Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce-Chapter 12: She Almost Forgot: Adrian Lancaster Was Already a Father
The outcome was as she’d expected. Wren wasn’t surprised; this was hardly the first time something like this had happened. When it came to a choice between her and Maya Marshall, Adrian always chose Maya.
Wren felt a pang of despair for herself, having once again witnessed the man’s coldness and cruelty. If it were daytime, she would have gotten out of the car without a second thought.
But it was night, and the area was deserted. There weren’t even any streetlights. It would be incredibly dangerous for her to get out of the car alone.
"I’ll go with you."
Adrian frowned, clearly reluctant to take her with him.
"Why are you making things difficult for yourself? Wouldn’t it be better to just go home and rest?"
Her heart aching, Wren gestured outside.
"Take a good look around. Do you really think I can hail a cab out here? And even if I got lucky and one showed up, do you think I’d dare get into a stranger’s car by myself? If something happened to me, who would be responsible?"
Adrian was left speechless by her retort, realizing how thoughtless he’d been. He looked away, slammed his foot on the gas, and the car shot forward.
...
The Marshall family home was ablaze with lights.
Adrian parked in front of the villa and hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt, ready to get out. Wren stared straight ahead, motionless. He rushed her. "Don’t just sit there. Get out."
"I’m not going in," Wren said. Out of sight, out of mind. She didn’t want to subject herself to that.
Adrian was baffled. "Then what was the point of coming with me?"
"If I hadn’t come, you would have just abandoned me on the side of the road. I only came along to be safe. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to see Maya Marshall."
This was giving Adrian a headache. His mind was completely focused on Maya, and he didn’t have the patience to argue with Wren. "Suit yourself."
He got out of the car and walked away without a backward glance.
Devoid of any emotion, Wren sat in the car and closed her aching, stinging eyes to rest.
Half an hour later, a middle-aged woman in a housekeeper’s uniform came out of the house, stopped by the car, and gently tapped on the passenger-side window.
Wren opened her eyes and lowered the window.
Before Wren could speak, the woman explained, "Miss Sutton, Mr. Lancaster said you should drive yourself home. You don’t need to wait for him."
The words struck her heart like sharp stones, leaving a dull, stifling ache.
Wren looked up, her expression heart-wrenching.
"What is Adrian doing in there?"
"Mr. Lancaster is telling Ms. Marshall a bedtime story. It’s a long one, so he won’t be able to leave for quite a while."
Wren let out a laugh, her heart shattering into a million pieces.
"Is Maya Marshall a three-year-old? Does she need someone to read her a bedtime story?"
And what’s more, Adrian was happy to stay and read to her. He grants her every wish. What a pair of devoted childhood sweethearts.
Wren could even imagine the scene inside the house.
In the bedroom, under the dim, suggestive lights, Adrian would pull Maya onto his lap. She would wrap her arms around his neck, leaning into his embrace. They’d be impossibly close, and as the story went on and on...
Wren closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Don’t get angry. Don’t get angry. We’re getting divorced anyway. Even if Adrian dropped dead in Maya’s bed, it would have nothing to do with me.
"Tell Adrian he doesn’t need to come home tonight."
"Miss Sutton, I think you’ve misunderstood."
"A misunderstanding?" Wren sized up the housekeeper and sneered. "Of course. It figures someone so two-faced would have a servant to match."
Without waiting for a reaction, she swung her long legs over into the driver’s seat, slammed the accelerator to the floor, and sped away from the Marshall estate.
Less than five hundred meters down the road, the car screeched to a halt.
Wren gripped the steering wheel, her fingernails digging into her palms. Her expression was cold, and a storm was brewing in the depths of her outwardly calm eyes.
What was she doing, running away with her tail between her legs like this? Maya Marshall had provoked and taunted her time and time again, and she had never once fought back.
Because she had loved him so desperately, so afraid of losing him, she had always held her tongue, silently enduring every injustice.
But now, her eyes were open. The divorce papers were signed. She had said goodbye to the past and no longer wanted or expected Adrian Lancaster’s love.
So why should she put up with it anymore?
She was still, at least for now, Adrian Lancaster’s legal wife. What did that make Maya Marshall?
A mistress shouldn’t be so brazen.
And a legal wife shouldn’t be such a spineless doormat.
Wren glanced in the rearview mirror, spun the steering wheel with one hand, and made a U-turn, heading straight back to the Marshall estate.
BANG. She slammed the car door shut and strode into the villa, her bearing confident and composed. The housekeeper was tidying up the living room. When she saw Wren, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"Miss Sutton, you..."
Wren’s tone was stern as she corrected her. "Please call me Mrs. Lancaster."
A flicker of embarrassment crossed the housekeeper’s face. She set down what she was doing. "Mrs. Lancaster, why are you back? Is something wrong?"
Wren slowly raised her head to look upstairs. "What do you think?"
The housekeeper shook her head. "I couldn’t say."
"Then stick to your duties and don’t ask questions."
...
Seeing Wren head straight for the stairs, the housekeeper rushed forward to block her path.
"Mrs. Lancaster, you can’t go up."
Wren didn’t break her stride. "Why not? Is there a pack of wild animals up there?"
"Our young lady is asleep. It’s not a convenient time for visitors. If you need something, please come back tomorrow."
"Who said I was here to see Maya Marshall? She’s not important enough for that. I wouldn’t come even if she begged me to." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Then what exactly are you planning to do?"
"What I’m doing is none of your business."
"But this is the Marshall residence," the housekeeper said, getting flustered. She reached out to block Wren’s path. "Mrs. Lancaster, please conduct yourself with some dignity."
The word "dignity" almost made Wren laugh. It seemed the Marshalls, servants included, were genetically incapable of feeling shame. In that case, she’d be more than happy to give the woman a little reminder.
"The one who needs to have some dignity is Maya Marshall, luring a married man here late at night for a bedtime story. If word of this got out online, how could the Marshall elders ever show their faces again?
"And then I’ll post a picture of my marriage certificate. It’ll be crystal clear who the wife is and who the mistress is. Your precious young lady will be publicly shamed for the rest of her life."
The housekeeper’s face turned pale, and she was unable to form a rebuttal.
Wren was taller, and her powerful presence completely overwhelmed the other woman. "Out of respect for your age, I’ve been polite. Now, get out of my way. Don’t make me get physical."
The housekeeper, already feeling guilty, was further intimidated by Wren’s threats and obediently stepped aside.
This was Wren Sutton’s first time at the Marshall residence, so she didn’t know the layout.
"Where is Maya Marshall’s room?"
"Second door on the left at the top of the stairs."
"Thanks."
...
Wren climbed the stairs and followed the directions to the bedroom door.
Through the heavy wooden door, she could hear Maya Marshall’s laughter—as cheerful and spoiled as a naive child who knew nothing of the world.
Soaking in the bliss provided by a man every day, it was no wonder she was as spoiled as a child.
Child...
Wren Sutton’s heart sank violently. She’d almost forgotten. Adrian was a father now. He wasn’t just reading a story to Maya right now. He was reading to their child.
An indescribable pain pierced her heart.
Wren stood at the door, her whole body trembling.
"That story was hilarious! Read another one, I want to hear more."
"Alright, but this is the last one. After this, you have to go to sleep."
"Mhm."
Listening to their conversation, Wren gritted her teeth, forced herself to calm down, and opened the voice recorder app on her phone.
The next second, she kicked the door open and walked in.
The sudden noise startled the people in the bedroom.
Adrian and Maya both snapped their heads toward the door, their faces masks of pure shock.
The world fell silent. The air seemed to freeze, as if someone had hit a pause button.
Wren walked in, step by step.
Adrian Lancaster frowned in displeasure. "Didn’t I tell you to go home? What are you doing up here?"
Wren enunciated each word clearly. "Catching a cheater."
