Discarded Wife Builds Her Own World

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down the hall. I imagined him relaying my refusal to Joette, and a grim satisfaction settled over me. Th

idn't bother to knock. The door swung open, revealing her formidable figure, framed by the slight, pale form of my daughter, Luna. Luna,

lling undertone carried far more menace. "Refusing my summons? Have you forgotten your place? Have you forgotten who you are, and

'debt' to them. She wanted me to cower, to apologize, to beg for forgiveness. But th

r off. I looked at the caller ID, my heart sinking. Kiyoshi. Even from a hospital bed, even aft

d me. "I need you to whip up some of my famous onigiri for Heidi. She has a craving for authentic Japanese food, and you know how p

tinctly female and unmistakably Heidi' s, drifted through the phone. It was followed by a soft moan,

per, "could you also send over that sapphire necklace? The one I gave you for o

across my cheek exploded across my face. My head snapped to the side

nswer that call in front of me? How dare you allow him to humiliate you like this? You are a Donovan wife,

?" Joette continued, her voice dripping with scorn. "What good are you, really? You failed to produce a male heir, you'r

n. As Joette raised her hand for another strike, something inside me snapped entirely. My hand shot out, catching her

. "You want to control your son, Joette? Then go control him. He is the one disgracing your family name, not me. I

. I pushed the documents across the pristine white sheets of my hospital bed. "We're done," I announced

elief and dawning fury. "You think you can just walk

legacy. I want my freedom. We can settle this cleanly, or we can make a very public, very ugly mess that will tarnish the Donovan name far more than Kiyoshi's latest escapades." I tapped the small device in my hand. It contained th

ime, held a weapon that could truly wound them. "I cannot, and will not, spend another moment of my life with a man as