Chapter 3

Colton never responded for a long time.

So, the only thing I could do was tell him that I had enough evidence to prove that he was cheating on me. And, if he didn't sign the papers, then I would be bringing him to court.

Colton finally called me when I was in the midst of discharging myself from the hospital. He sounded extremely angry on the phone.

"Gianna, are you nuts? How could you kick up such a huge fuss over such a small thing? How dare you bring up divorce? Are you only going to be satisfied when the whole world revolves around you?

"I told you to wait until Darlene gave birth, didn't I? I'd then cut off the relationship with her. What more do you want from me? Why must you force others to do as you wish?

"Whatever. I'm going to pick you up in a bit to have dinner with Jett. I'm going to pretend that none of this ever happened.

"And stop forcing me to do things your way. I really don't know whom to choose between you and Darlene."

He wouldn't stop telling me that both Darlene and myself meant a lot to him. However, my past experiences told me that I was nothing but a free live-in nanny who didn't know how to dress up.

On the day we got married, Colton actually abandoned me at the venue to comfort Darlene, who was upset and crying elsewhere.

Darlene and I shared the same birthday, yet Colton would only ever remember her birthdays. He would always tell me that he forgot about mine and would make it up to me the next day.

It didn't matter where Darlene was or what time of the day it was—Colton would be right there for her at the slightest hook of her finger.

I had nearly lost my head over this many times in the past, and Colton would always then tell me that this would be the last time it ever happened. However, he would immediately break his promise just less than 24 hours later.

If I brought it up again, he would tell me that I was selfish, petty, and jealous.

That was all that I remembered. I asked him faintly, "Is Darlene coming too?"

"Of course!"

"Alright. I'll be waiting for you both."

Since Colton was determined to make it up to me this time, I couldn't possibly just enjoy it alone.

…

Colton came to pick me up a while later. As expected, Darlene was sitting in the front passenger seat.

She smiled slightly at me and said, "You don't mind, do you, Gianna? I've always sat here in the past."

I could see the provocation in her eyes. I just smiled at her and said, "I don't. It's fine."

In the past, I'd felt aggrieved because of the front passenger seat issue. But, Colton would just tell me that Darlene got carsick very easily and thus needed to sit in the front, shutting me up effectively.

But why was she even reading in the car if she got carsick that easily?

Since I had now decided to get a divorce, whatever relationship Colton had with Darlene was no longer my business.

Colton drove us straight home after that. As soon as we entered the house, we were greeted by a huge banner on the wall. It said, "Happy birthday, Gianna."

Jett and a few of Colton's other friends were already there, chatting on the couch. When they saw me, Jett was the first one to get up and greet me.

"Ah, Gianna's here. Have a seat. We prepared a party for you to make it up to you."

He said it roughly and unwillingly. He didn't seem like he was apologizing to me at all—in fact, it sounded more like he was threatening me.

I looked around at the decorations and saw that the spacing of the letters in my name seemed slightly off. Upon closer inspection, I realized they had just printed out my name and pasted it over the original name on the banner.

I could still see Darlene's name showing underneath the paper.

Jett then raised a glass from the table and said, "Gianna, someone with your status and identity would never have gotten an apology from me because you didn't deserve it. But, since Colton told me to do it, I suppose I had to do it for his sake.

"Don't mind me. I'm straightforward and don't beat around the bushes, especially when encountering things I hate. You have never measured up to Darlene, and that's the truth. It's not my fault Colton still chose to marry you. So let's toast to the night and call it quits."

With that, Jett threw his head back and finished everything in his glass with a gulp.

The rest of the party also apologized in their weird, twisted ways.

Colton saw that I didn't kick up a fuss and thought that all was well and forgiven. So, he came toward me and tried to grab my arm.

I shook him off at once.

"Since you're so good at explaining things, Jett, maybe you can explain things to Darlene's mother-in-law too."

I walked over to the door and yanked it open.

A furious middle-aged woman marched angrily into the house.