Chapter 11
I clutched my aching chest and quietly left.
Walking through the restaurant corridor, my mind went completely blank.
I had heard with my own ears how William obeyed another woman's every word. To say it didn't hurt would be a lie.
After all, we'd been in love for ten years, and those once-happy memories were still vivid in my mind.
It was just that someone had cheated in this relationship.
Something cold and wet trickled from the corner of my eye. I wiped it away and looked at the moisture on my fingers, suddenly feeling a surge of determination.
Why should I be the one running away when William was the one in the wrong?
Besides, if he refused to divorce, my only option would be to file a lawsuit.
Hearing Olivia's laughter behind me, I stepped aside into a corner and secretly noted which private room she entered, a bold plan forming in my mind.
If I could get evidence of William and Olivia's affair, wouldn't I have more leverage when discussing divorce with him?
Even if he insisted on refusing the divorce, I'd have evidence to file for one!
With this thought, I quietly took out my phone and headed to their private room.
The door wasn't fully closed, and I could hear their wild laughter from the doorway.
"Olivia, that won't do. You have to drink it all."
"William, look at them."
"It's fine, it's just one drink. I'll drink it for her."
"No way, William. If you drink for Olivia, it won't be that simple."
From the voices, it seemed to be William's close friends.
"Then what do you suggest?"
"How about this? Let Olivia feed you the drink with her mouth, then we'll agree. Otherwise, you two finish the whole bottle."
"Right! It only counts as drinking for her if it's mouth-to-mouth!"
"Mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mouth!"
Everyone in the room started cheering.
Through the crack in the door, I saw Olivia sitting on William's lap, shyly nestled in his arms.
From the way William's friends were acting, they seemed to know Olivia quite well too.
It appeared that everyone around William knew about him and Olivia. I was the only fool who didn't.
At that moment, I couldn't care about the heartache. I took out my phone, turned on the video function, and secretly recorded William and Olivia kissing mouth-to-mouth.
What started as feeding each other drinks turned into passionate kissing; I captured the entire three minutes on video.
Watching them pull apart, both looking completely satisfied, I felt a cold chill in my heart.
I put away my phone and kicked the door open.
Under everyone's shocked gaze, I strode up to Olivia and William.
"Layla?" William's eyes flashed with delight when he saw me.
He pushed Olivia off his lap and reached out to grab me, but I dodged to the side.
"William, you disgust me." With that, I used all my strength and slapped both William and Olivia across the face.
The deafening sound echoed through the room. Everyone fell silent.
I looked around and realized the room wasn't just filled with William's unreliable childhood friends, but also several executives from the Brown Group.
A slight smile crossed my lips.
'Perfect. This will make your humiliation complete!' I thought to myself.
"Mrs. Brown, what are you doing? William and I were just playing a game. Why treat me like this?" Olivia, with the red handprint on her face, whimpered and tried to lean against William.
"Shut up!" William, no longer the gentle gentleman from before, his face full of hostility, impatiently shoved her hard, pushing Olivia to the ground.
Because it was so sudden, Olivia knocked over wine glasses on the table as she fell.
The room was filled with the sound of glasses crashing to the floor.
Some people rushed to help Olivia up, others nervously retreated to corners, and some secretly took out their phones to record this dramatic scene of catching cheaters.
"Layla, have you made enough of a scene? Come home with me now!"
"William, I've made myself very clear. I want a divorce. That place is no longer my home!"
Seeing Olivia's white dress stained with red wine and fruit, her smooth long hair now sticky and messy, I felt a bit of satisfaction.
I dusted off my hands, coldly glancing at William. "William, if you won't agree to a peaceful divorce, fine. I have video evidence of you and Olivia cheating. I can divorce you through a lawsuit just the same."
With that, I turned to leave.
"Layla! I told you, there's a limit to throwing tantrums."
In the corridor, William chased after me and grabbed my arm.
I winced in pain, but he seemed not to notice, gripping even harder.
His face dark, he pinned me against the wall and warned through gritted teeth, "Layla, my patience has limits. Come home with me right now and never mention divorce again! Otherwise, I won't go easy on you anymore!"
"Go easy on me? William, when have you ever treated me well? From the day I married into your family, your mom has been finding fault with me, and all you do is tell me to endure it. Even the servants dare to scold me, and you still tell me to endure it."
"I said I wanted to work, but you said I wasn't capable enough, that I wouldn't earn much anyway, and told me to stay home and be a rich wife. But tell me, what kind of rich wife has no cash on hand and can only use credit cards? And every single purchase gets questioned by your mom, with receipts to bring home? Is this what you call being a rich wife?"
"And ever since I married you, you've been putting me down, telling me I'm not capable, that my designs are no good. But the truth is, I've won countless awards since college!"
"William, why do you have another woman but still won't let me go? I just want to earn money with my own hands. What's wrong with that? What gives you the right to blacklist me in the industry?"
Years of grievances and suppression erupted in that moment, and I shouted out all the past wrongs.
Like a crazed animal, I hit William hard and pushed him away.
His friends and colleagues from the private room came out, their expressions complicated.
I knew that after today, topics about William listening to everything his mom and manipulating his wife would spread throughout the Brown Group.
That was exactly the effect I wanted. Why should I be the only one suffering while he gets to look good and live it up?
"Layla! You've lost your mind. Come home with me right now!" William's eyes turned red as he dragged me toward the restaurant exit.
I struggled to break free, instinctively wanting to find Matthew for help.
But I never got the chance to return to the original private room. At William's command, security guards tied me up and even gagged my mouth.
"To Silverlake Villa."