Chapter 1
Chapter 1
13:17
The day my husband’s plane crashed into the sea, I broke down. I followed him into the waves, ready to die. It was only after they pulled me from the water that I remembered it was April Fool’s Day.
As I drifted into unconsciousness, I heard the teasing voice of his mistress.
‘Oh, darling, your wife is just madly in love with you,” she purred. “Can you imagine how she’d freak out if she <new you were just messing with her?”
He chuckled.
Freak out? Please. After giving birth, Nora’s become tamer than a rabbit. Just make sure none of you let this
slip. This is the last time I need to test her love for me.”
A wave of laughter followed, along with promises to keep the secret.
ying on the stretcher, I found I had no more tears to cry.
What my husband, John, didn’t know was that this was also the last chance I was giving him.
rom that moment on, my love for him flatlined.
woke up in a hospital room. A perfectly peeled apple sat on the bedside table. In the past, whenever I wa: ick, John never showed his face. He’d just send his assistant with a pile of expensive supplements.
Seeing my blank expression, he picked up a slice of apple and held it to my lips.
So happy to see I’m not dead you’re speechless?”
turned my head, my eyes catching a faint love bite on his neck. My voice was calm, eerily so. “John, let’:
et a divorce.”
His hand froze. He popped the apple slice into his own mouth, crunching it loudly, a mocking smile playing on his lips. Then he made a call right in front of me.
Soon, his assistant brought our son, Leo.
n the few months since I’d last seen him, he’d shot up in height.
But he was still a stranger to me.
‘d barely finished nursing Leo when John’s grandfather took him away. I was only allowed to see him during holiday dinners at the family estate.
knew why John had brought him. In the past, whenever he’d taken his fun a little too far, and I’d given him the silent treatment, he’d send our son to placate me. I’d lost count of how many times he’d used that trick.
But that trump card was no longer my weakness.
1/7
13:17
13.17
Chapter 1
Seeing Leo, who had grown a little chubby, sparked no joy in me.
He frowned, a perfect miniature of his father. Even the way he said my name carried John’s dismissive tone
“Nora, you’re still so boring. Dad, I don’t want to be here. I want to go home and have Miss Lily play with
me…”
Miss Lily?
No wonder he never called me “Mom.” He already had a replacement.
John’s eyes narrowed.
Leo immediately clammed up and tried to crawl into my arms. “Daddy’s being mean to me!”
I would have always defended him before. But this time, I pushed him away.
“Go cry to your Miss Lily.”
Two identical faces, one large and one small, stared at me in shock.
I pressed on. “John, I’m serious about the divorce. This isn’t a joke.”
A flash of anger crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a sneer.
“Nora, if you play hard to get for too long, it’s not going to end well. Piss me off, and you’ll never see your so
again.”
So that was it. He thought this was another one of my tactics.
I remembered last year, when news broke that he’d sent some starlet to the hospital with serious interna injuries. I’d demanded a divorce then, too. He’d locked me in a room for six months, refusing to let me se Leo. That’s when I finally learned my lesson.
And that’s when I realized I couldn’t love him anymore.
“John, after I’m discharged, I’m moving out.” I said it again, my voice firm, my gaze locked on his.
Sensing I wasn’t playing games, his expression turned grave.
“You want a divorce? You’ll have to earn it.”
Only after he left with Leo did I pick up my phone and text a number I didn’t have saved.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’ll leave after the dance competition next week.”
After leaving the hospital, I went back to the villa to pack a small bag before heading to the dance studio.
Now that I had made my decision, I wanted no more entanglements with John.
