Chapter 1

VALERIE POV

“Goodness! I have no idea which rapid dog bit my son that day when he married you.” I clenched my fingers unconsciously around the damn papers while my “dear” mother-in-law rained insults on me.

“Not only did you stop him from marrying someone decent like Charlotte, you also went ahead to hurt her and my grandkids!”

“I never pushed her! Sh-”

“You’re a monster!” she yelled venomously. I took shaky steps backwards in disbelief. Me? A monster!?

“Aren’t you going to say anything?!” I spat angrily at Hudson, the very man who was supposed to be my husband.

“You mean defend your lies?” He questioned; his expression was cold and mocking.

“How about you tell everyone how you secretly stopped donating blood for Charlotte, huh?” I froze at his words. How did he find out? That was just two months ago.

I had been feeling weak a lot and missed going one time, and the second time I went for it, I found out I was pregnant. I was finally pregnant after trying so hard for three years.

Surely, they could understand my plight, right?

But who was I kidding? This was Charlotte we were talking about. The most cherished foster daughter of the Rodriguez family and the very woman Hudson can’t stop thinking about.

“Can’t speak now? Cat got your tongue?” Claire, Hudson’s aunt, fired hotly. She looked just about ready to pull my hair out.

I looked between them: an angry mother-in-law, a crazy aunt, an even crazier sister-in-law, and a seething Hudson. A pang of rejection hit me at how vigilant they were for Charlotte. Not once did any of them show me an ounce of affection or talk more about defending me.

I had given my all for this family to fit in. I even gave up on my studies to be the perfect wife for Hudson. But still, it was not enough.

They just hated my guts.

“I had... a situation, a health situation,” I grunted out, holding back my tears.

“What? Are you sick?” Hudson asked almost immediately, a worried expression on his face.

What was that? Was he worried about me? He was that worried, and he just served me divorce papers??

“Situation...” Alma, Hudson’s sister, scoffed loudly. “I bet you're just making up stories, just like all the other times, murder.”

“What? I-

“Enough!” Hudson's voice boomed.

“Sign the documents, Valerie. I have already signed, so hurry up! I want to finish the legal procedures before Charlotte comes back from the hospital,” he commanded, roughly running his fingers through his blonde hair. A habit when he was stressed out.

My heart twisted at the mention of her name on his lips. Even until this moment, I still had feelings for him. Stupid heart!

“We’ve already agreed on the assets before marriage, so there won’t be any issues with that. However, I will compensate you with another $20 million; you will be leaving with nothing else. It will be hard for me to explain that to Grandpa later if you do.” He stated coldly.

I gritted my teeth in anger at his speech. “Does grandpa know you’re divorcing me?”

“So, what if he knows? You think it will affect my decision?”

“Can we... can we not get divorced?” I asked in desperation, swallowing back my tears. We had a baby coming; if anything, we had to work out for the sake of our child, right?

I watched, teary-eyed, as the muscle in his jaw twitched in anger, his handsome features going stoic as he looked at me with those electrifying blue eyes blazing in anger.

I had witnessed his anger before, several times even but this. This was different.

“You’re really shameless, you know that? After forcing your way into my life using sick grandpa as your shield, you couldn’t even make yourself useful! You couldn’t make a good wife or daughter-in-law; you couldn’t even do well in your studies that I paid for with my damn money! I got stuck with you, a psycho who won’t stop seeing her dead parents in broad daylight! And when my life was finally looking great with Charlotte, you just went ahead to ruin it!” He boomed; his voice echoed loudly in the house and permanently registered in my mind as I flinched at his words; my tears ran freely, soaking my top.

His words cut deeper than all my bandaged injuries combined. “You should be apologizing right now. You should be sorry for what you did. Charlotte was pregnant, Valerie! Pregnant! She lost one of the twins!”

I was pregnant too!! I am still pregnant!!

I wanted to yell out, but the words wouldn’t come out.

The sheer reality that he didn’t give two sh*ts about me or my well-being hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been wasting my time all along, loving him and hoping he would see me one day.

Wasted years!

“Charlotte!!!”

I heard my mother-in-law call out in panic, and I raised my head only to be faced with a teary-eyed Charlotte rolling in with a wheelchair.

“Hudson,” she called out and broke into tears. He rushed her and cradled her form on the wheelchair right in front of me!

“We lost our baby Hudson,” she gushed out in tears. “I don’t... I don’t know what I did to her; why would she do that to me?” She cried out, her tears rushing down in big drops. The sight was so touching that I was crying myself.

If I hadn’t experienced it myself, if I hadn’t fallen off the top of those stairs after she pushed me, I would believe her completely.

Slowly, Hudson let go of her and stood upright, facing me. “Apologize; apologize to her, and I will forget about our divorce, and you can still live here.”

I blinked apologize?

“Wah… what?” I let out in a weak voice.

“I’m giving you an opportunity to redeem yourself. Apologize for what you have done, and you still get to have a roof over your head.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong! Check the CCTV cameras. She pushed me o- “

“You really think I have not done that?!” He growled and took dangerous steps towards me. I could feel my heart pounding loudly as his domineering energy surrounded me. But then “You checked the camera? So yo… you know? And you’re still divorcing me?” I stuttered.

He said nothing and just stared blankly at me. That was when it dawned on me.

He really didn’t care; he didn’t care what happened at all. This was just an opportunity to divorce me; he had made it clear several times that he had feelings only for Charlotte. Just the thought alone filled me with rage.

I had been so stupid—so stupid—to tie myself down to this asshole. After everything I did for this family—all the numerous insults and abuse I endured—I dropped out of school and practically turned to a maid. He had the guts to abandon me and then want to force me to beg?

This was ridiculous. I crunched the papers in my hands as anger burned within me.

This ingrate doesn’t deserve me or our unborn child!

You know what? That’s it!

I suddenly let out a chuckle. Hudson’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What’s funny?”

“You are,” I replied softly, wiping my tears dry. With a deep breath, I looked at everyone and then at the crunched-up divorce papers in my hands.“You wanted a divorce, right?” I picked up the pen on the sofa, gently walked up to the nearest wall, and signed down my name.

“Done, you can have it!” I shoved it into Hudson’s hand, who was gawking in surprise. The surprise on everyone’s face was Hella worth it.

I stood still for a moment, and my mind raced with different thoughts. I just divorced Hudson, the man I had loved for 3 years of my life and the father of my unborn child.Tears welled in my throat as the realization dawned on me. I was going to be a single parent.

But it didn't matter. I would be free from all of this! This family and all the heartache they caused me!

In a swift motion, I took out my phone and dialed the number I had blocked for three whole years: “Val?” Liam’s voice sounded through the phone in disbelief.

A sense of relief washed over me at the familiar protective voice of my cousin. I turned around and took in the faces of my tormentors. He would have their heads if he knew what they had done to me. They all looked like I had grown two heads. It was obvious they didn't expect me to sign the papers. And immediately I felt good—liberated even.

From now on, I would do what I wanted.

I turned to face Hudson, not breaking eye contact. I said, “Tell grandpa I’m coming back home.”