Chapter 8
1351 Words
By the time those words sank in, Anne's long-numbed heart felt like it had been viciously gouged by a dull blade. The agony was so sharp she could barely draw a breath.
Everything Wayne said after that? She didn't catch a single word.
It has all clicked into place now. Every time he'd gotten close to her, every time he'd 'protected' her, it was all just an act. A lousy excuse to worm his way near Sasha and catch her eye.
Ten whole years of pouring every ounce of her heart and soul into him, and it was never anything more than her own one-sided delusion to him.
She was nothing but a stepping stone on his way to win his true love, a tool he used to boost his own presence when courting the woman he wanted.
Even the miscarriage of their first baby… he'd planned it all along.
Anne suddenly burst out laughing, wild and unrestrained. But before she knew it, tears were rolling down her face and dripping into her mouth. That sharp, bitter taste seeped straight into her heart, and it almost paralyzed her from the inside out.
Good. Now she could walk away without a single shred of guilt.
The next day, she disguised herself as an ordinary passerby.
She watched with her own eyes as Wayne walked into the civil affairs bureau, pulling strings to rush through their divorce paperwork.
The second he grabbed his own divorce certificate, he turned around, his face softening into that warm, tender smile, and laced his fingers through Sasha's hand. Then he led her over to grab a new queue ticket and file for a marriage license.
His speed was so shockingly fast that even the bureau clerks gaped in disbelief.
After the pair walked out, Anne stepped up to the counter and pulled out her ID.
"I'm the ex-wife of that man who just got his divorce. I'm here to pick up my certificate."
The clerk blinked in surprise, then quickly fished out the document and handed it over.
A day later, Anne started packing up all her things from their home.
Wayne, helping her sort through boxes, frowned in confusion. "Why are you packing so much? You're only going to the villa to rest up for a while. I'll come pick you up before you know it."
Anne kept her head down, her voice quiet and detached, "I'm not used to using new things."
Wayne stared at her calm, unreadable face, a hundred questions bubbling up in his throat. But in the end, he said nothing.
He drove her to the villa, walked her inside, and left her with soft, gentle instructions, "I have to go out of town for work this coming while. Just rest up and take care of yourself. I'll come check on you as soon as I'm back."
The second he was gone, Anne pulled up i********:, and there it was, a new post from Sasha, visible to everyone, she hadn't blocked a single person.
Our wedding is tomorrow. Bless me!
The photo showed her and Wayne with their fingers laced tightly together, a glittering diamond ring sparkling on her ring finger.
When Wayne married Anne, all he'd gotten her was a plain silver band.
Right after that post went up, Sasha sent Anne a direct message.
She attached a screenshot of their marriage license, then typed out her smug, gloating words.
Sasha: My son isn't a bastard anymore. You lost in the end.
Sasha: Don't get too worked up now, yeah? I know you have a brain tumor, one big fit of excitement could kill you.
Sasha: You should come to our wedding tomorrow. It's really pretty sad, when you think about it, you were the only one kept in the dark this whole time.
Anne stared at Sasha's triumphant display of arrogance, and tapped the screen lightly with her finger.
She sent back one short reply.
Anne: As you wish.
Early the next morning, Anne disguised herself again and slipped into the grand wedding venue.
Wayne had pulled out all the stops to throw Sasha the most extravagant wedding possible. He'd openly invited half the city's elite, and from the second they pulled up to the venue, he never let Sasha's feet touch the ground.
Greeting every guest with a soft smile, he explained, "My wife's pregnant, her feet ache if she stands too long. I can't bear to let her stand."
The crowd erupted in envious praise, every guest gushing about what a perfect, doting husband he was.
All the while, Anne stood hidden in the shadows of the far corner, watching him carry Sasha down the red carpet, listening to him swear eternal devotion to another woman.
Back when they had nothing, when they were crammed into a tiny rental apartment, their 'wedding' had been nothing more than a single table with four cheap dishes. They couldn't even afford a decent bottle of wine.
Back then, Wayne had looked at her with red, teary eyes and promised, "Anne, one day I'm gonna give you the biggest, grandest wedding in the world. I, Wayne, will never betray you as long as I live. If I ever do, may I lose the one I love forever, and die alone with no one by my side!"
And now here he stood, holding another woman's hand, swearing he'd love her for the rest of his life.
The wedding officiant stepped forward and handed Wayne the microphone, asking him to say a few words from the heart to his new bride.
Wayne's eyes glistened with emotion, his voice thick with tender affection as he spoke, "Today, I have three gifts to give Sasha. The first is a love letter I've kept hidden away for years. I fell in love with her when we were just kids, but we came from such different worlds back then, so I never dared to confess. Today, I finally get the chance to tell her how I feel. The second gift is a share transfer agreement for all my personal holdings. No matter how hard it gets, I'll gladly bear every bit of it just to help the Guevarra family get back on their feet. And the third gift is my vasectomy report." His gaze softened with absolute devotion as he stared at Sasha. "You said the baby in your womb is going to be my only child in this lifetime. I promise you, I'll only ever dote on you, and only ever cherish this one child."
The entire wedding hall erupted in thunderous cheers and applause.
A proud smirk tugged at the corner of Sasha's lips. As she leaned in to kiss Wayne, her darting peripheral vision snapped straight to the entrance of the banquet hall.
She mouthed the words slowly and clearly, "I told you. That bastard son of yours was always gonna fall to his death one day."
Anne froze for half a second, but she still pulled her lips into a faint, cold smile.
She hit record on her phone to capture every word Wayne had just spoken, and as she turned to leave, she blocked every last one of Wayne's contacts.
After that, she bought a one-way plane ticket to New York City.
Just a few hours earlier, an email had landed in her inbox.
A sharp, mocking glint flashed in her eyes as she curled her lip.
What neither Wayne nor Sasha knew was that Anne had no connection to the Guevarra family at all. She had simply been taken in as a baby by her maternal grandmother.
The email contained a DNA comparison report that confirmed the truth—Anne was the long-lost biological daughter of the richest man in New York City, the Goldman family.
The second the plane lifted off the runway, Anne slipped on her headphones and slowly closed her eyes.
"Wayne, I hope you get what you wished for… and lose the one you love forever."
As for her? From this second on, she was off to chase a brand-new life, and finally reunite with her real family.
- Writer
