Chapter 2

Pictures of her, almost clothless and in bed with a man she didn't know were scattered all over the room, with a raging Alex stomping on them.

"After everything that I did for you, you still had the guts to cheat on me, huh!!" He roared at her, bits of his warm saliva landing on her face with her eyes that were already bloodshed.

All she remembered was passing out and waking up in their bedroom this morning. How she got home and how her husband even got to have the photos of her supposed infidelity was something she still couldn't wrap her head around, and he didn't even care to hear her explanation.

"Believe me, Alex. I didn't do it," Caily tried to explain,

"You still have the guts to lie to me?! Caily, There are pictures of you in a freaking hotel room with this man!" He continued to reverberate at her,

"I don't even remember how I got there, I swear." She wobbled helplessly,

"Don't lie to me, you cheater! You disgust me so much! Take this, sign on it, and get the fuck out of my house!" Alex raged as he flung the drafted divorce agreement at her face.

Caily stared at the papers and then back at him in stark disbelief, a seething pain bubbling in her chest, "What? Alex, believe me…I…"

"Just sign the divorce papers, Caily!" He gritted his teeth as his fury was stoked,

Caily couldn't help to feel equally furious at him, "What about you? You flirt with Mirabel however you want yet I don't whine about it or throw divorce papers at your face!" Caily shrieked at the top of her voice,

"This isn't about me and Mirabel. Sign the damn papers, Caily!" Alex roared,

Just then Mirabel strolled into the room, arm in arm with Alex's mother, Amelia Thornefield.

Amelia used to be very fond of Caily but after just nine months into their marriage and Caily had still not conceived, Amelia began to act indifferent towards her.

She even supported the false accusations of other people calling her daughter-in-law a gold digger.

Amongst the Thornefield family, the only one who was on Caily's side was the Grandfather, Thomas Thornefield, the one Alex had inherited the influential T&D food-producing company from.

"What is this gold digger still doing here?" Were the words that came out of Amelia's mouth.

At the sight of Mirabel, Caily's eyes widened with a tiny bit of hope, she desperately rushed towards her, immediately grasping Mirabel's arms.

Suddenly a new flash of memories evolved her, before passing out, she remembered Mirabel handing her a bottle of wine. If anything, Mirabel should be able to vouch for her.

"Please tell them the truth, Mirabel. I fell asleep after you gave me that bottle of wine. ple…" She desperately begged but Mirabel cut in with a shriek,

"Oh my God! Are you hinting that I drugged you? How can you be so irresponsible?"

"You snake!" Amelia nudged towards Caily and slapped her hard across the face,

<Thwack!! >

"How dare you try to frame my future daughter-in-law for your infidelity, are you insane?" Amelia screeched in her face,

Caily held her burning cheek in shock, her eyes flooding with stinging tears,

"Don't waste your strength on a disgusting woman like her, Mother. Let's leave this place," Mirabel chimed in a feigned cranky tone, walking out of the room with an enraged Amelia.

Caily abruptly sniffled her tears back in, she was not about to wail out in front of a man who cared less about her.

"Caily, you have embarrassed yourself enough, sign the divorce papers now," Alex uttered in an overly flat tone as he gestured to the divorce papers.

Caily lifted her chin defiantly to meet his cold blue eyes staring at her with so much disdain that it broke her completely.

She felt a great sense of love in her heart for Alex but if he refused to believe her and wanted a divorce, then what choice did she have? And it seemed like divorcing her was an agenda he had all along just to be with Mirabel.

Subconsciously, her hand moved to pick up the divorce papers on the floor. And in a few minutes, she was done signing on them.

"You don't have to show up at the court. Just pack your stuff and leave! Don't expect any penny from me and I don't ever want to set my eyes on you!" His voice was a low growl as he uttered. It pierced through Caily's heart like a thousand knives.

His eyes raked pitifully over a helpless Caily before walking out on her.

The tears that had been threatening to spill finally poured out of her eyes.

With a mumbling sob, Caily clutched her chest and dropped on the bed.

Minutes after she let herself cry out, she reached for her phone and dialed her best friend's number.

"Can you pick me up?" Caily mumbled, dejectedly.

Emily Thompson, Caily's sophisticated and big-shot best friend, arrived 30 minutes later after Caily had gathered her stuff.

Emily rang her to let her know that she was waiting outside.

Caily wanted to bid farewell to Grandpa Thomas but she couldn't bring herself to. He was an old man who was in love with books and Caily was his favorite person for always bringing books to him.

There was no other place he would be in at this time aside from his library and he probably was still not aware of her supposed infidelity or that his grandson was in the process of divorcing her.

"Look at her, a disgusting cheater! You and your poor family will suffer for the rest of your lives without us," Amelia melted after her

It was true. Her marriage with Alex not only elevated her family in some kind of way, it provided them with what they used to lack.

But Caily would not give up and fall to their unjust ridicule, she would do what she could to rise to the top and pay these people back for the shame they caused her.

Shortly, they arrived at Emily's house.

Emily was that stunning friend who had everything figured out, a classy lawyer with a sleek lifestyle.

When Emily learned of what had happened to her best friend, she was instantly enveloped in a rage of fury,

"So he divorced you and banished you into the streets just like that?" She questioned in sheer disbelief,

Emily knew that Caily wasn't capable of what they were accusing her of. If anyone was to be accused of cheating, it should be Alex.

From the start, Emily never approved of her marriage with Alex, she was strongly against the idea of abandoning her dream just to become a housewife.

"It wasn't supposed to end like this," Caily whispered,

"Aside from the unexpected accident that led to you being labeled a cheater, were you planning on staying married to him for the rest of your life?" Emily questioned but got no reply,

"All he ever did was use you, Caily. Why can't you see that?" Emily went on urgingly,

"I did. I just couldn't bring myself to accept it," Caily confessed in a low tone,

"Well, now you have no choice but to," Emily affirmed. "You deserve so much better than a marriage with a man whose heart belongs to another woman. So don't blame your foot for stepping on crap, instead pick yourself up and elevate your life, bestie,"

"I wish I could. But I barely managed to save any money," Caily sighed,

"No worries, I got your back. I'm supposed to leave the country on a business trip a week from now. Want to come with me?"

Caily beamed with a smile.

Leaving the city with her best friend could hopefully dull the ache in her heart.