BACK OFF EX-HUSBAND, I'M MARRIED TO YOUR RIVAL NOW.

In the fifth year of my marriage, on the day of the Gates family banquet, I asked my husband for a divorce.

“What? You want to divorce me, all because I acted like Lill’s husband?” Richard asked, frowning in confusion.

“Lilly. How affectionately he said her name,” I said to myself, smiling. Lillian was his brother’s wife.

I smiled coldly. “I have had enough of these two pretenders. Yeah. That’s why.”

Two days ago, on what was supposed to be our fifth wedding anniversary, I had planned to surprise Richard, so I took a flight to the city where he was working. Instead of the warm reunion I had expected, I overheard him chatting with his friends.

“Richard, I really think you are being unfair to your wife, running off every year on your anniversary? That’s not right at all. Your wife has been nothing but good to you. So why treat her this way?”

My husband, who was usually composed and gentlemanly, looked disturbed. “You think I want this for myself too? If I don’t avoid her, then she will never believe I haven’t touched her for the five years we’ve been married. That’s the only way to convince her.

“She? You mean Lillian? Richard, are you out of your mind? Don’t tell me you have not had sex with your wife for years because of Lillian? Are you going to keep pining for her even though she’s married to your brother, and they already have a child together?”

“And what about your wife? You keep taking her for granted over and over again, because you are obsessed with your brother’s wife? Ain’t you afraid that your wife’s powerful family will come after you, once she complains about you to them?”

Richard snorted. “They won’t,” he said confidently, rubbing his hands together. “She married me, even though they were against the marriage. And she has not spoken to them for years. I lied to my wife about being impotent just to avoid touching her. I also paid the doctor to write a fake medical report for me.”

I almost fell to the ground. Richard had been lying to me all these years about being impotent? While secretly having an affair with his brother’s wife. I walked away quietly, my feet shaking and my fingers trembling.

I had suspected Richard was cheating on me. I had even asked around and tried to find out who the other woman was, but no one was willing to talk to me. I had guessed many possibilities, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought it would be Lillian, my sister-in-law. His own brother’s wife.

The same person I had complained to about my husband’s suspicious behavior was the same person he was cheating on me with. How worse could my life get?

When I left the club, the sky opened up. I did not react as the rain drenched me; I was broken beyond words.

That same night, I took a flight back to Northvale.

The moment I got home, I was already sick. I was rushed to the hospital straight from the airport. I had to stay at the hospital for two days, and Richard never showed up. He had already sent me a message about how work was keeping him busy.

One week later, after I had recovered from my illness and was still nursing my heartbreak, Maurice's burial was held in Northvale. We were invited back to the Gates Residence.

I had barely had enough sleep since I discovered Richard’s secret. After the funeral, as I stepped out of the cemetery, it was as though my body moved forward while my soul dragged behind. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

My driver was already waiting for me outside the cemetery. I entered the car and closed my eyes, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“Take me back home,” I told the driver.

“Madam, are we not going back to the Gates Residence?”

“No, drive.”

I knew the burial was over, but the drama at the Gates had just begun, and I didn’t want to be a part of it.

Maurice was the golden son of the Gates family. And his death was a tragic one. He died because of Lillian’s selfishness. Lillian had insisted they go hiking on the mountain, and he had fallen to his death. His body was broken into pieces.

The Gates blamed Lillian for his death, and their anger towards her was still fresh. And also, I had no interest in watching my husband defend another woman. I still had to contact my lawyer about the divorce.

Unexpectedly, as the driver started driving off, someone knocked on the rear window. Richard stood there smiling. He was dressed in a well-tailored black suit.

“Honey, heading home already?”

I nodded. I barely looked up before spotting Lillian beside him; she was holding her daughter. The daughter she had with Maurice, the girl should be about five or six years old.

Before I could ask what was going on, the little girl waved at me.

“Hi, Aunty Fiona.”

I smiled back at her and muttered hello. I looked at the innocent child, I bet she didn't even understand what was going on. I looked at Richard for an explanation.

He was now holding Lillian’s hand. “You see, Mom and Dad are still angry with Lillian about what happened to Maurice. So I want them to stay with us for a while, till everything is sorted out.”

I almost laughed, then I remembered we were still in the cemetery and many people were watching us. So now he’s sending Lillian and her child to stay with us? While he faced his family?

“Whatever,” I muttered.

The maids had already prepared the room next to our bedroom for Lillian and her daughter. Richard must have called ahead to prepare that particular room.

He can do whatever he wants now; I don’t care anymore. After a hot bath, I collapsed on my bed and slept off. When I finally woke up, it was already dark. My phone was ringing nonstop. I checked the caller ID; it was my lawyer.

“Fiona, I have drafted the divorce papers just like you wanted. Do you want me to send it over to you first?”

“No need. Just call a courier and have it delivered to Richard’s office.”

“Fi, aren’t you in a rush? Are you really sure you want to go ahead with this divorce?”

I sat up on my bed, playing with my hair. I’m sure I caught him jerking off to his sister-in-law’s picture.

“What?” Alice screamed on the phone. “Did I just hear you correctly? That scumbag actually had the nerve to do something so disgusting.”

Alice was cursing Richard under her breath. I smiled to myself—typical Alice; she had always had my back since we were kids.

“Fiona, you know what? Fuck courier. I will bring the divorce letter myself to make sure you are okay and also deal with that bastard myself.”

Before I could object, Alice hung up the phone.