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Chapter Two

Penulis: _najeeb.i
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-01-07 00:00:43

MARCUS

"I want a divorce."

I never thought I would hear Olivia utter those words. As she walked down the hallway without even looking back at me, a strange numbness washed over me. For a while, I couldn't even think straight. I couldn't properly understand what she was saying, until I allowed the words to wrap around me like a warm blanket.

And then I felt relief.

I'd been waiting for an opportunity to end things with her for a very long time. It had been six months since the idea first came to me, and I knew that it would be the best way to end this sham of a marriage.

And I was going to do it, until about four months ago when I got a phone call that sent me down this road.

"Come home right now. I need to speak with you."

A call from my mother was rarely good news. Even after all these years of retirement, she still liked to keep an eye on things. At first I thought it was something to do with the company. Maybe she wanted to talk about our latest project, or maybe she had learned something about our shareholders.

Or maybe—and even the thought alone was enough to piss me off—it was something to do with him.

Nevertheless, I found myself sitting in the living room shortly after she called, and I waited patiently for her to show up. I never imagined that she would want to talk about my personal life, until she came downstairs finally and sat in front of me.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, Marcus," she said. "I just spoke to the David Cowell about my contracts I needed him to draft, and he informed me that you asked him to prepare divorce papers."

I gritted my teeth in annoyance as I realised the mistake I'd made. Being the family lawyer, David was loyal to my mother above anything else, and he told her everything. I should have known that he would tell her about this too.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" she snapped. "You've only been married for a few years, and already you want to throw it all away? What has gotten into you?"

"You don't understand, mom," I said. "I don't love her anymore. Every time I walk into that house and see her, it just pisses me off. I want to get rid of her and move on with my life."

In an instant, she crossed the space between us and slapped me across the face. I remained frozen on the spot, the sting on my cheeks reminding me of all those times she would hit me when I said something stupid.

I guess some things never changed.

"How dare you sit there and say such nonsense to me?" she yelled angrily. "Olivia is like a daughter to me. All that girl has ever done is love you, which I never understood why. And now you want to turn your back on her? You want the whole world to know how incompetent you are?"

I couldn't bring myself to say anything, so I just kept my head down and stared at my feet.

"Think about what would happen if the press gets wind of this," she continued. "You would be ruined. The entire company would crumble. We promoted an image of inclusivity, tolerance and togetherness among our staff members and our customers. Reynard Tech is all about family. So what will happen when the CEO of the company files for a divorce? Suddenly that whole image comes crashing down. How could you not see this?"

I never even thought about that. But as she said it now, it made perfect sense. If the press found out about this, there would be a lot of questions about why we were separating. Questions would be raised, theories would be put forward, and there would be nothing to stop the mob from taking us down. Our enemies were circling like vultures, waiting for an opportunity to pick us apart. And this would the perfect opportunity for them.

But what about my own happiness? What about my own choice? Didn't it matter in this situation?

"You're lucky I found out about this in time," she said, straightening up. "I've already told David to throw away those divorce papers. As long as I'm alive, you will remain married to Olivia and you will not destroy all the hard work that your father and I have put into making Reynard Tech the empire it is today."

"I want a baby," I suddenly blurted out, causing her to pause and look straight at me.

"What?"

"I said I want a baby," I repeated, staring pointedly at her. "I've wanted a baby for quite some time now. Olivia and I have been trying for years now, but it's not working. We finally went to the doctor a few months ago, and he revealed to me privately that the chances of Olivia ever conceiving a baby is one in a billion."

She took a step back, and I could see that the realisation had gotten to her. Surely this would bring her around. She must understand the need for someone to have a child of their own.

"Don't you see?" I continued. "I can't stay in this marriage any longer. I want a baby, and I want it now. I want to grow up with my child, so I can experience all the moments in their life that I don't want to miss. Time is running out, and Olivia cannot give me what I want. And I am not open to adoption. I want my own flesh and blood. So you understand, don't you? I have to divorce her."

For a moment, I really thought she would understand. I really thought she would see things from my perspective and allow me to go ahead with my decision. But then a shadow came over her eyes, and her lips tightened as she turned away from me.

And I knew that she wasn't going to back down.

"My decision is final," she said. "You will not divorce Olivia. If you want a baby, then find some other way to get one. But you will not do this to her. To me. Not now, not ever."

"Mother..."

"Get out!" she said, keeping her back to me. "And if you dare continue with this plan of yours, you will force my hand. You already know that your position as CEO is not permanent. If you put another toe out of line, then I will have to call him back to take over."

I stiffened at the mention of him, and bile rose to my throat as I imagined what that would mean for me if he ever came back. I didn't even realise my hand was trembling until I walked out of the room and stopped in the hallway, leaning against the wall and trying to catch my breath.

Even though I tried not to do it, I looked up at our family portrait, and for a moment I almost couldn't breathe. My eyes shifted from my dad's stoic face, to my mom's satisfied smirk and then to my blank teenage expression. It would have been the perfect family if it was just the three of us, except for the fourth person in the picture.

The one who looked exactly like me.

Ethan stared directly at me with a smile that seemed almost insulting to me. I stared at the face which had been a reflection of mine since the day I was born, and the face which had haunted me for several years now.

It had been sixteen years since I saw him. Sixteen blissful years since I was forced to endure his presence. Now, the mere thought of him showing up again was like a knife to the chest. And I wasn't going to let that happen.

If he could see me now, standing in my wife's former apartment with her best friend, I would be destroyed.

"Marcus?" Emily called, pulling me out of my reverie. "Are you alright?"

I looked up at her slowly, and tried to hide the feeling of dread that was creeping over me. I smiled at her, and made my way towards her on the couch.

"I'm fine," I said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"This is bad," she said, biting her lip. "I didn't want her to find out this way. She's..."

"She's not important right now," I said, pulling her towards me and setting her down on my lap. "She can jump off a fucking bridge for all I care."

"She's my best friend," she said, although a soft smile crept onto her lips. If Olivia disappeared, then we would be free to do whatever we wanted. Suddenly I wouldn't be the asshole who cheated on his wife. I would be the grieving widower who would give anything to have his wife back. I already had a fake speech planned, and I knew exactly how long Emily and I would have to wait before we made our relationship public.

"What are we going to do now?" Emily asked. "Your mother already said that you're not to divorce her under any circumstances."

"She did," I shrugged as I slipped off the shirt she was wearing and began to nuzzle her neck. "But she never said anything about Olivia initiating the divorce herself. I haven't broken any rules."

"Well, since you put it that way..." she gasped as my lips moved down to her nipple.

"Exactly," I said, lifting her up as I stood up and wrapped her legs around me. "Now, let's go back to the bedroom and continue what we were doing."

"That sounds like a plan," she moaned as I pressed my erection against her exposed vagina. "We never got to finish."

"I'm a free man now, remember?" I chuckled as I squeezed her butt and kissed her. "I'll worry about Olivia tomorrow. But tonight, I'm going to fuck your brains out."

She giggled as we headed for the bedroom, and I continued to kiss her while the weight which had settled on my chest for the past few months slowly disappeared.

Today, I would celebrate my freedom.

And tomorrow, I would call David Cowell.

And then I would call my brother.

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  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Three

    As soon as I got back home, I started to pack my things. I forced myself not to cry, focusing instead on the task at hand. The image of Marcus and Emily was burned into my memory, and I knew that I would remember it for the rest of my life. But I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry. They could jump off a fucking bridge for all I cared. After spending so long wondering what exactly I had done to deserve this cruelty from my husband, it was satisfying to finally have an answer. He was more interested in fucking my best friend than fixing our marriage. I could picture the two of them right now, and even the thought of it made me want to sink to the floor and cry until my tears dried up. I couldn't bear to think about what happened, or the sad reality of what my life was about to become. I didn't know what I was going to do now, but I sure as hell wasn't going to stay in this house. For so long, it had felt more like a prison than anything else. I had no memori

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-07
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Four

    MARCUS"Carlos!" I yelled as soon as I woke up, groaning when the pounding in my head continued. "Get me some fucking aspirin! Now!"The room was too bright, and I pressed the button to shut the curtains before I rolled over and pulled the sheets over my head. Thank goodness today was a Sunday, and I didn't have to go into the office. My head was pounding, like a herd of elephants were desperately trying to stampede their way out of my skull.Maybe I shouldn't have had so much to drink. But last night was a cause for celebration, and I wasn't going to waste such an opportunity. After four years of misery, I was finally free. And I'd celebrated by fucking Emily's brains out four times, one for each miserable year of my marriage. I half-opened my eyes and saw that the bed was empty, which brought a smile to my face. She was truly gone, and I was free. No more worrying about what she was going to say or do. No more stressing out over the fact that my marriage wasn't as perfect as I wan

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-09
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Five

    "I'm sorry, Mrs Reynard, but it appears that your bank account has been frozen.""I'm sorry, what?" I stood in the doorway and stared at Mr Wallace in confusion as he handed me back the cheque I'd issued him just this morning. I'd managed to get a small apartment in the village, and the owner almost fell over his feet when I arrived here last night, looking for a place to stay. He recognised me immediately as Marcus Reynard's wife, and he couldn't wait to give me the apartment. In hindsight, maybe I should have gone for a hotel. But I didn't want to go anywhere that would attract too much attention. And almost every hotel in Manhattan knew exactly who I was. A small, modest apartment should have been the best option. But somehow, Marcus had frozen my account already. "I'm so sorry," Mr Wallace said, almost as if he was ashamed to even look up at me. "Surely there must have been some kind of mistake."I nodded absentmindedly as a hollow feeling settled in my chest. Marcus. This had h

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-10
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Six

    "Thank you for seeing me, David," I said, sliding into the seat across from him. Even though the cafe was crowded, we'd managed to get a table at the far end of the floor, so we were secluded from everyone else. David leaned back and raked his fingers through his hair. There were more grey hairs on his hair than last time I'd seen him, and he was starting to grow a stubble. David was a buff guy, but not so muscular that he would seem off putting. He looked like he came from old money, with his expensive suits and flashy Rolex watches. "I'm not gonna lie, Liv," he said, sitting up straight. "This is going to be messy. Like Rebels versus the Empire messy. I've known Marcus for over two decades now, and he's going to come for you with everything he's got.""So I've been told," I said. "That's why I came to you. You're the best at what you do. And if there's anyone who can make sure I don't get screwed over, it's going to be you."Maybe I was stroking his ego a little bit, but I had to

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-11
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Seven

    Ciara Walters looked like she belonged on a runway that in a courtroom. She was absolutely stunning, her dark skin and luscious, jet-black hair making her look more like a wealthy heiress than a cutthroat lawyer. She was wearing a navy blue suit, and her Louboutin heels dangled off her feet as she sat across from David and me. Her piercing green eyes settled on me, and I felt small and insignificant in front of her as she stared into my soul. "So, let me get this straight," she said in a crisp English accent. "You want me to take on what could turn out to be the biggest and messiest divorce case in the country, without even getting paid?""A settlement can be agreed afterwards," David said. "You owe me, Walters. Don’t forget that."She glared at him as he said this, and something about the way she looked at him made me feel uneasy. But I knew David wasn’t that kind of man. He would never cheat on Brenda. No matter how hot Ciara Walters might be. “Well I’ll be damned,” Ciara chuckled

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-15
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Eight

    I was fully prepared for the uproar that the divorce would create. I prepared myself for the shitstorm that was headed my way, and I thought I would have it all figured out. But all of that changed the moment the news got out. Suddenly, I was being hounded by paparazzi everywhere I went. I thought it was stressful before, but that was when I was always being followed by the Reynard security personnel. With that layer of security gone, I was left standing naked against the storm, as a hurricane blew through and ripped me apart. And I had to somehow find a way to survive the sea of questions they hurled at me. “WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR YOUR DIVORCE WITH MARCUS?”“ARE YOU PLANNING TO SUE REYNARD TECH AS WELL?”“DID MARCUS CHEAT ON YOU?”“HAVE YOU SEEN MARCUS RECENTLY?”I wished I could just stand there and answer all their questions. I wished I could stand there and give them all the details they needed, and tell them about how heartbroken I was when I found out he was cheating on me.

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-18
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Nine

    There was always the calm before the storm. You could feel it in the air, and you could almost taste it. I first felt an inkling that something was about to happen when I woke up to find seven missed calls from Ciara, and two missed calls from David. That immediately told me that something was wrong, but before I could call either of them back, I saw a text message from David, which was one simple line:‘Stay off the internet.’That immediately sent a chill down my spine, and I started to wonder if something terrible had happened. Could it be something related to Marcus? My parents? What could possibly have happened that would make them think I needed to stay off the internet completely?Against my better judgement, I knew I had to check it out. So I hopped onto Twitter and scrolled to the search page. Since my timeline was curated based on my location and my particular interests (which had mostly been updates about me and Marcus recently), the first news article I saw went through m

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-22
  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Ten

    MARCUS“Babe, who was that?”I set the phone down and leaned back in my seat, savouring the fact that Olivia was probably crying in her miserable little apartment. As Emily walked into the room, I didn’t even move as she came and sat on my desk. I normally hated anyone doing that, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. “That… was my lovely wife,” I said with a slight chuckle. “She wants to know why I’m doing this to her.”“Really?” Emily asked with a smirk as she crossed one leg over another. “And what did you tell her?”“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I chuckled as I kissed her open knee. She was wearing a tight black dress with a slit that ran all the way up to her thigh, and the exposed skin was causing a shiver to crawl down my spine. “Marcus,” she chuckled, pushing me away as she giggled. We both knew it was just pretend, and she wanted me to take things further. But I enjoyed teasing her, and I enjoyed dragging things out slowly until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Don’t worry

    Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-01-26

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  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Nine

    Here’s a secret about me: I don’t really know how to act as a girlfriend. I’ve never really been in a serious relationship that was progressing gradually. Throughout high school, I always kept my head down and never bothered with boys or anything like that. It was always just me and Emily against the world. And after passing through high school and college still being single, I’d immediately gotten into a relationship with Marcus. Come to think about it, that wasn’t really a relationship. It was a one-sided strategy where he basically love-bombed me until I had no other choice but to succumb to his wishes. And yeah, I did fall for him at the time, which was stupid on my part. But I learned my lesson, and I would never do that again. With Ethan, however, I found myself constantly worrying if I was doing the right thing. Even three weeks after we officially started dating, I still felt like I was slipping up constantly. He had this habit of sending me cute messages in the morning so I

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Eight

    It's funny how fast time seems to go when you're having fun. It seemed like only a few minutes since Ethan and I arrived at the picnic, and yet when I glanced at my phone briefly to see the time, I realized we'd been there for an hour. Where did all the time go?We'd only just arrived, and he'd asked me about my college days while we ate. I had barely gotten into my first year before I realized that time was flying by, and we would soon have to leave. The food was amazing, the view was amazing, and the company was perfect. It was such a magical evening, and I almost didn't want it to end. "Something tells me you don't want to leave," he said, noticing my expression. "I mean do we have to?" I asked. "We could stay," he suggested. "You could move out here, and not have to worry about the noise and chaos of the city. We could get a place here, and have picnics like this all the time.""What is it with you and trying to get me to move?" I laughed. "You already asked me to move to a d

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Seven

    MARCUSThe first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a pair of ballet slippers. They were sitting on the bedside table, with glitter all over them and the insides looking worn out. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, and I had to squint my eyes in order to see properly. "Hi," a strange voice said from across the room, and I titled my head slightly to find a little girl sitting across from me. She must have been about five or six years old, with pigtails and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a tiny ballet outfit, and she looked like she was enjoying herself as she played with her tutu while staring at me quietly. "Hello," I said, my voice sounding raspy and dry. "Where am I?""You're in the guest room," she said calmly. "Grandpa says you're not to be disturbed.""Grandpa?" I asked confusedly, slowly pulling myself up. "Where is your grandpa?""He's on the balcony with the pretty woman," she said. "He doesn't know I'm here though."I felt like I was reading a book where se

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Six

    “Before you say anything, I’m perfectly capable of flying us there,” Ethan said. “I took flying lessons when I lived in Germany for a year.”I couldn’t even bring myself to speak. I just stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, allowing him to lead me towards the helicopter. It looked so massive up close, and I’d never been this close to one before. “Ethan, I’m scared,” I said. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied. “Babe, you have nothing to be afraid of. I’ve got you.”It was easy to say that while we were on the ground. Once we were in the air, it would be an entirely different story. I stared up at the chopper’s blades, as if it would somehow shrink into something more reasonable. It seemed to glow in the sunlight, a pale grey colour that somehow didn’t make me feel better. I still felt nervous as Ethan made his way towards someone standing in a white uniform, who smiled and shook his hands politely. “All set?” Ethan asked. “You’re good to g

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Five

    After breakfast, Ethan said he had to run home for a few minutes before he would come back and pick me up. I was sad to see him leave, but I had to get ready for our date so I quickly rushed back to my room to get ready properly. I was in the middle of picking out the right outfit when Rachel walked in, a smug look on her face. "What time did you get in last night?" she asked. "I thought you weren't back yet.""We got in pretty late," I said. "You weren't home when we got here, so I assumed you were staying over at Blake's."She stared down at her feet awkwardly, then asked in a quiet voice, "You didn't hear any of that last night, did you?""Hear what?" I asked, feigning ignorance. In reality, Ethan and I had sat on the floor of my bedroom and laughed at the sound of Rachel screaming Blake's name while her headboard banged against the wall. It was so funny that Ethan and I were laughing for the entire time, and I almost thought I cracked a rib from how much I was laughing. "So, wha

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Four

    It's funny how you don't notice the little things sometimes. When there's something right in front of you, you spend so much time with your attention elsewhere, never truly noticing the beauty in the little things. Take waking up, for example. It's such a normal, mundane thing. You open your eyes slowly, and like a robot which has been programmed to carry out its tasks, you roll out of bed and go about your day.But even something as simple as that becomes a million times better when you're in love. From the moment my eyes fluttered open and I saw Ethan smiling at me, I knew it was going to be a good day. He looked so effortlessly handsome, his bed hair falling across his face and making him look about ten years younger. There was something boyishly cute about the sleepy look in his eyes, the way his lips stretched into the most perfect smile I'd ever seen, with the sunlight streaming in behind him and making him look flawless. I felt like I was in a movie, and the handsome male lea

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Three

    I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Ever since my conversation with Mr Jones, I felt like something was definitely wrong somewhere. Could it be that I was walking into a trap?Surely not. Ethan would never do that to me. That sounded like something Marcus would do, not Ethan. After being married to the bastard for six years, I knew exactly what he was capable of. And this had his name written all over it. Still, I decided to go and see for myself. I made my way over to the apartment shortly after leaving work, but not before I grabbed my pocketknife and made sure it was secured in the sleeve of my shirt. Whatever was go to happen, I was prepared for it. It didn't take long to find my way to the apartment. By the time I got there, it was already dark outside. I paused and looked up at it, wondering why Ethan dragged me here of all places. The street was relatively quiet, with a few teenage boys biking just up the street. Someone was playing drums in the next stree

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-Two

    MARCUSI couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia the entire day. The prospect of seeing her again was like a shot of cocaine straight to my brain, and I couldn’t focus on anything else. I imagined her standing in front of me again, my fingers in her hair, my lips on her neck, while she sighed and moaned in my ear the way she always used to. Time just couldn’t move fast enough. Maybe it was just the fact that I hadn’t been with her in so long. Even when we were married, I couldn’t deny that the sex was good. It was the only part of our relationship that didn’t completely go to hell. Now that I’d been away from her for so long, I wanted that back. And no matter what, I was going to get it today. I spent most of the day pacing around the penthouse, playing video games and looking at old photos of Olivia. Everything was in place for that evening. I would get to the apartment before her and lie in wait. Once she got there, I could find a way to convince her that we were meant to be togethe

  • Divorced My Cheating Husband & Fell For His Twin   Chapter Sixty-One

    I spent the entire night stressing over what to say when I finally saw Ethan again. The calm was so abrupt that I didn't know what to expect, and I half expected him to just start yelling at me once I got there. But I didn't care. Mostly because I knew he would never do that, but also because I was just glad that we would finally get a chance to talk about things. I could finally get him to listen to me, and think about the relationship we would be throwing away because of this. I did find it strange that he would ask me to meet him in a random apartment building in the Bronx. Why couldn't we meet at a restaurant or a bar? He could have even suggested Central Park. But the location seemed strange to me. I checked it out on Google maps, and it was a very old building which looked like it had been standing since the dawn of time. Most of the windows were broken, the painting was chipped in several places, and there were piles of trash all over the sidewalk. Why would Ethan ask me to

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