On my wedding day, the first love of my boyfriend appeared and declared she wanted my place at the altar. Sobbing theatrically, she pleaded, "Claire, I’m seriously ill. You have your whole life to be with Evan. Just let me have this wedding." And my boyfriend backed her up without hesitation. "Claire, you’re already pregnant with my child, and we’ve signed the marriage papers. You’ve got everything you need. This wedding? It doesn’t matter." The guests gawked, while I stood there as the punchline of their jokes. But instead of causing a scene, I kept my composure. That same day, I booked an abortion and looked his first love straight in the eye with a smile. "Sure, take the wedding, and take him too. He’s all yours."
View MoreA year later, I returned to the country and, with the encouragement of a lawyer friend, filed a lawsuit against my parents and brother to reclaim the money they had stolen from my bank account. All they could do was hurl insults at me, but their words were nothing more than a passing breeze, barely worth a second thought. With no home or money left in the city, they were forced to slink back to their rural hometown, drifting further and further from my life. There was no point wasting my breath on them anymore. When I received another offer for a long-term overseas position, a colleague handing over the transition paperwork couldn’t help gossiping. "Your ex-husband, Evan? He’s really hit rock bottom now," she said with a sly grin. Intrigued, I listened as she shared the details. Apparently, after realizing he couldn’t win me back, Evan returned to the country. He ended up living with Anne, who persisted in clinging to him. Anne, eager to secure her position, tried to use a
Life abroad went smoothly. My manager even entrusted me with organizing the next quarter’s special commentary series. However, Evan was relentless. He followed me overseas, delivering fresh roses every day and buying any piece of jewelry he noticed me glancing at in-store windows. Even a few of my foreign colleagues started joking about how I must have some irresistible charm, placing bets on what he’d gift me next. I returned everything he sent, untouched, with a note attached: "These gifts, like your love, are cheap and meaningless."Perhaps stung by those words, he started trying to do things he thought would actually matter. On Christmas Eve, during a snowstorm, he knelt outside my door, shivering as he confessed, "I’ll endure every bit of pain I ever made you go through." He looked battered and frail, a shadow of his former self, as snow fell and blanketed his shoulders. The sight reminded me of another snowy night, years ago. That time, my car broke down on a desert
After the divorce, I applied for a company program to study abroad. I had given up far too many opportunities for Evan, so much so that even my supervisor used to comment on how unfortunate it was for someone with my prestigious education to be held back. I rented an apartment near the office, but the harassment from my parents didn’t stop. They bombarded me with calls, even threatening to show up at my workplace to expose me for "not supporting my family." I was prepared to file a lawsuit against them, but to my surprise, Evan beat me to it and took them to court first. When he came to tell me this, I was in the middle of packing my bags for a late-night flight abroad. Watching me rush around, noticeably thinner from the stress and my workload, his expression was a mixture of regret and concern. "Claire, I know we’re divorced, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ve gone over the things you gave me again and again, reflecting on everything. I’ve realized how much I hurt
Evan was taken into custody, and an investigation was opened against him. His company’s stock plummeted, hitting a record low. When the police escorted me out of the villa, I stood in the courtyard, taking a deep breath of the fresh air I hadn’t tasted in what felt like forever. The police contacted my family, but when they arrived, it wasn’t concern on their faces—it was anger. "How could you send your husband to jail? Are you trying to ruin your life?" "Claire, how could you be so cruel? Evan treated you well, and this is how you repay him?" my brother sneered. I smiled brightly, meeting their accusations head-on. "Yes, I’m exactly that cruel. Are you just figuring that out now? Oh, and one more thing. As of today, I’m cutting ties with all of you." My father’s face turned red with fury as he stepped forward, ready to strike me. I casually stepped behind a police officer. "Hold on, don’t rush to attack me. You’ve taken plenty of money from the Scott family over the ye
Evan placed a hand on my shoulder. "I’ll arrange for the reporters. Just follow the script I’ve prepared, and everything will be fine." I nodded in agreement, subtly stepping out of his embrace. Sure enough, by the next day, the reporters had arrived. He couldn’t wait even a moment longer, unwilling to let his precious first love endure another day of public criticism. The script Evan had prepared for me was neatly printed out with lines meticulously crafted to shift all blame onto me. All I had to do was read it word for word, taking full responsibility for everything. The interview was a live broadcast, but I had been in front of cameras countless times for work and felt no trace of nerves. As the two bright lights illuminated my face, the broadcast began. Instantly, the live chat exploded with hateful comments, each one nastier than the last. I ignored them all, keeping my composure as the reporter prepared to begin. But instead of the script, I reached under the s
The next day, Evan came back, dark circles under his eyes making it clear he hadn’t slept all night. Rubbing his temples, he started with a command. "Claire, I’ve looked into what happened yesterday. Here’s the plan—you’ll just have to put up with the homewrecker label for now." I stared at him silently, and he avoided my gaze, adding, "Anne isn’t married yet. Her reputation can’t be tarnished." I had long known he would defend Anne unconditionally, but hearing it still struck me as absurd. "And what about my reputation? Does it not matter? Am I just supposed to accept the online abuse and insults?" Evan, completely unashamed, acted as though it wasn’t a big deal. "Well, you’re already married to me. Your reputation doesn’t matter as much anymore. Besides, isn’t your job all about dealing with this kind of stuff? If it really affects your work and you get fired, I can afford to take care of you." I worked as an on-air news analyst for a media company, and facing public
During the week Evan kept me confined, he visited more often than he ever had before. Anne, clearly growing desperate, resorted to increasingly clumsy tactics. Then one day, I noticed a shift in the online narrative. Suddenly, people were digging up dirt on her, painting her as the real homewrecker. I scrolled through the so-called "evidence." It was nothing incriminating just minor details that made me wonder if she had orchestrated the whole thing herself. That evening at dinner, Evan washed his hands and served me a bowl of soup, his voice unusually gentle. "Claire, this used to be your favorite." I smiled at him, though my tastes had long since changed. It didn’t surprise me that he didn’t know. His attention had always been on Anne. If I hadn’t noticed the difference in the flowers at the wedding—how they weren’t the ones I’d chosen—I might have believed he truly didn’t care about such things. Not wanting to argue, I accepted the bowl without a word. The warm glo
Frustrated and furious, Anne grabbed her phone and bombarded me with a flood of hateful text messages. I smirked, knowing my plan was working. Once again, I extended the olive branch of cooperation, offering to let her help me leave the Scott family in exchange for my departure. This time, though she continued to insult me, she didn’t outright refuse. When Evan rushed home, he seemed satisfied to find me sitting quietly under the warm glow of the lamp, reading in a knitted dress. A rare gentle expression crossed his face. "Claire, I know you’ve been through a lot. I’ll make it up to you, little by little." I scoffed internally at his hypocrisy, but I turned to him with wide, teary eyes, my voice soft with feigned vulnerability. "Honey, I’ve thought about it a lot. I still love you the most… and you love me too, right?" A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, a mixture of disdain and amusement. To him, I was just a pathetic dog that couldn’t be driven away. Yet when
But after several days, the spectacle Anne had been eagerly anticipating still hadn’t played out. The Scott family’s staff tiptoed around me, tending to my every need with extreme caution, terrified that Evan might notice I’d lost weight or had a bruise and take it out on them. I couldn’t figure out what Evan truly felt for me. He was gentle and attentive to Anne, yet with me, he was impatient and full of disdain. Despite that, he refused to let me go, constantly claiming that I was the one he loved the most. Now, he kept me locked in this villa like a caged bird. He didn’t speak a word to me, yet he wouldn’t leave me alone either. Desperate and out of options, I began to wonder if I should call my parents for help. Before I could, they called me first. The moment I picked up, they launched into their usual lecture, insisting I should try to live peacefully with Evan. They rambled on about how divorced women were unlucky, repeating the same old clichés. My mother joined i
"Claire, what nonsense are you spouting?" Evan Scott, my boyfriend, reached for me while keeping his grip tight on Anne Walsh's hand.I raised my hand and slapped him across the face. He clutched his cheek, staring at me in disbelief. Anne lifted her skirt and hurried over, shielding Evan protectively as she whimpered delicately, "Claire, please calm down and don’t hurt Evan. I don’t want this wedding anymore. I’ll give the gown back to you. I can just die alone."With that, she made a show of trying to take off the wedding dress she was wearing, but Evan quickly stopped her. "Anne, this dress was always meant for you. This wedding should have been yours from the start!" He carefully straightened every seam and bow of her gown, leaving nothing untouched. The pristine white dress made her look so fragile and delicate, even more dazzling and brittle than the chandeliers above. This was the gown Evan had picked out for me, yet it fit her perfectly. Suddenly, I realized why the dre...
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