The Wife He Underestimated

After my husband Liam cheated on me, I threatened him countless times:

I'm going to find a lover too!

But he didn't even bother to look up, just mocked me:

Tara, you've said that a hundred times already, but you haven't found a single man. I don't have time for your dramaI need to take my sweetheart on a trip.

He had no idea that this time, I meant it.

A month later, Liam came back.

Looking at me curled up on the couch, he shook his head with a laugh:

"Tara, after what happened in high school, you developed severe mysophobia. You can't stand any man touching you except me."

My phone buzzed. A message from my boyfriend.

An ultrasound image, followed by a line:

"Tara, our babies are twins. In three days, I'm coming to marry you."

Liam finally noticed I was distracted. He looked somewhat displeased.

"Did you hear what I said?"

I looked up at him, slightly dazed.

This man's faceI'd been looking at it for ten years.

Seven years dating, three years married.

I remembered how nervous and stuttering he was the day he proposed. I remembered him crying at our wedding, vowing to be together for all eternity.

I also remembered the first night he didn't come home. We fought. He slammed the door and left. I sat on the balcony all night.

After that came a hundred chances, a hundred threats, a hundred disappointments.

I thought this time would cut my heart like a knife, just like before.

But now, watching his lips move, I felt nothing.

My thoughts even drifted away to another man.

His cool lips, burning body, scorching hands.

I liked every part of him.

In fact, he and I were more compatible than Liam ever was.

More importantly, that man had loved me in secret for ten years.

I stood up.

I was a head shorter than him, but for the first time, I felt I could finally look him in the eye.

"Liam."

I called his name, my tone unusually calm.

"I've printed out the divorce papers and left them on the desk. Go sign them. City Hall closes soonwe need to hurry."

His expression froze instantly on his face.

I walked past him toward the door to change my shoes.

As I passed him, I caught a whiff of that perfume.

Gardenia.

My once-favorite flower. I never bought them again after that.

"Oh, by the way," I turned back and smiled at him slightly, "that pot of flowers of yoursI forgot to water it. It died."

Liam pressed his lips together tightly.

A sign he was getting angry.

But I didn't care. "After the divorce, I'll leave with nothing. Not even this house. It's all written clearly in the divorce agreement. If you don't believe me, you can read it first."

"But Cocoeven though you were the one who got her, I'm the one who took care of her all these years while you were cheating. I can't bear to part with her, so I'm taking her."

"I've been busy these past couple days handling the divorce and moving, so I didn't have time to take care of her. I dropped her off at the pet boarding place yesterday."

After a long silence, I heard nothing.

I looked up. Liam had already walked up to me.

He stared at me intently.

Just when I thought he would question me, he suddenly laughed.

"Baby, who taught you this trick? You actually changed your tactics? You want to divorce me?"

I paused, then looked at him with complete seriousness. "No one taught me, Liam. I really want to divorce you."

Seeing how serious I was, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Baby, stop joking. If you divorce me, where will you go?"

"You're an orphan. No father, no mother. You don't even have a family to go back to."

"Oh, right! You said you don't want any assets. You've been a housewife for so many yearsif you don't take a single penny, what are you planning to do?"

"Paint? But baby, you haven't painted in years, and you have no reputation. Do you really think you can sell anything?"

With every word he spoke, my heart sank a little deeper.

Liam lovingly ruffled my hair. "Alright, stop making a fuss. She's on her period today and in a bad mood. I need to go be with her. I'll have my assistant transfer you some extra money later to make it up to you."

With that, he grabbed his car keys with a smile and left.

I watched his retreating back.

Liam, this time I'm not making a fuss. I really don't want to be with you anymore.

I looked down and contacted a lawyer:

[Can I file for divorce unilaterally?]

[Yes, as long as you have sufficient evidence of the other party's infidelity.]

After leaving the law office, I contacted my best friend Brooklyn and told her everything.

Brooklyn's eyes immediately turned red with rage:

"Tara! Did you even consider me your friend?! Something this important and you're only telling me now?!"

"That bastard Liam! I always thought something was off about himI knew he was no good!"

"And now he's not only blatantly cheating, but he dares to humiliate you?! I'm going to kill him right now!"

I grabbed her hand with a smile, looking helpless. "Come on! I don't care anymore."

That made it worse. Brooklyn burst into tears on the spot.

"How can you not care?! You two were together for ten years! I saw more clearly than anyone how you spent those ten years!"

"How much you suffered for him, and that time you entered that competition for him..."

Brooklyn saw my expression change and immediately switched topics. "Anyway, I just can't stand that bastard. If he dares betray you, I'll definitely find a way to destroy him and that homewrecker!"

Watching her defend me so fiercely, my nose tingled with emotion.

To have someone by my side like this all these yearsit was enough.

"Alright, Brooklyn, let's not talk about unhappy things."

"I have good news to tell you."

Brooklyn blinked. "What good news?"

I smiled and pulled her hand to rest on my lower abdomen. "You're going to be a godmother."

Brooklyn's eyes went wide. "You're actually keeping Liam's spawn? Tara, are you crazy? He cheated on you!"

I knew she'd react this way.

"It's not his."

"What?" Brooklyn's voice shot up.

People around us turned to look.

I quickly pulled her closer. "Keep your voice down."

Brooklyn looked shell-shocked from one revelation after another.

"You better come clean."

I nodded. "Remember that genius from high school, Julian Scott?"

"Of course I remember. We share a last name but not brain cells."

I smiled slightly, about to say "It's his" when a deep voice suddenly came from nearby:

"Tara, what are you doing here?"

I turned my head to see Liam walking out of a private room with a young, pretty girl on his arm.

"You bastard! I was just looking for you!"

Seeing him, Brooklyn grabbed the ketchup from the table and strode forward, slapping it hard against his shirt.

"Do you have any conscience at all? How dare you cheat!"

"How can you face Tara? How can you face all those years she spent suffering with you?"

"I'll kill you today!"

The girl beside Liam immediately stepped in front of him. "Who the hell do you think you are to hit my man?"

"Your man?" Brooklyn laughed bitterly. "Bitch, get it straighthe's a married man. What you're doing is called homewrecking. You're the mistress. Do you have no shame?"

Chloe snorted coldly. "In love, the one who isn't loved is the real mistress. Liam and I have mutual feelings. If anyone's the mistress, it's that old hag."

She looked at me, eyes full of triumph.

Brooklyn suddenly grabbed her hair. "If your mother didn't teach you how to be a decent human being, I'll teach you today."

"Ah!"

Chloe was yanked to the ground, and before she could react, her clothes were being ripped open.

She desperately covered her chest, crying as she looked at Liam. "Liam, make this crazy woman stop!"

Liam snapped out of it and pulled Brooklyn away forcefully. "Brooklyn, you can't even control your own husbandwhat right do you have to control others?"

Hearing his words, Brooklyn's face turned deathly pale.

My expression turned cold. I stood up and slapped him hard across the face.

"Liam! What gives you the right to say that to her!"

Liam took the slap head-on.

He looked at me, face dark, but said nothing.

But the woman in his arms couldn't keep quiet. Eyes red, she shouted at me:

"You old hag, what gives you the right to hit him! I can't even bear to touch a hair on his head, and you dare slap himAh!"

A sharp crack rang out.

I cut off her words.

Chloe covered her face, disbelief written all over it. "You dare hit me?"

I sneered. "You dare to be a homewrecker, so why wouldn't I dare hit you?"

"Only someone like you would pick up someone else's trash like it's treasure and then flaunt it in front of me."

Chloe trembled with rage. "You think you're so noble? You were raped before and got pregnant! It was Liam who scraped together money to take you for an abortion and stayed with you in the hospital for over a month before you dared toAh!"

"What gives you the right to say that about me!" My eyes turned red as I grabbed her hair.

Chloe's face contorted with pain. "Am I wrong?"

I raised my hand to slap her again, but Liam grabbed my wrist and flung it away.

"Enough! Tara, there's a limit to throwing tantrums!"

"I'm throwing a tantrum?" My eyes were red. "Liam, get it straight! She's the one who started cursing"

"Isn't she right?" Liam coldly interrupted.

My entire body went ice cold. I couldn't believe it. "What did you say?"

Liam repeated in a cold voice, "I said, isn't she right? Weren't you raped? Didn't you have an abortion? So, is she wrong?"

Hearing his heart-gouging words one by one, I could barely stand.

Chloe leaned against him, face full of smugness.

I suddenly laugheda laugh with bloodshot eyesstaring at him hard. "Liam, you're truly disgusting."

With that, I turned to leave.

Chloe's eyes flickered, and just as I turned around, she deliberately pushed me.

Off-balance, my stomach slammed hard into the table.

"Ah!"

"Tara!"

Brooklyn's face changed. She rushed forward immediately.

I clutched my stomach desperately, feeling a warm flow slide down between my legs. My face instantly turned deathly pale.

Liam came to his senses and was about to step forward when Chloe suddenly cried out too.

"Ah! Liam, I'm so dizzy! Did I lose too much blood?"

With that, she closed her eyes and fainted directly into Liam's arms.

Liam glanced at me, then at the person in his arms.

In the end, he picked up Chloe and rushed out.

"Fuck you, Liam!"

Brooklyn's hands trembled as she dialed emergency services.

By the time they got me into the ambulance, my consciousness was fading. I passed out.

...

When I woke up, the sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

Instinctively, I touched my lower abdomen.

A nurse's voice sounded by my ear: "Don't worry, the baby's fine. Very strong."

I let out a breath of relief and said hoarsely, "Thank you."

Suddenly remembering something, I asked the young nurse, "Is Dr. Scott in the hospital?"

"Dr. Scott?" The nurse smiled. "Julian Scott?"

I nodded.

"He took time off. I heard his girlfriend got pregnant, so he went back to prepare the bride price."

She sighed. "We didn't even know he had a girlfriend all these years. A few days ago we suddenly heard his girlfriend was pregnant and he was going back to prepare the bride price. Broke quite a few hearts among the young nurses here."

I smiled and touched my abdomen.

"After you're discharged, remember to rest well and take care of the pregnancy. Don't have any more accidents."

After giving her instructions, the young nurse turned and left.

I threw off the covers and got out of bed to handle the discharge.

Remembering I hadn't seen Coco in days, I decided to pick her up. The divorce proceedings were almost complete anyway.

But when I got to the pet boarding place, I was told someone had already picked her up.

"Half an hour ago, your husband came to pick her up. You both brought the dog here for a bath before, so when he came, I handed her over to him."

I thanked them and turned to leave, face somewhat grim.

But in the end, I still opened my chat with him.

[Is Coco with you? I'll come get her.]

He replied instantly:

[Come over. I'm at our house.]

Coco's bed, food, and toys were all at the house.

I could bring everything back at once.

I hailed a cab and went straight there.

The villa door stood wide open.

But the moment I stepped inside, I froze completely.

Coco's dog bed was a complete mess.

Several pieces of blood-soaked fur and broken bones were carelessly scattered on the ground.

The spilled blood had half-congealed, showing a glaring red color in the morning light.

I stood frozen in place, only the thick smell of blood continuously invading my nostrils.

Suddenly, a piece of brown dog skin, like a torn rag, was thrown out.

A coquettish voice rang out:

"Stupid dog. Finally dead."

Chloe walked out, her hands stained with blood, waving them in front of my eyes.

My eyes instantly filled with blood.

"You killed Coco?"

Chloe said carelessly:

"Who told her to bite me? Besides, Liam allowed it. He knew I was studying veterinary medicine and wasn't good at dissection practice, so he let me practice on her."

I grabbed a wooden stick from the ground, eyes bloodshot, and swung it at her. "Chloe! I'll kill you!"

Before the stick could hit her, a large hand grabbed it.

"Tara, haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Liam's voice was ice cold.

Seeing him, my hand holding the stick trembled.

"Liam, you actually let her kill Coco? Are you even human? Do you have a heart? How can you face her?"