My Sacrifice Became His Betrayal Chapter 05
Howard examined the divorce agreement repeatedly and muttered in disbelief, “When… When did I sign this?”
As panic mounted, Howard broke out in a cold sweat, oblivious to the jaw-dropping guests around him.
He stared blankly at the paper in his hand, his lips quivering nonstop. “Adri, come out now. Stop joking with me.
“This isn’t funny at all…”
He looked around, but I was still nowhere to be seen.
His hands trembled, and a yellowed photo slipped out, falling to the ground.
As Madalyn bent down to pick it, Howard was one step ahead.
After he saw the schoolgirl in the photo, he completely lost his mind. “She knew. Adri knew. She knew everything…”
Howard hadn’t expected me to discover the secret he had kept for ten years.
But he no longer loved Madalyn. He only saw her as a booty call to satisfy his needs. He never wanted to divorce me.
Flustered and terrified, Howard ripped Madalyn’s photo to pieces. Then he grabbed the agreement and careened out of the hotel.
Without thinking, he got into the car that Susan had driven here and switched on the GPS, where he discovered a previous route to a suburban villa.
The familiar date hit him like a bolt from the blue. He quickly stepped out.
Upon seeing the license plate, he slumped back into the car like a deflated balloon.
That was my car, and the date matched the day he promised Madalyn to take her child back as his heir.
Howard dreaded to think what I had seen or heard that day. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at the selfie I had left in the car.
His palms were slick with sweat. He had to press the scanner at the gate a few times before it finally opened.
He charged into the bedroom. The sight of my clothes still hanging in the wardrobe finally put his mind at ease.
Over the moon, he scampered into the bathroom and carefully arranged our toothbrushes into a heart shape.
With both hands bracing on the sink, he panted heavily. “Good. Everything is still here.”
But when he glanced up, the photo on the upper right of the mirror was missing.
His heart lurched violently. Shaking like a leaf, he stepped out of the bathroom and scanned the bedroom, the living room, and the hallway…
All the places that once held our photos were now empty.
Even the giant wedding photo on the wall had been removed.
The thought of the wedding dress struck him. He staggered back to the closet and looked toward the glass cabinet in the corner.
It stood empty, as hollow as Howard felt inside.
The wedding dress he had designed for me was gone.
Ironically, he didn’t even notice it when he left home this morning.
As if all the air had been sucked from his lungs, he sank to the floor, shattered and broken, staring lifelessly at the empty wall.
“Howie!” Madalyn rushed in and tried to help Howard up.
But he grabbed her wrist and twisted it backward.
With hatred burning in his eyes, he spoke in a low and dangerous voice. “Did you trick me into signing the divorce papers?”