Chapter 3

3.

I pulled my wrist away coldly.

“In that case, tonight’s wedding belongs to the two of you.”

Clara’s gaze drifted toward the living room wall and noticed our missing wedding portrait.

When we took our wedding photos, Clara had a high fever and barely forced herself through the shoot.

She kept complaining that she looked terrible in the pictures.

I told her that getting a full photoshoot was a rare occasion, and in my eyes, she was gorgeous no matter what.

Back then, she was the one who despised the photos; now, she was the one who cared.

Pointing at the empty wall, Clara pouted angrily. “Where is our wedding portrait?”

I rubbed my knuckles and replied impassively, “I threw it out.”

I originally planned to take her on a honeymoon trip to retake a set she loved, and I had even pre-booked the entire luxury package.

Now, none of that was necessary.

She rushed around the living room searching frantically, only to find every trace wiped clean.

She shrieked at me like a madwoman, “Lucas, stop throwing tantrums! We need to rest and get ready for hair and makeup!”

Just then, a knock sounded at the front door.

My executive assistant arrived, delivering the separation and divorce settlement papers.

I handed the documents to her. “Sign them. There’s no need to torture each other anymore. I’m letting you go to chase your true love.”

To my surprise, Clara ripped the papers to shreds without even glancing at them and threw the confetti in my face.

“Just because I didn’t pick you up from the hospital, you want to divorce me? Are you a three-year-old toddler who keeps threatening divorce over every little thing?”

“The company took on so many new projects this year. If you kick me out, who could possibly replace me?”

Clara prided herself on her executive competence, claiming she boosted company profits by twenty percent over three years.

What she did not know was that the senior team I left behind had complained to me dozens of times about her.

She merely signed documents while remaining utterly clueless about daily operations.

I always believed that a husband and wife should conquer challenges as a united front.

Since we promised to build a life together, I didn’t mind doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes.

I never imagined she would brazenly turn around and treat me like dead weight.

I looked at her coldly. “You don’t need to worry about my company anymore.”

When Clara first agreed to be with me, my buddy Trevor Hayes warned me to watch out for her.

He insisted she was after my family fortune, not my heart.

Over the past two years, Clara frequently took Derek to meet corporate clients and bid on contracts, and I had turned a blind eye.

However, regifting the corporate asset I gave her to Derek was the absolute final straw.

Seeing my resolve, Clara softened her tone for once.

“I sacrificed so much for the company. How could you have the heart to kick me out like this?”

“Was all the love you promised me just a lie?”

Listening to her obsess over the company rather than our relationship, I knew Trevor was right.

She never truly loved me.

Everything was merely a ladder for her to climb toward wealth, power, and prestige.

Seeing me remain silent, Clara turned to head upstairs, but I grabbed her arm.

“Sign the agreement. For every ounce of effort you put into the company, I will calculate your severance based on the highest market rate.”

Clara grew up in a family that favored her younger brother over her, and she had to work odd jobs just to pay for college living expenses.

After being with me, she ascended to the upper crust and tasted high society.

Naturally, no one wants to plummet from grace back into the dirt.

Clara’s eyes turned bloodshot with panic. “Stop talking! I will never agree to this!”

I sighed softly. “I’m giving you two hours to think it over. If you refuse, I will file directly with the court.”

She violently threw off my hand, lunged forward, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“No! You promised to stay with me for the rest of your life! How can you push me away?!”

Her sudden force caught me off balance, sending me crashing onto the sofa.

The abrupt strain pulled at my surgical incision, sending a searing wave of pain through my body that instantly left me drenched in cold sweat.

Noticing my pained expression, Clara stood up anxiously and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Clutching my stomach, I endured the agony and waved off her concern.

“It’s nothing. Don’t bother yourself.”

Hearing my purely professional, detached tone, Clara froze.

That was the exact voice I used with ordinary employees, and I wanted her to know that she was no longer special.

In the past, when I chased her desperately, I always called her “sweetheart” or “babe.”

Noticing fresh blood seeping through my shirt, I hurried to get up and leave, but Clara caught my arm again.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave! We can talk after the wedding!”

Three days ago, when my appendix ruptured at home, I called her in agonizing pain.

She had snapped impatiently over the phone: “If you’re sick, go to the emergency room! Why are you calling me? I’m busy right now!”

No matter how I pleaded, she coldly hung up on me.

Not wanting to worry my parents, I endured the excruciating pain and signed the surgical consent forms all by myself.

During my recovery, the nurse warned me not to strain the incision, so I called Clara a few times asking if she could stay by my side for two days.

She told me she was on an out-of-town business trip and had no time.

Yet through the receiver, I distinctly heard Derek calling her name, asking her what she wanted for dinner.

After being dismissed like that, my heart completely turned to ash.

Yet on the morning of my discharge, Clara unexpectedly contacted me, promising to pick me up and celebrate that evening.

A fragile ember had rekindled in my chest, only to be crushed again.

Looking down at her clutching hand, I shoved her away with all my strength.

“Other than this lavish wedding show, is there anything else you actually care about?”

“While I was lying in a hospital bed, you were having the time of your life with Derek, weren’t you?”

“You didn’t give a damn when I was ill. Were you just waiting for me to drop dead so you could inherit my estate?”

Clara’s face turned paper-white, and she stammered in panic.

“No! I never thought that! You’re misunderstanding me!”

“I really was away on a business trip!”

I frowned and cut her off. “Save your breath. I don’t want to hear another excuse.”

“I’m going back to the hospital. By the time I return, I expect you to have signed the papers and moved your things out.”

Panic gripped Clara, and she tightened her hold on me.

“I won’t move out! You know I have nowhere else to go!”

I shoved her away and continued toward the front door.

“Is that so? What about that luxury penthouse you bought for Derek? Can’t you live there?”

Just as I swung the door open, Derek appeared right on the porch.

He was holding a luxury gift bag containing a sheer, provocative nightgown.

With a smug smirk, he asked, “Lucas, did Clara come back to look for you this morning?”

%%%