After Ten Years of Betrayal, I Embraced His Rival

The day my husband, Paul Garcia, brought his adopted sister back from abroad, he gave her our master bedroom.

"Romina just lost her husband. She's really upset, and I want her to be comfortable," he explained.

I nodded agreeably. "Sure."

The next day was my birthday, and Romina asked Paul to watch the sunset with her, saying it would help her cope with her grief.

Paul looked at me and said, "She really needs me by her side right now. I'll celebrate your birthday with you later."

I continued to smile and nod. "Of course."

After ten years of marriage, I was ready to let go of a love that no longer served me, especially since I had been given a second chance at life.

In my previous life, wanting him to stay with me on my birthday had led to Romina being upset, culminating in an accident where she fell into a lake and ended up in the hospital.

Paul held me underwater in our bathtub until I drowned, blaming me for the incident.

In this life, when he handed me divorce papers and said, "I'm just marrying Romina to help her change her nationality back. Once that’s done, we’ll get remarried," I didn’t hesitate to sign my name.

When he found me again, I was comfortably seated on the lap of his rival, Layne Ortiz, a bright smile on my face.

---

Paul arrived home late that night. Uncharacteristically, he didn’t go to the master bedroom to see Romina first but came directly to the guest room to find me.

I had already showered and was getting ready for sleep. He gently pulled me from the covers and handed me a box.

"Della, I remember how much you wanted this diamond necklace, so I bought it for you today."

As I looked at the sparkling necklace in my hands, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly inside. This wasn’t the necklace I had my eyes on. The one I admired was the one Romina wore around her neck earlier this afternoon.

Romina had come back excitedly, eager to show off her new necklace. "Isn’t it pretty? My brother got it for me. But don’t get jealous; I traded in points for a gift, and he’ll give it to you later."

When Paul saw me holding the necklace without saying anything, he frowned.

"What’s wrong? Isn't this the one you liked? I rarely give you gifts, and now that I finally do, you don’t seem happy."

I sighed and let out a small laugh. "So, you do know how seldom you give me gifts."

He paused, his expression shifting to impatience as he began taking off his suit.

"I give you plenty of spending money every month. You can buy what you like. Why bother with gifts from me?"

"If you don’t want it, just throw it away."

In a calm tone, I said, "Alright." With that, I tossed the necklace into the trash can, box and all.

His face turned red with anger, and he kicked the trash can over. "What’s this supposed to mean? Have I spoiled you too much over the years?"

I kept a gentle smile on my face and watched him throw his tantrum, saying nothing.

As expected, it wasn’t long before he calmed down. He pulled out some papers from his briefcase and handed them to me, his tone more accommodating.

"This is a divorce agreement. Don’t misunderstand. You know Romina has foreign nationality because she married someone from abroad. She wants to switch back, and I’m marrying her to help."

"Once everything is settled, I’ll divorce her and remarry you."

I knew there had to be a reason behind his sudden niceness. In my last life, the suffocating nightmare of being held underwater still haunted me.

Divorce was exactly what I wanted. I couldn't wait to disappear from his life as soon as possible.

As I picked up a pen to sign my name, he unexpectedly grabbed my hand to stop me.

"Aren’t you going to check it over? I left the section on property division blank for you. You can fill it in however you like."

I quickly flipped to that page and wrote “leave with nothing” in the blank space.

He looked at me, incredulous. "You really want nothing?"

Having been with him for so long, I understood his intentions. He felt guilty and wanted to use money to compensate me, thinking it would allow him to turn me down guilt-free if I ever asked to remarry him.

But I truly wanted nothing from him. When I fell for him, he had nothing. Now that I'm leaving, I don't want to take anything with me. I wanted nothing to do with him anymore, just for him to disappear from my world entirely.

I smiled and said, "You said it’s just a fake divorce. I trust you."

His expression faltered, guilt flooding his eyes.

I nodded in satisfaction. After all these years, he deserved to feel guilty. If it could last a lifetime, all the better.