The Replacement Wife Chapter 2

Seeing Damian, the woman—Mila—crossed her arms, her expression instantly turning frosty.

"Good, you're here. Let's get this over with."

Damian looked frantic, so focused on her he didn't even notice me standing just a few feet away.

"Even a criminal gets to know the charges against them, right? Honey, just tell me what I did wrong. I'll change, I promise." His voice was a desperate plea. "I spent eight years chasing you before you finally married me. We've only been married a year. You can't just divorce me. You might as well just kill me."

Mila sniffed, her eyes welling up again. "When you married me, you promised you'd treat me like a queen for the rest of my life. A year in, and you already take me for granted."

"You're always busy with work," she accused, her voice cracking. "You're away for half the month."

As she spoke, my own face grew paler with every word.

Damian was always busy. Always traveling for business or pulling all-nighters at the office. I worried he was working himself to death, so I'd wake up at five in the morning to cook him breakfast, always trying new recipes to nourish him. But it was all a lie...

Mila began to list his crimes.

"Three years ago, when I went abroad, you promised you'd wait for me. Six months in, you missed sending me a 'goodnight' text once."

Three years ago. That was when I met Damian. He told me it was love at first sight. Countless times, in our most intimate moments, he would kiss my eyes, his gaze filled with a love so deep I thought I could drown in it.

"Last Valentine's Day," she continued, "I said I was craving those famous crab cakes from the Harbor District. You sent your assistant to get them. You didn't even go and wait in line yourself."

That day, Damian had told me he was stuck at the office with a deadline. He didn't come home all night. When he finally showed up, he was carrying a box of cold crab cakes. I knew the line for that place was hours long, and my heart swelled with a mix of sympathy and love as I threw myself into his arms.

"And last week! I told you my stomach hurt, and you didn't come home immediately to make me some soup! It took you two whole hours to get here!"

That day, I had a raging fever. I called Damian, begging him to take me to the hospital. He'd barely been home for a few minutes when he glanced at his phone, claimed an urgent work emergency had come up, and left me with a box of fever reducers. I was drenched in a cold sweat, too weak to get water. I dry-swallowed the pills and curled into a ball, shivering through the night alone.

My vision blurred. Every word out of Mila's mouth was another needle piercing my heart. My nails dug into my palms, but I was too numb to feel the pain.

"I never had to peel my own shrimp when we were dating," she sobbed. "This morning, you forgot to peel my shrimp for me."

"You've changed," she concluded, her voice trembling. "Your heart has changed. I don't want to be with you anymore. We're getting a divorce!"

She spoke like a wounded princess, every complaint a testament to a world of pampering I had never known.

Damian's face was etched with pain as he gently wiped her tears away. "I just walked away from a multi-billion dollar deal for you, and you say I don't love you? I'll cut back on work. I'll spend more time with you, okay?"

He cradled her face in his hands. "Please don't cry. It kills me to see you cry. I'm sorry. I'll fix it. I'll fix everything."

After a long session of his gentle coaxing, Mila's tone finally softened. "Fine. This is your last chance. If you make me angry again, I'm never forgiving you."

They clung to each other, ready to leave as one. Just then, Mila seemed to remember something and turned, her gaze landing on me.

"Honey, look. Doesn't she look a lot like me?"

Damian looked up. His eyes met mine, and for a split second, his pupils contracted in shock.

Then, just as quickly, he looked away, his expression smoothing over into indifference.

"I don't see it. My wife is much prettier."

Mila gave him a playful, scolding glance.

I just stood there. My heart felt like it had been plunged into ice water, the cold so sharp it was a physical pain.