This Time, I Choose to Walk Away from My Secret Husband

1.

Damon and I were rivals from the day we were born.

We grew up in the same affluent neighborhood of Connecticut, and whenever we met, our minds were already preoccupied with how to trip each other up.

He called me a scheming control freak, saying my personality doomed me to die alone.

I called him an "arrogant bastard with zero emotional intelligence," predicting that even if he got married, it wouldn't last past the honeymoon.

We attacked each other all the way through our Ivy League university, where we both ended up becoming professors.

But when we were twenty-five, our grandfathers left behind a complicated trust fund agreement.

To unlock the massive inheritance, the lawyers told us, Damon and I had to get married and stay married for at least five years.

So, for that damn trust fund, Damon and I got married.

For five years, we weren't just husband and wife; we were partners in crime with a perfect understandingDwe kept our marriage a complete secret from the world.

With his handsome face and academic reputation, Damon became the most sought-after professor on campus. Countless people wanted to get into his bed.

He would rather play games in those ambiguous relationships than ever publicly admit that I was his legal wife.

At the annual department gala, a few colleagues were chatting with me about my love life.

Damon strolled over, a glass of champagne in his hand and that signature fake smile on his face.

"Professor Vance, you're not getting any younger. Still single? Should I set you up? I know a few excellent single men."

2.

In my past life, I had enough of his endless games and slapped our marriage certificate down right out of my purse.

His graduate assistant, Chloe, who was standing right next to him, burst into tears and ran out of the room. She transferred to another professor right after that.

Damon gave me the silent treatment for six whole months because of it, treating me like a stranger.

Then, just before my major research paper was set to be published, Chloe somehow published astonishingly similar data first.

When I confronted them with the evidence, Damon turned on me, testifying to the academic ethics committee that I had plagiarized his "beloved student's" work.

I was fired for "academic misconduct," my reputation destroyed. Blacklisted by the entire industry, I could only hide at home in despair.

It was only then that I understood. To him, I was nothing more than a tool to satisfy his family's trust and keep up appearances.

This time around, in my second chance at life, I met his mocking gaze, elegantly swirled the champagne in my glass, and smiled brightly.

"No need, Damon. My fianc is a very possessive man. He wouldn't like other men hitting on me."

The air instantly froze.

The smile on Damon's face stiffened, almost cracking.

Chloe, sitting beside him, had a flash of cunning in her eyes. She spoke before he could, her voice sickeningly sweet.

"Professor Vance, you really don't think of us as friends! If we hadn't asked today, you probably wouldn't have even sent us an invitation to your wedding, would you?"

I looked at her and gave a deliberately provocative smile. "Some relationships don't need invitations. A legal document is more than enough to prove everything."

In my past life, I was naive enough to think Chloe didn't know about my marriage to Damon, that she was a victim, too. I even felt a pang of guilt for her when Damon chose her over me.

It wasn't until my work was stolen and I watched them toast to their success right in front of my face that I realized she knew everything from the very beginning.

3.

A flicker of venom crossed Chloe's eyes, and for a moment, she was speechless.

Our colleagues quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Hahaha, I knew it! I was wondering why Professor Vance never comes to the Friday singles' mixers. Turns out she's already taken."

I nodded along with him. "My apologies. I'll be sure to introduce you all when I get the chance."

Before I had even finished, Chloe's snarky voice cut in again.

"Really? I feel like Professor Vance is just making up a story to save face."

"After all, it must be a little damaging to a womans pride to be in her thirties and have never been in a relationship."

She dragged out her last words, then turned to the man beside her and cooed, "Don't you think so, Professor Cole?"

Damon didn't even glance at me. He just nodded in agreement with Chloe, his eyes cold.

"Indeed," he said. "It does sound a bit unbelievable."

I laughed at myself, wanting to slap the foolish hope out of my own head.

Just as the awkward silence became suffocating, a deep, magnetic male voice cut through the noise of the banquet hall.

"Is Harper here? I've come to take her home."

Everyone turned toward the voice. A handsome man in a custom Italian suit was striding toward me.

He stopped in front of me, his eyes so gentle they could melt steel, and naturally took my hand.

"Sorry I'm late, Harper. Let's go home."

I let him lead me away, turning my back on everyone.

Behind me, the whispers were impossible to contain.

"Oh my god, isn't that Stellan Thorne? The founder of Thorne Capital, that famous VC firm? He's our lab's biggest investor!"

"Are you dense? He must be the fianc Harper was talking about!"

4.

I could feel Damon's eyes burning into my back.

I pretended not to notice, kept my spine straight, and walked out in silence.

But Damon wasn't going to let it go.

"Harper!" he suddenly shouted from behind me, his voice losing its usual composure.

I stopped and turned, frowning at him. "Professor Cole, is there something you need?"

Chloe clung tightly to Damon's arm, flashing me a triumphant, possessive smile.

"Professor Vance, I'm about to give the keynote speech. Aren't you going to stay and listen? It's our group's latest breakthrough."

I looked at them coldly. "You know exactly what your group's report is worth. It has nothing to do with me."

With that, I ignored the suppressed rage in Damon's eyes and walked out of the banquet hall without a second thought.

Stellan didn't say a word the entire time. He held the car door for me like a gentleman, made sure my seatbelt was fastened, and only then did he turn to me, breaking the silence with a soft chuckle.

"Your apartment, or should we go for a drive?"

I declined his offer. "Please don't trouble yourself, Mr. Thorne. You can just drop me off at the next intersection. I can get a cab from there."

Stellan didn't unlock the doors. Instead, he started the engine. "It's no trouble. Consider my driving you home as payment for the show. Who knows, I might need your help with something in the future."

I couldn't refuse any further, so I gave him my address.

5.

The car had just pulled up to my apartment building when my phone buzzed with a text from Dean Reynolds.

Her tone was more excited than I'd ever heard. "Harper! Check the campus forum! Now!"

Confused, I opened my phone. When I saw the top trending post, my blood ran cold.

The title was: [Youngest Tenured Professor Damon Cole and Student Chloe Present TogetherDThis is a True Power Couple of Research!]

The accompanying photo was from the gala, showing Damon and Chloe side-by-side on stage, smiling at each other. The understanding and tenderness in their eyes practically spilled off the screen.

My sudden change in mood was so obvious that Stellan noticed it immediately.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, putting my phone away and unbuckling my seatbelt. "Thank you for the ride home, Mr. Thorne."

Once I was back in my apartment with the door shut, I took out my phone again and clicked on the post.

I scrolled to the comments. The top two were pinned, from the two people involved.

Damon: "Chloe is my most brilliant student, and the soulmate I want to spend my life with."

Chloe: "Damon is the mentor I respect most, and the lover who protects and adores me."

Even though I already knew about their relationship, even though my heart was already dead, seeing those public declarations of love still made me feel sick and heartbroken.

The public acknowledgment I had waited five years for, Damon had given to someone else in an instant.

And he did it while we were still legally married.

6.

Dean Reynolds's call came through, her voice tinged with anger.

"It's bad enough they made a shameless public announcement!"

"But now that Chloe is twisting the narrative, using the things you said at the gala to spread rumors that you're some 'desperate old hag' trying to wreck their relationship!"

"Harper! You are his legal wife! This is bordering on bigamy. You can't just let them get away with this!"

I didn't answer her directly. Instead, I asked calmly, "Dean, has my resignation been approved?"

There was a pause on the other end. "...If all goes well, the process should be finished by next week. Harper, you're up for a full professorship next year. Are you sure you want to resign now?"

I didn't hesitate. "I'm sure."

"You know as well as I do that I was better than Damon in every way back in school."

"Five years ago, if it weren't for that damn family trust and his endless begging, I never would have turned down the offer from the national laboratory to stay at this university as a simple lecturer."

When we got married five years ago, I did it out of a sense of shared history, and because he promised he would try to build real feelings between us. I compromised.

But now... this marriage had become a joke, and there was no way I was staying.

Not long after I hung up, Damon called.

"You saw the forum post, right?" he started, skipping any pleasantries, his tone matter-of-fact. "Chloe is young and sensitive. I can't let her be gossiped about because of some post."

I pursed my lips, my fingers whitening as I gripped my phone.

Damon's tone grew impatient.

"Harper, don't throw a tantrum. You left with Stellan in front of everyone. Me making an announcement for Chloe just makes us even."

"I'm taking Chloe to a conference in Switzerland tomorrow. I need you to get the data I organized ready. When I get back, we'll find a chance to clear the air publicly, say it was all a misunderstanding for an academic collaboration."

He hung up before I could say a word.

7.

I stared at the dark screen of my phone and let out a bitter laugh.

For five years of our marriage, no one knew about our relationship.

But we were on the same campus; we were bound to cross paths.

Everyone knew we grew up together. I was a lecturer, and he was a star professor. For five years, I'd been accused of sleeping my way to my position, of constantly chasing after Damon.

Every time I told Damon how much it hurt, his only reply was, "You're an adult. Stop being as fragile as a high school girl."

But now, when it was Chloe's turn, he couldn't stand it for a second. He had to stand up and declare to the world that she was his "soulmate."

I thought the worst Damon could do was make the last five years of my life meaningless.

I never imagined he could sink even lower.

That night, around midnight, Damon came home.

And he brought Chloe with him.

I stood at the bedroom door, my face blank, watching Chloe cling to Damon like a koala bear.

Damon glanced at me, then looked away, carefully setting Chloe down on the expensive leather sofa in the living room.

"Chloe had too much to drink. It's not safe for a girl to be in her off-campus apartment alone."

"We have plenty of guest rooms. You're not going to make a big deal about something this small, are you?"

My blood was boiling. "You weren't the only one at the gala."

"You could have taken her to her roommate, or called her an Uber, or gotten her a hotel room for the night."

"Any of those options would have been better than bringing her to our marital home! This is my home, Damon!"

8.

Damon's face immediately darkened.

"Harper! When did you become so cold-hearted and cruel?!"

I was so angry I laughed.

"I'm cold-hearted and cruel?! This is my house! You brought your mistress home, and the fact that I haven't called the cops or thrown her out is me doing you a favor!"

Damon was speechless for a moment. Seeing the raw determination and fury in my eyes, a look he had never seen before, a strange panic bloomed in his chest. He had no choice but to back down.

"Fine, fine," he said, loosening his tie in frustration. "Is it really necessary to make such a scene over something so trivial?"

"Just watch Chloe for a minute. I'll go out to the balcony and call a car to take her home."

But the second he turned to walk toward the balcony, there was a sudden, dull thud from the living room.

Chloe, who had been lying on the sofa, had fallen to the floor. Her ankle was twisted at a bizarre angle, and she let out a pained moan.

Damon whipped around, his eyes wide with shock.

He rushed over, scooping Chloe into his arms. After checking that only her ankle seemed to be injured, he stood up and glared at me, his eyes like ice.

"Harper! I already agreed to send her home! Why did you have to push her from behind?!"

I looked at him, my expression unreadable. "You think... I pushed her? That I'm the reason she broke her ankle?"

Damon's voice was sharp, full of certainty. "Who else could it be? Is there a ghost in here?"

In that instant, a chilling cold washed over me, so profound that it extinguished any desire to even argue.

9.

I took a document I had prepared earlier from the entryway cabinet and blocked the door, stopping Damon as he tried to rush out with Chloe in his arms.

"You want to take her to the hospital? Fine. Sign this first."

Damon's mind was completely consumed by Chloe's tear-streaked face. He didn't even look at the paper I handed himDhe just scrawled his name at the bottom without a second thought.

"Get out of my way!"

He shoved past my shoulder and ran for the elevator with Chloe.

I looked down at the signed divorce papers and let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

That night, I was too excited to sleep. I waited until the courthouse opened the next morning and filed the papers, my heart finally starting to calm down.

At the same time I was filing for divorce, the school's online forums and alumni social media groups absolutely exploded.

[SHOCKING! Female Professor Tries to Homewreck Professor Damon's Relationship, Fails, and in a Fit of Jealous Rage, Causes Student Chloe to Be Seriously Injured and Fall Unconscious!]

The post had two pictures.

One was of me, standing at my door looking at my phone with a cold expression.

The other was of Damon, his face panicked, carrying a seemingly unconscious Chloe just outside my apartment door.

The commenters, thinking they had seen the truth, were all condemning me.

[How does someone like her have the nerve to be a teacher? She's a disgrace to academia!]

[Seducing her student's boyfriend! Harper doesn't deserve to be a professor! The board should fire her immediately!]

[I told you that so-called fianc was fake. It was all a lie she made up to save face!]

Someone questioned the source of the photos, but the original poster provided a timestamped screenshot from the security camera.

Looking at the familiar angles, my breath caught in my throat.

Those photos... they were from the hallway security camera. Only a resident or building management could access that footage!

There was no doubt. The person who framed me as a violent homewrecker was Damon.

10.

I called Damon over and over, dozens of times before he finally picked up.

Before I could speak, he said arrogantly, "Harper, you hurt Chloe. You're legally responsible for this."

"If you come to the hospital right now, apologize to Chloe publicly, and cover her medical expenses, I'll have her release a statement forgiving you. She won't press charges, and we can put this behind us."

I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face, the sound echoing in my empty apartment.

"Damon, even if there was no love between us, I am still your legal wife."

"And you want me to go apologize and pay for your mistress?!"

Damon sneered. "Shouldn't you apologize when you've done something wrong?"

"And you call yourself a highly educated person. What kind of example are you setting for your students?"

"If you're not willing now, I have plenty of ways to make you beg to apologize! Just wait for the letter from my lawyer!"

He hung up. Immediately, Dean Reynolds called.

"Harper, what do we do now? The media is already getting involved. There are reporters camped out in front of the department building."

I blinked back my tears and sent her a package of files: the recording of my call with Damon, scanned copies of our marriage certificate, the deed to the apartment, and the high-definition security footage from my living room.

"Dean, contact the PR department. Release everything. If they want to play dirty, I'll show them what dirty really is."