I pushed open the door of the Clark family home, soaking wet from the five-hour journey through the rain. Verina was there, sitting beside my husband, Lucas, along with a few of his friends. I had braved the storm to buy the moose cake Lucas had mentioned wanting casually. Lucas took the cake from my hands and, without a word, handed it to Verina.
She looked at me with a smirk as he told her to enjoy it. “Lucas, I brought you the moose cake you requested,” I said, my voice barely steady. “Here, you can have it,” he said, giving it to Verina. I stood there, dripping onto the luxurious carpet, as one of his friends laughed.
“Ever wonder what Lucas’s wife looks like? Take a look at her now. ”
I had spent five hours getting that cake. Lucas didn’t even look at me.
He just rose to his feet with icy, emotionless eyes. “The divorce papers are on the coffee table at home. Sign them when you go back,” he said. “Divorce papers?
” I whispered. “I married you only to appease my father and to keep Verina out of harm’s way. Now that she has returned, I can ensure her safety. ”
“Lucas, in all our years together, was I nothing more than just a convenient tool for you?
”
“Yes, you were just a tool. I never had any feelings for you at all. ”
I felt my heart shatter. Three years of my life, my devotion, my love—all of it meant nothing.
I told him I would sign the papers. He looked at Verina with a softness he had never shown me. She asked if she could discard the cake because she was full. Of course, he said yes.
I turned and walked out into the rain. Back at the villa, I looked at the settlement terms on the coffee table: $300 million and two luxurious houses. That was the price to get rid of me. Three years of my life were worth $300 million to the Clark family.
My mother called, urging me not to pass up a chance to study abroad. I had decided. I would go. I had a high fever from the rain, but I didn’t care.
I needed to leave this nightmare behind. I stood outside the courthouse, shivering and coughing. Lucas was nowhere to be found. When I called, he said, “I’m tied up now.
We’ll reschedule the courthouse visit. ”
He chose her again, even on the day we were supposed to end it. I pulled the SIM card out of my phone and dropped it into the trash can. I didn’t want this number or this life anymore.
Three years passed. I had been studying under a mentor overseas. I saved Molly Thomas from a heart attack on Chickton Street and became the goddaughter of the powerful Thomas family. I was no longer the overweight, insecure Belinda.
I had transformed everything about myself. I returned to the country for a banquet held by the Thomas family. Ryan Adams, the son of the Adams Group’s chairman, approached me, completely unaware of who I was. He was the same man who had insulted me years ago.
Now he was asking for my number. “This is the person who used to insult me. Now he’s standing here and he can’t recognize me at all,” I thought. I told him my name was Ben.
Lucas was there with his friends. He recognized me. He cornered me and accused me of fleeing to avoid the divorce. I reminded him that he was the one who had postponed the appointment.
I told him we would finalize the divorce the next day at 10:00, and I walked away, my heart racing despite my calm exterior. Later that evening, at the banquet, Mr. Singh collapsed. I rushed to help him, performing a pericardial centesis to relieve the fluid around his heart.
Everyone was stunned. Verina tried to stop me, but I ignored her. “Vera Ben is soon to join the cardiac surgery department at Grand Plains General Hospital. Should anything go wrong, the Thomas family will take responsibility,” someone announced.
The next day, Lucas and I arrived at the courthouse on time. While we were waiting, Lucas received a call that his father had been taken to the hospital. I came with him. His father, Harold, was surprised to see me.
He had no idea I had changed. He refused to accept the divorce, and Lucas agreed to delay it for his father’s health. Harold made us promise not to divorce. My father, Baker, called me later, demanding I come home.
When I arrived, I found he had changed the door password. I used a hammer to break in. “Belinda, kneel and apologize right now! ” he shouted.
He brought out the whip, the same one he used to punish me three years ago when Kylie falsely accused me of stealing her necklace and pushing her. I refused to kneel. I snatched the whip from his hands and threw it on the ground. I was no longer afraid.
Corola, my father’s wife, and Kylie, her daughter, came out. Corola was kind to me, as she had always been. She told my father to let the past go. Kylie pretended to be forgiving.
“Belinda, I forgave you long ago. I even told her she could have the necklace if she liked it so much,” Kylie said. I left, exhausted and drained. That evening, I met my close friend Bethany at a bar to vent.
Lucas and his friends were there too. I overheard Verina and Ryan talking. “That vile woman must have tipped him off. She has never wanted a divorce.
She fled 3 years ago and now she’s still playing games with you,” Ryan said. I told Bethany everything about my family. She made me realize that Kylie had likely planned the whole necklace scheme years ago, possibly because of her obsession with Lucas. I had been a pawn in her games.
Bethany also brought up something I hadn’t considered. My childhood weight issues. The doctor had told me overseas that my weight problems stemmed from taking medicines that caused hormone changes. Bethany wondered if someone had been tampering with me since I was a child.
She even joked that it could not have been my mother. I told her that was impossible. My mother adored me. The next day, I received a call from Harold.
He had been discharged from the hospital and wanted me to come to the mansion. When I arrived, I saw Lucas stepping out of his blue Bentley. “Stop right there. I have nothing to say to you,” I said.
Harold had made a decision. He wanted Lucas and me to move back into the estate. I agreed, but Lucas was reluctant. Eventually, he agreed too.
That night, Lucas and I were forced into the same room. He threw me onto the sofa and took the bed. “Lucas, you have no manners,” I said. “Get off the bed.
Belinda Clark. ”
“Here I am. What’s the matter? You’re not about to toss me from the bed as well, are you, Mr.
Clark? ”
I wouldn’t let him win. I asked Harold directly why he was delaying the divorce. He said he just wanted to enjoy his birthday this year before we parted ways.
He sighed, saying life’s daily stresses were wearing him out. “I’ll wait. I promise,” I said. Lucas and I had a tense conversation about the delay.
He accused me of stalling. I told him I was as eager for the divorce as he was. We were already divorced in my eyes. I signed the papers.
He could shower all his affection on Verina for all I cared. I visited my mother. She apologized for not believing me years ago. She admitted she knew I didn’t push Kylie, but she made me apologize to pacify my father.
“Why should I apologize for something I didn’t do? ” I asked. She begged for my forgiveness, and I gave it to her. But then she started talking about Corola.
She was convinced Corola was behind my hormone problems. “Mom, why would you suspect that? Corola was unaware of my existence back then. ”
“Why couldn’t she?
She could have found out about your existence before that. Given her family’s influence, wouldn’t it have been easy for her to target a child? ”
I defended Corola. She had always been kind to me.
She was the only one who believed me when I was accused of stealing the necklace. My mother grew bitter. “If not her, then who would have done it? Are you implying that it was me or your grandmother who poisoned you?
”
I was hurt by her words. I told her she was too emotional and went to my room to clear my head. Kaden, from the hospital, called me, eager for me to start my position as a cardiac surgeon. I agreed to go in a few days.
I cooked a meal for my mother, Holly. She immediately started talking about business, wanting me to mention a partnership to my godfather, Santino. I refused. I told her to tell my father to approach Mr.
Thomas directly. Harold called me again, asking if I could bring some homemade food to Lucas at his office. He said Lucas had stomach problems and neglected his meals. I ordered takeout from a five-star hotel instead and brought it to Lucas’s office.
“Don’t bring me lunch again,” he said coldly. “It’s from a five-star restaurant. Hardly substandard. ”
“I’d prefer you make something for me.
”
“You’re joking, right, Mr. Clark? ”
I walked to the door, but it swung open. Verina and Ryan walked in.
Verina had brought Lucas lunch from her family’s chef. “Don’t touch it. Leave that container exactly where it is and do not move it,” Lucas said to Verina. I was surprised.
He was defending me? Verina was clearly shaken. “Lucas, are you having second thoughts about the divorce? Or could it be?
Have you developed some feelings for Belinda? ” Verina asked. “Absolutely not. My feelings for Belinda are non-existent.
”
I couldn’t help but laugh at his lie. Internally, I admitted that Harold’s postponed divorce news brought me unexpected relief, but not for Belinda’s sake. I believed that. Verina and Ryan left.
Ryan advised her not to press Lucas too hard. She was jealous of my transformation, worried he might fall for me. They decided to invite me out for a talk. I visited Molly and Santino.
They were worried about me and Lucas. Santino pulled me into his study. “How about we take a photo together? ” he asked.
“Are you still trying to make your ex jealous? ” I laughed. Darren posted the photo immediately. Lucas saw it and looked like he was about to explode with anger.
“Belinda, we’re still legally married. That photo with Darren, you should consider its impact on me. ”
“Concerned about your image? But why should I care about that?
I’ve already signed the divorce papers. We should stay out of each other’s business. ”
He accused me of tarnishing his family’s name. I reminded him of how he had treated me publicly with Verina.
“The entire time I was away, Verina clung to you like a shadow. Your public affair with her didn’t seem to concern you then. Why the sudden pretense of propriety now? ”
He had no answer.
Kylie called me, wanting to meet for lunch. I agreed, curious about her game. At lunch, she pretended to be the caring sister, apologizing for the past. She even told me to fight for my husband against Verina.
“Isn’t it odd for you, my sister, to be so involved in my marital affairs? ” I asked. “One might wonder if you have an ulterior motive concerning your brother-in-law. Do you want Lucas for yourself?
”
She recoiled, denying it. She then offered me a job as her assistant at Grand Plains General Hospital. She thought I was still the weak, underqualified girl from years ago. “Thank you, but I’ve already secured a job.
I start tomorrow. ”
“Oh, where will you be working? ”
“You’ll know soon enough. ”
I left her sitting there, stunned.
Later, I had dinner with Ryan. He was trying to charm me, unaware of who I really was. He bragged about Lucas and Verina, calling Lucas’s wife a nobody—overweight with an ugly birthmark. “Why would a powerful man like Lucas Clark choose to marry her?
” I asked. “Lucas married her solely to protect my cousin. When Verina returned 3 years ago, Lucas sought a divorce immediately. But his wife was too cunning and escaped overseas.
Otherwise, Lucas and Verina would have been reunited in marriage by now. ”
I listened as he revealed the full truth. Lucas married me not just to protect Verina, but because I was so unappealing that I wouldn’t make his true love feel jealous. I was just a tool to protect her ego.
“I can’t believe a man would be that cruel to his own wife just for another woman,” I said. “Miss Thomas, are you feeling well? You seem quite pale now. ”
“I’m fine, Mr.
Adams. It’s quite shocking. ”
He then went on to insult me, calling me an illegitimate girl who was plain and overweight. I had enough.
“Mr. Adams, wasn’t your mother once a destitute student sponsored by your father? Isn’t it true that when your mother was expecting you, your father was still legally married to his first wife? So technically, doesn’t that make you the son of a mistress?
You ought to reflect on your own roots before scorning others with that label. ”
He was speechless. I left him at the table. My family persuaded me to join them for dinner.
My stepmother, Corola, was kind. Kylie and my father tried to force me to quit my job and work as Kylie’s assistant at Grand Plains General Hospital. “I already have a job now,” I said. “Quit and join Grand Plains General Hospital as Kylie’s assistant.
Don’t refuse her offer,” my father demanded. My mother stood up for me. My father finally backed off. The next day, I started my position at Grand Plains General Hospital as a full-time cardiac surgery resident.
Kylie was shocked. She had been trying to present herself as my superior, but I was hired above her. Mr. Campbell confirmed that Mr.
Roberts had set up a tailored exam for me, which I had passed. Kylie tried to humiliate me by claiming I was there because of connections. But I didn’t care. I was there to save lives, not to make friends with people who believed her lies.
Lucas and I had lunch together, forced upon us by Harold. He asked if I got my job through connections. “I passed the exam because I am a professional. I do not need to explain my skills to you, Lucas.
”
“You have changed a lot. You used to be so quiet and obedient. ”
“I am a new person now, and I do not care what you think. ”
We ate in silence.
Later, I overheard Verina and Ryan scheming. They were trying to convince everyone that I was a caregiver, not a real doctor. Ryan’s uncle, the chief of the cardiac surgery department, claimed no one named Thomas or Ben worked there. They were spreading lies.
At a gathering, they confronted me, accusing me of lying and seducing a married man. I let them dig their own grave. “Who said Belinda’s last name was Thomas? She is Belinda Clark,” Lucas announced.
The room went silent. Verina was in shock. Ryan was in denial. “How can she be Belinda?
Belinda is ugly, overweight, and marred by a distinct black mark on her face,” Ryan stammered. “Watch your words, Ryan. Can’t a birthmark fade over time? Ryan, are you just insulting her because you can’t win her over?
Why not call your uncle right now to check if there’s a Dr. Belinda in the hospital’s cardiac surgery department? ”
Ryan blushed with embarrassment and couldn’t say a word. Verina was shaking with jealousy.
She had never thought ugly Belinda was a threat. Now, I was beautiful and a goddaughter of a powerful man. “Miss Reed, whether you were once close to Lucas or cherished by him, those days are behind us. I am his wife now.
Until our marriage ends, I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance from my husband. ”
The other wives looked at me in awe. They had underestimated me. Mrs.
Sugman, who had spread the rumors, was forced to apologize. Later that night, Lucas confronted me. “You seem quite skilled at saying one thing but doing another, don’t you, Belinda? ”
“Are you out of your mind?
”
“You were quite the moralist before. You declared that since the divorce papers were signed, we’re officially done. Yet today, you warned Verina to keep her distance from me since I’m still married. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?
”
“Yes, I said that, but I’ve reconsidered. After our divorce is finalized, you and Verina can do as you please, but as long as we’re still married, you can’t be involved with her. ”
He was taken aback. I was no longer the pushover he remembered.
In the middle of the night, Verina called Lucas, claiming she was unwell. He was about to go to her. I insisted on coming with him. “Why can’t I do that?
Isn’t Miss Reed unwell? Perfect. I’ll go see for myself how urgent it is that she needs someone else’s husband at this hour. ”
We arrived at her apartment.
She was pretending to have a fever. I offered to buy her medicine, but she insisted Lucas do it. “Lucas, go to the pharmacy to buy medicine. I’ll stay here with her.
Now, let’s talk,” I said. I confronted Verina, offering to exchange numbers so she could call me directly if she felt unwell. She had no choice but to accept. I had completely deflated her scheme.
The next day, I was assisting Professor Darlene when I saw Mrs. Singh. I recognized her as the wife of the man I had saved at the banquet. I decided to visit them alone to check on Mr.
Singh. “It’s me, Belinda. I am a doctor here now. ”
She was amazed by my transformation.
Lucas came to visit Mr. Singh too. Mrs. Singh urged him to cherish me, but he said we were planning to divorce.
Later, Kylie approached Lucas, asking him to deliver a message to me. She suggested I should resign voluntarily because my skills weren’t up to standard. Lucas refused. “Miss Wright, don’t worry about Belinda.
As long as she is my wife, who would dare dismiss her? ”
Kylie was furious. She had been trying to undermine me, but Lucas defended me. The Adams family came to apologize to me.
Ryan groveled, but I was indifferent. Santino denied their business partnership. Ryan’s family was devastated. Verina had tried to create trouble for me the night before by calling Lucas, and now it had cost her family their business deal with the Thomas family.
“Miss Reed, there’s something simple you can do for us. Keep your distance from Belinda’s husband. Your proximity to him might lead others to believe you’re attempting to disrupt a marriage,” Molly said. Verina started making excuses, but it was too late.
Later, my father called me, demanding that I come home. I knew it was about Kylie. Lucas insisted on coming with me. When we arrived, my father was furious.
“BELINDA, YOU UNGRATEFUL WOMAN. WHY DID YOU DO THAT? ”
Lucas intervened, saying he was there to join me for dinner. My father was silenced, but only temporarily.
During dinner, Kylie pretended to be apologetic. She even brought me soup. But I knew she was up to something. She handed me the bowl, and then suddenly screamed, claiming I had scalded her hand with the boiling soup.
“I didn’t cause the burn. She dropped the bowl herself,” I said. My father erupted. He wanted to punish me.
My mother begged him to stop. But I had had enough. I grabbed another bowl of soup and threw it at Kylie. “Since everyone is so convinced I burned Kylie’s hand on purpose earlier, I thought I’d not let your accusations be in vain.
Now, I really did it intentionally. ”
My father lunged at me, but Lucas stopped him. “Mr. Wright, have you considered the consequences of what you’re about to do?
”
Is he defending me? I thought. We left. In the car, I told him, “I didn’t do it for you.
You’re still my wife now, Belinda. Any harm coming to you reflects poorly on the Clark family. ”
I smiled to myself. “I was about to say that even if you hadn’t intervened, I could have managed the situation on my own.
”
My father sent me furious messages, demanding I come home and apologize. My mother begged me to comply. But I refused. The next day, my father visited the Clark mansion to complain about me.
He told Lucas’s parents everything, exaggerating the story. But Harold and Norma refused to believe him. Harold even gave him a check for Kylie’s medical bills and compensation. “Even if what you said is true, so what?
I believe it must have been Kylie who caused problems for Belinda first,” Harold said. My father refused the check and left humiliated. Harold had Hooper deliver the check to my father anyway, saying he hoped it would close the chapter on this issue. I was finally winning.
I had the support of the Thomas family and the Clark family. The people who had once looked down on me were now scrambling to apologize. And Lucas? He was still married to me, whether he liked it or not.
And the game was just getting started. I am Belinda Wright, and I am just getting started.
