Chapter 2Ditching My Husband for His Rich Younger Brother

Because I loved him and didn't want to ruin his reputation in front of the cameras, my confrontation was pathetic and quiet.

I watched Julian laughing and talking with Seraphina backstage. I pulled out my phone with trembling fingers and sent him a message.

"I am your wife. Why did you propose to her?"

My hands were shaking so hard that the message was full of typos.

From a distance, I saw him glance at his phone. His eyebrows knitted together for a second, then relaxed.

My phone buzzed. His reply was short and ice-cold.

"Get lost."

I waited with red eyes until all the guests had left, then followed Julian to the VIP parking lot.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

I refused to let it go, raising my voice as I ran after him.

Seraphina had no idea about my secret existence. She looked at Julian, confused.

"Julian, who is this crazy woman?"

He whispered something sweet in Seraphina's ear to reassure her, then walked over to me and threw a set of divorce papers right at my chest.

A wave of despair washed over me. I grabbed his arm with tear-filled eyes, like a drowning person clutching at a straw.

"It's my fault for arguing with you. You're just trying to make me jealous with another woman, right?"

During our three years of marriage, there were occasionally other girls around him. But every time I got mad, he would always coax me back with sweet words.

I assumed he was just furious because I had pushed him to go public with our marriage a few days ago.

"Please don't do this. I was wrong, okay? We don't have to go public... As long as we're together, nothing else matters."

He just looked down at me. The way I was begging him made me look like a stray dog in his eyes.

"The Vance family can help my business expand. But you?"

He let out a low laugh, his voice dripping with pure disdain.

"Other than warming my bed, what value do you bring to my life?"

My grip on his sleeve slowly slipped away. He brushed his sleeve in disgust, then leaned down to whisper the most brutal words directly into my ear:

"It's been three years, Evie. I'm sick of your face, and honestly, I'm done playing with you."

I watched his sports car roar away with Seraphina in the passenger seat. Overwhelmed by despair, I slid down against the concrete wall and collapsed onto the cold ground, gasping for air.

Tears poured down, soaking the divorce papers in my hands.

My heart ached so badly, as if it were being crushed by giant, invisible hands.

He wasn't always like this. He used to love me so much that he wouldn't let anyone disrespect me.

Now, he was using the most toxic words to cut all ties with me.

He seemed to have completely forgotten that I was the one who saved his life.

Years ago, Julian had lost his mother in a brutal family power struggle. Depressed and broken, he wanted to end his life.

That day, on the busy highway bridge, I saw him standing alone on the edge, ready to jump.

Risking a horrific car crash, I slammed on my brakes, ran over, and dragged him back from the edge of death.

In my cheap, tiny apartment, a spark of hope returned to his eyes.

Just like a cliché romance novel, the broken, suicidal boy fell deeply in love with his savior.

On my birthday, he told me he wanted to take me somewhere special.

When he placed our signed marriage certificates in front of me, I felt a rush of pure happiness.

"This is my promise to you, Evie. I will never make the woman I love cry."

But the Ryder family was a snake pit. As an unloved eldest son, he had no maternal backing. He had to fight tooth and nail to become the heir.

I understood his struggles. I knew the board members were watching his every move.

He told me that having a wife with no elite background would ruin his chances of securing the inheritance.

"Just wait a little longer, Evie."

He promised that once he took full control of the Ryder family, he would give me a grand wedding that everyone would envy.

I loved his ambition and his drive so much. I truly believed I would spend the rest of my life with him.

But I didn't realize that ambition would eventually consume his heart. The marriage I cherished was nothing but a transactional stepping stone to him.

My three years of devotion were nothing but a joke.