Đang tải thông tin quảng bá...
My Wife Tried to Kill Me,So I Filed for Divorce in Front of Her Whole Family
Hester Cobb was picking up my car when she got into an accident. Her leg was broken. By the time I reached the hospital, some young man with red, swollen eyes was ranting at me nonstop: "What gave you...
Chương (4)
第1章
Hester Cobb was picking up my car when she got into an accident. Her leg was broken.
By the time I reached the hospital, some young man with red, swollen eyes was ranting at me nonstop:
"What gave you the right to make Ms. Cobb pick up your car? If you hadn't been too lazy to do it yourself, she never would've gotten hurt!"
"Do you have any idea that she fractured her leg? That she injured her ribs too?"
His tone was self-righteous, like he was scolding an employee who'd screwed up.
It wasn't just me—every friend and family member who'd come to visit Hester stood frozen in disbelief.
Hester shot him an indulgent look, then turned to placate me:
"He's young. He speaks his mind when he's defending a client. Don't take it personally."
Her heart clearly wasn't with me anymore. So no, I didn't take it personally.
I stared calmly at the boy sobbing like his world had ended, waiting until he'd exhausted himself.
"Done? Good. My turn."
"This is the second time your dealership has made this kind of amateur mistake. If I don't get a reasonable explanation, you can deal with the police and Ball Group Legal."
1.
The color drained from the boy's face. He looked desperately toward the woman in the hospital bed.
Hester's expression shifted:
"Darrell Ball, it was my mistake. It has nothing to do with him. I've already handled the accident."
"Your mistake?"
I raised an eyebrow and looked directly at Hester:
"How bad is it?"
Hester coughed lightly:
"I'm fine. Just the fractured leg and a mild concussion. You don't need to—"
I cut her off:
"I was asking about the car."
My coldness struck the boy like a slap. His voice shot up:
"Ms. Cobb is hospitalized and all you care about is the car? Do you even have a conscience?!"
"You must be Joshua Delgado."
I slid my hands into my pockets, unhurried, my face expressionless as I regarded him:
"First—that car is worth two and a half million dollars. Limited edition. One of a handful in the world."
"Second—Hester is my legal wife. She was picking up my car. Is there a problem?"
"Third..."
I paused, my gaze dropping to his hand clutching the fabric of Hester's hospital gown:
"You're just some college kid Hester sponsored. So tell me—what exactly gives you the right to stand here and interrogate me?"
Joshua's face flushed crimson. He released her gown instinctively, but still tried to defend himself:
"I—I just feel bad for Ms. Cobb!"
"You could've picked up the car yourself, but you made her go all that way. Now something's happened and you don't even have a single word of concern—"
I glanced at the message my assistant had just sent. A cold smile tugged at my lips.
"Save your sympathy for yourself."
"The damage assessment just came in. Repair costs are estimated at over three hundred thousand dollars, minimum. Card or cash?"
Joshua's legs buckled. He swayed, then glared at me with stubborn, wounded fury:
"Th-three hundred thousand? That's extortion!"
Then his eyes darted to Hester, pleading:
"Ms. Cobb..."
Hester pushed herself upright, aggravating her wound. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth.
"Darrell, he just entered the workforce—he's still a kid. Where would he get three hundred thousand? Don't scare him."
"It was my mistake. I'll pay you back."
Joshua's eyes lit up instantly. A smug little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
I looked at her and let out a mocking laugh:
"Ms. Cobb is certainly generous. Wasn't buying him an entire dealership enough?"
Hester clearly hadn't expected me to know about that. Her expression froze.
Joshua lost all his earlier bravado. He bit his lip and scrambled to explain:
"Darrell, if you're angry, take it out on me. Don't blame Ms. Cobb. She only helped me start my business because she felt sorry for me."
Hester sighed and waved Joshua off:
"This has nothing to do with you. Go home for now."
Joshua hung his head and shuffled toward the door, glancing back every few steps. But the moment he reached the threshold, he spun around and hurried back.
第2章
Joshua pressed a small, delicately carved peachwood talisman sword into Hester's palm.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, gazing up at him with a softness that could melt steel.
Anyone watching would've sworn these two were more than colleagues.
Joshua bit his lip, reluctance written across his face as he finally pulled away. Passing by me, he lowered his voice in explanation:
"Darrell, this is my fault. I let Ms. Cobb drive off before the car was properly inspected, and then the accident happened."
"Please don't misunderstand—I carved that peachwood sword myself. I'm hoping it'll ward off any bad luck for her."
The car wasn't properly inspected?
But the dealership had called me to pick it up.
And that brake failure last time—was that also due to a shoddy inspection?
"Darrell, I've been meaning to talk to you about the dealership situation."
Hester's voice pulled me back to the present.
We were alone in the hospital room now. A smile spread across her face as she carefully set the talisman sword aside, then reached for my hand.
"Joshua just graduated, and it happened to be his birthday. It was just a gift. Don't tell me my CEO husband is jealous?"
She said it like it was nothing—like she'd given away some worthless trinket.
I shifted, avoiding her touch.
"So this is what you're into?"
The air went still.
Hester's expression flickered. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"I didn't tell you because I was worried you'd overthink it. Joshua and I are innocent. We—"
"I don't care."
I cut her off, my tone detached.
"I haven't caught you in bed together, I'll admit that. But I don't tolerate even a grain of sand in my eye, Hester. Whatever ideas you're entertaining—drop them. I have no interest in making this ugly."
Hester looked up at me, disbelief clouding her features.
"You don't believe me?"
I gazed down at her, my eyes flat and unreadable.
Silence was answer enough.
She opened her mouth to say more, but the phone on the nightstand buzzed.
The name on the screen—Joshua—burned into my vision.
Hester hesitated, then answered. Joshua's pitiful voice immediately drifted through:
"Ms. Cobb, is Darrell giving you a hard time? Even if he's angry, please don't fight with him, okay?"
"I ordered some bone broth from Fortune Kitchen for you. I didn't want Darrell to get the wrong idea, so I won't deliver it myself."
Two sentences. He'd managed to play the devoted puppy while subtly reminding her just how close they really were.
I didn't move.
Hester glanced at my face and hung up.
A cold laugh echoed in my chest. I had no patience left for this charade. I turned and walked toward the door.
"Darrell!"
Hester called after me, frantic.
"You're really angry?"
"I promise I'll stay away from him. No more contact, ever. Please don't be so cold to me?"
"My leg hurts..."
I paused, turning my head just slightly. My voice could've frozen the air.
"If your leg hurts, call a doctor. I have work. Rest well."
Outside the hospital, the cold wind hit my face, finally tamping down the fury coiling in my chest.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my assistant.
"Evan Brooks. Dig into Joshua Delgado. I suspect he had something to do with my brake failure last time."
After that last service appointment, my brakes had given out mid-drive. I'd swerved into a landscaped median to avoid a catastrophic crash.
That evening, Nina Caldwell—manager of an upscale watch boutique—arrived at my door on Hester's orders. She presented dozens of luxury timepieces for my selection.
"Ms. Cobb certainly knows how to take care of you," Nina remarked, admiration in her voice. "Such devotion. It's enviable, really."
I glanced over the watches, feeling nothing but bitter irony.
"You're reading it wrong. The night a man cheats, he tells his wife 'I love you' over and over—trying to drown out his own guilt."
"Women are no different."
第3章
Hester thought I was throwing a tantrum—like one of those live-in husbands who discover their wife's affair and dissolve into tears and threats, only to be pacified with a luxury watch and a lavish party.
She seemed to have forgotten who I was.
I didn't have a family empire to fall back on like she did. But I'd carved my own path. Accepted to a top foreign university at sixteen. Clawed my way through Wall Street's shark-infested waters by twenty-two. Returned home at twenty-five to compete with her head-to-head in the business world.
We married not because I couldn't live without her, but because she'd promised me forever. One life. One love. Just the two of us.
The joke was on me.
Five years. That's all it took for her to forget every word.
The next day, I received a friend request from Joshua. The note read: "Darrell, I'd like to explain about your car's maintenance issue."
Work buried me that day—back-to-back meetings until evening, then a rushed flight home for my uncle's seventieth birthday. He was my only living relative.
I didn't accept the request until I landed.
Joshua immediately sent a voice message. Something about the mechanic being a temp worker who'd gone AWOL. Couldn't be reached.
I didn't reply. But my thumb slipped, and I accidentally tapped into his feed.
The latest post was from thirty minutes ago.
Hester sat on our couch in our villa, drinking soup. Behind her hung the oil painting I'd paid a fortune for at auction. The handcrafted Italian rug I'd had custom-made.
And there was Joshua. Wearing my favorite pajamas. My slippers.
Grinning beside her, one arm raised to take a selfie, the other flashing a peace sign.
The caption: "Finally able to take care of you while you're sick. I know I've been misunderstood, but the truth speaks for itself. Homemade bone broth—hope you feel better soon."
I screenshot it and sent it to Hester.
"Living in my house. Wearing my clothes. Getting cozy with my wife. This is your idea of 'innocent'?!"
Her reply came instantly.
"Darrell, Joshua spilled soup on his clothes while cooking. He's just borrowing yours temporarily. He meant well. Don't overthink it."
I laughed—cold and sharp.
"Meant well?"
"More like the soup was an excuse and sneaking into my home was the real goal. Wearing my clothes to play house? What—does he think if he squats here long enough, he'll get promoted to husband?"
"Do you have to be so cruel?"
Her tone shifted.
"You're never around. He came to take care of me. Can't you show a little generosity?"
"Darrell, you weren't like this before. When did you become so overbearing? So cold?"
I stared at the screen and laughed in disbelief.
Overbearing? Cold?
When Cobb Group's funding collapsed, I was the one who led my team through a month of sleepless nights to secure the investment that saved her.
When her father was hospitalized, I was the one who shelved a billion-dollar acquisition to sit by his bedside for two weeks.
She used to say she admired my decisiveness. My killer instinct in business.
Now that she had a sweet, attentive little angel by her side, suddenly I was overbearing and cruel?
My uncle insisted I stay. It wasn't until the third day that I caught the earliest flight home.
The fingerprint lock hadn't been changed.
But my fingerprint had been deleted.
I stood at my own front door and rang the bell.
Joshua opened it.
This time, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Just loose athletic shorts slung low on his hips. His hair was wet, dripping—like he'd just stepped out of the shower.
"Darrell?" His voice pitched with surprise. "What are you doing here? Hester's still sleeping—"
I cut him off.
"Last I checked, I don't need permission to enter my own home."
第4章
"Move."
"That's not what I meant—"
Joshua planted himself stubbornly in the doorway.
"But Ms. Cobb is still resting, and you seem upset. I was afraid you'd disturb her..."
I didn't waste breath on him. I shoved him aside.
"Get out of my way."
The commotion woke Hester. She emerged from the bedroom on her crutches, frowning at the tension crackling between us.
"What's going on?"
Joshua's tears came before his words.
"Ms. Cobb, I'm so sorry—you were exhausted last night, and I just wanted to let you sleep longer. I didn't mean to offend Darrell..."
He wiped at his eyes, turning his face away with wounded dignity. A little white rabbit, bullied within an inch of his life.
But his ears burned crimson.
Hester coughed twice before speaking.
"Darrell, you've really misunderstood him. Apologize."
I ignored her and dropped onto the sofa.
My gaze lifted to the display shelf. The framed photo of Hester and me—gone.
In its place sat that peachwood talisman sword Joshua had carved and polished with his own hands, mounted on a rosewood display base.
On the coffee table lay a pair of underwear that wasn't mine.
"No wonder he wouldn't let me through the door." I let out a cold laugh. "Hester, you two have been having quite the time."
Joshua scrambled to grab the underwear, tears streaming.
"These are mine—I washed them, I was just drying them here—"
"Drying them in the living room?"
I scoffed.
"With Hester's broken leg, I'm curious—who was taking care of whom? Was it even comfortable?"
Joshua's face went scarlet. He stammered, "Darrell, you—you really have the wrong idea. Ms. Cobb and I, we didn't do anything—"
"Enough!"
Hester glared at me, her patience snapping.
"Do you have to say such vulgar things just to humiliate him?"
"He's just an innocent young man—not like you, with your head full of schemes!"
I met her eyes.
"What exactly am I scheming?"
"You're scheming how to embarrass him, how to destroy his reputation, how to make me obey your every command—revolving around you and only you forever!"
Her voice rose with each accusation.
"Yes, I let him stay! But nothing happened between us! He took care of me, and I'm grateful—it's that simple! Why do you have to assume the worst about everyone?"
"Whether people's hearts are dirty doesn't interest me."
I pulled out a document.
"But what does interest me is this: six months ago, you used Cobb Group funds and resources to open a franchised auto dealership for him. Twenty million dollars. Filed under 'charitable investment.'"
I let that sink in.
"Hester—did the board approve this? Embezzling company funds to support your boy toy. How does that charge sound?"
Her face went ashen.
"You investigated me? He's not my—"
"Then what is he?"
I rose and walked toward Joshua.
"Mr. Delgado. Why don't you tell me—what exactly are you?"
Joshua bit his lip.
"I just... I admire Ms. Cobb. I'm grateful for everything she's done for me. That's why I came to help for a couple of days..."
"Admire her enough to wear my clothes? Sleep in my bed?"
I gestured toward the master bedroom, its door still ajar.
"Hester, I watched you both walk out of that room with my own eyes. Explain that."
Her jaw tightened.
"Believe what you want. Joshua slept on the floor to take care of me. We didn't do anything."
"I don't actually care whether you slept together."
I tucked the document away and placed a divorce agreement on the coffee table. My tone left no room for negotiation.
"Hester. Transfer full ownership of that dealership back. Sign this divorce agreement like a good girl. Assets split according to our prenup. We end this with dignity."
I paused.
"Otherwise, I'll sue you for embezzlement and adultery. I'll report everything to the board." A thin smile crossed my face. "How do you think those old foxes will react? Think they'll pass up the chance to throw you out?"