After He Ruined My Baby, I Left For Good

Chapter 1

Audrey's POV:

My honeymoon trip with Julian—I never went.

His female best friend did.

I saw it on her social media.

Julian had used a business trip as an excuse to turn down our honeymoon, yet there he was, fingers intertwined with hers, looking at her with unmistakable tenderness.

Caption: Honeymooning with you. I guess this counts as marrying you, right?

Location: Silverpine.

This was supposed to be my honeymoon trip with Julian.

A trip I had dreamed about for years, eagerly waiting for the day I could finally travel with him.

But every time I brought it up, he would say he was busy, tired, had no time, or that we could go "next time."

And just like that, three years went by.

Turns out, when someone really wants to go, they don't need three years to make it happen.

I stared at the photo for a long time before reposting it with a comment: Married man and his mistress? If you want my husband that badly, I'll gladly give him to you.

I paid to promote the post, so it blew up almost instantly, racking up thousands of comments.

Every single one was condemning Chloe for being a homewrecker.

And the more Chloe tried to explain herself, the worse she made things.

The next second, Julian sent me a link, then immediately called me on video.

"Delete the post right now. Then go comment under Chloe's post, saying that you're the mistress and shifting the blame onto yourself. Help take some of the heat off Chloe."

Even as he said it, he lowered his head and carefully adjusted Chloe's scarf.

"Isn't that a little too much?" Chloe tugged lightly at Julian's sleeve, her voice soft and coy.

"What's the big deal? She's been through worse. She can handle it. Going through it one more time won't hurt. Right, honey?"

He looked at me with a smile in his eyes.

My father died when I was very young, leaving my mother to raise me on her own.

Growing up, I constantly heard people judging us behind our backs.

They called my mother a jinx, saying she was bad luck for any man who married her.

But whenever she got even a little close to another man, those same people would say she couldn't stand being alone, that she was trying to seduce men, that she was a slut.

I had no idea how many fights I'd gotten into trying to defend my mother.

It was what made me tough, turning me into a prickly little hedgehog, always ready to lash out at anyone who came too close.

It wasn't until my mother brought me to Riverdale that I finally learned to lower my defenses.

When Julian and I first got together, I told him everything about my past.

Back then, his eyes had been filled with genuine tenderness as he promised me, "From now on, you have me. You'll never have to be a hedgehog again, and I'll never let you get dragged into gossip and rumors."

And yet, for Chloe, he was now casually asking me to hurt myself with my own hands.

Sitting at the dining table, I felt ice spreading through my hands and feet.

"That's it. I'm hanging up. Remember to comment under the post. I'll have Chloe pin your comment."

Julian made sure to remind me before ending the call.

I sat there, staring blankly at my phone for a long time.

The candlelight flickered before me, illuminating the surprise I had carefully prepared, tied with a little ribbon beside it—My pregnancy test results.

I was pregnant.

I had planned to give this to Julian as our wedding anniversary gift.

But now…

My fingers trembled around the pregnancy report.

Then my phone chimed.

A hotel booking review popped up on the screen.

I had a bad feeling, but I still clicked on it, unwilling to believe the worst.

Julian's account was still logged in from the last time he had used it.

There was a hotel charge listed in the transaction history.

King Suite + Private Hot Spring: $2,000

Condoms: $25

My eyes remained fixed on those words.

Long enough for the screen to automatically go dark, reflecting my pale face back at me.

The evidence was right there in front of me.

There was no way left to make excuses for him.

Looking at everything I had so carefully prepared on the dining table, I found it almost laughable.

I lowered my eyes and held the pregnancy report over the candle.

The paper caught fire almost instantly, curling into ash.

Just like our love.

After all those years, all that remained was a complete mess.

I turned on every light in the house and blew out the candles one by one.

Then I dumped all the carefully prepared dishes into the trash.

I went into the bedroom and started packing.

I took a cab back to the house my parents had left me.

In the back seat, I rested a hand over my still-flat stomach, my thoughts in turmoil.

Ever since my mother passed away, I had longed to have a child of my own.

The timing wasn't right, but I still decided to have the baby.

After all, this child would be the only person in this world who shared my blood.

By the time I got home, it was already 10 o'clock.

Julian called me, his tone irritated.

"Why haven't you commented on that post yet? Where are you? Why aren't you home this late at night?"

Whenever he came back from a business trip, I used to be there waiting for him.

I'd have dinner ready, run him a bath, and unpack his luggage.

But tonight, I wasn't there.

And for some reason, it seemed to bother him.

I ignored his questions and asked instead, "Julian, isn't there something you want to tell me?"

"Tell you what? It's our anniversary today. Didn't I come back?"

"Julian…"

Chloe's sweet, playful voice drifted through the phone.

My fingers tightened around my phone until my knuckles turned white.

He knew today was our wedding anniversary, yet he had brought Chloe home with him.

"Audrey, you need to get back—"

A wave of nausea surged up my throat.

Before he could finish, I hung up.

Julian called twice more in quick succession.

I ignored both calls.

I found Mr. Sullivan's contact in my messages and opened the chat.

Audrey: Mr. Sullivan, please draft a divorce agreement for me.

Audrey: As soon as possible.

If Chloe wanted this man so badly, then she could have him.