Chapter 3

Marcus froze. Seeing how calm I was, he hesitated before speaking.

"You know about the baby?"

Marcus let out a breath and tried to explain:

"I only found out today what Hailey meant by her 'surprise'."

"I honestly didn't expect her to be pregnant."

There was nothing left to explain.

I ignored him and was about to continue upstairs.

Suddenly, a wave of intense nausea hit my throat.

I covered my mouth and rushed into the bathroom.

Marcus followed me in, looking frantic.

He knelt down beside me, rubbing my back. "Why are you throwing up so badly?"

I wiped my mouth and flushed the toilet.

"Do we need to go to the hospital?" Marcus asked.

I didn't look at him. "No."

He hesitated for a moment.

"If you're not feeling well, we can put off the divorce for a bit."

I took a large step past him and walked out.

"There's no need to delay."

Back in my room, I pulled that crumpled pregnancy report from my purse.

Two months ago, Marcus had come home drunk and slept with me, whispering Hailey's name.

I hadn't expected to get pregnant from that.

I paused, balled up the report, and threw it into the trash can.

The next morning at nine, Marcus and I met outside the family court.

After filing the papers, we had to wait out the thirty-day waiting period before we could officially get our divorce certificate.

"I can drive you back," Marcus said.

I had taken an Uber here this morning.

A bad car accident years ago had left me with severe trauma, and I hadn't driven since.

Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang. It was Hailey.

I kept my head down, opening my Uber app.

"Hailey, what's wrong?" Marcus kept his voice low.

But Hailey's voice was loud enough to leak through the receiver.

"Marcus, how did it go with Chloe?"

Marcus told her about the thirty-day waiting period.

Hailey giggled. "Okay, are you coming over later? The baby and I really miss you."

Marcus glanced at me.

He hesitated, but that hesitation only lasted three seconds before he agreed.

"Okay."

Marcus could never say no to Hailey.

If Hailey wanted to see him, he would go.

Hanging up, Marcus looked at me with some embarrassment.

"About Hailey..."

I cut him off, not even raising my head from my phone.

"Don't worry about it. Go to her."

My Uber had just arrived.

I didn't look back at Marcus as I opened the door and got into the car.

On my way home, Amber sent me a link to a social media post.

I clicked on it and realized it was Hailey's.

Amber's voice notes were practically vibrating with rage.

"Chloe, this Hailey is absolutely shameless! What does she mean by 'there was no love left in your marriage'? What does she mean by 'the one who isn't loved is the real homewrecker'? Does she have no shame?"

"I tried to call her out in the comments, but she blocked me."

"And Marcus, that spineless jerk..."

Amber was truly hurting for me.

By the end of her voice note, her voice was cracking.

I comforted her before clicking back to read the post.

The comment section was already flooded with thousands of replies.

I saw the thread where Amber had argued with Hailey.

Many internet users were dragging Hailey in the replies.

As I scrolled down, I saw Marcus's account had left a comment:

[Our marriage was already broken, and we are currently in the middle of divorce proceedings. My girlfriend is not a homewrecker.]

I stared at that sentence for a very long time.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

What a beautifully worded statement.

Suddenly, I remembered the promise Marcus made the day he proposed.

He had held up three fingers, looking up at me with tears in his eyes.

In front of all our friends, he swore, "If I, Marcus, ever do anything to hurt Chloe, may God strike me down on the spot."

Back then, I never believed Marcus could ever betray me.

The moment he slipped the engagement ring onto my finger, his eyes were red as he kissed the back of my hand.

"You've finally gone from my girlfriend to my fiancée. My heart can finally rest easy."

Unfortunately, his promises were worthless.

Changing my status from girlfriend to fiancée, and then to legal wife, didn't protect me at all.

He had still betrayed me.

I gave Marcus's comment a "like" and closed the app.

Once I got home, I started packing my things.

Marcus had designed this house himself, but I had handpicked all the furniture.

I had too many things, and they ended up filling three large suitcases.

I didn't know when Marcus had come back home.

Passing by the master bedroom, he stopped.

His brows knitted together. "You're moving out right now?"

I lifted my suitcase, not sparing him a glance.

"This house belongs to you. If I don't move out, how is she supposed to move in?"

"I never planned on having Hailey move in here," Marcus said. "She's perfectly fine living at her place. You don't have to rush to move out."

"Chloe, you don't need to throw a tantrum like this. You agreed to the divorce too."

My hands paused.

I wanted to laugh.

He had already won the bet he was destined to win, so why was he still acting like this?

Marcus had wanted this divorce for a long time; I was the one who had been holding on too tightly.

But seeing his protective attitude toward Hailey made me realize how tired I was.

I was so tired that letting go actually felt like a relief.

I looked at Marcus.

"I'm not throwing a tantrum."

"I'm just making room for her."

Marcus remained silent, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

Suddenly, he asked me:

"Chloe, don't you find this exhausting?"