He Chose Her, I Made Him Bankrupt

Chapter 3

Tina's POV:

Lance's eyes went wide with shock at my words, then a sneer tugged at his lips.

"Tina, stop playing the victim here. Out of all the gold-diggers crawling after me, you're the one I picked to be my wife. I lifted you up from a nobody to an A-list anchor. I gave you money, I gave you opportunities. You got everything you ever wanted. What kind of fool are you pretending to be?

"And let's get one thing straight about this divorce, I call the shots on when it ends. You don't get a say."

He looked down on me, arrogant and self-righteous, every inch the entitled man in charge.

My heart shattered into a million tiny pieces right then and there.

I stared straight at him through the searing pain, choking back the tears that burned at my eyes and refusing to let them fall.

"Lance, I really did love you. You think I faked being from a rich family because I'm a gold-digger chasing your status? I did it just so we could get married without a hitch."

All the connections and opportunities he'd given me, I'd fought tooth and nail to make the most of them. It wasn't just for my own benefit, I'd wanted to help him.

I'd just wanted him to be happy.

But none of it mattered anymore anyway. What the real truth was just didn't matter now.

I pulled my lips into a bitter, broken smile. "I'll step aside willingly. Just cut this clean, okay?"

A flicker of smug satisfaction crossed Eliza's eyes.

Lance, meanwhile, looked like he had just been pricked by a sharp needle. His pupils narrowed, and he dragged the corners of his mouth into a brutal, cutting sneer.

"Tina, when has a gold-digger ever had real feelings? You're still spouting this nonsense even now. Don't you think you look ridiculous?"

"Don't worry, we'll be divorced in three days max."

I didn't argue with him any longer. I turned and headed straight home.

We'd been married three years, and Lance's parents had always treated me with nothing but kindness. I'd lied to them this whole time, and I'd been in the wrong all along.

I came clean to them straight away. "I'm sorry, Jeremy, Olivia. My parents aren't university professors, they're just ordinary people. My whole story about coming from a wealthy family has been a lie from start to finish. Whatever you want to do to me, I'll take it."

Olivia froze for a beat, then reached out and squeezed my hand tight.

"Silly kid. We knew you were faking your background the second we met you."

"Then why did you...?" I choked on my words, too stunned to get the rest out.

Jeremy spoke calmly, "Because setting your family background aside, you're still flawless."

Olivia nodded quickly in agreement, "That's right. We've seen with our own eyes how sincerely you care for Lance, and how hard you've worked to take care of this family."

"All these years we've lived together, your kindness and your capability have been beyond question. We've long thought of you as our own daughter. Does where you came from even matter anymore?"

My heart swelled with gratitude, but I forced a wobbly smile anyway.

"But Lance never loved me. Eliza is back in town, and he's going to marry her now. I already agreed to the divorce. I'll pack my things tonight and move out."

The color drained from both of the older couple's faces in an instant. They didn't try to talk me out of it.

"Honey, we know our son's temper better than anyone. If he's being an i***t and messing this up, don't worry about us. Give him whatever punishment he deserves."

"And you remember this, we can live without our son, but we can't live without you."

I clung to them and cried my heart out, before heading back to my room. When my eyes landed on the wedding photo hanging on the wall, and all the other little mementos of our so-called "happy" marriage, I zoned out, lost in old memories.

Just then, Cole walked in, clutching a glass of orange juice in his small hand.

"Mom and Dad said you're sad today. I came to cheer you up. Here, drink this."

I stared at the five-year-old boy standing in front of me. He looked so much like Eliza, I couldn't believe I'd never noticed it before.

After all, I'd helped raise him for years. It wouldn't be right to turn him down when he came to see me off.

"Promise you'll be happy from now on, okay? Stop walking around with a frown all the time."

I took the glass from him and took a couple of sips. Something tasted horribly wrong.

Cole suddenly burst out into cackling, grinning from ear to ear with wicked glee.

"Stupid woman! Does dog pee taste good? You think you can seduce my dad just because you're pretty, you have no shame!"

"Don't you think I don't know Lance is my real dad! My mom's back now, just you wait—you're gonna get kicked out!"

My face went white as a sheet. My stomach churned violently, and I stumbled to the bathroom, retching until the whole world spun.

When I stumbled back out, Cole was waiting right in the doorway. He lurched forward and shoved me with all his might.

I wasn't ready for it at all. I went tumbling head over heels down the stairs, and the back of my skull slammed hard against the edge of a step. Warm blood gushed out immediately, soaking into the carpet.

"Stupid woman! I'm gonna make Grandpa and Grandma hate you, and then they'll love my mom again!"

Agonizing pain tore through every inch of my body. Through blurred vision, I watched Cole drag my blood across his own forehead, then threw back his head and wailed at the top of his lungs.

"Tina is hitting me! Tina is hitting me!"

"Tina!" Lance's voice roared out of nowhere. He must have just gotten home. He sprinted over and scooped Cole straight into his arms.

His gaze cut through me, sharp and vicious enough to make me flinch. "How could you take your anger out on a kid?! When did you get this vicious?"

I lay sprawled on the floor, warm blood still seeping steadily out of my wound, but I couldn't move a single muscle.

"I... didn't..."

Cole only sobbed louder, clinging to Lance's chest. "She started bullying me the second she walked through the door today! She said she hated me! It hurts so bad..."

"It's okay, Cole, I've got you. We're going to the hospital right now!"

Lance hushed and comforted the boy in a rush, but before he turned to leave, he pinned me with a freezing, contemptuous glare.

"You're a grown adult. Can't you get up by yourself? Are you really pulling this whole lame self-harm act just to beg me for forgiveness?"

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out the door, Cole still clamped tight in his arms.

I stared at his receding back, and a thousand sharp blades twisted and sliced through the very tip of my heart, cutting it to pieces one inch at a time.

I remembered a few years back, when I'd collapsed from working myself to exhaustion. He'd panicked, rushed me straight to the hospital, never leaving my side, terrified something terrible would happen to me.

Now I lay here, bleeding out on our entryway floor, and he didn't care at all. He even thought I was just putting on a show to manipulate him.

'So this is what it feels like... when your heart finally shatters for good.'