For five years, Chloe Sterling and I had been secretly married. She said she’d finally announce our wedding at our son’s welcoming party. I was ecstatic, sharing the news with my younger brother, Noah, my only family. He was just as thrilled. To show how much he respected Chloe, Noah pinched every penny. He saved up every dime to buy Chloe a pair of gold earrings. Just as I was about to carry the baby onto the stage, a total stranger suddenly snatched the child from my arms. Then, he intimately held Chloe’s hand and walked onto the stage. “Today, I have a big announcement to make at this baby’s welcoming party.” “Julian Hayes and I grew up together, and today, we’ve finally decided to get married!” The moment those words left her lips, countless complex gazes immediately landed on me. My brother, completely bewildered, asked, “Brother, isn’t that woman… isn’t she our sister-in-law?” I stared coldly at Chloe, who stood on stage with a shy smile. “Give me back my child.” But she just scoffed, “Lucas Reed, you, a small-town guy, actually dared to think I’d have your child? That’s utterly idiotic!”
Chloe Sterling stood on the stage, her gaze chillingly indifferent, completely devoid of the affection she once held for me. She outright ignored me, intimately embracing and kissing Julian Hayes, who held the baby. It was as if *they* were the family of three who had lived together for five years. I stood rooted to the spot, frozen. Watching this scene unfold, I suddenly wondered if those five years we’d spent together, day in and day out, had just been my own delusion. My hands, hanging at my sides, clenched into tight fists. I silently endured the various mocking stares raining down on me. Noah tugged at my sleeve, his voice filled with guilt. “Brother, did I make Sister-in-law mad by showing up?” I forced a smile onto my face, but before I could comfort him, a sudden force violently shoved Noah to the ground. Then, a piercingly shrill voice shrieked, “You clumsy idiot! You’re blocking my fresh air! Get out of the way, now!” I shielded my startled brother behind me, my face grim as I glared at the unfamiliar woman in front of me. After a moment, I recognized her. It was Julian Hayes’s sister, Brittany Hayes. My expression clearly angered her, and her words grew even nastier. “Honestly, just like a country bumpkin, no class! Looking at you for one more second makes me sick!” “Now get out of my sight! If you mess up my newly done nose, I swear I won’t go easy on you!” Brittany grabbed a bowl of thick soup from a nearby table and flung it all over me. The hot liquid scalded my exposed skin, stinging painfully. The rage in my heart could no longer be suppressed. I grabbed Brittany’s arm as she tried to walk away, gritting my teeth. “Apologize to me right now!” Brittany yanked her arm, annoyed, and when she couldn’t break free, she shrieked at the top of her lungs, “Help! Someone! These country people are trying to hit me!” At her shouts, many of the Hayes family members surrounded Noah and me. Brittany pointed at my brother, completely self-righteous. “That little punk almost ruined my new nose! He made it so I couldn’t breathe!” Hearing that, the Hayes relatives didn’t hesitate. They immediately dragged Noah out from behind me. They encircled him, mercilessly beating him. Someone even raised a wine bottle and smashed it hard against the back of Noah’s head. Noah let out a weak, pained cry for help. “Brother, help me! Brother, please!” Desperate, I grabbed a chair and swung it with all my might at the people attacking my brother. They finally stopped, begrudgingly, when they felt the pain. I quickly scooped up my brother, his face covered in blood. “Don’t worry, Noah, I’ll get you to the hospital right away!” Just as I helped him up, Brittany blocked my path again, sneering. “What’s the rush? You haven’t apologized to me yet.” I roared, “You better get out of my way right now! If anything happens to my brother, I swear I won’t let you off the hook!” The moment the words left my mouth, the commotion finally drew Chloe Sterling over. She had been on the second floor, toasting to the important guests. She strode quickly towards me, her brows furrowed in displeasure, and completely disregarding my dignity, she yelled, “Lucas Reed, there are so many well-known businesspeople here today! Do you *have* to embarrass me today?!” “The contract I was about to finalize, you’ve ruined it!” She publicly slapped me hard across the face. My brother, whom I was supporting, tried to explain that none of this was my fault, but Brittany cut him off. “Sister-in-law, his brother purposely tried to ruin my new nose! You need to do something about this!” Watching Brittany playing the victim and accusing me first, my fury intensified. “Brittany Hayes, don’t you dare spew such lies! We didn’t even touch you! *You’re* the one who beat my brother like this!” Chloe glanced at my brother, whose consciousness was already fading, but she still didn’t believe a word I said. She forcibly pressed me. “Apologize to Brittany right now!” I vehemently refused. “It’s not my fault. Why should I apologize to her? The one who truly needs to apologize is *her*!” Seeing that I refused to back down, Chloe’s patience completely ran out. She screamed at me, “Lucas Reed, don’t you dare push it! If you don’t apologize, I’ll have someone kick you out of here!” Noticing Chloe’s genuine anger, Julian Hayes, standing nearby, feigned kindness and tried to calm her down. “Chloe, don’t be mad. I’m sure there’s some misunderstanding.” He subtly signaled Brittany. “You should apologize to the Reed brothers.” Brittany reluctantly mumbled, “I’m not apologizing to them. Sister-in-law agrees I didn’t do anything wrong.” After she spoke, Julian put on a helpless expression. This act seemed to tug at Chloe’s heartstrings. She took Julian’s hand and yelled at me, “Lucas Reed, you’ve truly embarrassed me today! Get out of here right now!” She saw me glance at the newborn baby and continued, “Someone with your character isn’t fit to be around my child. From now on, Julian will raise the baby.” Seeing the cold indifference on Chloe’s face, my heart was completely shattered in that moment. Looking at my brother in my arms, who had been dragged into this because of me, a wave of guilt washed over me. I coldly watched Chloe, who was now cuddling with another man. All the love I once felt for her vanished. Chloe Sterling, from this moment on, you and I are nothing.
After leaving the welcoming party, I immediately drove Noah to the hospital. After a prolonged emergency surgery, the doctor finally emerged from the ER, looking exhausted. The doctor looked at me gravely, regretting, “I’m sorry, Mr. Reed. We did everything we could. The fragments of the bottle caused irreversible damage to his brain nerves. For the rest of his life, he’ll likely be in a vegetative state, lying in bed.” The doctor’s words felt like an invisible magic, instantly draining all strength from my body. I collapsed helplessly at the door of the hospital room, staring at Noah, who lay in the bed, tubes everywhere. He was only eighteen years old! He had just gotten into his dream college! His life’s ambitions were yet to be realized, and now, because of me, this kind and sensible brother would be confined to a bed for the rest of his life! In that moment, an overwhelming wave of guilt and self-reproach engulfed me. Tears of regret streamed from my eyes. At that moment, I wished it was *me* lying in that bed! I didn’t close my eyes that night, staying by Noah’s bedside until dawn. When the first rays of morning sunlight hit the room, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I had barely answered when Chloe’s impatient voice burst through. “Lucas Reed, where the hell did you go?! Why aren’t you here to feed the baby and change his diapers?! Do you have any idea how much sleep we lost all night because you weren’t here to take care of him?!” She had barely finished when Julian’s complaining voice came from the other end. “Chloe, hurry and get Lucas, that servant, back here. I’m exhausted from last night.” His tone was clearly suggestive. “Chloe, if I’m always working this hard at night, I’m afraid I’ll be too tired for… other things.” Chloe replied coyly, “Oh, you!” Listening to Chloe and Julian flirting, my hand gripping the phone trembled uncontrollably from anger. But then she spoke again, criticizing me with force. “Lucas Reed, you are such an irresponsible father! If you don’t start taking care of the baby, I swear I’ll make sure you never see him again.” After the welcoming party, such threats had no effect on me. I said coldly, “Did you forget what you said at the party? Why would I take care of a child that isn’t mine?” Chloe snapped, “Lucas Reed, you are so petty! What I said yesterday at the party was just a dare I had to do after losing a game to Julian. It was just a joke! You, with your small mind, actually took it seriously!” “Do you really think I’m that awful?! If you keep being so ridiculously jealous, I really will get the baby a different father!” With that, Chloe angrily hung up. I gripped the screen of my now-disconnected phone, my heart aching with torment. I looked at Noah, now lying in the hospital bed, kept alive by IV drips, and managed a bitter smile. In that instant, I deeply regretted ever meeting Chloe. If I hadn’t been so determined to be with her back then, Noah wouldn’t be in this state now. Chloe and I met in college. Unlike me, an outsider, she became a campus celebrity the moment she enrolled. Beautiful, academically brilliant, and from a wealthy background, Chloe quickly became the target of pursuit for all the eligible men in the college. But at the same time, she was also targeted by many girls, who even intentionally locked her in a dusty storage room. When I found her, she was crying so hard she was on the verge of fainting. She stumbled helplessly into my arms, begging me in a panic, “Lucas, please, don’t leave me!” Looking at the crying beauty in my arms, my heart immediately stirred, and I fell uncontrollably in love with Chloe. Even though, as a small-town guy, I had absolutely no advantage among Chloe’s many suitors, I still actively pursued her. Finally, in our graduating year, I beat out all the other suitors and officially started dating Chloe. At the same time, respecting Chloe’s wishes, I decided to help her start her own company. In the early stages of the startup, she was worried that news of our marriage would affect the company’s development, so she decided to keep our marriage a secret, asking me to join the company as a department director to assist her. Although I felt uncomfortable, I agreed to her proposal. But five years later, my most cherished marriage lay in pieces, and my beloved wife colluded with an outsider to hurt my only brother. She even used the child to threaten me. I didn’t want this marriage anymore.
The idea of divorce took root in my mind, and I immediately contacted a lawyer to prepare the divorce papers. After entrusting Noah to a nurse at the hospital, I immediately took the divorce papers to the company. But as soon as I entered the building, I noticed all the employees staring at me with strange looks. Just as I was wondering what was going on and opened my office door, I saw Julian Hayes with his feet propped on my desk, looking at me with a provocative smirk. My glass nameplate, with my name engraved on it, had been tossed into the trash can like garbage. I asked in a sharp voice, “Why are you in my office?” Julian looked smug. “Well, obviously, your work performance wasn’t cutting it, so Chloe specifically appointed me as the new Product Director.” I firmly countered, “Impossible. If she appointed you as Product Director, why haven’t I received any notification?” Julian suddenly leaned close to my ear, whispering mockingly, “Someone who embarrassed Chloe in front of so many partners yesterday, do you really think she’d keep using him?” Hearing that, I pushed him away hard. He suddenly showed a strange smile and intentionally fell to the floor, using my force to his advantage. Chloe, attracted by our argument, had just reached the office door and witnessed Julian collapsing. She instantly flared up. “Lucas Reed, how dare you push Julian down in front of all these people? That’s too much!” She quickly helped Julian up, her eyes filled with a tenderness I had never seen in all our years of marriage. I suppressed the bitterness in my heart, picked up Julian’s printed business card, and asked Chloe, “He said you fired me. Is that true?” Meeting my furious gaze, a hint of panic flashed across Chloe’s face. She forced herself to sound calm. “Julian has good connections with many company heads. He’s more suitable for this position than you are.” “You should just go home and take care of the child.” I looked at Chloe’s resolute face, standing there, protecting Julian, and suddenly understood the meaning of unspeakable disappointment. When the company was first founded, to lighten Chloe’s burden as a startup owner, I willingly got drenched in rain running errands for clients, just to get their signatures on contracts. I even let myself be treated like a nobody at business dinners, easily ordered around. But now, she casually told me I wasn’t suitable for the position. I laughed, and as I laughed, I felt my eyes well up. I quickly turned my head, pretending nothing was wrong, and wiped away my tears. Coldly, I said, “Fine. From now on, I won’t be involved in anything related to the company.” I handed the file containing the divorce papers to Chloe. “Take a look at these documents. Please sign them as soon as possible.” With that, I turned to leave. Just as I was about to step out of the office, Chloe suddenly called out to me, asking, “How is your brother’s injury? Julian’s relatives were just playing a joke on him. I hope he doesn’t mind.” “Later, if you have time, I’ll take him on a trip abroad. It can be Julian’s way of apologizing.” Ha, Chloe Sterling, Chloe Sterling! It seems Julian is so important to you that you’d lower your proud facade to apologize. I looked at her coldly. “You don’t need to see my brother again. I’ll take care of him myself.” As she looked on, bewildered, I continued, “The file contains the divorce papers. Chloe Sterling, let’s get a divorce.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297354”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply