Chapter 3The Third Wheel in My Own Marriage

I felt my entire good mood for the day sink. Just as I was about to retort, my phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, an unconscious smile spread across my face. I stepped to the side to answer it.

Our wedding was currently in the planning stages.

When I looked back up, I didn't expect Declan to still be standing there, a flash of deep displeasure on his face.

He stared at my phone and demanded:

"Whose call was that? You were smiling so happily."

I curled my lips into a smirk. It was my new husband, of course I was happy. But I didn't answer him, I just turned to walk away.

Declan relentlessly persisted.

"I asked whose call it was."

As our eyes met, I felt like I was looking at the old him. We had been together since college, falling in love during the prime of our youth. He used to get jealous over a single smile I gave someone else, grabbing my hand and pouting, demanding I only look at him.

Back then, it was a sweet enhancer to our romance.

But seeing him act like this now was nothing short of laughable.

I coldly shook his hand off.

"It has nothing to do with you. Also, your precious Vanessa is here looking for you."

Hearing Vanessa's name, Declan finally retracted his hand with a look of reluctance, watching the person approaching from the doorway as he slowly regained his composure.

That afternoon, my best friend Zoe took me out to clear my head and celebrate my divorce.

After downing two bottles of wine in our private booth, I stepped out to use the restroom. On my way, I caught the sound of a very familiar voice.

The door to their VIP booth hadn't been closed all the way.

A group of people was surrounding Declan, urging him to share his biggest regret in life.

"What's the big deal? Tell us! We're all bros here."

I was just about to walk away when Declan spoke up.

"My biggest regret in this life was taking Olivia's grandmother to the hospital. At the time, seeing Olivia crying so miserably, I rushed to get her medical attention. It bought her an extra three years of life, but honestly, I felt like her grandmother had already lived long enough. It really wasn't worth me wasting my time."

I froze, completely stunned. Before I could even process it, I heard Declan add:

"It was only afterward that I realized tickets for Vanessa's favorite artist's concert had gone on sale. But because I was delayed by that incident, I missed out on buying them."

The crowd sighed in sympathy, while Vanessa looked utterly blissful.

"But didn't you still accompany me to see it later? You spent a massive fortune buying those tickets from a scalper."

Standing outside the door, I broke out in a cold sweat. The smell of alcohol in my stomach surged violently upward, forcing me to sprint to the restroom to vomit.

The moment I threw up the acidic bile, tears cascaded down my face.

My grandmother had treated him incredibly well. She loved him like her own flesh and blood. Every holiday, she was anxious to cook him nourishing meals, reminding me daily to bring him food to help nurse his severe gastritis back to health.

I never imagined that in his eyes, all of that amounted to this.

My grandmother's life couldn't compare to a single concert ticket.

It was absolutely sickening.

Zoe, noticing I had been gone for a long time, frantically texted me.

"Babe, where did you go? Are you feeling sick?"

Not wanting to make them worry, I quickly wiped away my tears, composed my thoughts, and headed back to our booth.

But the exact second I reached out to touch the booth door, someone violently grabbed my hair and threw me heavily to the floor.

"You homewrecking slut! All you do all day is figure out ways to seduce other women's husbands!"