Chapter 3
It was actually pretty simple to just leave.
Back then, my mother-in-law feared that I'd take a chunk of the Lance family's fortune, so she fought tooth and nail to keep me and Charles from obtaining a marriage license.
So for six years, Charles and I were just shacking up—no paperwork, nothing official.
Me leaving wasn't a divorce; it was just a breakup.
Breakup was something I could decide all on my own.
But I couldn't really blame Charles' mother.
Because I had a father who would never stop asking for more.
As soon as he saw I'd landed a rich guy, he demanded a whopping hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Back then, Charles fell for me at first sight.
He didn't care about what others said—he was dead set on marrying me.
My mother-in-law practically gritted her teeth as she handed over that hundreds of thousands of dollars, in exchange for me to sign an agreement that I'd never apply for a marriage license with Charles.
I didn't know a thing back then, and with an embryo in my belly, I just went along with it, too dazed to protest.
Everyone laughed at how naive I was.
But looking back, maybe it was a blessing in disguise.
At least now, I could leave without having to tell anyone.
"Nina! Nina! Are you dead or something? Your husband is severely drunk and you don't even bother to help him?" My mother-in-law barked in a tone that was sharp and downright grumpy.
No surprise about that.
She'd been hating on me since the day I first set foot in this house.
After I gave birth to Lucian, his grandmother took him away to raise herself, claiming that I was uneducated.
Thanks to her influence, Lucian had always scorned me.
Oh, to be precise, nobody in this house ever thought I was worth anything.
Lewis came upstairs carrying a bowl of hangover soup and grumbled, "Nina, didn't you hear Mrs. Lance calling you? Hurry down and don't get us in trouble."
I ignored her repeated snark and headed straight for the bathroom.
I told myself, "Staying in these soaked clothes is just asking for a cold. If I don't value my own life, nobody else will."
That hot shower finally made me feel alive again.
As soon as I stepped out of the room, I saw Charles staggering over, reeking of booze.
Charles was the Lance family's only child, pampered since birth. He never bothered with anyone else's feelings or needs—if he wanted something, he just went for it.
He smirked, and carelessly smacked my cheek. "What? Now have the audacity to keep me waiting?"
I stared at those pretty eyes I knew so well.
Suddenly, I felt a little sick.
"How could I possibly have loved such a vulgar guy for so many years? What element of him do I love?" I kept asking myself, again and again.
At last, I finally understood.
Love had already turned rotten a long time ago.
The reason I'd resigned myself to all the mistreatment was not out of love, but because I had nowhere to go.
My heart had died long ago.
My heart died the first time he punched me.
Back then, I was pregnant with Lucian, and I caught him making out with another woman.
I demanded answers, furiously.
But instead of any explanation, all I got was his fist.
A punch for daring to ask too much.
He struck me right in front of everyone, no shame at all.
Nobody stood up for me, not a single word in my defense.
All I got was endless cold apathy.