Abandoned Wife: Rising Beyond His Regret

"Let's get a divorce," Theodore Clayton said it while reclining against the headboard. His wife, Brinley Carter, hadn't even gotten dressed yet. They had only just finished making love.

"What did you say?" She froze as the color slowly drained from her face.

Theodore carried himself with a calm, refined air, yet the words that followed sent a chill through Brinley.

"It's only a divorce on paper. Elianna is terminally ill. She doesn't have much time left. All she wants is to be with me. So... don't worry. After she's gone, we'll get married again. A year at most. "

Brinley almost laughed in disbelief. "So let me get this straight. You cheated on me, and now you want to divorce me so you can stay with your mistress until she dies, then marry me again?"

Theodore lowered his eyes toward her, his expression turning cold. "Don't put it that way. She only wants to leave this world peacefully. Is that really so wrong? She doesn't have much time left. Her parents have been bleeding her dry her whole life. In this world, I'm the only person she has."

His words made Brinley feel unsteady. "Then what about me?"

Wasn't he the only person she had as well?

Years ago, Brinley learned she was the fake heiress who had been switched at birth. For twenty years, she had lived as the beloved daughter of a wealthy family while unknowingly taking another girl's rightful place. After the truth was exposed, her parents resented her so deeply that they forced her into a business marriage.

The moment she saw Theodore in a coma, she recognized him immediately. He was the boy who had protected her from a thug years ago.

To repay him for saving her life fifteen years earlier, she agreed to marry him without hesitation, even though he was badly injured.

By the time the Carter family's real daughter returned, Brinley's biological mother had already passed away, while the parents who raised her wanted nothing to do with her. Theodore had become the only person left in her world.

For three years, she remained beside him through every painful step of his recovery. She gave up everything for him and loved him wholeheartedly.

And in the end, this was how he repaid her.

Her voice shook as she held back her tears. "What if I refuse?"

"Brinley!" Anger appeared on Theodore's handsome face. "I've already explained it to you. It's only temporary. In one year, you'll still be my wife. Elianna is weak right now. She can't deal with any emotional stress."

Brinley's heart broke completely. Her lips parted, but for a long time, no words came out.

Only then did she understand that the boy who once stood in front of her and said, "I'm here. Don't be afraid," had long since disappeared. Maybe he had never truly existed at all. Maybe it had all been just her imagination.

When Theodore noticed her silence, his expression eased slightly. "I already promised her I'd stay with her through this. You can continue living here. Other than the legal title, nothing else in your life will change."

As he finished speaking, he took out a black credit card and casually tossed it onto the nightstand.

"You know exactly how you became my wife. There are eight million on this card. I'll give you what you want, but don't be greedy."

His tone was light, almost careless, as though he were talking about something insignificant.

Yet every sentence struck Brinley like a blow to the chest.

How had she become his wife?

Back then, she had begged his family to let her marry him while he remained unconscious after the accident.

But after everything they had been through together, did he truly not understand what she wanted from him?

Never once had she imagined he would use money to insult her like this.

Her thoughts turned blank as bitterness flooded her chest. Even breathing felt painful.

Her voice trembled. "Then what we just did... was that a goodbye fuck?"

"Brinley!"

The atmosphere around Theodore instantly turned cold. His sharp gaze shattered the last traces of warmth left in the room.

"You know I never change my decisions once I've made them."

Silence filled the room, leaving only the sound of their breathing behind.

When Theodore saw her shoulders shaking, he let out a sigh. His voice carried both warning and disappointment. "Brinley, stop acting bitter and unreasonable."

Brinley slowly closed her eyes.

Bitter and unreasonable? He and Elianna were the ones hurting her, yet somehow she became the unreasonable one. What a cruel joke.

After a long pause, she let out a quiet breath. "Fine. I'll agree to the divorce. Let's take care of it tomorrow at nine. There's still a mandatory one-month waiting period, so dragging this out won't change anything."

After saying that, she got out of bed, adjusted the straps of her nightgown, and walked unsteadily toward the bathroom.

But the next second, Theodore grabbed her wrist. His brows drew together as his voice turned low and stern. "What are you doing now? Are you throwing a tantrum?"

Theodore sat at the bed while Brinley stood directly in front of him.

As their eyes met, the love that once filled her gaze was gone. A mocking smile curled her lips, still swollen and red from his kisses moments ago.

"You're the one who asked for a divorce, and I already agreed. Why do you still look unhappy? What more do you want from me?"

"Brinley!" Fury flared in Theodore's eyes.

From his reaction, it almost looked as though she were the one who had betrayed the marriage and demanded a divorce.

She said nothing else. She pulled her wrist from his grasp, walked straight into the bathroom, and shut the door hard behind her.

As soon as the door closed, she leaned weakly against it, her chest hurting so badly she could barely breathe.

From the other side, Theodore's phone started to ring.

"Alright. I'll come over right away."

His gentle and patient voice drifted through the door, followed by the sound of his footsteps leaving without another word to Brinley. Every sound felt like a knife driving deeper into her heart.

The bathroom featured a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror that she had specially installed to add excitement to their intimate life and please him. Now her reflection stood before her, covered in marks left behind by their passion. The sight was painfully ironic.

A long, ugly scar stretched across her lower abdomen, a reminder of how she had saved Theodore five years ago.

At the time, he had only recently woken from his coma and was cold toward her after learning they were married. Then an assassination attempt nearly took his life-she stepped in and took the knife for him. She told him she was just repaying the debt for saving her years ago, and that now they were even.

Yet while she lay in a pool of blood, barely alive, Theodore held her tightly and promised that if she survived, he would spend the rest of his life loving only her.

She survived. What started as a marriage of convenience slowly became real.

All this time, she truly believed she had earned his love.

Now she realized she never truly had it.

To Theodore, she was still the calculating woman who had forced her way into becoming his wife.

She let out a hollow laugh as warm water poured over her body. She scrubbed desperately at the marks on her skin until it turned red and raw.

Once she finished showering, she wrapped herself in a towel, dried her long hair, and slowly calmed herself down.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she sat at the edge of the bed and opened the second drawer of the nightstand. Inside was an invitation to the Horizon Design Competition.

It was the most prestigious design competition in the world, held only once every five years. Even more tempting, the top three winners would receive a fully funded exclusive fellowship overseas.

The deadline for applications was one month away.

It had once been Brinley's greatest dream. But the last time the competition was held, Theodore had just gotten into a car accident and fallen into a coma. In order to take care of him, she withdrew her application and gave up the opportunity to compete. This time, she would not give it up again. She was determined to win and take back her own life.

With that decision made, she opened her laptop and submitted her application.

The divorce process would still take some time, which gave her enough time to prepare everything properly.

She intended to completely cut Theodore out of her life. It would be better if they never saw each other again.

Right after she submitted the application, the phone on her desk vibrated.

She picked it up and saw a message from an unfamiliar number.

Attached was a photo taken outside what appeared to be a hospital. In the picture, a man was carefully shielding a woman beside him, as though protecting the most precious person in the world.

Even though their faces were blurry, Brinley recognized them immediately. It was Theodore and Elianna Watson.

Below the photo was a single sentence. "Theodore said he'll stay with me forever."

This wasn't the first time Brinley had received a provocative message like this.

In the past, she had trusted Theodore completely and firmly believed in his love for her. Because of that, she always ignored these messages and never mentioned them to him. She simply deleted them the moment they arrived.

Looking back now, she realized how foolish she had been.

She didn't respond to the message. Instead, she quietly took a screenshot.

As expected, Theodore never returned home that night.

Brinley slept poorly. Her dreams were filled with scattered memories of their years together. She remembered the joy she felt when he finally woke from his coma, the dangerous days after the assassination attempt, and the passionate promises he whispered during their first night together.

When she woke the next morning, her chest still ached with a heavy, suffocating pain. It felt as though an entire lifetime had passed overnight, and everything between them had already ended.

After a quick breakfast, she arrived at the courthouse right on time.

Ten minutes passed, but Theodore still hadn't appeared. This time, instead of quietly waiting like she always had, she called him directly.

A few seconds later, his cold and distant voice came through the phone. "Hello?"

She could hear papers rustling in the background. He was obviously already at the office.

She wasn't surprised. Theodore had always been obsessed with work. Whether it was an anniversary, a birthday, or a holiday, she was always the one left waiting for him.

But this time, she was done waiting.

"Theodore, I've already been waiting at the courthouse for ten minutes. Can you hurry up?"

Her voice had none of its usual gentleness or patience, none of the sadness or reluctance. She sounded like the one who wanted to end the marriage as quickly as possible.

Theodore's brows immediately furrowed in irritation at being interrupted from work.

Then he seemed to remember something and said, "I'll head over now."

Another twenty minutes passed before Brinley finally saw the familiar black Porsche Cayenne pull up nearby.

The rear door opened, and Theodore stepped out of the car. He had broad shoulders and a tall, commanding figure.

His face carried the same cold, distant expression as always. Every feature was sharp and striking.

He wore a custom-made suit. Every piece he had on, from the shirt and tie down to the cufflinks, had been chosen and matched by Brinley before being sent to his office.

Back then, taking care of those things for him used to make her happy. Now it only felt painfully ironic.

"Let's go inside." Brinley looked away and turned toward the courthouse.

Wearing only a plain white shirt and jeans, she appeared thin and exhausted.

At that moment, Theodore reached out and caught her wrist.

His gaze lowered to her face, and his brows slowly tightened when he noticed how pale her lips were. "Are you sick?"

Brinley laughed bitterly inside. She turned her head and answered coldly, "Whether I'm sick or not has nothing to do with you."

Theodore froze at her cold response. He seemed to want to say something. He stayed put and didn't follow her.

Brinley's chest tightened as confusion flickered across her face. He was the one insisting on a divorce for another woman, so why was he acting concerned now?

She was about to speak when movement behind her caught her attention.

The rear door of the Porsche opened once more, and Elianna stepped out. She wore a lavender dress that made her already slender frame appear even more fragile. Anxiety and unease covered her delicate face.

"Theo, please don't argue!"

Elianna naturally slipped her arm around Theodore's.

Her eyes quickly turned red while her shoulders trembled faintly as she leaned against him with complete familiarity. "Theo..."

This time, Theodore didn't pull away.

That intimate gesture pierced straight through Brinley's heart.

When Elianna noticed the color drain from Brinley's face, triumph flashed briefly through her eyes. Looking up at Brinley, she said softly, "I-I'm really sorry. My health is the reason things turned out this way. I truly don't want you both getting divorced because of me..."

As she spoke, her eyes grew even redder, and her body swayed weakly, looking as fragile and pitiful as possible.

Theodore frowned immediately. His hand, still wearing his wedding ring, moved straight to Elianna's waist to steady her. "None of this is your fault. This divorce is between Brinley and me."

Brinley let out a cold laugh inside. He really was protective of Elianna.

The pain in her chest deepened as she watched Elianna's performance with cold eyes.

This wasn't the first time Elianna had done this. Whether through messages or face to face, she always used those innocent looking tricks to create distance between Brinley and Theodore.

In the past, Brinley had tolerated it. But not anymore.

She suddenly lifted a brow. "Really? Miss Watson, since you are being so understanding, why don't I just follow your suggestion and forget about the divorce?"

Elianna stiffened at once. She clearly hadn't expected Brinley to turn her words against her instead of breaking down in pain. Her expression froze briefly before tears immediately streamed down her face. Soon, soft sobs escaped her lips.

"It's all my fault. I know I shouldn't have acted this way. I'm already such a burden to everyone. You really don't need to care about me..."

While speaking, her face turned even paler as her body weakened, looking as though she might faint at any moment.

Theodore instantly pulled her into his arms. Then he turned toward Brinley with anger and panic flashing across his face. "Do you really have to be this cruel?"

After that, he instructed his assistant to help Elianna rest nearby before grabbing Brinley's wrist and dragging her toward the courthouse entrance.

"What? Do you think these little tricks will change my decision? Don't forget, you're the one who rushed me to come here. You're getting this divorce today whether you like it or not."

A sharp pain twisted through Brinley's chest. Pulled along by him, she stumbled forward a few steps before finally giving up on struggling.

The divorce process moved quickly. Before their wedding, Brinley had already signed a prenuptial agreement in front of his family, so there were no disputes over property between them.

Now all they had to do was wait for the divorce to become official before receiving the final decree.

After signing the papers, Brinley pressed her lips together. She felt there was nothing left to say to Theodore anymore, so she turned and silently walked out.

Theodore watched her slender figure disappear farther away. Even though he was the one who had asked for the divorce, a strange irritation still rose inside him.

He quickly convinced himself that it was only a temporary divorce, nothing serious at all.

With that thought, he hurried after her and walked beside her once again.

"We're having dinner with my parents tonight. Have you already prepared the health supplements for my mother?" His tone sounded as calm and commanding as always, as though they hadn't just signed divorce papers moments earlier.

Only by acting this way could he suppress the faint uneasiness stirring inside him.