Chapter 2
The next morning, I woke up in a hotel.
My phone’s notification sound was buzzing frantically.
I looked, and my work WhatsApp group was blowing up.
Someone had forwarded a video—the humiliating footage from three years ago that Derek had coerced me into filming. Although key parts were pixelated, anyone could tell the person in the video was me.
Under the video were various vile comments.
My phone also showed dozens of missed calls, all from Liam.
I sneered, turning off my phone directly.
The next second, the hotel room door suddenly burst open!
Liam stormed in, his face contorted with rage, and slammed a photo down in front of me.
“Audrey Smith, explain yourself! What is this?!” he roared.
It was a photo of Derek and me in the parking lot last night.
The angle was tricky, making it look intimate and ambiguous, like we were kissing.
“That’s not…” I started to explain.
“Not what? Not you throwing yourself at him?” Liam cut me off, his voice filled with disgust, not waiting for my explanation at all.
“Audrey Smith, I never thought you’d be so depraved! Being my wife on one hand, and still hooking up with your ex-fiancé on the other!”
“I didn’t! This is clearly staged!” I couldn’t help but retort.
But Chloe peered out from behind him, chiming in, “Mr. Scott, please don’t be angry. Manager Smith probably didn’t intentionally meet someone in the middle of the night. Maybe she had a reason.”
“What reason could she have?” Liam snorted. “I think she’s shameless and promiscuous!”
“She did something disgraceful herself, and she still has the nerve to be jealous of you, deliberately making things difficult for you at the party!”
“Audrey Smith, you will kneel and apologize to Chloe right now!”
I stared at him in disbelief.
Was he crazy? He wanted me to kneel and apologize to Chloe?
“Liam Scott, how dare you order me around?!” I trembled with anger.
“Because I’m your husband! Because you did something to betray me!” His tone was absolute.
“I didn’t!” I stubbornly met his gaze.
“Still haven’t learned your lesson yet? Have you forgotten how your compromising photos were auctioned off back then?” He grabbed me and threw me to the ground.
I hit the floor unexpectedly, my knees throbbing with pain.
But it was nothing compared to the despair in my heart.
I looked at the man I had loved for so many years and felt, for the first time, how utterly foreign he seemed.
I humiliated myself by kneeling.
“Chloe, she knows she was wrong.” He wrapped his arm around Chloe and walked away haughtily.
Not long after, I saw the entertainment trending topic – #ScottGroupCEOPubliclyDisplaysAffectionWithNewLover#
The accompanying picture showed the doting and indulgent look he gave her.
My heart felt nothing. I wrote a divorce agreement and sent it to Liam via express delivery.
After all this, I lay on the hospital operating table.
As the cold instruments took away the little life inside me, I didn’t shed a single tear.
I just felt incredibly cold.
After the surgery, I returned home.
Opening the door, I saw a bracelet shattered into several pieces on the coffee table. This was our promise bracelet, Liam’s and mine.
Sunlight streamed through, and I stared at the fragments.
Perhaps, from the moment he allowed Chloe to humiliate me, this bracelet, along with our feelings, had already shattered.
Suddenly, my phone rang.
It was Liam.
I hesitated but answered.
“Audrey, where are you?” His voice sounded a little tired, but still impatient.
“Do you need something?” My tone was flat.
“That bracelet… Chloe accidentally broke it. She didn’t mean to.” He explained, his voice a bit stiff.
“I understand.”
“Don’t overthink it. I’ll buy you a better one later. Tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary, by the way, I’ve prepared a surprise for you.”
Third wedding anniversary?
He still remembered.
But to me, it no longer mattered.
“No need,” I refused coolly. “I have to make an impromptu trip to a neighboring country tomorrow. I’ll be catching an early flight and will be back in the evening.”
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.
“So sudden?” He seemed a little surprised. “Then I’ll drive you to the airport tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I replied faintly, then hung up.
That night, Liam didn’t come home.
Alone in the house, I personally burned all the memories of him and me.
Photos I once cherished, gifts he had given me, and things we had used together.
The firelight reflected on my calm face.
Everything should end now.
The next day, when I was about to leave, Liam called.
“Audrey, I’m sorry, I can’t take you to the airport today,” his voice carried a hint of apology.
“Chloe’s puppy suddenly got very sick and is making a big fuss. I have to go with her to the vet.”
“You go to the airport alone, be careful on your way.”
Chloe’s crying could be heard from the other end of the line, and Liam was gently comforting her.
I chuckled mockingly.
See? I was not even as important as Chloe’s dog.
“Okay,” I replied emotionlessly.
After hanging up, I unhesitatingly blocked his number and tossed my phone SIM card into the trash.
Then I pulled my suitcase and walked towards the airport without looking back.
Boarding, takeoff.