Chapter 1: A cheating husband, a suffering wife

11.00 P.M.

Chloe waited impatiently for her husband Vincent to come home for dinner to celebrate their daughter's 7th birthday, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

He promised Mackenzie, their daughter, that he would return home before 5pm. Mackenzie waited with wide-eyed anticipation that slowly turned into sad disappointment as the hours ticked by, and he still hadn't shown up.

Chloe had put her daughter to bed at 9, despite Mackenzie insisting on waiting for him. She made sure to be especially gentle and careful while taking care of Mackenzie, knowing that she was still upset at her Daddy breaking his promise to her.

She checked the clock and couldn't wait any longer. She went on her phone and called her husband.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hello?" Vincent picked up the call, and the first thing she noticed was his heavy breathing, as if he was in the middle of an intense workout. God knew what kind of exercise he did before midnight.

But Chloe didn't show any reaction except a little disappointment, as this was something depressingly used to hear.

"Vincent, when will you return home?" she asked.

"Huh? Uh…"

It was a simple question, but there was a long pause from him on the call. Chloe knew that wasn't a good sign.

She knew how much of a cheating bastard he was, but she didn't expect him to cheat on the day their daughter turned 7!

"You're fucking crazy, Vincent. Mackenzie's been waiting for you to return home for hours! All she wanted for her birthday was a beautiful cake with us by her side, and you can't even give that to her!" Chloe started yelling on the phone, frustrated at her cheating husband..

"Oh, shut up, Chloe! Just get her something from Amazon. I gave you my credit card so you can take care of her!" Vincent retorted. "Buy her something expensive, or things that she likes, I don't know. Whatever makes her happy!"

"You don't know—?!" Chloe was speechless, her mouth falling open in rage. She knew that her husband didn't care about her anymore. This marriage was doomed after 8 years of infidelity.

Yet, she didn't expect her husband to ignore their only daughter, the fruit of their passionate love.

"Vincent, who's on the phone? Is it your fat wife again?" A grating voice came from the other end of the line.

"Sshh!" Vincent tried to silence the woman he was with right now, but Chloe heard every foul word.

"Geez, Vincent, why do you need to hide it anyway? She literally caught us fucking in your office. She knows everything already," the woman snatched the phone from Vincent's hand and addressed Chloe nonchalantly.

"Hey, fat lady~ Vincent and I are in the hotel. We were having a loooot of fun~until you interrupted us with your stupid call!"

"…"

The woman realized that Chloe must've been so shocked right now, "Why the silence, blobby? I thought you've seen us plenty of times already. You should apologise for distracting us."

"…"

"So quiet? Oh well, I'm going to hang up now. Don't disturb us again!"

BEEEEEP.

Chloe's body trembled. She clenched her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white, and bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. She couldn't burst into tears so late at night and wake Mackenzie up with her cries.

She didn't want her daughter to know about this rift between her Mom and Dad, but the more she tried to cover it, the more her heart hurt. It felt like someone plunged a knife straight into her heart. A tear dropped from the corner of her eyes, falling to the glass of white wine in her hand.

It was stupid to even think about it, but Chloe wanted to salvage her marriage. She wanted to mend things and work it out with Vincent, because they married out of love. Chloe always longed for a stable married life with her husband.

Vincent rarely came home these days, claiming that he was on business trips. Somehow, 'fucking his secretary in the office or a hotel' seemed to be on the itinerary.

She thought she could tolerate everything, endure the infidelity and the disrespect from him and his flings.

Then this happened. Her husband had disappointed Mackenzie once again, one too many times.

And that was the straw that broke the camel's back!

If he wasn't going to be a good father, she was done with him. She didn't want to tolerate his behavior any longer. She was sick and tired of everything!

It was time for her to break free from this unhappy marriage. Chloe drank the wine in one quick gulp, gathering her courage. She put the glass on the table, right beside the divorce document.

She had been looking at it for the past two hours, after she had put Mackenzie to bed.

If she signed it, she would be free of Vincent.

She would be a divorcée.

Her family would disapprove of her actions. They believed Vincent was their model son-in-law, a perfect father. Only she knew the truth.

Then she thought about poor Mackenzie.

She was more worried for Mackenzie than herself. She didn't know how Mackenzie would react, knowing that her parents would be separated. How would this affect her childhood and development?

Would Mackenzie hate her for making such a choice?

But… the thought of spending the rest of her life with Vincent was unbearable.

"I can't. I can't stay like this forever. I will go crazy if I let him torment me with his bullshit." Chloe decided, picking up a pen with a shaky hand, ready to sign her full name:

Chloe Gray.

After she wrote her first name, she paused, and then changed her mind on the surname. She wasn't going to be Mrs Gray any longer. She was going to start a new life without Vincent.

A new name formed under her pen.

Chloe Carlson.

Chapter 2

Vincent's head was ringing as he stepped out of his car, and the harsh afternoon sun in his eyes didn't help matters.

He had a blast last night in the hotel room with Priscilla— his secretary and one of his longest affairs. Priscilla had already spent 4 years with him, but she still wanted more - she wanted a wedding ring! She wanted to be his lawfully wedded wife!

He shook his head at the scary thought, and his head ached further. Maybe he shouldn't have drunk so much, but Priscilla was making a scene.

He recalled what transpired in the morning…

"Just divorce your fatass wife already. You don't love her anymore, right? You don't even like her! Heck, you can't even look at her for more than 10 seconds!" Priscilla shouted, and Vincent scowled.

The idea of divorcing Chloe was completely out of the picture. Whenever Priscilla mentioned it, he would either ignore her or tell her to knock it off.

"She is still a good wife. She just became ugly after getting pregnant and giving birth to our daughter," Vincent replied. "Besides, the public already sees me as a faithful husband. It would be bad press if I got a divorce."

As crazy as it sounded, he always took his wife's side when he got cornered by Priscilla, and Priscilla didn't understand why!

Priscilla scowled. "It would also be bad press if I told the tabloids about our four year affair!"

Vincent then glared at her menacingly, and Priscilla hurriedly added..

"Oh, come on, You will have ME as your new wife, that's like– a big upgrade!" She said, trying to convince him to see things from her point of view.

"Besides, if it's just cooking, washing dishes, doing the laundry, you can just hire maids for us!" Priscilla then rolled her eyes and jabbed a finger at his chest. "I've been with you for 4 years, don't be a wishy-washy little bitch! Don't tell me you still have feelings for your ugly wife?"

Vincent remained silent, as though her words weren't worth listening to. Priscilla stomped her foot, but Vincent didn't respond.

"I'm warning you. I'm not going to tolerate this forever, so you better commit to our relationship! I want a huge diamond wedding ring, and you better make sure it's 24 carats!"

He didn't give her a second glance. Priscilla seethed in anger. She tied her hair back into a high ponytail, took her bags and left, pointedly slamming the door shut. Vincent winced at the noise. His head hurt, but he took another shot of gin for breakfast as he stared down at the city.

He didn't want to see Chloe, but he had to see his daughter, since it was his duty as a father.

**

Vincent parked his car in the garage. He might've hit the bumper, but he didn't care. For now, he just wanted to see his daughter Mackenzie.

He felt guilty for missing out on his daughter's special day. He was so caught up in the mood with Priscilla that he had abandoned everything else last night.

Vincent opened the door leading to the living room. His eyes scanned around, looking for his adorable daughter. However he only saw his wife— Chloe Gray - sitting on the couch, casting him a look that could be described as a mix of anger and disappointment.

"Welcome home," Chloe greeted, her voice colder than ice. "Do you know what time is it already? I'm surprised you found your way back here. I thought you'd forgotten about us."

Vincent held his head as his head started aching at the sound of her nagging voice. He walked towards Chloe, "Where's Mackenzie? I will bring her to the mall."

"She's at my mom's house right now," Chloe replied. "She didn't get the birthday she deserved, so I told her that she could celebrate with her grandma and cousins there."

Vincent frowned, "Why'd you do that? We always celebrate Mackie's birthday together. I just missed a day!"

"A day?!" Chloe glared at him. "Vincent Gray, do you not realize that you've been away for months!? I can count with my fingers how many times you have returned home in the past 3 months! If you want to spend your time with that harpy of a secretary, JUST GO!"

"Oh, shut up, Chloe. I ain't got time for this shit! So what? I toy around with her on the job, that doesn't mean I'm not exhausted from work! Hell, you're just making things worse! Arguing with you exhausts me even more!" Vincent yelled back at her, highly annoyed. He came home today to celebrate his daughter's birthday, not to listen to Chloe yelling about the same thing repeatedly.

"Exhausted?" Chloe bit her lower lip. Her fists had been clenched the whole time as she was so close to punching this estranged husband of hers.

But she was ready for a bigger hit than just a punch. She was ready to risk it all after she spent the whole night crying about it. The family Chloe had painstakingly tried to keep together had finally crumbled into pieces when she signed that paper.

She hadn't slept the whole night. No matter how many times she closed her eyes, they would burst open whenever she heard the sound of a car outside, hoping that it was Vincent's car.

But it was never Vincent, because that bastard of a man was spending his time ravaging his secretary in the hotel room, ignoring his real family.

Chloe took the divorce paper from the table and shoved it at Vincent's chest.

Vincent stumbled slightly. He was taken aback, squinting at the document . He was still dizzy and could hardly read such small words.

"What the hell is this?" He demanded.

"I'm making you exhausted? Fine, let that thing be your remedy," Chloe said. "That's our divorce document. I've filled in my part and signed it. You just need to do your part. Do I need to call your secretary to help, seeing how you're drunk as a dog?"

Chapter 3

"Divorce?"

Vincent's mind, along with his sight and hearing, sharpened instantly. He frowned and peered disbelievingly at Chloe.

"Yes. I will not repeat myself after this." Chloe said venomously, trying to look confident and strong in front of her cheating husband, and not like a desperate wife he saw her as.

Vincent had been cheating on her since she was 7 months pregnant, and she had to remind herself of his infidelity to remain firm in her decision. She wasn't in the wrong.

But only God knew how much her heart was bleeding when she shoved that divorce paper at Vincent. One more signature, and their marriage would be over.

Divorce.

That word triggered Vincent. He blinked a few times, skimming through the paper. This was a legitimate divorce document!

Chloe wasn't lying when she said that she wanted a divorce, but the idea of divorce was the furthest thing from Vincent's mind.

He would never divorce this woman!

Vincent wanted his stable life with her to remain. Despite his cheating, he had always given her a comfortable life, a life that almost all women dreamed of. How could she dare to ask for divorce!

In a life of riches, she could get all that she wanted. She could even get a yacht if she wanted to!

However, Vincent also acknowledged that Chloe wasn't as extravagant as he expected. He wished that Chloe could be more wasteful of their money, so he could also have a reason to call her out.

But that was all he got as a man— money.

"Tch, is this about money? If you're angry at me just because I slept with another woman, just buy yourself something nice. I don't know, new bag, dress, car. Heck, you can even raid Louis Vuitton or Hermes if you want! Whatever floats your boat, so, stop messing around with something like this—" Vincent waved the divorce paper arrogantly at Chloe's dumbfounded face. "If this is a joke, then I'm not laughing, Chloe Gray."

"I am not Chloe Gray anymore, dumbass!" Chloe snatched the divorce paper waved in front of her and turned it around, pointing with her index finger to a spot she had signed on. "I'm going by my maiden name. You can see it for yourself. I don't want anything to do with you, ever."

Vincent squinted and saw the name written under the signature. It really was Chloe Carlson.

Chloe was serious about divorce, and he didn't understand why.

"Fuck this, I'm not really in good shape right now," Vincent cursed. He gritted his teeth. The headache was getting worse with every word from Chloe's mouth. "Stop talking nonsense, Chloe. I gave you everything. I gave you money! What else do you need!?"

Chloe covered her gaping mouth. She was speechless, and she realized that Vincent still didn't understand things from her point of view. He didn't see how severe the pain he caused her!

10 years of marriage, and 8 years were nothing but torture.

Vincent had forced her to be a good little housewife, taking care of their daughter while he fucked around with every woman he found, and he saw nothing wrong with his actions.

"I gave you a stable life, a luxurious mansion, and a daughter! So stop beating around the bush and trying to blackmail me with this divorce nonsense. Tell me what you want already!" Vincent yelled at her.

"I WANT A DIVORCE! I WANT A FUCKING DIVORCE, YOU BASTARD!" Chloe screamed, hitting Vincent's chest with all her might, but she was a small lady, nothing compared to the man in front of her. She couldn't hurt him at all.

Instead, Vincent got annoyed by Chloe hitting his chest. He grabbed her wrists and clenched them tightly, causing her to scream in pain.

Vincent looked down at Chloe and leaned in until his face was only a few inches away from hers. He repeated his question as if he still didn't understand her words.

"You want a divorce? Don't be stupid. Let me remind you where you came from, you little bitch. I saved you from poverty. You were dirt poor when I met you in high school. Without me, you wouldn't be able to even pay off your university student loan. You've been using my money ever since we got married. Do you think you can live well without me?"

"Chloe, I know it's hard, but use that small brain of yours for a second. You're just a dumb housewife, so leave the thinking to me. I'm doing you a big favor," Vincent continued, thinking that it would be enough to intimidate and deter Chloe from a divorce. "Sure, I'm sleeping around with another woman, but did I ever do it inside our house?"

"Did I ever let Mackie see my affair? Did I ever stop giving money to you and Mackie?"

"So, tell me, what do you need to stop this whole divorce thing, Chloe. You'll have nothing if you decide to go through with this divorce."

Chloe stared at the man she had loved since high school, with whom she had shared her bed and her virginity. The man who gave her an adorable daughter and promised that he would be her one and only.

Her eyes started pooling with tears, and a drop streamed down her cheek, "Love."

"What?"

"I need love, Vincent Gray," Chloe replied firmly.

…

This time, Vincent was the one who got speechless. That word sounded foreign in his ear, as he hadn't heard that from Chloe for a long time.

"Vincent Gray, look into my eyes and tell me truthfully, do you still love, and think of me as your rightful wife?"