Cast Back into the Crowd

The first time I encountered Chloe Bennett was at Marcello's villa.

I had hurried over with the latest business plan to discuss it with him, but upon entering, I saw an unfamiliar woman kneeling on the floor, tenderly washing his mother's feet.

Marcello stood nearby, observing them with a gentle expression. Immediately, something felt amiss, but when I questioned him, he dismissed it casually. "She's merely a sales associate who connected well with my mom."

I attempted to probe further, but he furrowed his brow in irritation. "You're a professional woman with a career. Don't behave like those petty housewives consumed by jealousy."

I chose to believe him, convinced that our longstanding bond could withstand any challenge.

On the very day the Golden Group went public, we obtained our marriage license. However, complications arose swiftly, particularly when I spotted Chloe in the office.

She was dressed in sharp business attire, shadowing Marcello as his newly appointed executive assistant.

When I confronted him about the decision, his justification sounded impeccably reasoned. "Chloe possesses genuine ambition and drive. I appreciate subordinates with such potential for growth."

From that point forward, I sensed him deliberately diminishing my authority. The marketing department was one I had built from the ground up, carefully selecting every team member. Yet Chloe began dismissing them under fabricated pretexts, replacing them with her own allies.

When I complained to Marcello, he merely shrugged it off. "Only through survival of the fittest can the company truly advance."

It became evident that he was methodically undermining my position. As a co-founder, I was compelled to witness the disintegration of the team I had nurtured, which filled me with growing resentment and fury.

We engaged in a heated argument, during which I declared my intention to resign and launch my own venture. But just as I prepared to proceed, I discovered I was pregnant.

The awareness of that fragile life within me softened my resolve, and I willingly retreated to focus on our family, embracing the role of a contented housewife.

I believed my sacrifices for our home would earn his gratitude and understanding, but reality delivered another harsh blow.

Rumors about him and Chloe proliferated rapidly. Newspapers and magazines featured numerous photos of them attending events together, their interactions intimate and resembling those of a devoted couple.

When I presented those images to him in confrontation, he impatiently pulled me in front of a mirror. "Take a good look at yourself right now. Do you expect me to appear in public with you like this and become the subject of ridicule?"

Once trust was fractured, it was irreparable.

On Jacob's first birthday, our home was filled with guests. My intuition warned me that something unusual was about to unfold. Indeed, I entered our bedroom only to discover Marcello and Chloe entangled naked on our bed, with her wearing my favorite nightgown.

My mind went blank, and my stomach churned violently until I collapsed to my knees and vomited. Marcello displayed no remorse, only anger at being discovered. "If you dare to escalate this and humiliate me, I'll ensure your family is bankrupt by tomorrow."

Following that incident, he abandoned all pretense, openly bringing Chloe to live in our home. That was when I learned that his mother, who had always treated me like her own daughter, had been aware of their relationship from the beginning.

She even counseled me, "A man of his success is bound to have more than one woman in his life. You need to accept it and move forward."

I could no longer tolerate such a degrading and corrupt marriage, so I resolved to divorce him.