CHAPTER 3 — The Husband Who Chose the Wrong Woman
CHAPTER 3 — The Husband Who Chose the Wrong Woman
The first thing I did the next morning was turn off my phone.
Not because I wanted to hide.
Not because I was afraid.
But because for three years, every time Dominic called, I answered.
Every time his family criticized me, I listened.
Every time they hurt me, I waited for him to defend me.
And every time...
I convinced myself that love meant patience.
But patience without respect was just another word for suffering.
My father's estate was quiet that morning.
The kind of quiet I had forgotten existed.
No Eleanor's sharp comments.
No Chloe's fake smiles.
No uncomfortable dinners where I had to carefully choose every word.
Just sunlight pouring through the windows.
A peaceful morning.
A fresh start.
But peace didn't erase pain.
Especially not when the person who caused it was still the man I had loved.
At nine o'clock, my father's assistant entered the dining room.
"Miss Carter."
I looked up from my coffee.
"Yes, James?"
"Mr. Hayes is here."
My hand stopped.
I didn't need to ask which Mr. Hayes.
There was only one person.
Dominic.
My father looked at me from across the table.
The decision was mine.
For years, everyone had decided things for me.
Tonight.
Today.
Every moment after this.
I would choose.
"Let him in."
My father studied my expression.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
"I need to hear what he has to say."
A few minutes later, Dominic walked into the room.
And for the first time since I met him...
He looked lost.
The confident businessman who always knew what to say was gone.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
His eyes were tired.
He looked like someone who had spent the entire night realizing his world had collapsed.
But I didn't let myself feel sorry for him.
Because I remembered standing alone in that ballroom.
I remembered asking him for help.
And I remembered his answer.
Silence.
"Vivienne."
My name sounded strange coming from him.
Like he was afraid to say it.
I remained seated.
"Dominic."
A long silence passed.
Then he stepped closer.
"I made a mistake."
I almost laughed.
A mistake.
That was the word people used when they wanted forgiveness without accepting damage.
I looked at him.
"Which one?"
His face changed.
"What?"
"The moment you watched Eleanor tear my dress?"
"Or the moment you believed I needed to prove I was innocent?"
"Or the moment you found out Chloe planned everything and still came here expecting me to listen?"
His jaw tightened.
"Vivienne, I didn't know what Chloe was planning."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You didn't."
"You just knew she was hurting me."
He looked away.
Because that was the truth.
He couldn't deny it.
"I was trying to avoid making things worse."
I stared at him.
"Do you know what people say when they don't want to choose a side?"
He looked at me.
"They say they are being reasonable."
My voice became colder.
"But sometimes refusing to choose is still a choice."
Dominic sat across from me.
"I love you."
Those words used to mean everything.
Today...
They meant nothing.
"Do you?"
His eyes lifted.
"Yes."
"Then why did you let them treat me like that?"
Silence.
I continued.
"Why did you never stop Chloe when she insulted me?"
"Why did you never stop your mother when she mocked my background?"
"Why did you let me believe I had to earn your family's approval?"
His expression broke.
"I thought things would get better."
I smiled sadly.
"That's the problem, Dominic."
"You always thought."
"But you never acted."
Before he could respond, my father placed a file on the table.
Dominic looked at it.
His expression immediately changed.
"What is that?"
I answered.
"Your company records."
His eyes moved toward my father.
"Mr. Carter..."
My father interrupted.
"Don't."
The single word carried enough power to silence him.
"You came here to apologize."
"Good."
"But before you ask my daughter to forgive you, you need to understand what you allowed."
Dominic opened the file.
Inside were copies of financial documents.
Emails.
Contracts.
His face became pale.
"I don't understand."
James stepped forward.
"We discovered several business agreements between Hayes Enterprises and companies connected to Carter International."
Dominic looked confused.
"I don't know what this means."
My father leaned forward.
"It means someone inside your company has been using information they had no right to access."
Dominic stared at him.
Then at me.
"Vivienne..."
"I didn't know."
I believed him.
And that was the worst part.
Because Dominic was not the mastermind.
He was something more complicated.
A man who wasn't cruel enough to plan my destruction.
But weak enough to allow it.
And weakness could destroy someone just as easily as cruelty.
My father closed the file.
"Your family knew."
Dominic froze.
"What?"
"Your mother."
"Your sister."
"They knew exactly who Vivienne was."
His face lost all color.
"No."
My father slid another document across the table.
A background report.
"Three years ago, before your wedding, Eleanor investigated my daughter."
Dominic picked it up.
His hands shook.
The report included my full identity.
My education.
My inheritance.
My connection to Carter International.
Everything.
"They knew."
My father said.
"They knew she wasn't a woman with nothing."
"They knew she was my daughter."
"They simply decided pretending she was worthless gave them power."
Dominic stared at the pages.
The realization destroyed him.
All those years.
Every insult.
Every humiliation.
They had not been based on ignorance.
They were deliberate.
"I swear to you..."
His voice cracked.
"I didn't know."
I believed him.
But I still felt nothing.
Because there was another truth.
Even if he didn't know my name...
He knew my pain.
And he ignored it.
I stood up slowly.
My pregnancy made every movement harder.
But my voice was stronger than ever.
"Dominic."
He looked at me.
"I don't hate you."
A small hope appeared in his eyes.
Then I continued.
"But I don't trust you."
That hope disappeared.
"And without trust..."
I paused.
"There is no marriage."
His face fell.
"Are you saying you want a divorce?"
I looked at the man I once believed was my forever.
"I am saying I need to decide whether the woman I became with you can survive another day beside you."
A tear slipped down his face.
The sight would have broken me months ago.
Not anymore.
Because I finally understood.
Love was not proven by how long you could endure pain.
Love was proven by whether someone tried to prevent it.
Dominic stood slowly.
"I will fix this."
I looked at him.
"No."
He stopped.
"You don't fix this for me."
"You fix it because you finally understand what you did."
He lowered his head.
Then walked away.
After he left, my father approached.
"Are you okay?"
I looked out the window.
At the driveway where Dominic disappeared.
"No."
I answered honestly.
"I'm not."
A pause.
"But I'm going to be."
My father smiled slightly.
Because he knew.
The quiet woman who entered his house last night...
was gone.
And the woman standing there now?
She was finally ready to fight.
That afternoon, Chloe made her first mistake.
She went on social media.
She posted a picture from her wedding.
A caption appeared beneath it:
"Some people will do anything to destroy a happy family. But the truth always comes out."
Within minutes, thousands of comments appeared.
She thought the world was on her side.
She didn't know my father had already contacted the legal team.
She didn't know the security footage was only the beginning.
And she definitely didn't know...
the woman she tried to destroy was about to expose everything.
Because Chloe had stolen a diamond ring.
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But she had accidentally awakened something far more dangerous.
The daughter of Richard Carter.
