Chapter 2
Chapter 2
My marriage to Nathan was arranged by Margaret.
After my college graduation, she set up our blind date, telling Nathan that only I could be the right daughter in law for the Stewart family.
He protested and argued, but eventually gave in to his mother’s insistence and agreed to the marriage.
When I first married Nathan, I thought I’d finally found a safe harbor, and I was full of hope for our future.
I tried my best to be a good wife, putting him first in everything I did.
When coworkers invited me out for dinner, I’d decline, worried he wouldn’t eat properly alone at home.
Over time, they stopped asking.
I poured all my attention into him, barely maintaining any outside connections.
I thought if I gave him my whole heart, I’d receive the same in return.
How wrong I was.
Not long after our wedding, Nathan started staying out all night.
I thought he was busy with work, so I’d often prepare nutritious meals and deliver them to his office, wanting him to take care of his health.
Until one day, at a company gala, an elegantly dressed woman approached me with a smirk. “Mrs. Stewart, I heard you’re an orphan. No wonder your cooking is so good. Were you a chef before, trying to make ends meet?”
That’s when I realized all the nutritious meals I’d lovingly prepared for him had ended up in other women’s stomachs.
That night, we had our first fight after returning home.
-Though “fight” isn’t the right word–it was more like me venting while he watched.
He remained coldly composed throughout, as if watching a madwoman’s performance.
When I’d finally exhausted my anger, he spoke with casual indifference: “Ashley, don’t you think this self–righteous act is rather pathetic?”
His simple words demolished all my emotional defenses.
My devotion meant nothing to him. He viewed it all with detached amusement, like a spectator watching a play, coldly commenting: you’re just being pathetic.
How laughable.
I didn’t know how to face him or our future anymore.
So I chose avoidance, deliberately stopping myself from caring about his whereabouts.
Later, his scandals became frequent tabloid fodder.
One day he’d be spotted at a fashion show with a model, the next dining with a flight attendant, then checking into a hotel with a business partner…
Seeing these stories, I broke down and wanted a divorce.
But Margaret insisted: “It’s all just for show, nothing serious. Ashley, he actually likes you very much, he just doesn’t know how to express it. Please, for my sake, keep trying with him.”
Margaret had been my sponsor since I was five.
Thanks to her, I never suffered any hardships at the orphanage.
Remembering her kindness, I endured.
14.3%
Chapter 2
After that, I gradually became numb to his affairs.
Until last year, when Margaret discovered I couldn’t sleep without relying on sleeping pills. She finally relented: “Have a child for Nathan. Boy or girl, I’ll agree to your divorce after.”
For the sake of divorce, I forced myself to stay positive and took supplements to improve my health.
But he wouldn’t touch me, preferring to stay at his office rather than come home.
So I took matters into my own hands, using IVF with his sperm to get pregnant.
Thankfully, it worked.
I got pregnant and gave birth to his child.
I was finally going to be free.
Not long after receiving the call, Nathan arrived
the hospital with a cold expression.
When the nurse told him he had a son, surprise flashed across his face. After processing the news, he immediately said, “Please arrange a paternity test as soon as possible.”
Margaret happened to be returning from a phone call when she heard this. Her face darkened with anger. “Nathan Stewart! Your wife just gave birth to your child, and this is how you insult her? Are you even human?”
Afraid of truly angering his mother, Nathan backtracked. “I was
I heard what he said too.
But I wasn’t angry.
I’d known for a long time that he suspected the baby wasn’t his.
s just joking.
Even though I’d told him several times that I’d conceived through IVF using
his sperm.
He didn’t believe me.
So I stopped trying to explain.
Margaret brought him to my room and then left us alone.
Nathan stood at a distance, not coming closer, as if he were visiting a stranger.
