While tidying up the house, I stumbled upon something odd: the newly bought pack of sanitary pads had already been opened.

Without a second thought, I called the law firm and had them draft a divorce agreement. I sent it straight to Chase.

His call came almost instantly. “Again? What now?”

I bit my lip. “There’s one pad missing from the drawer.”

His voice snapped back, sharp and annoyed. “Do whatever you want!”

“Just don’t come crawling back, begging me later!” The line went dead. He had hung up, rude and dismissive, as always.

Regret? Not a chance.

The only thing I regretted was being blind back then and even worse, watching the once capable, decisive woman I used to be wither under years of silent suffering.

——

Just as I was packing my luggage, Addison Rodrigo burst into the room in tears.

She was Chase Hudson’s current assistant and the so-called first love from his past.

“Mirabel, I’m sorry. That day I went to your house to drop off some documents for Chase, and my period came unexpectedly, so I borrowed one of your pads.”

“I didn’t think it would cause such a misunderstanding. Please, don’t divorce him... If you do, I’ll never be able to clear my name, even if I threw myself into the Solvain River.”

Her half-hearted apology made me smirk coldly. “If I don’t divorce him, how else would I make space for you?”

Addison’s voice caught in her throat. “Mirabel, how could you say that? I never meant to come between you and Chase. I... I didn’t….”

I cut her off, my voice calm but sharp. “Is it that you didn’t want to or simply couldn’t?”

Back then, when Hudson’s family searched for a wife among the capital’s socialites, Addison, an illegitimate daughter, was the first name crossed off the list.

Seven years later, the Rodrigo family had long since gone bankrupt. When Addison returned to the country, the only role she could cling to was that of his assistant.

Tears streamed down her face, more pitiful than ever. “If you don’t trust me, then I’ll resign, okay?”

I didn’t even look at her. “Up to you,” I replied coldly, using the exact words Chase had just thrown at me. I lowered my head, no longer giving her my attention.

In the two years since Addison joined the company, I had brought up divorce to Chase more times than I could count. And every single time, she cried and said she would resign.

Now that Chase and I were truly ending things, she was still playing the same tired game, retreating to win sympathy.

Chase was sick of my so-called jealousy, yet he still believed every one of her fake tears.

“Mirabel, I’m begging you, don’t leave. Don’t divorce him,” she sobbed, her hands gripping my arm tightly, shaking it like some tragic heroine torn straight from a melodrama.

“Hit me. Just don’t be mad anymore.” With tears glistening in her eyes, she grabbed my hand and pulled it toward her own cheek.

I watched her clumsy act unfold, lips tightening as I silently counted down in my mind. “Nineteen... eighteen…”

I hadn’t even reached seven when Chase came rushing in, panic written all over his face. “Stop!”

He barked at me, furious. “Mirabel, you’ve gone too far!”

“Addison was once our classmate! How could you even think of hitting her?”

Right on cue, as always, Chase arrived just in time to play the knight in shining armor. And, just like always, he pinned the blame on me without asking a single question.

I let out a bitter laugh. Someone had really perfected her damsel-in-distress routine.

Setting down my suitcase, I slowly rose to my feet and looked Chase straight in the eye.

“If your vision’s that bad, I suggest you see an ophthalmologist.”

“Hit her? Please. I wouldn’t dare dirty my hands.”

“You….” He was stunned, the words catching in his throat.

Then I turned my gaze to Addison. “If I’m not mistaken, I didn’t hear a knock and I certainly didn’t open the door.”

My eyes narrowed, locking onto hers. “So tell me, how exactly did you get in?”

Her face paled. She staggered back, nearly losing her balance, until a familiar arm reached out and caught her by the waist.

Chase, full of concern, steadied her and explained coldly, “Addison is my assistant now. I gave her the door lock code for convenience at work.”

“What, you're making a fuss over something this small?” His eyes were filled with disdain.

“Mirabel, your jealousy is truly suffocating.”

His words struck me like a bolt of lightning. I stood frozen.

He said I was suffocating him?

Hadn't it been me suffocating under the weight of Addison’s constant intrusion for the past two years, under his silent consent and indulgence?

She had invaded every corner of our lives without restraint.

From dropping off documents to eating and spending nights at our home, she had done things like wearing my clothes without permission and even using my sanitary pads.

All of it, these so-called small things, had added up, until our two-person marriage was twisted into a three-person farce.

And I… was the extra.

I tilted my head back, forcing back the tears, and looked up at Chase. “Since this marriage brings nothing but pain to both of us, let’s just sign the divorce papers.”

He frowned and brushed the papers aside. “Enough. Stop making a scene.”

“Just apologize to Addison, and let’s move on. We’ll still be good friends in the future.”

That single word, friends, coming from his mouth again, instantly dragged all those bitter memories back to the surface.

I could no longer hold it in. My voice rose, sharp and trembling. “Even if I stay single for the rest of my life, I will never be friends with someone who once bullied me!”

Apologize to her? Not in this lifetime.

Back then, just to blend in with the others, I had hidden my family background, only to become the prime target of Addison’s cruelty.

On the very first day of school, my books and backpack had been thrown into the filthy pond behind the hill, and my uniform pants were slashed with a knife.

Later, under pressure from my family, the school forced Addison to apologize publicly and was ready to expel her.

It was Chase who persuaded me otherwise. “Mirabel, enemies should be resolved, not deepened. Since she knows she was wrong, just let her go.”

Because I was foolishly infatuated with him, I swallowed my pride, shook hands with Addison, and even helped her keep her place at school.

Looking back now, his favoritism had started even then. I was just too blinded by love to see it.

Addison’s face turned even paler, and her tears began to fall like shattered beads, scattering across the floor.

“I was wrong… I crossed the line. I shouldn’t have hoped we could be friends just because we were classmates.”

“I forgot, I’m just a lowly employee in your company now. I deserve to die. I’ll leave.”

Chase’s eyes turned red in an instant. He pulled Addison behind him and snapped at me.

“I gave you the title of Mrs. Hudson, not so you could use it to bully others!”

Then he turned, gently patting Addison’s trembling shoulder, his voice soft and comforting.

“Addison, don’t belittle yourself. In my heart, you’ve never been just an ordinary employee.”

Gazing at the fragile woman before him, his eyes burned with emotion. “You’ve always been the most special one to me.”

Watching my legal husband confess his feelings to another woman, I didn’t lose control like I used to.

I just felt disgusted, pure and bitter.

With her degree from an unknown overseas university, Addison was never qualified to be Hudson Corporation’s CEO assistant.

But Chase insisted on keeping her, brushing off every objection.

He not only gave her a sky-high salary unheard of in the industry but also showed her a level of favoritism so outrageous, even I, his rightful wife, was pushed aside.

She called him “Mr. Hudson,” yet always addressed me by my name. She claimed it was out of familiarity, but it was clear she simply didn’t believe I was worthy of the title Mrs. Hudson, the CEO’s wife.

It would’ve been one thing if only she thought that way. But what surprised me was that Chase thought the same.

I found it laughable. I, the eldest daughter of the Magnus family, had I ever needed the title Mrs. Hudson to assert myself?

Once again, I regretted throwing away the proud, self-sufficient version of me for the sake of love. And with that, the last thread tying me to this marriage snapped clean.

“Chase, sign the divorce papers as soon as possible. Don’t make me go through legal procedures.”

I dropped those words coldly, picked up my suitcase, and walked away without looking back.

When I stepped into my house, my parents were cheerfully discussing the northern lights on a travel channel, but the moment they saw me, they turned off the TV in an instant.

Traveling the world had always been their dream. Unfortunately, their only daughter had fallen hopelessly in love and thrown herself into a man, refusing to return home or take over the company.

I stepped forward, took the remote control from the drawer, turned the TV back on, and quietly pulled out my phone to book two plane tickets to Finland.

But instead of surprise or joy, they looked at me with nothing but quiet concern.

I knew there was no use hiding it. I spoke plainly. “He and I… are getting a divorce.”

The spacious living room instantly fell into silence.

After a long pause, they came to me and gently held my hands.

“No matter what decision you make, we’ll support you, as long as you're happy.”

“Your mom and I will always be your backup.”

My eyes turned red in an instant, and the bitterness I had buried for so long spilled out with my tears.

They had been against me marrying Chase back then, but they gave in, unable to resist my tearful begging.

I gently held my father's hand, then reached for my mother's and stacked all three of our hands together.

Forcing a smile, I said softly, "Don’t worry, I’m doing fine."

But they didn’t look reassured at all. Instead, they insisted I postpone the flight for another week, so that we could spend a few more days together.

Following their suggestion, I booked a family portrait session, something we used to cherish every year.

When I first married Chase, I had invited him many times to join us. But he always dismissed it, claiming work came first.

The next morning, my parents and I arrived at the photo studio. But just as we stepped in, an unexpected figure appeared before us: Chase.

Standing beside him was Addison.

She leaned sweetly on his shoulder, her voice tender, “Chase, thank you for canceling such an important meeting just to take pictures with me.”

Chase chuckled, lightly tapping her nose. “Silly girl, you’re the one closest to me. If I don’t spoil you, who else should I spoil?”

A wave of bitterness burned at the back of my throat. So it turned out he hadn’t been busy; he just never thought I was worth the time.

“Mirabel, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Thought I saw someone I knew.”

I shifted slightly, shielding my mom’s view, then gently pulled her away.

Inside the studio, I held my dad’s hand in one and my mom’s arm in the other, smiling like a carefree child wrapped in the warmth of her world.

The photographer captured that fleeting, tender moment, the three of us, together, as if frozen in time.

Right then, I felt like I had been reborn, like I had finally reclaimed what mattered most in my life.

“Ouch.”

Just as my mom headed toward the restroom, my dad clutched his abdomen, his face tightening in pain.

“What’s wrong? Is it your stomach again?”

I hurried to support him into the nearby lounge, my heart thudding as I called both our family doctor and emergency services.

As I waited for the ambulance to arrive, Addison appeared, like a thorn in a rose garden.

“So this is why you’re so eager to divorce Chase, because you’ve already found yourself a new sugar daddy.”