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.”

Her snobbish gaze swept over my father from head to toe, her voice dripping with malice.

“This old thing might look polished in a suit, but he’s ancient. He’s nothing compared to Chase.”

“You really stooped low for money. How did you even manage to kiss him?”

My father had already pieced together who she was from her words. He realized she was the mistress who came between Chase and me.

He tried to sit up to defend me, but the pain surged through him, forcing him back onto the sofa.

Seeing his face contorted in agony, I rushed over and slapped her hard.

“Watch your filthy mouth, he’s my father!”

A flicker of shock flashed across Addison’s eyes, but it quickly twisted into scorn.

“If your background were really that impressive, would I have gotten away with bullying you back then? All it took was a fake apology.”

“Mirabel, admit it. Without Chase, you’re nothing.”

Chase had helped her back then, but never told her the truth; he even kept my family background hidden.

He didn’t realize that his sweet attempt to preserve his first love’s pride would be the very reason she was digging her own grave today.

Addison still hadn’t noticed anything was off. Her calculating eyes gleamed with arrogance.

“Good thing you had the sense to leave early, so I could be with Chase.”

“You’re only good enough to waste away beside that wrinkled old man. Hahaha…”

But before her laughter could settle, her face suddenly twisted in horror as she screamed, “Ah! Let go of me!”

“Addison, you’re the one who’s begging for death!”

Eyes bloodshot, I grabbed the back of her collar and yanked her out.

But before I could drag her further, a hand shoved between us, ripping her from my grasp.

“Mirabel, what insane dog fit are you throwing again? You just never change!” Chase shouted, eyes burning with disgust.

I had tolerated his bias before. But even now, when my father’s life hung by a thread, he was still siding with her.

I shouted at him, my whole body trembling, “Do you even know what your precious lover just did?!”

“She nearly killed my dad!”

Only then did his eyes flick toward the living room and notice my father lying unconscious on the sofa. The family doctor was already there, performing emergency treatment. At the same time, my mother sat crumpled beside him, clutching his hand and weeping softly.

A flicker of guilt passed through Chase’s stunned expression. Seizing the moment, Addison wiped her tears and clung to his sleeve.

“Chase, it hurts so much. Please help me…”

The guilt in his eyes vanished in an instant.

“Isn’t your father still alive? Did you really have to go that far on Addison?”

“Look at her, she’s scared out of her mind!”

He wrapped the trembling woman in his arms, glaring at me as if I were the one who’d done wrong.

I let out a cold, hollow laugh.

Yeah, my father was hanging on by a thread, but poor Addison was pale with fright.

At that moment, something inside me shattered completely.

“Chase, open your damn eyes and see what going too far really looks like!”

I lunged forward, grabbed Addison’s hair, and slammed her hard to the floor.

“This is for your filthy mouth, your poison.”

“And this is for crossing the line again and again, for hurting my family.”

The brutal sound of impact echoed, and a patch of crimson slowly spread across the white floor.

Chase rushed to pull me away, but to his disbelief, at six feet one, he couldn’t overpower me at five feet three.

Back then, just because Chase couldn’t handle anything difficult, I softened myself and pretended to be someone easy to love.

Provoked like this today, the wild instinct buried deep inside me snapped awake, more untamed than ever.

Chase glared at me, his eyes dark and burning. “Let go!”

“In your dreams,” I shot back, my grip tightening.

Unable to shake me off, he started prying my fingers apart one by one. The sound of cracking bones echoed in the air. Pain shot through me, but I bit down hard and refused to release my hold.

Chase ignored the agony on my face, relentless as he forced my hand open little by little.

He growled, “Let go now, or there’ll be no going back between us!”

A bitter sneer curved my lips. He still thought I’d come crawling back, begging for reconciliation.

At first, I had still considered parting on good terms, for the sake of the years we had shared.

But now, there was nothing left, only a fight to the death.

Behind me, my dad suddenly opened his eyes, looked toward me, and coughed up a mouthful of blood with a cry.

“Dad!” I screamed, as every drop of blood in my body turned to ice.

“Chase, you’ve officially crossed the line with me!”

“If I don’t destroy you and that vile woman, I’m not a Magnus!”

Gritting my teeth, I gathered every ounce of strength and yanked Addison’s hair.

She stared wide-eyed at the clump of scalp and hair in my hand, let out a piercing scream, and collapsed on the spot. Chase was knocked to the ground by the force.

Without hesitation, I rushed after my father’s emergency stretcher and pushed it at full speed as we fled.