Marry My Billionaire Second Husband

"Amelia?"

Amelia stiffened when she heard the familiar voice call out her name through the door. It greatly muffled the speaker, but with how she was nearly plastered against the wall, she could still catch it.

There was a short chuckle, followed by a harrumph of disgust.

"She's nothing more than a loyal dog."

Instantly, her blood chilled in her veins. Amelia could recognize that voice anywhere. After all, they had spent countless nights entangled with each other, with him moaning her name. Only, she had never heard her name spoken with such coldness and nonchalance.

"Man, that's harsh," a bark of laughter came from inside, followed by many others. "She's still your wife, Caleb! Or are you planning to divorce her now that the heiress of Friesent Corp is back?"

Amelia's hands began to tremble as she bit down on her bottom lip.

No, this must be a coincidence. She had a common name, and her husband did too. There was a high chance that there must be a different couple in Sol City with the same names they did.

Right?

"Are you still toying with her?" another man asked from inside the room, someone Amelia didn't recognize. To be fair, she recognized none of them. Caleb had never let her meet his friends and hardly ever mentioned them by name. "She's your wife. One day, you'll have to come clean with her that you're the future heir of W&W Industries. You can't keep her in the dark forever."

"Don't you know, Benji? Until she has proven herself, she will never know the man she truly married," someone said. There were a lot more snickers but they were slowly drowned out by the rapid thundering of Amelia's heart. "The great Mr. Caleb Walton thinks that his wife is a gold digger!"

"And she is nothing but a foolish bitch to not figure out Caleb's identity even after all this while!"

More laughter rang from inside the room, and Amelia soon found it difficult to stand upright. Her knees felt wobbly and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. That name was the final nail in the coffin.

She looked down at the diamond ring on her finger, the stone painfully small. Back then, Caleb had said that he hadn't any money to buy her a proper ring and that when his business flourished, he would replace this tiny gemstone with a big diamond, one she could boast about.

Amelia could still remember the way her heart fluttered at his words back then. She hadn't cared about the size of the gemstone and was just happy that she would now be able to live with her best friend and partner in crime.

Through the dark, grueling days of poverty and struggle, their wedding vows had given her so much strength to get through to the next day. Everything had been for Caleb's startup company― ever since they got married, Amelia had worked tirelessly day after day, her wages sent directly to Caleb's card.

Was it all a lie?

"What are you doing here?"

Amelia jumped in her skin when she heard that sharp bark, spinning around with her hand to her chest to see her manager, Nigel, standing right behind her. He gestured at the door, spit erupting from his lips as he spoke.

"Get back to work! Room 58 has been waiting for their beverages for the last half an hour!" He glowered at her, taking a menacing step forward. "One more daydream and I am docking your pay, Kentwood."

Adjusting his facial expression, he walked past Amelia, making sure to knock against her shoulder harshly before pushing the door open. Amelia paled when she looked up and realized the number etched into the bronze plate outside the door she had been eavesdropping.

"Mr. Walton," Nigel said from inside the room. Amelia could already hear the sickly sweet smile in his voice, no doubt eager to please. "So sorry for the delay. Your wine is here."

"Well, hurry up then!" one of Caleb's friends yelled from inside. "We've been waiting forever!"

"Yes, of course, Mr. Rutherford― What on earth are you standing there for?" Nigel's voice was a hushed, frantic murmur as he desperately tried to wave Amelia into the room.

She collected herself, sucked in a deep breath, and lowered her head before scuttling into the room. Just stepping in, through her peripheral vision, she caught sight of the man she shared a bed with― only, she couldn't even recognize him.

On an average day, she could see Caleb in nothing more than an old t-shirt and a pair of worn-down jeans. Perhaps whenever he was about to go out for work, he would don a nicer suit, but it was never something that cost more than what could be bought at the local department store.

Now, even just from one glance, Amelia could smell the way he reeked of money. Caleb's expression was cold, nothing like the usual warm smile he always wore. He had one leg crossed over the other, his expensive dress shoes practically glistening under the dim lighting as he rested his chin against his knuckles. He barely even paid her any attention― and why would he?

Amelia was dressed in the club's uniform and her hair was a greasy mess after working the entire day. She was sure she still stank like the oil from the fast food restaurant she worked at for her last shift.

"Have you heard, Caleb?" one of the men said, ignoring Nigel and Amelia as they began to serve the wine. "Kelsie Friesent is back. Rumor on the street is that she is eager to rekindle the romance between you two."

"They broke up years ago," another said, sneering. "And if I recall, Kelsie was the one to break it off. Caleb is married now."

"That doesn't mean he can't get a divorce," said the first man with a laugh. "So what's it going to be, Caleb? You can't possibly have caught feelings for that mangy street dog, have you?"

"Me? Catch feelings for her?" Caleb said.

The moment he spoke, Amelia's movements paused as an instinctive bodily reaction. Her breath caught in her throat and her movements stilled. Even Nigel turned to look at her with alarm, nodding at the wine glasses subtly as though trying to pull her out of her reverie, but to no avail.

"Doesn't she work hard to get money for your fake startup?" one of Caleb's friends laughed. "Where else can you find such a loyal wife?"

"Say, Caleb, if you're actually tired of her, mind sharing her with me?" another said, much to the delight of the men present.

"Go ahead," Caleb said nonchalantly, a ghost of a smile in his voice. "I'm just about sick of her anyway."

"Are you sure you want her?" one teased. "Who knows how she earned all that money? She might be just about as used as a dirty kitchen rag at this point―"

That man was cut off by the sound of a shatter. Bits of glass flew everywhere and everyone present was startled where they were, turning their attention to the poor girl who kneeled in front of the tables, a smashed wine bottle in her hand.

"What the hell?!"

The scent of alcohol permeated the room as everyone stared at the girl. Glass shards scattered across the floor, and even though the music was still loud and roaring, all Amelia could hear was the sound of her blood roaring in her veins.

"Amelia Kentwood, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Nigel hissed, his face turning as red as a tomato after having lost his cool, but Amelia paid him no heed. Her head was bent low as tears filled her eyes, Caleb's hurtful words playing like a haunting melody in her head.

'She's nothing more than a loyal dog.'

A choked sob escaped her lips. Her husband, the man she would willingly walk on hot coals for, the man she had worked herself to the bone to support, had played her for a fool, treating her like an animal.

A broken wine bottle was the least of her worries. She listlessly watched the wine spread all over the hard floor, reminiscent of the bleeding wound that was her heart.

Nigel continued to scream, his anger rising when Amelia refused to apologize or clean up her mess. All she did was remain kneeling in silence. She was utterly pathetic, and if she caused him to lose the patronage of such an exclusive clientele, Nigel would personally beat her black and blue before the day was out.

"Are you out of your damn mind?! Do you even know how much this wine costs? You won't be able to pay it back even if you sold that lousy body of yours!" Nigel raged, rolling up his sleeves. "Now get the fuck up and clean this mess before I send you out on the streets!"

"What a dumb bitch," one of Caleb's friends, a woman, exclaimed in outrage.

"Nigel, what is the meaning of this? We didn't pay for such haphazard service!" Another woman complained.

"Maybe we should take our gatherings elsewhere," a man chimed in mockingly. "I'm sure there are other bars with less clumsy servers."

"Come on, let's not yell at the poor server like this. The bottle isn't that expensive. I'll pay for it."

Amelia's heart raced as she heard Caleb's voice. Perhaps this was simply a bad dream, and she would wake up in his loving arms as they woke up to face the day. Caleb loved her, and he was always kind. That was one of the reasons she had been drawn to him, despite his poverty.

The Caleb she knew would never have been capable of such cruelty. Amelia's mind simply could not make sense of it. It was as though she had tripped and fell into an alternate dimension. This was simply a nightmare.

However, Caleb's next words dashed her fragile hopes. "Only if she licks it up with her tongue like a dog!" Caleb added, and his friends burst out into hoots and hollers.

"Caleb, you naughty boy!"

"I knew you weren't that nice!"

Amelia froze. Nigel gripped her hair tight enough to hurt and leaned down so that he was glaring straight into her teary eyes.

"If you have no better plans, you better start licking," Nigel hissed out. "I'm not paying for your mistakes."

With that final statement, he flung her head back down, the force of his blow causing her hands to fall on the shattered glass shards. Amelia winced in pain, but that paled in comparison to the upheaval her heart just went through.

Caleb wanted her to lick up wine with her tongue?

Impossible. She shook her head and steadily got up to her feet.

"I won't do it," she said, her voice trembling. "You can't make me."

Jeers greeted her weak pronouncement, and she felt Nigel stiffen beside her.

"Guess you'll have to pay for it some other way then. Hey Caleb, maybe you should get her to entertain you! Her body isn't bad!"

Amelia shuddered as she felt their appraising eyes leer all over her body.

While her uniform covered her from neck to toe, it was skin-tight, stretching across her breasts and thighs while faithfully hugging the curve of her waist to ensure customers got some eye candy.

"Kinda sexy, truth be told. I think she's even hotter than your wife!" the man continued. If Amelia were not so devastated, she would have laughed at the irony of that statement.

"That's not hard," Caleb snorted. "That woman isn't anything to look at."

Amelia's heart gave another painful lurch. How could Caleb say such cruel things to her after kissing her good morning with his mouth?

Was everything they had just a lie?

It couldn't be, right?

Amelia raised her head and stared straight into Caleb's eyes. Caleb's eyes widened as he realized the woman he was cheerfully humiliating with his friends happened to be his wife. How he hadn't realized it was her even though Nigel had been screaming her name to the high heavens, Amelia wasn't sure.

And frankly, she couldn't be arsed to care either. Caleb clearly didn't have her in his heart.

"Caleb... How could you do this to me?" Amelia cried out, her words escaping in wretched sobs. "I love you!"

Gasps echoed throughout the room as his friends realized who they had been slinging insults at. After all, they had never met Caleb's mysterious wife since Caleb was pretending to be poor. Twisted mutterings echoed throughout the room as they eyed her the same way vultures would eye a dying animal.

"This is who Caleb married?"

"No wonder he never introduced her to us."

"She must be good in bed, to get him with that face of hers."

But she had no eyes for anyone else but Caleb. Caleb, who used to gaze at her with such love and affection, now only had a viscous cruelty in his eyes. It took him only a small beat to recover from his initial shock, and the smile on his face turned sinister rather than the usual warm one Amelia was familiar with.

"What good is your love, Amelia?" He smirked up at her forlorn demeanor.

Amelia stumbled back as if she was struck dumb by his words.

Poor Amelia― she was a good toy while it lasted, but Caleb knew he was meant for greater things.

"Since the cat's out of the bag, I might as well end this charade now," Caleb said, his voice casually cheerful. "Amelia Kentwood, I'm divorcing you."

"You... You're divorcing me," Amelia repeated nonplussed, as though the words would make more sense coming out of her mouth than his. Her mind was whirling faster than the cup rides in the amusement park.

"Oh, come on, don't look so surprised." Caleb crossed his arms and smirked. "Did you honestly believe that I would stay with you for the rest of our lives?"

"Yes!" The word burst out of Amelia's lips like sparks off a hot coal. "That's what marriage means!"

The table burst out laughing as though she had told a good joke.

"Maybe that would be true if I actually met a woman worth marrying," Caleb said, leaning back against his chair as he peered up at her with disdain in his eyes.

"You're not hard either," one of the women tittered playfully. "Guess she can't do it for you."

Again, the crowd of Caleb's friends burst into roaring laughter. Amelia could feel her face burn brightly hot red― she wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole. She would give anything to not be here right now, anything to wake up in her bed only to realize that this was all just a bad dream.

"Look at her," one of the men said. "She looks so shocked that she might just piss herself!"

"Ew, gross!"

More mocking laughter filled the room. Beside her, Nigel had turned into a stone statue. He was broiling in a mixture of shock, disbelief, and confusion. On one hand, he was panicked about having treated Caleb Walton's lawfully wedded wife like that. On another, he was sure that he wouldn't be in any trouble― whatever Nigel had ever said or done to Amelia was a mere grain of salt in comparison to what Caleb himself was doing!

And divorce!

Caleb Walton certainly didn't seem to care about this wife of his!

"Well, what are you waiting for?" one of the women prodded, sneering at Amelia and Nigel as though they were two fat bugs on the road. "Get to cleaning. It's dangerous to walk around, don't you know?"

"Y-Yes... Yes!" Nigel said, jolting back to attention. He spun to Amelia, gesturing to the glass shards of the broken wine bottle. Running out, he quickly returned with a broom and a dustpan. "Hurry up!"

Right as Amelia was about to take the broom, her hands still shivering, a sharp click of the tongue stopped them short.

"I think using your hands will be enough," the same woman said with a coy smile.

She leaned back into the seat, snuggling deep into Caleb's outstretched arm that was resting against the backrest. Caleb didn't flinch, silently allowing the woman's actions, and she grew bolder. She placed a hand on Caleb's chest, gently stroking the muscles that stretched the shirt taut.

Amelia's eyelids twitched as she watched, biting down on her bottom lip so hard that it began to draw blood.

"There's no need to use a broom," the woman said. "What if the glass shards get stuck there? Wouldn't that be dangerous?"

Snickers filled the room. Amelia turned her gaze to Caleb; she had a bit of hope left in her - however little - that he might just speak up for her. After all, it would be dangerous to touch it with bare hands, especially after Amelia had already accidentally cut herself on the shards when the bottle was smashed.

However, Amelia's face quickly fell when the seconds ticked on without a sign from Caleb. He didn't say a single word, simply turning his attention away to his friends. Their conversation resumed as though it hadn't been disturbed, with some of Caleb's friends either glancing at Amelia with mockery in their eyes or the rare bit of pity.

Her lips trembled but she wasn't allowed a second of reprieve. Before she could stomp out of the room, Nigel's hands found her shoulders, shoving her to her knees. She collapsed painfully against the floor, her knees scraping against some of the glass shards while her palms dragged across the floor.

Amelia's hands worked on autopilot, instinctively grabbing the scattered glass shards. Pinpricks of pain shot through her fingers and palms but it wasn't enough to wake her up from this nightmare. Her tears fell from her eyes as she worked, mixing with the red of her blood and the plum shade of the wine.

As she picked up some of the shards, she couldn't help but stare. They resembled her― broken and destroyed. Her entire world had collapsed in the span of fifteen minutes.

"Stop wasting time, you incompetent fool!" Nigel yelled.

He kicked her from the back, causing Amelia to stumble forward when she tried to get up to discard the waste. Whatever she had collected fell back onto the floor with a tinkling sound, attracting the eyes of Caleb's friends, who all could no longer pretend to ignore what was going on. However, none had the desire to help. Even if they did, none acted upon it.

"You're useless!" Nigel continued.

He realized that Caleb Walton didn't just dislike his wife― he most likely hated her! With how his friends took great joy in watching Amelia suffer, Nigel might get a hefty tip if he played along as the protagonist to their new favorite pastime. As such, he raised his voice and his strength.

This time, when Amelia turned around, Nigel's palm quickly came into contact with her cheek, causing her head to spin to one side. Her hand flew to hold the reddened spot immediately, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as she hadn't expected it coming. Nigel was a horrible manager, but he had never been physical.

Nigel, who had been so immersed in his act, failed to realize the amusement in Caleb's eyes died down as his expression darkened.

"How hard is it to sweep up some shards of glass?" Nigel screamed, spit spilling from his lips as he continued. "If you can't even handle some basic work, consider yourself―"

"Fired."