddenly asked, “Miss Willow, when did you first fall for Mr. Harrington?”
“Oh, I’m a bit embarrassed to say, with so many people watching,” Willow said, lowering her head shyly.
Damon affectionately ruffled her hair. “Willow, I’m curious about that answer too.”
Willow tilted her head, pondering. “Let me think… I guess it was New Year’s Day. I was working late at the office, and the power suddenly went out. I sent him a text saying I was scared, and ten minutes later, he appeared right in front of me!”
Her eyes sparkled like stars. “Seeing him covered in snow, looking so worried, I knew right then and there he must love me.”
The interviewing reporters couldn’t help but sigh about true love.
Damon chimed in with some of their “love story memories.”
I watched it all calmly, but my hands, hidden beneath my sleeves, were clenched into fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.
On New Year’s Day, I had accompanied Damon back to his family estate for dinner.
On the way home, after he took a call, he just left me by the roadside.
No money, no phone.
I walked for three hours in high heels and a thin evening gown.
When I finally got home in the early hours, Damon whispered,
“Willow was working late at the office today, and our house is too far away, so I let her stay overnight.”
“Be quiet, she’s a light sleeper, and she just finally fell asleep.”
I took off my heels, my frostbitten purple feet hitting the ground, each step feeling like walking on knives.
The pain in my feet couldn’t mask the ache in my heart. While showering, I couldn’t help but let out muffled sobs, hidden by the running water.
The interview ended.
The director of the shoot suggested taking a few simple candid shots of Willow.
Damon spoke up. “Anya, come here and assist my wife.”
The director, standing nearby, then looked at me. “I never would have guessed Mr. Harrington’s maid could be so breathtakingly beautiful. I wonder if I could invite you to dinner after the shoot?”
The director’s scrutinizing gaze lingered on me.
I instinctively recoiled, trying to hide behind Damon.
Willow smiled and answered for me. “Of course, no problem. Damon, the director worked so hard for our shoot today, why don’t we let Anya accompany them to dinner tonight? It’ll be our way of saying thanks.”
Damon ignored my pleading gaze. After a moment’s thought, he nodded.
My voice choked. “Damon, I don’t want to go.”
His brows furrowed with irritation. “Anya, it’s just dinner.”
“Can’t you see how that director was looking at me?”
“Anya, if you carry yourself with dignity, no one can touch you.”
Damon dropped a chilling statement. “Willow has already agreed. If you make her lose face, you know the consequences.”
Damon and I used to visit the orphanage kids regularly every month. One time, Willow insisted on coming along.
Chapter 3
The kids at the orphanage drew a picture for Damon and me, but left Willow out.
Willow cried, saying the children didn’t like her and that she felt humiliated.
That same day, Damon had the orphanage emptied, cutting off all food and water supplies, until I knelt and begged Willow, only then did he spare the children.
My voice was hoarse. “Damon, let’s go get divorced right now.”
He scoffed. “Anya, don’t pull that stunt with me.”
Damon’s bodyguards tied me up and shoved me into the director’s car.
In the private room, I was forced to drink glass after glass of alcohol until I completely blacked out.
When I woke up, my stomach was churning with pain.
I struggled to sit up, and Damon walked in, radiating anger.
When he saw me, he paused slightly.
“Why do you look so pale?”
I gave a bitter smile. “Isn’t this all thanks to you?”
Damon’s flicker of concern vanished, his eyes gradually hardening into a layer of ice.
“Hah, I must have been overthinking it. After all, you had quite a fun time last night.”
I shot back, “What are you talking about?”
He threw a stack of photos in front of me.
“Anya, does any man make you just throw yourself at him?”
I flipped through the photos, one by one. They were all of me in different men’s arms.
Memories flashed back with the pictures, and I couldn’t help but dry heave.
Remembering Willow’s and the director’s glances from yesterday, I suddenly understood everything.
“You should ask Willow where these photos came from.”
Damon pinched my chin. “Anya, when did you become so cunning?”
I struggled free from his grip. “Damon, you know perfectly well I can’t drink a single drop of alcohol.”
“If you know you can’t drink, then why did you drink?”
I gave a bitter laugh, tears streaming down my face. “Then why did you force me to go?”
Damon’s hand, which he had extended towards me, retreated behind his back.
“If you had begged me a few more times, maybe I wouldn’t have let you go.”
I curled up inside the covers, muffling a quiet plea. “Just go, I’m tired.”
Damon’s voice came through the blanket. “Anya, tomorrow we’ll go to the courthouse to sign the divorce papers. Willow’s worked hard cooperating with me lately. I asked her what she wanted as a reward, and that silly girl only wants a wedding.”
“It’s her only wish, I can’t refuse.”
Under the covers, I bit my lip tightly.
The wedding I had pleaded for, time and time again, he now casually gave to someone else.
After hearing Damon’s footsteps fade away, I dialled a number with trembling hands.
“I want to leave.”