When the Playboy Husband Finally Learned What Love Cost

“The mother was under long stress and trauma; the embryonic arrest was a natural choice.” The doctor said this while Rupert was passionately making love with his mistress in bed. Rupert had not finished talking. “Primrose, setting everything else aside, are you not going to look after Grandma?” “She has cancer; she only has a few years left. Do you want her to worry about you in her last days?” It turned out he did not know that Grandma had already died. His phone kept buzzing; his mistress was pushing him. He frowned and impatiently signed the papers. “Primrose, I don’t believe you will divorce me.” “Just treat it as a joke.” “But you can go see Grandma by yourself tomorrow.” The door slammed closed. I straightened the files he had messed up and called Nancy Cavendish. “He signed the divorce papers.” “Please speed up my request for transfer to Haines.” Even Nancy, who had always been most against our marriage, was a little shocked. “So rushed? Are you not planning to leave after giving birth?” I did not speak. After a long, quiet moment, Nancy understood. “Without this child, you and he will truly be fully cut off.” I gave a sad smile. “I couldn’t be happier.” A loud crash came from downstairs and the nanny came up shaking, saying, “Ma’am, while cleaning, I accidentally bumped down the wedding photo on the wall...” I waved my hand, showing it was fine. I looked down at the wedding photo that had lain on the floor for seven years. In the photo, Rupert had a deep cut at the corner of his eye. Under his neat suit, there were many bruises and scars. Those were from the beatings Rupert took from his family for wanting to marry me. He was lying on the small bed in our rented room and I was behind him, tears pouring down my face, rubbing healing medicine on his wounds. He reacted in pain, his shoulder moving, but he wiped away my tears with his hand. “Your husband is not dead yet. Why are you crying?” I bit my lip and said, “Going this far for me, it was not needed.” He set his face straight. “How could it not be needed? Even without the Cavendish Family, I can still make a name for myself.” “But without you,” he pressed his chest, “this place feels empty.” Later, Rupert really did, as he said, drop his place as the young heir of the Cavendish Family, start a career and earn enough to bring me back to the Cavendish Family. So, when Nancy first threw photos of Rupert in bed with another woman into my face, my first response was disbelief. Picking up the scattered photos, I replied to Nancy with a line Rupert often used to comfort me. “Real love can get past anything. Photo editing is so advanced now, how could I possibly trust this?” At that moment, Nancy laughed loudly. She led me to the private room where Rupert was meeting with his friends. “Do not make a noise. Look closely at what your so-called ‘real love’ actually looks like.” After hearing something said near him, Rupert replied impatiently, “Those rich girls have terrible tempers. They are not even engaged yet and they already want to control everything. Who could put up with that?” “My Primrose is so good, so obedient and clean. I would give half my life for her.” The whole room cheered. “Mr. Cavendish is really a great man!” “Mr. Cavendish, what about all those women from before? You truly do not want any of them?” Rupert laughed quietly. “Of course, I do not want the old ones.” He casually put his arm around the woman beside him and said carelessly. “Aren’t new people always coming?”

I pressed my mouth shut tightly, tears running down my face without control. Surrounded by open flirting inside the private room, my Cinderella dream completely broke apart. The moment Rupert came back home, he saw my swollen eyes and his smile stopped right away. He hurried over, his eyes full of worry. “Who bullied you?” I stayed silent. Rupert’s look was still gentle like always. But now, mixed with the smell of another woman’s perfume on him, it felt ridiculous. I pushed his hand aside and forced the divorce papers that Nancy prepared into his hands. “If all you want is a quiet, obedient wife, then find someone else.” A moment of fear showed in Rupert Cavendish’s eyes. “You know everything?” After a long, quiet moment, he became even more shameless. “I know, I know. I never planned to hide it from you.” He slapped the divorce papers open. “Divorce? There’s no need to go this far.” “I may have many women outside, but you are my wife. I come home every day, isn’t that enough?” “Calm yourself down. Don’t talk about divorce again.” He casually walked upstairs, sure that I would carefully think it over and obediently remain Mrs. Cavendish. He did not notice my suitcase, already packed, sitting by the door. The following day, he realized that my name had been written on the divorce papers. Every item I owned had disappeared. Only then did he start to feel afraid. Once the divorce papers were signed, I quickly went back to my hometown. But before I could run into my grandmother’s arms, she fell down right in front of me. The doctor said it was late-stage lung cancer; at worst, she only had six months left. “Which one of you is Esme Greystone’s family?” Before I could even get up, Rupert’s voice suddenly sounded in the narrow county hospital hallway. “Here, I am her granddaughter’s husband.” The busy CEO Rupert, after seeing my signed name on the divorce papers... He had taken a three-hour plane ride, a two-hour train ride and a two-hour bus ride. He had traveled very far to reach this place. His steps were a little shaky as he walked toward the doctor, his shirt still covered with mud. That was because he had gone to the village to look for me first. The road leading to the mountains was a narrow concrete path, only passable by motorcycle. The road was slick from the rain and he had fallen down with his luggage. But after finding out I was at the hospital, he hurried over without any pause. “Primrose, don’t worry, the doctor says Grandma is awake.” I rushed toward the room. The first words Grandma said when she saw me were, “Primrose, Grandma was always going to face this day sooner or later. As long as you and Rupert are okay, I feel calm.” At that time, I suddenly didn’t dare brush away Rupert’s hand, which was firmly resting on my shoulder. How could I let Grandma, in the last part of her life, feel upset and uneasy because of my problems? Rupert looked at me, then smiled. “Grandma, don’t worry, Primrose and I are doing well.” “But Grandma, you also need to help us feel at ease. After you rest enough, let’s transfer to a hospital in Rochester.” “That way, Primrose and I can come see you every week.” Another half year went by. Grandma stayed in the best hospital in Rochester, calm and well, full of strength. The doctor also said many people with late-stage lung cancer can live more than ten years, so I could finally relax. Rupert also appeared to have settled down, staying beside me all the time, making different food for me every day.

I believed maybe I should leave that hurtful past behind and begin again with him. But when I stood outside his office door, holding the soup I had made myself, I heard louder and louder sounds of pleasure. Rupert’s attractive assistant was sitting on him. “Who allowed you to come in!” Rupert’s face changed for a moment, then he picked up an ashtray and hit it against the door. The broken pieces sliced my lower leg. It felt like my heart was ripped open, cold air rushing through it. The secretary wisely walked away. I slowly removed my wedding ring. This time, there was no fear on Rupert’s face. He calmly lit a cigarette. “Another divorce? Are you trying to send your grandmother to her grave?” “She raised you with so much effort and now that she’s dying, she can’t even rest peacefully because of you. How can you be this cold?” His hand, which was taking off the wedding ring, suddenly froze. I lifted my head in disbelief. He gave a quiet laugh, walked closer and wiped my eyes. “Was it really needed to cry this much?” “I already said, the mind and the body can stay apart. Just remember that you are the only one inside my heart.” That night, I moved from the main bedroom into the spare bedroom. Rupert said nothing, but while visiting my grandmother, he kissed her caregiver in the stairway. At that time, I clearly understood what it meant to feel completely broken inside. “Rupert, I beg you, please do not let Grandma find out.” Do not let Grandma learn how miserable I was. He smiled in satisfaction and sent the caregiver away. A soft kiss fell on the corner of my eye. “That’s better. Bring your blankets back when you return tonight and do not act up again.” From that moment on, our marriage, like this wedding picture, was broken beyond fixing. A phone call from the hospital pulled me out of my thoughts. The person on the other side asked me how to handle my grandmother’s belongings. When I reached the hospital, two nurses cleaning the room were talking quietly. “Did you hear? The elderly woman in this room was in the ICU, her face soaked with tears!” “Normally, at her age, staying in such a good ward, with her granddaughter visiting two or three times each week, what could she even worry about?” “Maybe she saw something bad?” “Shh, Miss Greystone is here...” The two nurses quickly walked away when they noticed me. Their words made my worries grow. My grandmother… had died quietly. At first, I believed it was because her cancer cells had changed and caused her so much pain. I stood frozen for a second, then my foot hit something. I lowered my head and saw several photos. After seeing the clear and explicit content in the pictures, my bending movement stopped. My heart fell and I felt a strong pain inside me. The pictures showed bare bodies pressed closely together. One person was Rupert and the other was Rupert’s new favorite, the rising star Sybil Beaumont. My mind felt dizzy. So the tears my grandmother cried before she died were because of me. When I faced Sybil, she and Rupert were locked in a heated kiss. Not on a hotel bed, but at a party. Rupert openly showed her off, clearly wanting everyone to know about them. It seemed that bringing up divorce again truly made him angry. “For many years, Rupert always kept a lover outside while keeping his wife at home. He never brought a lover out before.” “Will the title of Mrs. Cavendish really be passed to someone else?”

People in the crowd started whispering. Sybil’s smile became even bigger. She quickly posted on Twitter with a photo of the two of them kissing. “Mr. Cavendish, let everyone know I am your woman, alright? That way, shameless people won’t try to get close to me.” Rupert did not reply, letting all the doubtful and challenging looks land on me. He waited for me to plead with him. He stepped closer and spoke softly in my ear. “Primrose, I wonder if Grandma uses Twitter?” I pushed him away with no emotion and walked straight toward Sybil. I lifted my arm and slapped her. Everyone gasped. Only Rupert’s smile grew deeper, thinking my slap came from jealousy. Sybil reacted and was about to hit back, but Rupert stopped her. “That’s enough. You, a mistress, dare to touch my wife?” “If you really dare to touch my wife, you’ll be blocked everywhere.” That was exactly how he was. When he wasn’t bored with you, he treated you like a queen. When he was bored, he tossed you aside without care. “Wife, I knew you cared about me.” Rupert held my hand, his face full of pleasing smiles. “I’ll cook for you after we go home.” I couldn’t handle it anymore and yanked my arm back, dumping a cup of wine over his head. I spoke, word after word, “No thanks, I feel sick just seeing you.” “Knowing you was the worst thing that ever happened to me.” He rubbed his face calmly. “Wife, you are still mad. I will not bother you. Go back first, do not upset the child.” I paid him no attention and left. Outside the door, the cold wind cleared the built-up anger inside my chest. I got on a plane to another country without turning around. From that day forward, Rupert and I never met each other again. That night, staring at a table of cold dishes and a phone he could not reach, Rupert felt a wave of worry. Hearing the door open, he hurried out at once. “Mom? Is that you?” His mother did not waste time, laying out several pictures. “This is Miss Madeline, who is the daughter of the Holden Family...” “They’re all good women. Most important, as long as you don’t have any outside children, they will not care how many women you keep outside...” Rupert looked confused. “Mom, if you only come to stir up problems, leave right now.” “I plan to see Primrose’s grandma tomorrow. I have no time to handle you.” His mom gave him a confused stare. “Didn’t you both already get divorced?” “Also, Primrose’s grandma died yesterday, didn’t you hear?”