Arthur's little secretary broke my favorite teacup. Furious, I punished her by making her act as my maid for the day. In retaliation, she turned around and climbed into Arthur's bed, sending me photos to show off. "Mrs. Sterling, what makes you think you're guaranteed to be the lady of the Sterling house forever?" "I'm younger and prettier than you. Who gets the last laugh is still up in the air." I slapped her so hard she ended up in the hospital with tinnitus. Three days later, Arthur punished me by forcing me to kneel and apologize to his little secretary. Looking at the hickeys on his neck, I rewarded him with a slap too. Arthur touched the red mark on his face and chuckled. "Mrs. Sterling." "It seems you have plenty of energy. How about I cut off your allowance? Let's see how you throw your little princess tantrums then." He exiled me to the suburbs for six whole months. Six months later, Arthur finally remembered me. He arrived at the villa door, acting like he was bestowing a great favor, and asked if I had learned my lesson. Carrying a designer bag, I had just stepped out of my boyfriend's luxury car. I met Arthur's shocked, slightly red eyes. My boyfriend laughed. "Mr. Sterling, if you won't take care of your wife, she'll just find someone else who will." 1 Oliver thoughtfully opened the car door for me. "Chloe, remember to get a good night's sleep tonight. I'll pick you up tomorrow to go to the art exhibition." I nodded, keeping my eyes straight ahead as I walked toward the villa. "Chloe!" Arthur's exasperated voice rang out. With bloodshot eyes, he stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. "How can you be so cheap?" "I told you to reflect on your actions in the suburbs for six months, and this is how you reflect?" His eyes seemed to shoot fire as he looked back and forth between me and Oliver. "I was wondering why you didn't send me a single message these past six months." "Turns out you found another man to keep you a long time ago." "Two-timing me. Are you that cheap?" I wasn't angry; I just let out a soft sneer. "And what about you, Mr. Sterling?" "When we remarried, didn't you promise to cut ties completely with Mia?" "Yet you're still stringing her along, two-timing me." "What right do you have to insult me?" We were just the pot calling the kettle black. We were exactly the same. Arthur was choked, unable to speak. But men never reflect on their own actions. Even when they're in the wrong, they just look for another angle to attack you. For instance, he insulted my lowly background. "Back then, you couldn't even afford to go to school. You couldn't even scrape together $100 for monthly living expenses." "Chloe, don't forget, if I hadn't funded your college education, if I hadn't married you and given you resources and status, how could you possibly be where you are today?" His furious tone made him sound like a rabid dog. But I just looked at him flatly. "Even without you, relying on myself, I would still be exactly where I am today." To me, men were just a stepping stone. That man could be Arthur, or it could be someone else. It made no difference. This was a truth I only understood after divorcing and remarrying him. The first divorce happened because Arthur cheated. Just like a cliché plot from a trashy CEO romance novel. He fell in love with his young, pretty secretary, Mia. At a cocktail party, the two of them ended up rolling around together, clothes disheveled. And just like every other woman in that situation, I threw a crazy fit, grabbing anything I could find and throwing it at them. Arthur, however, silently shielded Mia. He stared at me like I was insane. "Chloe, are you done throwing your tantrum?" "Look at yourself right now. You look like a shrew. Aren't you embarrassed?" With red, swollen eyes, I screamed hoarsely. "Arthur, I've been with you since I was 18! Now that you have everything, you cheat on me. Have you no shame?!" Arthur sneered lightly and grabbed my wrist. "If you had any shame, you wouldn't have given yourself to me when you were 18." That single sentence completely shattered all the love I had for him. This man, whom I had loved so deeply I felt drunk on it... For the first time, he made me feel alienated, made me feel it wasn't worth it. I couldn't tolerate a single grain of sand in my eye, so I demanded a divorce. Arthur agreed very readily. After signing the divorce papers, he mockingly said to me, light as a feather: "Chloe, if you can't survive out there, come find me. I might just give you a chance to remarry me." Three months after the divorce. I searched all over Seattle for a job, but no one would hire me. In that moment, I finally understood Arthur's words. I understood what he meant by "if you can't survive." At the same time, the projects Arthur was handling couldn't proceed without me. Taking what we both needed, we remarried. At the time, I specifically warned Arthur. "Tell your little secretary to get lost. Keep her out of my sight." "Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless." But she intentionally provoked me. If she wasn't spilling water on my documents, she was breaking my teacup. I was just keeping things professional, punishing her according to office rules. But Arthur got angry. He punished me by exiling me to the suburbs to reflect for six months, and I obeyed. But now, why is Arthur the one getting so exasperated? I let out a cold laugh. "If there's nothing else, please step aside, Mr. Sterling." "I've been on dates all day. I'm very tired and need to go inside and rest." Arthur gripped my wrist tightly. "Weren't you so obsessed with me?" "Didn't you use to check up on me every few days? Why don't you care anymore?" He frowned, completely baffled. "Chloe, how did you turn into this?" 2 I paused. Was I the one who changed first? I turned my head to look at Arthur. "Mr. Sterling, is your memory failing you?" "You were the one who said that after we remarried, if you cheated even once, the marriage was automatically annulled." "It was you who continued messing around with Mia after we remarried, and I generously chose not to make a fuss about it." How dare you push your luck? And what's this about checking up on you? That felt as distant as a past life. I had long since felt it was beneath me to do something like that. I looked at Arthur flatly, then shook off his hand. I even flicked imaginary dust off my sleeve where he had touched me. Seeing my actions, Arthur's face instantly darkened. Oliver chuckled, proactively stepping between us. "Mr. Sterling, it seems Chloe doesn't really want to see you. You should go back." Arthur clenched his fists and glared at him. "This is between husband and wife. What right do you have to interrupt?" "Chloe." Arthur frowned. "I came today to bring you back. My relationship with Mia isn't rekindled." "She's only acting as my secretary temporarily. I'll have her transferred in a few months." "I told you this when we remarried." "What happened before was a mistake. Mrs. Sterling, there will only ever be you." I froze for a moment, looking down, wanting to laugh. "Mr. Sterling, you don't need to explain this to me." After all, before we remarried... Arthur was the one who disdained explaining things the most. If he slept with someone, he slept with them. He didn't need excuses or reasons. Even when I caught him in the act, he was so self-righteous, saying casually: "Mrs. Sterling, you're late." "If you had come a little earlier, you might have caught a live show." Because of his dismissive attitude, Mia never took me seriously. She intentionally broke my cups, ruined my clothes, and even secretly sold my designer bags for cheap. Relying on Arthur's indulgence. She knew she wouldn't be punished. So her behavior escalated day by day. Right now, looking into Arthur's incredibly sincere eyes, I almost couldn't resist throwing the provocative photo Mia sent me right in his face. And telling him coldly: "She already sent me pictures of you two in bed. What else is there to deny?" But I didn't. I didn't throw the photo. And I didn't say the words to shut him down. I was too lazy to bother. I sighed, "Arthur, go back. I'm living a very happy life right now." "Even though I haven't seen you for six months, the upside is that my boyfriend is pretty great." "Oh, right, how did you describe that little secretary of yours before?" I smiled mockingly. "A life assistant by day, a bed assistant by night." "This boyfriend of mine is also very competent." With every word I spoke, Arthur's face turned a shade greener. Watching me hook my arm through Oliver's, walking into the villa together like a perfect couple... "Chloe, you're doing this on purpose!" The veins on the back of his hand bulged. He grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it at Oliver. Oliver couldn't dodge in time. The rock hit him squarely on the head, bright red blood streaming through his fingers. In that instant, my expression changed. "Oliver!" I frantically supported him and pulled out my phone to call an ambulance. "Hold on, I'm taking you to the hospital right now." I didn't spare Arthur a single glance. Arthur, however, let out a desolate, cold laugh. "Chloe, stop acting." "You love me so much, how could you possibly fall in love with another man?" "Even if you put on a great performance," "I'll never believe it." 3 My movements froze as countless fragmented memories drilled into my brain. The reason Arthur was so certain I wouldn't fall for another man... Was because there was a precedent. I remembered back when Arthur first cheated on me and betrayed me. To make me make a mistake, He hired men to seduce me into cheating. He threw check after check in the faces of those male models. "Whoever can make Chloe fall for him," "Gets this $1,000,000 check." Those male models fought over it like madmen. They approached me like crazy. They even reported my every move, every single detail, back to Arthur. However, I was completely unaware of all this. I thought those men were "prey" I had carefully selected myself. But without exception, every single one was sent by Arthur. They used every trick in the book to seduce me. Every time the relationship was about to progress to the next step, I found myself unable to continue. "I'm sorry, I just can't do this." I grabbed my bag and fled in panic. I could only hastily break up with them. And every time I returned home... I was greeted by Arthur's cold sarcasm. "Mrs. Sterling, did your recent little boyfriend fail to please you?" "Seems he wasn't dedicated enough. Tsk, tsk, he zoned out while kissing you, and he wasn't forceful enough either." "Want me to find you a different one?" In that moment, I felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me. I felt subjected to absolute humiliation. "You're stalking me?" Arthur laughed, completely unbothered. "Not stalking. Those little boyfriends were sent by me to serve you in the first place." "The facts prove, Mrs. Sterling, that you really do love me." "You love me so much that—" "You won't even let any strange man near you." I completely broke down, frantically demanding to know why Arthur would do such a thing. But he just watched me go crazy with absolute calm, even gently stroking my hair. "Mia is my little princess. She can't leave me right now, and I don't want to cut ties with her." "Mrs. Sterling." "Why don't we just maintain an open marriage? Wouldn't that be nice?" "You can keep up appearances in public and continue being Mrs. Sterling." "And I can love whoever I want." "For this, I was even generous enough to personally select little boyfriends for you. I've done everything I could, haven't I?" Hearing those words back then, I thought it was completely absurd. But now. I could casually throw those exact words back at him. But when it was his turn to hear them... Why did Arthur get red eyes and become so furious? He even ran up to me to play the role of the deeply devoted husband. My thoughts returning to the present, I watched the blood pooling on Oliver's head and my gaze turned cold. "Arthur, please get out of the way." "You injured my boyfriend. Right now, I need to focus on treating him. I'll settle the score with you later." It was too late to wait for an ambulance. I helped Oliver into the car and buckled his seatbelt. "Oliver, hang in there a little longer." "I'm taking you to the hospital." With that, I got into the driver's seat with practiced ease, turned the steering wheel, and the car's engine roared to life. The mocking smile froze on Arthur's face. He stared at me in shock. "Chloe, you... when did you learn how to drive?" I ignored him. For the past six months, he only cared about traveling the world with his little secretary. He had no idea how I was living my life. He had never truly understood me. I slammed on the gas, and the car sped away. "Chloe, if you dare drive away with that man today, we are completely finished!" But his voice was drowned out by the rising dust. Blown away by the wind. Impossible to hear. 4 The bleeding on Oliver's head was stopped. The doctor required him to stay in the hospital for three days for observation, so I sat by his bed to keep him company. Even while asleep, Oliver called my name. "Chloe, don't hurt Chloe." My heart softened, and I held his hand. For the past six months, Oliver had been pursuing me. But I was a hard-hearted woman. I only ever held his hand, delaying any further progress. Even if I didn't say it, Oliver understood. He would always look at me gently and say, "Chloe, I know the time isn't right yet." "I'm willing to wait." "I will wait until the day you willingly accept me." He brought me back this time, and we unexpectedly ran into Arthur at the villa entrance. I blurted it out, using him as a shield by calling him my boyfriend. Seeing Arthur so furious did give me a slight sense of satisfaction. But I also felt bad for using Oliver. I went back to grab some change of clothes for him, and picked up a couple of outfits for myself while I was at the villa. But as soon as I opened the door, something felt wrong. Someone was inside. Looking up, I met Arthur's gaze from the sofa. "Finally decided to come back?" Arthur sneered, "That little boyfriend of yours isn't hurt that badly. He's not worth you looking so forlorn." I froze in place. "None of your business." I turned to go to my room, but Arthur grabbed my wrist and pinned me against the wall. "How far have you progressed with that man?" "Did you do it?" He stared at me coldly, his eyes like he was assessing prey. I suddenly laughed. "So what if we did? So what if we didn't?" "Mr. Sterling, this isn't something you should be worrying about." "Didn't you say it's nice to maintain an open marriage like this?" I intentionally leaned close to his ear, smiling provocatively. "He... his body is much better than yours. He's better than you in every way." Arthur's face instantly darkened. "Liar." He suddenly went crazy, viciously pinning me into the corner. "Mrs. Sterling, we haven't seen each other for six months, but your mouth is still as stubborn as ever." "Are you acting this jealous because Mia sent you another message?" "After being lonely for six months, I think you must have missed me a lot." He leaned in to kiss me. But I turned my face away, shoved him hard, and slapped him with a backhand. "Arthur, control your actions." "Don't act like a rabid dog in heat." It was truly laughable. I was already disgusted by his touch because his body was dirty. Yet he thought I was acting out of jealousy. Arthur's face was knocked to the side by the slap. He held his cheek, refusing to look up at me. Perhaps his male ego had taken a beating. He coldly scrutinized me for a long time. He dropped the line, "Chloe, you'll regret this," And stormed off. Soon, my phone started buzzing continuously. Without even looking, I knew it was provocative photos and messages from Mia. Arthur got mad and went looking for his little secretary again. Over the past six months, every time they hooked up... Mia would send messages to provoke me, like she was reporting back to me. I was sick of looking at them. I didn't even open them; I just deleted them and drove to the hospital. When I arrived at the room, Oliver was already awake. He only smiled when he saw me. "Chloe, you're finally back. I've been looking for you." "Oliver," I took a deep breath, "I've made up my mind. I accept your pursuit. I will be your girlfriend." Oliver looked at me, surprised, seeming somewhat shocked. After a long time, his eyes filled with heartache again. "Chloe, I hope you're not sad." Oliver cupped my face, his eyes so gentle they seemed to sparkle. "It doesn't matter to me if we have a title or not." "As long as I can see you, I'm perfectly content." I smiled and shook my head. "But this time, I want a divorce." I didn't want to waste any more time with Arthur. Before we remarried, I was the one pretending to be strong. I thought that as long as I held on long enough, Arthur would eventually change his mind. Even though Arthur had shown sincerity. Saying he would absolutely never bring Mia in front of me again. And that he would never have any ambiguous relationship with her again. But I knew that if the boy cried wolf too many times, no one would believe him. I didn't believe that a man who loved sneaking around with his secretary... Could truly cut ties completely and become loyal. What's more, the messages and ambiguous photos Mia had sent countless times over the past six months explained everything. Countless times, I felt a nausea like swallowing a dead fly stuck in my throat. As long as I stayed in this marriage... I would have to keep feeling that nausea. But now, I wanted to let Arthur go, and let myself go too. So, the day before Oliver was discharged... I proactively asked to meet Arthur at a coffee shop. He was at Disneyland with Mia. Upon receiving the message, he immediately ditched the little secretary to come meet me. But he put on a haughty act. "Mrs. Sterling, I knew you couldn't keep up the act anymore." He lifted his chin, revealing an expected smile. "Speak up. What are your terms this time?" "As long as you ask, I'll give you a way out..." Looking at the faint lipstick mark still visible on the collar of his white dress shirt... "Arthur." I said calmly, "Let's get a divorce."
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