I Quit Being His Perfect Dream Wife

Everyone keeps telling me that I've hit the mega jackpot just because I get to marry Anson Granger, the man of every woman's dreams. I'm the only one who knows that I'm just a tool used by Anson just to shut everyone up. To the public, he's a CEO who's devoted to his wife. But in reality, he keeps taking various young starlets home with him every day right in front of me. In fact, Anson falls in love with a strict housekeeper named Winona Judd. After he takes her home, Winona begins setting up house rules for the entire family. Not only does she freeze my bank card and donate my personal belongings, but she also restricts my freedom. Even when my mom is deathly ill, Winona forbids me to leave the estate just so I can go to the hospital. It's then that I break down right in front of her helplessly. "My mom is already dying from her illness! I need to stay by her side! She needs me!" Winona continues wearing a distant yet stern expression. "Mrs. Granger, I've already informed you last week that today is a family day. You're supposed to bond with your family today, so you can't go anywhere at all." Anger and panic overwhelm me in an instant. Left without a choice, I can only ask Anson for help. The smile in his eyes fades away instantly as he tells me coldly, "Kim, I'm the one who personally hired Winnie. You can forget about remaining as my wife if you refuse to listen to her orders." This cold and heartless version of Anson is no longer the same man I've grown up with and spent my entire youth loving. In that case, I might as well relinquish my title as his wife. Chapter 1 Kim Slater's POV I received a call from the hospital. "Mrs. Granger, your mother is in critical condition and needs immediate surgery. Please come to the hospital and sign the consent forms…" "I'll be right there! Please start the surgery first!" I cried. Bodyguards were lined up at the front gate. I hung up and cut toward the corner of the courtyard, using a table and chair to climb over the wall. I'd just gotten halfway up when a harsh spotlight shone down on the wall, freezing me in place. "Kim Slater, you're supposed to be the dignified Mrs. Granger. And here you are, using a bathroom break as an excuse to climb over a wall. You're a total disgrace to the Granger family!" Even with the glaring lights blinding me, I recognized Winona Judd's voice at once. After all, she was the most powerful person in the Granger residence right now. "Someone, drag Mrs. Granger down already. What are you all standing around for? Waiting for a circus act?" she snapped at the household staff. The next second, I was yanked down hard. I hit the ground, rolled, and scrambled up, rushing to her on my hands and knees. "What will it take for you to let me go to the hospital?" Winona looked at me and sneered. "Mrs. Granger, what will it take for you to finally learn the rules? For sneaking out at night, you're grounded for three days!" Three days? I could wait that long, but Mom couldn't. Her condition had been up and down for the past six months. The hospital had issued several critical condition notices. Any visit could be the last time I ever saw her. Why else would I have done what I'd done? After a huge fight with my husband, Anson Granger, I'd waited until he was in the shower to sneak out and slip past Winona's surveillance. I'd risked everything to get to the hospital. I just hadn't expected her to catch up to me this fast. My phone buzzed nonstop in my pocket. I didn't even have to look to know it was the hospital urging me to hurry up. Winona turned to leave. I reached out and grabbed her, but she threw me off, looking at my dirt-covered body with disgust. "I really don't know what Anson saw in you. How did a hick like you end up as his wife?" I followed her gaze and looked down. Only then did I realize my clothes were torn and that two long bloody gashes ran across my arm. "Ms. Judd, what do you want? Whatever I have, I'll give it to you. Just let me go to the hospital right now," I said. She burst into laughter, as if she'd heard the world's biggest joke. After a long while, she asked, "Why don't you tell me what exactly you have? I wouldn't even bother with you if you weren't Mrs. Granger, Kim. "I'm only doing this because I don't want you going out and ruining Mr. Granger's reputation. I'm warning you—stop trying to be clever. I have plenty of ways to punish you!" I'd seen what she was capable of. I knew she wasn't bluffing. I gritted my teeth and watched her walk away, hatred burning so hot in my chest I felt like I might fall apart. I was thrown back into my room. The pain in my arm finally began to spread in sharp, dense waves. My whole body ached as if it had been taken apart and put back together. I suddenly remembered a time when I'd fallen as a child. Mom had hurried to me with heartache and picked me up, coaxing me tenderly. Dad had gently brushed the dirt from my clothes. Those lovely moments would never happen again. Dad had died in a car crash. Was Mom going to leave me now, too? When I heard Anson's voice outside, I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and pushed open the door. I saw him follow Winona into her room. He sounded anxious and concerned. "Winnie, what happened? Why is there blood on you? Let me see where you're hurt." She squealed and said coyly, "Oh, Mr. Granger! That wouldn't be appropriate…" My fingers curled against the cold wooden door. I stared at the long gashes on my arm and smiled bitterly. I was the one Anson was supposed to care about, not Winona, who acted like she owned the place. I knocked hard on the door. Inside, Anson answered impatiently, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. "Who is it?" I balled my hands into fists and said, "Anson, it's me. Let's get a divorce." Chapter 2 Kim's POV The space inside and outside the door went dead quiet. All I could hear was my own slightly ragged breathing. With a sharp click, the door swung open, revealing Anson's strikingly handsome face. His collar was a mess, and his eyes were slightly narrowed. "When did you learn to threaten me with divorce, Kim? Where was all this backbone when you begged me to save your dad and help with your mom's treatment?" Each word landed on my shoulders like a heavy blow, and I instantly deflated like a balloon with all the air punched out of it. He was right. Back then, Dad was in the hospital for two whole months after the car crash, draining every cent of our savings, and Mom had worked herself sick. If Anson hadn't stepped in, I never would've made it to where I was now. We first met during the summer when I was 15. He'd come to our small town for a summer camp. He'd grown up being shuttled around in private cars, so he'd looked lost after getting onto a crowded city bus. I'd swiped my card for him so he could ride it. After that, every time I came home from skateboarding, I'd see him waiting for me at the bus stop. I knew he didn't belong there, but I'd still fallen hopelessly into the trap called Anson Granger. Our fingers had brushed on the bus, we'd stolen kisses in hidden corners, and we'd lain under the night sky, talking until dawn. It wasn't until he left that I found out he was the heir to Granger Group. We were from completely different worlds. In the ten years that followed, I'd imagined our reunion countless times, but never once had I thought it would happen again because of Dad's car crash. Anson had appeared like an angel, and with just a wave of his hand, the crushing cost of the surgery had vanished. He'd said, "Kim, I told you we'd meet again. If you don't want to take my money for nothing, then let's get married." At the time, I'd thought that was love. I hadn't understood that he'd just been chasing a novelty, and I definitely hadn't understood that to him, I was so much easier to control than the heiresses from his world. I met Anson's gaze with tear-filled eyes. Suddenly, I just felt drained. I was tired of pretending I didn't see the women he brought home. Tired of putting on a show of being a loving couple in front of the media and outsiders. Tired of going along with this drama, he and Winona put on inside our home… I said, "I'll pay you back the money sooner or later. Anson, let's get a divorce. Right now, I need to go to the hospital to see my mom." Anson's gaze turned dark and razor-sharp. He slammed the door shut, grabbed my chin, and pinned me against the wall. He snarled, "You think you can pay me back? What you owe me, you'll never pay off in this lifetime. Don't even think about getting away from me!" With that, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed me hard. The thought of how he'd just been intimate with Winona made my stomach churn. I used to love the way he smelled—like a lone pine by the winter sea. Now, all I could smell was cloying rose perfume, the scent Winona always wore. I sank my teeth into his lower lip as hard as I could. When he jerked back from the pain, I shoved him away with everything I had and swung my hand toward his face. However, the slap that I'd put all my might into never landed on Anson. At some point, Winona had rushed over and thrown herself in front of him. My hand caught her instead, making her stumble. Anson quickly caught her, one hand gently cupping her cheek where my slap had left a bright red print. He glared at me and spat, "How dare you, Kim!" If looks could kill, I'd already be six feet under. Winona nestled into his arms and nuzzled against him. "I'm okay. It's just… Mrs. Granger doesn't look very stable right now, Anson. She actually tried to hit you…" Anson's eyes went cold as they locked onto me, and I felt my blood turn to ice. I knew him well enough to tell that he was truly angry now. My mind went blank, and I didn't have time to think. I just turned and bolted out of the room. "According to the Granger family's rules, one must be punished for their mistakes. Someone, take Kim to the basement. No one is allowed to let her out without my permission." His calm tone turned into shackles around me. After giving out that order, he scooped Winona up in his arms and walked off with her. "Are you happy now, my little housekeeper?" No matter how hard I cried and begged, he never looked back. Only Winona turned her head to give me a look full of contempt and smugness when she heard my hoarse pleas. By the time I was thrown into the basement, I couldn't make a sound after sobbing my heart out. I didn't understand how things between Anson and me had gotten to this point. All I knew was that I must have taken every wrong turn possible. That was why I'd been stopped for such a ridiculous reason. That was why I couldn't even see Mom one last time. I cried myself to sleep in the dark. In my dream, I saw the Anson from our youth again. He stood tall at the bus stop and waved at me. But when I got closer, he frowned. "What happened to your knee?" he asked. I waved it off. "Some jerks were picking on someone, so I stepped in. How about that? Pretty badass, right?" Anson didn't smile like I did. Instead, he ran to the pharmacy nearby and bought antiseptic and bandages. Then, he chided me for not knowing how to take care of myself. He said that he would protect me from then on. My heart fizzed like a soda that had just been cracked open. But in the next second, the gentle pressure of his hands treating my wound suddenly turned rough, and he shoved me hard to the ground. I woke up with a gasp, my shirt soaked through with tears. I didn't dare fall asleep again, but my injured, exhausted body wouldn't listen to me. Every time I drifted off, that sharp pain of Anson shoving me would jolt me awake again. It happened over and over. I had no idea how long it went on, but it left me on the brink of despair. Then, I thought I was hallucinating. A beam of light spilled down from above, and someone called my name. Chapter 3 Kim's POV I squinted. The moment I realized it was Velma Lane, my vision went black, and I passed out. Shortly after marrying Anson, I'd found Velma wandering the streets, pitiful and alone. I'd brought her back to work as a maid. After Winona came, she claimed Velma's background was shady and had her kicked out. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a cramped, dim rental apartment. Velma was wringing out a towel and watching me with concern. "Ms. Slater, you're finally awake. Oh, right. Someone by the surname of Chapman asked if I'd seen you. I lied and said no. Do you know him?" she asked. I shook my head. I didn't even have time to wonder how she'd found out I'd been locked in the basement, nor did I have any friends with the last name Chapman. I just hurriedly thanked her and headed straight for the hospital, where Mom was admitted. On the way there, anxiety tangled with a mess of emotions I couldn't name. I couldn't figure out how someone who once swore he would protect me for life could now hate me, scorn me, and look at me with eyes that didn't hold a single trace of warmth. But all of that mental chaos froze the moment I pushed open that all-too-familiar ward door. The bed was empty. Mom, who would always smile and wave at me, was gone. I ran to the doctor's office and demanded an explanation. He was visibly taken aback when he saw me. "Ms. Slater? We reached out five days ago for you to sign the surgery consent form. Since we never got it, we could only treat your mother conservatively. "But her treatment funds ran out three days ago, and we couldn't reach you or Mr. Granger. She managed to hold on, but yesterday, she passed away. Her body was just taken to be cremated…" Passed away. Cremated. The words were simple enough, but somehow, I couldn't understand them. They were like needles piercing my eardrums and stabbing me straight in the heart. I forced the corners of my lips up. "Is this a joke or something? Anson is a shareholder of this hospital. You're telling me his mother-in-law died here under your care?" The doctor sighed. "We truly couldn't get through to Mr. Granger. The one time someone finally picked up, it was a woman. She said that if we called again, Mr. Granger would pull his investment. "Not long after that, we got another call from someone who said they were authorized by you to have your mother's body taken for cremation. Ms. Slater, you didn't know any of this?" His words were like firecrackers that went off in my head one after another, leaving me so dizzy I could hardly stand. I clung to his arm like a fish gasping on shore, desperate to hold on to one last drop of water. "That phone number… Do you still have it?" When I dialed the contact he gave me, a familiar, contemptuous voice came through the line. "You're only calling now, Kim? Took you long enough." The sound of Winona's voice forced the tears back into my eyes. Every nerve in my head was stretched to breaking point as I rasped, "You arranged for Velma to rescue me on purpose, didn't you? Where's my mom?" "You ask too many questions. Do one last thing as Mrs. Granger, and I'll tell you everything." I never would've imagined that the last thing Winona was talking about was attending a charity gala. By the time I rushed to the venue, the event was already in full swing. From a distance, I saw Winona at the center of everyone's attention, laughing and chatting. Meanwhile, I got stopped at the entrance. I didn't know what she told them, but people all turned to look my way. "Oh, goodness. Why does Mrs. Granger look like such a mess? If I didn't know better, I'd think some hick wandered in here by mistake." "Tell me about it. I haven't seen Mr. Granger bring her out in ages. Who knows if she's still his wife?" "Winona, you and Mr. Granger are close. Tell us what's really going on here." Winona put on a conflicted, hesitant face. "Don't say things like that. Mrs. Granger must have her reasons for dressing like this. Why don't we see what item she brought for the charity auction instead?" I clenched and unclenched my fists. "I didn't prepare anything. I'm here to—" It was like a drop of water falling into a pan of hot oil. The crowd instantly crackled with outrage. "This charity auction was organized by Will Chapman, the most influential heir in Arvonshire. Even Mr. Granger has to show him some respect, and you dare to show up empty-handed? Isn't that basically a slap to Mr. Chapman's face?" "Exactly. You're totally disrespecting Mr. Chapman. Does Mr. Granger know his wife is out here making such a fool of herself?" Winona feigned surprise. "Mrs. Granger, didn't I prepare something for you ahead of time?" She turned to the others. "Everyone, don't get the wrong idea. Mrs. Granger has always been kind and generous. I'm sure she plans to make a direct cash donation instead." After she said that, everyone looked at me expectantly, eager to see how much I could fork out. Winona smiled sweetly at me, but I saw the mockery hidden in her eyes. Forget the fact that I'd been locked in a basement for five full days and had just escaped. Even if I'd gone back to the Granger residence and scraped together everything I owned, I still wouldn't be able to produce anything decent. After all, Winona had already sold off most of my personal belongings. So, this had been her plan all along. She wanted me to be an utter disgrace to Anson and to turn me into a complete joke. Even though I already knew where this was headed, I still frantically dug in every pocket I had. In the end, all I found was the ten bucks Velma had stubbornly stuffed into my hand before I left, telling me to buy some water. The hall went dead silent, then erupted into raucous laughter. The gossip and ridicule crawled over every inch of my skin like countless ants. I gritted my teeth, kept my head down, and stepped closer to Winona. "You got what you wanted. Now, tell me where my mom is." Winona was beyond satisfied; she laughed so hard she was in tears. "Kim, did you know I've always loved fireworks?" She clapped her hands, and the night sky exploded into brilliant fireworks. The shapes kept changing, and the colors were dazzling. They drew gasps of amazement from the crowd. Winona smiled in satisfaction. "Anson arranged these just for me. Oh, you were looking for your mom, right? She's right up there." Chapter 4 Kim's POV Another firework exploded overhead, and the ringing in my ears turned into a roar. Winona let out a cold laugh. "Didn't catch that? I said, I mixed your mom's ashes with the fireworks. Maybe if you run around fast enough, you'll catch what's left of her." I heard every single word loud and clear. I had no idea how, after being starved for five days and barely able to stand, I still managed to lunge at Winona. All I knew in that moment was that I wanted to tear her apart—no, kill her. She could humiliate me all she wanted. But after indirectly causing Mom's death, she still wouldn't let her rest in peace. I screamed and howled as my fists came down on Winona again and again. But in reality, I didn't get many hits in before security knocked me out. When I came to, I was tied to a chair in a warehouse. Winona was on a video call with Anson and whining in a sugary voice. "It hurts so much. Anson, I really miss you." "I'll be home as soon as this business trip is over," he said tenderly. "You really are the perfect little housekeeper, getting hurt just to protect the Granger family's reputation. I'll make it up to you when I get back." She said with a hint of smugness, "You hired me to run the household and lay down some rules. Of course, I have to do my job. As for Mrs. Granger, maybe she had her reasons—" "Don't even mention her." Anson cut her off impatiently. "What reasons could she possibly have? I turned her from a country girl to a rich wife and gave her a life where she never has to worry about material things. And what does she do? She runs off and drags my family's name through the mud. "Winona, I'd thank my lucky stars if she were even half as sensible as you. You really do need to teach her a good lesson." So, he knew. He knew everything, and he truly believed it was all my fault. Winona hung up and saw the tears on my face. "Oh, you heard all that? Good. Those were Anson's exact words—he told me to teach you a good lesson." She slapped me hard across the face. Right on cue, several men pushed open the door and walked in. "Who the hell do you think you are to attack me in front of so many people, Kim? Tonight, I'll show you what true regret feels like!" The men came closer, each of them holding some kind of weapon in his hands. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Winona and I were both women. How could she think of so many dirty and cruel methods to use on me? I had nowhere to run. I could only watch as the men drew nearer, their faces twisted with ugly grins. Despair swallowed me whole. A fate worse than death awaited me. If I had another chance, I would never get on that bus. I would never fall in love with Anson. I slowly closed my eyes and waited for fate to pass judgment. The sounds around me blended into a messy buzz. To my surprise, all that came was the crack of a gunshot.