After She Returned, I Dumped My Husband

Chapter 4

For three whole days, Ryan stayed at the hospital to accompany Chloe, whose ankle was merely slightly sprained.

Neither of them made any effort to hide their whereabouts, and the gossip tabloids immediately caught wind of it.

Within those three days, photos of them flooded the entire internet.

In the pictures, the slender, delicate Chloe sat in oversized hospital scrubs, gazing at Ryan with a look of deep, sorrowful affection.

Ryan's eyes, meanwhile, were filled with the joy of retrieving something he had lost.

In the snapshots released by the paparazzi, the two shared a tender gaze in the hospital room, exchanging a knowing, intimate smile.

It was as if they were each other's entire world.

If only I weren't Ryan's wife.

Chloe posted a suggestive update on i********::

After all the twists and turns, we still found our way back to each other.

Her fans instantly came alive, enthusiastically shipping them.

A: [Our favorite boy and girl are finally reunited!]

B: [Seriously, a first love's hold is unmatched. Just standing there is enough to blow everything else away.]

Meanwhile, I, his legal wife, became the target of their collective mockery.

C: [So what if Clara Williams is a rich heiress? Ryan doesn't love her. She can't hold a candle to Chloe.]

D: [The one who isn't loved is the real interloper here. Long live true love!]

E: [Am I the only one who thinks Clara is awful? She can't compare to Chloe in the slightest.]

Even more people swarmed the i********: page of the Williams Group, demanding to know when I would step aside to let Ryan and Chloe be together.

On the other hand, Ryan's rational fans tried to talk some sense into him:

F: [You've lost your mind! Why are you defending someone like her? Your wife is such an amazing woman. Cut ties with that problematic celebrity before it's too late!]

G: [Don't go crazy! No one in the Johnson family is clean. Once you get tangled up with them, you'll never shake them off.]

Ryan ignored all the noise, completely occupied with taking care of Chloe at the hospital.

Even though it was just a sprained ankle, Chloe acted as if she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, settling in for a long, indefinite hospital stay.

For an entire week, he didn't call or text me once.

Every message I sent him sank like a stone in the ocean, receiving no response at all.

I stared blankly at the leaked paparazzi photos my secretary had brought me—ones that Ryan's manager had bought out to prevent from leaking to the public.

My fingers trembled, the thin sheets of paper feeling as heavy as lead.

In the photo, Ryan stood by the hospital bed, leaning down to tenderly kiss Chloe on the lips.

Sunlight poured through the window, catching tiny dust motes floating in the air. The atmosphere was warm and intimate.

His eyes were filled with an intense, adoring look—an expression of sheer devotion I had never once seen him direct at me.

A bitter ache squeezed my chest, making me feel like a drowning soul plunging into a pitch-black abyss, sinking deeper with no hope of escape.

I couldn't understand. If Ryan was still so deeply in love with his first love, why had he pursued me and married me in the first place?

When I had first sensed that his heart belonged to someone else, I had buried my feelings, stepping back to be just his childhood friend, resolved to slowly let him go.

Yet, it was Ryan who had confessed his feelings to me on my birthday. Handing me a gift, he had smiled sweetly and said,

"Clara, I've fallen in love with you. Will you give me a chance to pursue you?"

But now, I was absolutely certain. I wanted a divorce.