After He Brought His Mistress Home, I Chose Myself

My husband is a famous philanthropist who often goes out to help unemployed girls.

At first, I could still hold back my jealousy and support him. But gradually, he brought those girls home, took over my bedroom, had them wear my pajamas, and even ordered me in the middle of the night to run errands to buy condoms for them.

At that moment, I knew the marriage I had been carefully maintaining had already rotted to the core.

On our fifth anniversary, I asked him for a divorce. What I got was cold mockery.

"Grace Chapman, you're not a kid anymore. A thirty-year-old woman should have recognized the facts long ago. Without me, it won't be easy for you to remarry."

I wiped away the tear at the corner of my eye, took off the plain silver ring on my hand, and threw it into the trash can.

"You're right. Not young anymore, so if I got on the wrong ride, I need to get off in time."

After tearing up the divorce agreement, Derek Gentry smoked in the living room the entire night.

Early in the morning, he walked into the bedroom to persuade me to think more openly.

"Chloe is only staying here for a few days. If you're making a fuss about divorcing me because of her, there's really no need."

Meeting his poisonous gaze, my heart cooled inch by inch. My thoughts flew all over the place, and I couldn't help recalling the densely packed photos of different girls in his phone. Recently, he seemed to have settled down and become devoted.

The company was buzzing with gossip that he had fallen for the ninety-ninth unemployed girl he'd helpedChloe Thomas. Not only did he set aside a lounge in the office for her, he even custom-ordered a king-size bed from overseas, taking care of her every comfort.

Everyone was betting that this naive little thing had the ability to hook Derek so thoroughly he wouldn't come home for three months. She would be the future Mrs. Gentry.

Halfway through the negotiation, Derek answered a phone call and hurried out. Before leaving, he turned back to me.

"Grace Chapman, you need time to calm down. I'll schedule you an appointment with a psychologist."

A tear fell silently.

In the hardest year, I stayed with him in a temporary prefab room built with corrugated metal on the top floor. In summer it was so hot I wanted to jump from the 68th floor.

Back then, I wasn't sick.

Yet after he became successful and sat on billions in assets, I became, in everyone's eyes, a hysterical mental patient.

The phone beside me vibrated twice and automatically popped up a string of photos. At the very bottom was a provocative line of text.

"Grace, do I look good in a wedding dress? Derek said I'm so beautiful I look like a princesshe isn't just humoring me, is he?"

In the image, Chloe Thomas wore a white gown, her slender arms hooked around Derek's neck, her face full of smug triumph.

My fingertips gripping the phone gradually turned white.

So Derek Gentry, in the middle of being so busy, could still make time to take wedding photos. He looked even more handsome and distinguished in a groom's outfit than I had imagined.

We had been married five years and had never taken wedding photos. Not once.

In the past, it really was because we had no money.

Derek had promised me.

"Grace, when I get my first paycheck, I'll make you the happiest bride in the world."

"You're into diamonds, right? You say they represent eternity. One day, I'll custom-make you a wedding dress inlaid with diamonds."

"Okay, it's a deal."

I had responded with a sweet smile.

Later, his business got bigger and bigger. He often didn't come home at night, and the wedding photos he promised me became nothing but a mirage.

I gave a self-mocking smile, and my tears could no longer be stopped.

Derek Gentry, you really broke your word so many times.

I waited until 3:00 a.m., and that door finally opened, just as I expected. Chloe Thomas was supporting Derek, who was drunk as mud, back inside.

"Derek, can you hold on for a bit? There's still someone at home."

I looked upand caught Derek holding Chloe in a kiss so intense they couldn't tear themselves apart.

The moment she saw my face drain of color, Chloe pulled back, her voice trembling with false apology.

"Grace, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be here?"

That made me laugha cold, brittle sound.

"I'm in my own home. Do I need to report to you?"

One sentence, and Chloe's eyes welled with tears.

Derek noticed immediately. Unhurried, he leaned down and kissed them away, then turned to me.

"Look what you did. You scared her to tears. Real classy."

I bit my lip hard, forcing my own tears back down.

"Derek, can you at least... stop bringing women home?"

He knew I couldn't stand filthespecially when it came to matters of the heart.

My eyes couldn't tolerate a single grain of sand.

But he did this to me anyway.

One second Chloe had been draped boneless in his arms; now she transformed into a startled fawn, peering at me from under her lashes.

"Grace, I know you hate me. I'll leave right away."

She hadn't taken a single step before Derek yanked her back, locking her against his chest.

"No. I won't let you leave."

Meeting my wounded stare, his voice sharpened with impatience.

"It's raining outside. Where exactly do you expect her to go?"

I swallowed the urge to storm over and slap them both.

"Where she goes is none of my concern. But one thing's clear: she's not setting foot in the master bedroom again. She'll dirty my bed."

Chloe's face flushed with humiliation. She wrenched free from Derek's hold and fled.

"Is it really that fun being this vicious?"

He shot me a look of pure contempt and chased after her.

The next day, still uneasy, I went to the hospital for a follow-up. The doctor told me I was pregnant.

My first reaction: "This child can't be kept."

The doctor frowned. "Ms. Chapman, given your husband's low sperm count, you know better than anyone how hard-won this pregnancy is. How can you just decide you don't want it?"

Unable to withstand his persuasion, I took the test results and, as if possessed, went straight to Derek's company.

His assistant tried to stop me, stammering that Derek was meeting an important client and couldn't be disturbed.

The next second, Chloe's breathy, unmistakable moan shattered that excuse.

"You've had a rough time, standing guard for them this long."

I gave the assistant a bitter smile, crumpled the pregnancy report, and pushed the door open.

What I saw made my heart seize.

Both of them froze when I walked in.

Derek didn't even have the decency to look flustered. He calmly straightened his clothes, slipping back into his polished, respectable facade.

"I've been working overtime. My back's been killing me. Chloe was just giving me a massage. It's not what you think."

I had no patience for his lies. I hurled the crumpled paper at him.

"I'm pregnant. When are you going to end things with her? I won't have our child born into this messwith you still tangled up with this little bitch. That's not the environment any child should grow up in."

"What? You're pregnant?"

Derek smoothed out the paper, scanned it, and immediately rushed over to embrace me.

"Grace, thank you. My parents have been waiting forever for a grandchild. You're a blessing to the Gentry family."

I knew how badly Derek wanted children. That's why, despite his condition, I'd endured those painful fertility shots month after month.

Just when I thought he might finally settle down and come back to our family

Behind me, Chloe's mocking laughter cut through the air.

"Pregnant? What's the big deal."

Chloe pulled a pregnancy test report from her bag, blinked playfully, and handed it to Derek.

"I wanted to surprise you, but someone ruined it. Guess I have to announce it early."

"Derek, I'm younger than Gracebetter odds for a son. You'll let me keep it, right?"

Derek was so thrilled he could barely think straight.

"Of course. You and Grace are both women I love. Both of you pregnant at the same time? Best gift heaven could give me."

He pushed me aside without thinking, bent down, and scooped up Chloestanding barefoot on the cold floor.

"How many times have I told you? The floor's freezingno bare feet. You little dummy, you never listen."

Chloe hooked her arms around his neck and looked straight at me, triumph flashing across her face.

"Grace, my baby's almost three months along. If nothing goes wrong, I'll give Derek a son before you do. When that happens, your kid won't need new clotheshe can wear my son's hand-me-downs."

I stood frozen, hands and feet like ice.

Derek scraped her nose affectionately.

"Chloe, you're always so thoughtful."

He reached out to stroke her belly, then turned to me with a smile.

"You two can go through pregnancy together nowshare tips, keep each other company. Thanks to me, you won't be lonely. Even pregnant, you'll have a companion."

He looked enormously pleased with himself, mentally sneering at those doctors who'd diagnosed him with low sperm motility.

He whipped out his phone and posted: "To all the bastards who said I couldn't do ithow's that slap feel? Next spring, I'll be a dad twice over. Can't help it. Guess I'm just too humble normally."

Before I even left the building, congratulations flooded my phone.

The family group chat exploded.

Some fawned: "Derek's wife, you're incredibletwins in one pregnancy!"

Others begged for fertility tips, everyone wanting two-for-one to save trouble.

I ignored them all and typed a single message, face cold as stone:

"Everyone's misunderstanding. Derek has issues in that department. I'm not capable of carrying twinsthis one only survived after seven or eight hundred thousand in miscarriage-prevention shots at the hospital."

"His little mistress is more impressive since she's young. Got pregnant in just three months, and she guarantees it's a boy. Direct your questions to hershe's got more experience."

Derek's parents were honest, down-to-earth retired factory workers. Family reputation meant everything to them.

They also knew gratitude. Without my support through the lean years, Derek wouldn't have any of this.

So they traveled all the way from their hometown and ordered Derek to cut ties with Chloe immediately.

Chloe burst into tears on the spot, clutching her stomach, wailing that it hurt.

Mrs. Gentry Sr. had seen it all before. She spat directly in Chloe's face and let loose.

"You shameless little tramp. This family will never acknowledge a loose woman like you. Take that bastard in your belly and get the hell outfar as you can go."

Chloe couldn't take the humiliation. She dropped to her knees and begged me.

"Grace, I know you told Auntie. But I don't blame you. I didn't know my placeI actually thought I could have Derek's love like you do. I'm not worthy. I'll leave right now."

She wiped her tears, stood up in a huff, and walked out.

Derek's eyes flooded with heartache. He chased after her, pulled her into the car, and spent ages comforting her before finally turning back to dump all his fury on me.

"Grace, go out there and kneel and apologize to Chloe!"

I stared at him coldly, refusing to back down.

"Derek, you cheated and left your brain in Chloe's uterus too, didn't you? I'm the legal wife and she's the mistresswhy should I apologize to her?"

He was so furious he laughed, his eyes vicious. "Fine. Then don't blame me for making you live like a widow for the rest of your life."

After that fight, Derek moved out and openly started his shameless cohabiting life with Chloe.

Every single day after that, Chloe was constantly showing off Derek's favoritism toward her.

A string of photos hit my phonepictures of them posing in front of a new villa.

"I got wronged, and he stood up to his parents for me. He even bought a villa just to hide me away, so no one can hurt me."

"His phone's photo album is full of me too, hehe. No room for any other woman."

"The nursery's ready too. He said he only wants the baby I give birth to. As for that other one, he'll just treat it like raising a dog."

My eyes burned, but there were no tears left to fall.

In eight years of marriage, I had already cried enough tears for Derek Gentry.

From now on, never again.

That afternoon, I took a cab to the hospital and scheduled an abortion.

The moment my body touched the cold operating table, an inexplicable sorrow rose in my chest.

"Ms. Chapman, are you ready?"

The doctor confirmed again and again, worried I would regret it.

"Mm. Start as soon as possible. Every minute, every secondI want to end this suffocating marriage as soon as possible."

When the anesthetic entered my veins, I felt so tired, so tired, like I was sinking into a very long dream.

In the dream, I was seventeen again. Derek was waiting for me downstairs at the dorm, then foolishly handed me the hot milk he'd been keeping warm, hidden against his chest.

Then it was the winter after graduation. The first snowfall came, and all the roads were blocked.

Derek and I walked hand in hand to City Hall.

He bought roses from an elderly couple and patted his chest, promising me that in this life, he would grow old with only me.

Back then, life was hard, but it was sweet enough.

A few years later, he went from having nothing to building a business empire with his bare hands, fulfilling his promise and giving me a wealthy life.

And later, he cheated.

A sharp wave of pain yanked me back to reality.

When I opened my eyes, the procedure was over.

I asked the doctor to give me back the embryo that hadn't had time to develop.

Originally, it had a chance to come into this world, but Derek destroyed that.

"Baby, Mom loves you very much. But Mom has to learn to love herself first."

The moment I got home, Derek's call came through.

"Chloe said your pearl necklace is really pretty, so I let her take it to wear. But the quality was too lousyshe barely touched it and it fell apart. She feels really guilty and wants to apologize."

"If it's convenient, come to the riverside villa. And make a fruit cake and bring it over too. Today's Chloe's birthdayshe likes it."

Shock hit me first, and I rushed to the vanity to rummage through it. Sure enough, the necklace was gone.

That was Mom's keepsake. The last thing she left me.

"Hello? Grace, are you listening?"

Derek's voice was impatient.

My anger surged, and my usual meekness vanished. I shouted at him, "Derek, you bastarddo you have any conscience at all? That was my pearl necklace, the last thing my mom left me to remember her by. What right do you have to give it to Chloe?"

Even through the phone, I could feel his dark expressionnot a trace of apology.

"Grace Chapman, who do you think you're giving attitude to? It's just a string of worthless beads. I'll transfer money to your card laterbuy another one."

"If you have time to throw a fit, you might as well get to the kitchen and make that cake."

I was so furious my legs gave out. I crumpled to the floor, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the divorce agreementalready signed.

"Fine. I'll make it right now. But you have to agree to one thing."