Chapter 17
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I was a forensic pathologist. Not exactly the fairytale bride you’d expect in a tabloid headline–but thanks to a life–saving debt, I ended up married to Damon Lancaster, the billionaire CEO of Lancaster Enterprises, in what the media called The Wedding of the Century.
It sounded romantic. But in our ten years of marriage, he brought nine hundred and ninety–nine women home.
This month? He brought the Clarence Group’s heiress straight into our master bedroom–with me standing right there, eight months pregnant.
Still, I wore my poker face. I managed the company, signed deals, smiled at press conferences… and quietly waited for my due
date.
Then, one afternoon, while shopping for baby
Chapter 17
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כי
things, Brooke barreled through a crowded intersection in her sports car and ran me over like roadkill.
The pain in my legs was excruciating, but it was the blood pouring from between my thighs that chilled me.
Damon showed up, but didn’t even blink.
“You just had to be out flaunting your pregnancy, huh?” he sneered. “Trying to use it to lock me down? Pathetic.”
His voice was ice. “Ever since the day you drove Laura away, you were dead to me.”
He turned his back on me like I was trash.
“And honestly? It’s better if you just die.”
Brooke drove off with a smug smirk, and the bystanders–intimidated by his power–didn’t dare help me.
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By the time my assistant finally reached me, I was on the brink of death.
The baby was gone.
When I opened my eyes again, I had myself transferred to a private care facility in the countryside. Then I made the hardest choice of my life.
I knelt before the old madam–Damon’s grandmother.
“Please… grant us a divorce, Madam. Ten years is long enough. It’s time for me to go.”
She sighed, the weight of disappointment in her eyes. “I thought… once you were pregnant, Damon would come around.”
“I didn’t expect him to still resent you over Laura. Especially when she was the one who ran off with another man.”
“Vivienne,” she asked softly, “do you blame
the fall for Laura’s betrayal
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I bowed my head, numb. “I only ask for mercy now, Madam. Let me go.”
As the words left my mouth, blood gushed down my thighs again, soaking into the stretcher beneath me.
The old madam gasped and called for a doctor.
Moments later, the physician emerged from the room, looking grim.
“I’m afraid… Mrs. Lancaster’s internal injuries are severe. She won’t be able to conceive again.”
“If she’d received proper treatment immediately after the accident… the baby might’ve survived.”
I placed a trembling hand over my empty stomach and met the old madam’s gaze.
“I beg you,” I whispered, “let me go.”
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Maybe I looked too pitiful–too broken–for even her to ignore. She hesitated, then finally nodded.
“Stay here at the sanatorium for seven days. Regain your strength.”
“Thank you, Madam, I murmured.
But her kindness was short–lived.
Just then, Damon’s assistant stormed in like he owned the place. Arrogant. Cold.
He barely bowed to the old madam before turning to me. “CEO Lancaster asked me to deliver this to Mrs. Lancaster.”
He tossed something onto the bed.
I stared.
A piece of bright red, lacy lingerie.
Myote
turned
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My stomach turned.
“And,” the assistant added, “CEO Lancaster said Miss Clarence is the light of his life. She must be treated with the utmost respect.”
“Madam’s recovery can wait. But Miss Clarence and CEO Lancaster’s wedding must not be delayed.”
The old madam looked like she’d been slapped. “Wedding?! Has he lost his mind? She’s a mistress!”
The assistant didn’t even flinch. “Yes, Madam. The wedding is in seven days. It’s an auspicious date.”
And with that, he left. Without so much as a glance in my direction.
Just like his boss.
The old madam was furious. She hurled a priceless vase across the room, the shatter
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Finally, she turned to me–her eyes filled with
sorrow.
“I thought time would heal him… thought it would bring him back to you.”
“I didn’t realize it would only leave you wasted and forgotten.”
“But enough,” she said. “It’s time you lived for yourself!”
“The divorce papers will be sent to the Huo residence in seven days. You’re free to leave.”
She hesitated, then added, “As for what happened with Laura…”
I nodded quickly. “I’ll take the secret to my grave. No one will ever know Laura Spencer abandoned him.”
Only then did she exhale, motioning for a maid to bring a velvet box.
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Inside was a bracelet.
“My mother’s,” I whispered. My voice cracked as tears filled my eyes.
The old madam gave a faint smile. “Your mother is waiting for you at the villa. She’ll be there when you leave.”
I held the bracelet close, clutched it to my heart.
For the first time in ten years, I felt something shift in my chest.
Mother… we’re finally free.
