"Lisa McGrath has just gone public with her romance, and she's recently found to be with Edward Clarkson, the chairman of Alderley Industries..." The entertainment news channel had been looping this sensational news for a while. In the kitchen, however, the busy figure did not pause at all, as if the protagonist of the gossip was not her nominal husband.
Two hours later, Nanci Ross finally gave up cooking and ordered takeout with her phone. Just as she finished setting the table, the sound of the smart lock echoed from the door.
"You're home." She advanced and took his suit jacket from him. As she turned around, the man embraced her from behind, his clear breath enveloping her as he forcibly turned her chin and sealed her lips roughly. A faint smell of alcohol entered her nose, causing her to daze momentarily before she stiffly pushed him away.
Edward wrapped his arms around her waist, his gaze lowering pensively, his brows slightly furrowed. "What's wrong?" Typically, she would have reciprocated, but today was unexpectedly different. "Is it inconvenient?" he guessed softly.
Her eyelashes trembled lightly as she hesitated before speaking, "Is what they say about you and Lisa McGrath true?" He was silent for a moment. If her push had been unusual, her questioning was even more so. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. "Are you questioning me?"
"Can't I?" she retorted weakly. Even though she said this, she knew the answer better than anyone else. Of course, she couldn't.
Three years ago, she was merely a disheveled orphan he had picked up from the streets, and they had quickly married, silencing all doubts from the Clarkson family. However, since Mrs. Clarkson found her presentable, the Clarkson family hid the marriage from the public. Over these three years, Edward had numerous scandals every other day, while Nanci neither inquired nor fussed, content to play the role of a virtuous wife. She knew that he had married her only for this reason.
She also knew that what she was about to say would definitely cross his line. As expected, the man's blue eyes narrowed, his fingertips caressing her cheek, his voice cool. "When did pets start questioning their masters? Feeling brave today, are you?"
"We are husband and wife!" Nanci's voice trembled, seemingly releasing long-suppressed emotions. "How many times has it been? Can't you even give me an explanation? Today it's an actress, tomorrow a model. They know you're married, but you do! What's the point of our marriage then?"
Edward didn't understand why she had changed so much tonight. Disinclined to deal with the shrew-like Nanci, he watched her silently for a long while before saying, "It's indeed pointless. Let's get a divorce."
Upon hearing this, Nanci almost couldn't control the corners of her lips from curling up, and she forced a shocked, panicked expression. "Wh-What did you say?"
"You and I both know very well why we got married three years ago. Have you played the role of Mrs. Clarkson so long that you've started to believe that we should be a real couple?" His voice was cold and devoid of warmth.
"But you've always been good to me! You never skimp on spending money on me, always bring me gifts when you travel, and help me out when your mother and sister make things difficult for me. You..."
"That's because you're a docile woman." The man looked at her deeply, his voice as chill as if dipped in ice. "But you can't be too greedy, or you won't get anything at all."
Nanci seemed frightened by his words, unable to say anything. She just clasped his shirt tightly with both hands, her eyes brimming with tears, yet she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
Edward treated her like a pet, and indeed she had all the makings of one. With a delicate face and a petite figure, her eyes shimmered like water, especially now, as they brimmed with tears, an image no man could resist.
Watching her like this, Edward felt a surge of irritation. "Tomorrow afternoon, my lawyer will send over the divorce papers. Don't get any ideas, or you can't afford the consequences." With those words, he forcefully pulled away her hand and left without a trace of mercy.
The door slammed shut.
Nanci's frail and lonely figure lingered in the living room for a long time, only moving to ascend the stairs after the sound of the car engine faded away. The moment the door closed behind her, she clenched her fist in front of her chest and whispered excitedly, "Yes!"
Her face lit up with a radiant smile, showing no signs of the despair she had just displayed.
She took out her phone and sent a message to report the situation. "Done! Come help me move tomorrow!"
After three years, she had finally made it. Three years earlier, her stepmother Joanne had schemed to marry her off to a decrepit old man in his sixties. When she heard the news and fled, Joanne had simply arranged for someone to finish her off.
During her desperate escape, Edward found her on the streets. She still remembered the way he looked at her, as if he had found an item that was exactly to his liking.
Then he began to lay out his terms. "Stick with me, and no one in this city will dare to hurt you."
He thought she was just an orphan lost in the streets. Joanne wanted her dead, and just then, she began to feel increasingly weak, suspecting her own life would not last long even if she returned home. So, she simply agreed to his proposal.
Edward moved quickly, securing her a new identity the next day and hastening their marriage.
Over the past three years, Edward had been indulgent. And, setting aside the inexplicable scandals, he truly was a fitting husband, and their days passed peacefully, much like those of a wealthy married couple.
However, she knew well that she and this man were together for their deal, not love.
Now, it was time for her to end everything and settle scores with Joanne.
Brian Mathis, on the other end of the phone, was also thrilled. "Is it really that easy? He didn't suspect anything?"
Easy?
Nanci scoffed. Before Edward came home, she had practiced her facial expressions several times, ensuring they looked repressed yet pitiful from every angle. She looked exactly like a wronged woman who, out of anger, could not help but show her true feelings.
Did he think such a level of acting required no time?
However, she did not bother to explain. "I'll pack up now, and we'll talk more when we meet tomorrow."
She was about to put down her phone when she got another message. "Seriously, I'm curious. With Edward being that handsome and rich, are you really not interested in being Mrs. Clarkson?"
Nanci paused for a moment, thought of her treatment within the Clarkson family, and coldly laughed as she typed. "You seem to have some misconceptions about that."
During these three years, her status in the Clarkson family had been less than that of a servant. In Edward's presence, she had to play the role of a quiet, virtuous wife, always at his beck and call.
In front of his mother, she endured endless insults and oppression, always swallowing her grievances.
And while she strived to maintain familial harmony, she didn't even have the right to take her husband's last name. Everyone thought Edward was single, and countless women threw themselves at him.
And he never spoke up or clarified.
Just the thought had disgusted her enough.
If it weren't for her grandfather's last wish and the Ross family's business...