Chapter 1: Throwing the Wedding Ring at the Scumbag's Face
" Chad, I thought you said you had to stay at the office tonight?"
That evening, in a bustling restaurant, Amelia's voice wavered as she stood there, clutching the bag of food she'd brought, her eyes locked on her husband.
Chad didn't even look at her. His fingers lingered on the clasp of the necklace he'd just fastened around Vianna's neck. The restaurant buzzed around them, but all Amelia could hear was the deafening silence from him.
"Chad," she tried again, her voice cracking, "today's our anniversary."
Chad finally finished securing the necklace. He leaned back in his chair with a look of irritation. "Celebrating with you doesn't feel like an anniversary-it feels like punishment."
Amelia's face turned pale, but she still refused to back down. "Why? What did I do wrong?"
Chad pulled a checkbook from his pocket, scribbled a number, tore out the check, and tossed it onto the table in front of her. He couldn't even be bothered to look at her. "Stop the act. Isn't this what you wanted?"
Vianna leaned forward, her voice sharp and biting. "Take the money and leave."
Amelia stood frozen, the weight of their words crushing her. The stares from strangers burned into her-some pitying, others mocking. Her mind went blank. She had never imagined Chad saw her this way.
Chad frowned, his gaze sweeping disdainfully over her poorly done makeup. "I'm tired of all this, Amelia. Eight years, and you still don't know how to take care of yourself. We should've ended this marriage long ago."
As he spoke, his eyes landed on the bag containing the dinner Amelia had brought. He grabbed the bag from her hands, tearing it away. "What a performance. But we both know you're only interested in my money. Stop pretending."
Without another word, he hurled the bag to the ground, scattering its contents across the floor.
Amelia stared at the ruined food she had spent hours preparing. She stumbled back a few steps, her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her nails digging into her palms, sending sharp pain through her whole being.
She had planned to surprise Chad at his office with dinner, hoping that they could spend the evening together. Maybe it wasn't the most romantic way to celebrate Valentine's Day and their anniversary, but for her, just being by his side was enough.
But reality had struck her like a blow to the face. On a day that was so sacred to her, she was met with Chad's betrayal, deceit, and humiliation.
Vianna sneered at the mess on the ground. "Amelia, I know the only reason you cook for Chad is to ask him for more money. But even so, shouldn't you at least learn how to cook better? This looks disgusting."
She pulled a wad of cash from her bag and flung it at Amelia, the bills scattering all over the floor. "Next time you're short on money, come to me instead. Just leave Chad alone. He's too busy to deal with a gold digger like you."
Vianna stood up and gave Amelia a hard shove, sending her sprawling onto the ground. The sound of something shattering echoed in Amelia's ears.
"No!" she cried out, her voice filled with despair.
Frantically, she unbuttoned her collar to check the pendant around her neck-a jade heirloom left to her by her late mother, and now, it was shattered into pieces.
Tears streamed down her face. That pendant was all she had left of her mom, something she had cherished like her own life. Wearing it made her feel like her mother was still with her. And now, Vianna had destroyed it.
Vianna smirked cruelly. "Cheap jewelry for a cheap woman. I bet this isn't even worth a dollar. If you want, I'll buy you a hundred more."
Amelia shook with rage, glaring at Vianna with tear-filled eyes. But when she turned to Chad, silently pleading for help, he merely sipped his drink, indifferent to the scene unfolding before him.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. Even now, some part of her hoped Chad would stand up for her, would help her to her feet and shield her from Vianna's insults. But he didn't.
This wasn't the first time Chad had been with Vianna, nor was it the first time Vianna had humiliated her. In the past, Amelia had always turned a blind eye, responding with forced smiles.
Vianna was Chad's "friend," after all. Amelia didn't want to upset him. As long as Chad loved her, she believed she could endure anything.
She had given up everything for Chad, becoming a full-time housewife and learning to do things she had once scorned. She took on every mundane chore, all for him.
Years ago, when Chad was diagnosed with leukemia, she hadn't hesitated to donate her bone marrow to save his life, despite being a premature baby with a weak constitution herself.
Few knew about this. Chad had recovered, but she had grown frail-her skin dull, her body aged beyond her years. She avoided mirrors ever since then, dreading her reflection. Now, Chad called her old and ugly.
She had learned to cook for him, enduring countless cuts and burns. But Chad always thrown her carefully prepared meals aways in front of his friends, saying that she was just acting and what she wanted was only his money. She convinced herself that if she just persisted, he'd one day understand her love.
Her hand instinctively moved to her abdomen as memories of their lost second child came flooding back.
She had eagerly awaited that child's arrival, decorating the nursery for the little baby and preparing everything with great care. But one night, Chad came home drunk and forced himself on her. The ordeal caused her to miscarry.
Afterward, Chad acted as though nothing had happened. He didn't apologize, only becoming colder and more distant. They began sleeping in separate bedrooms after that.
Her miscarriage led to severe depression, and there were moments she considered ending her life. But Chad was too busy going on vacations and attending parties with Vianna to notice any of these.
When she was bedridden with a high fever, Chad was busy posting photos on Facebook, celebrating Vianna's birthday at an exclusive revolving restaurant.
On stormy nights, when thunder terrified her into hiding in the closet, Chad and Vianna were at the movies, enjoying a private screening.
For six years, Amelia's days blurred together in loneliness, broken only by weekends when their daughter returned home. She had sacrificed everything for Chad, treating love as her life's purpose. But all she received in return was betrayal and humiliation.
Chad didn't love her. That much was clear. When she needed him most, he was never there. He hadn't even given her flowers. It was time to end this farce.
Amelia carefully gathered the broken pieces of her pendant, wiped away her tears, and stood up. In front of everyone, she tore Chad's check into shreds and threw it, along with her wedding ring, at his face.
"Let's get a divorce."
"Amelia Weatherfield! Who do you think you are to ask for a divorce!?"
Chad shot to his feet, his graceful demeanor replaced with a dark scowl. Vianna and the onlookers stared in shock.
Amelia, however, only met his gaze head-on. Her voice was steady, her words deliberate. "It's Ainsworth. Amelia Ainsworth."
"Amelia, don't you ever push me. Apologize now, and I might give you another chance," Chad warned, his tone icy.
But Amelia felt a weight lift from her shoulders as she said the words. "I'm serious. I don't want any of your money. All I want is Luna and Lacey."
Luna, her daughter, was her reason to live and Lacey, a border collie she had rescued, was her loyal companion.
Vianna sneered. "You are just bluffing. You won't leave Chad. You wouldn't dare give up the mansion and the life of a rich wife. You'd never survive. Or maybe you've found someone else-a richer man to leech off?"
Amelia didn't waste her breath on them. She turned to Chad. "Tomorrow at 9 a. m., meet me at the district court. If you don't show, I'll file for divorce myself."
Without waiting for a response, she walked away, her head held high.
Vianna scoffed. "She's bluffing, Chad. She must be up to something."
Chad watched Amelia's retreating figure, but didn't do anything. He was pretty certain she wasn't serious about the divorce.
She had no family to rely on, no skills to support herself. Without him, she couldn't survive. This was just another one of her ploys to get more money.
Chad believed that tomorrow, when she realized he wouldn't fall for her act, she'd come crawling back, begging for his forgiveness.
