Second Chance: Marrying into Wealth

When Lawrence Phillips called to say he wouldn't be home for dinner, I had just placed the last dish on the table.

In the video, Lawrence's handsome face was full of guilt. "I'm sorry, Honey. You know the company is in a growth phase, and I really can't avoid entertaining clients!"

Lawrence is my husband.

Since my parents passed away, he knelt in front of their graves and swore to take care of me for life, to give me a worry-free life. This was already the seventh time this month that he didn't come home because of client meetings.

I felt a bit disappointed, but more than that, I felt heartache.

Today is his birthday. I had planned to cook a meal of his favorite dishes to celebrate, but he was so busy working for our future that he couldn't even come home.

"It's okay." He seemed to be hiding in the bathroom to call me. I looked at the white wall behind him and the noisy background outside, and said softly, "Drink less alcohol. If it's too late and unsafe, don't come back tonight. Come back tomorrow."

Lawrence looked instantly moved. "Honey, you're too good to me. Marrying you is my greatest fortune!"

He wanted to say more, but there was a sudden knock on the door.

Then a charming female voice sounded, "Lawrence, are you ready?"

My heart tightened. That voice and that address.

Just as I was about to ask, Lawrence hurriedly said, "Honey, the client is urging me. I can't talk now. Love you!"

With that, he kissed the screen and hung up the video call.

On my end, I felt a moment of unease.

Even if a client didn't call him Mr. Phillips, they shouldn't address him so intimately, right?

But that woman called him so intimately?

Maybe she was an assistant or something from the client's side.

Isn't it common now to use more intimate addresses to build closer relationships?

However, suspicion, like a seed, had been planted in my heart.

I ate dinner without tasting it and kept comforting myself while washing up, thinking it might be the pregnancy hormones making me suspicious.

Lawrence loves me so much, is gentle and considerate. He doesn't seem like someone who would mess around outside.

Even though I kept telling myself this, I still slept uneasily.

In a daze, I suddenly heard my phone ring.

Instinctively, I picked it up, thinking it was Lawrence calling for me to pick him up.

"Hello?"

I called out, but there was no response from Lawrence's end, only the sound of intertwined heavy breathing.

I froze, my heart tightening.

I sat up, clutching the blanket, and turned on the light. "Hello, speak up. Who are you?"

My heart was in my throat, and unease gripped my throat, making it hard to breathe.

The breathing continued, but then a charming voice spoke.

"Every time you see me, it's like you haven't had sex in ages, wanting to devour me. How does Melinda even manage to be your wife, leaving you so unsatisfied!"

Melinda Turner, that's my name.

Hearing this, I held my breath instinctively.

Then I heard a very familiar voice, but in a tone of disdain I had never heard before.

"Why bring up that fat and ugly Melinda at a time like this? It's disgusting!"

Boom!

That sentence was like a thunderbolt, making my head buzz.

In the later stages of my pregnancy, my appetite had increased significantly, and I had gained over thirty pounds.

I had gone from a slender figure of over ninety pounds to a plump one of over one hundred and twenty pounds.