Blackmail Me With My Mother? I Made Your Wedding a Circus

My husband Robert Fitzgerald has to go on business trips to Asteria every July, which means we haven't celebrated our wedding anniversary once in our seven years of marriage.

This time I specially flew to Asteria to surprise him, and while scrolling on my phone during the trip, I came across a post.

[My dream girl finally agreed to be with me. How can I get my wife to divorce me on her own?]

The poster was complaining in the comments section.

"My dream girl suddenly went abroad. To keep in touch with her, I married her former best friend who stayed with me through hard times."

"Now my dream girl has agreed to be with me, and I can afford to give her a good life."

"I hope my wife discovers my affair on her own so we can divorce naturally, but she's too slow to catch on. I deliberately come home with my dream girl's perfume on me, and I even come to Asteria every July to watch the lavender in Emerald Valley with her, spending time together as a couple, but she still hasn't noticed."

Perfume, July, Asteria.

These coincidences made my fingers go numb.

My mind went blank.

I felt cold all over, hoping it was all just a coincidence.

Until I saw the last line.

"Just got a text about a charge on the supplementary card - she bought a plane ticket to Asteria. Perfect timing to pick up my dream girl. Let's see what happens."

The plane landed. As I reached the departure hall, I instinctively looked up.

Robert, whom I hadn't seen in half a month, stood there in a sharp suit, holding roses and kissing a woman with a stunning figure.

He opened his eyes by chance, and across the crowd, our eyes met.

Chapter 1

A flash of panic crossed Robert's eyes, mixed with a hint of excitement, but he quickly regained his composure.

The woman in his arms took off her mask - it was Lily Cross, a rising new model.

She was also the daughter of the woman who seduced my father and drove my mother to a mental breakdown.

The crowd rushed forward, cameras pointed at the two of them.

Lily nestled into Robert's arms and said sweetly,

"Since everyone's seen us, I won't hide it anymore. This is my boyfriend Robert. I'm pregnant with our baby. I hope everyone will give us their blessing."

Those words hit me like thunder. I trembled with anger and stepped forward, but was knocked down hard by the chaotic crowd. A sharp pain shot through my ankle.

Robert instinctively reached out to help me, but seeing Lily in his arms, he immediately pulled back and turned to shield her from the crowd with his body.

I sat on the cold floor, watching how carefully he protected Lily, my heart sinking bit by bit.

I don't know how long passed before a shadow fell over me and Robert's voice sounded,

"Sarah, where are you hurt?"

He bent down to check my ankle, his movements as gentle as always, but I only felt disgusted.

"Why? Why her?"

My voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

His grip suddenly tightened, his tone cold and hard,

"What happened with the previous generation has nothing to do with Lily. Don't make her out to be the other woman."

"Isn't she though?"

I glared up at him.

He silently picked me up and put me in the car, then slowly began to talk about what happened in his senior year.

He was robbed and beaten by some thugs, and it was Lily who carried him to the nurse's office and left money for him. Later Lily went abroad, and he'd remembered that kindness for over ten years.

"I only pursued you and married you because I knew you were her best friend. I wanted to learn more about her through you."

"If we're really being honest, you're the third party. I only got close to you because of her."

He turned to look at me, without a trace of guilt in his eyes,

"Sarah, you haven't exactly lost out. I've been good enough to you all these years we've been together."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have the life you have now. So what if you know everything now? You need me."

"Without me, you're nothing."

Robert sneered and handed me a plane ticket,

"Tonight's flight back home. Lily is pregnant, and I don't want you here affecting her mood. As for us, I'll bring her back home after the lavender season ends, and we'll talk then."

My heart felt like it was being cut with a dull knife. Eyes red, I watched him skillfully write down the dosage and timing of medication on a sticky note, his fingers brushing through my messy hair, but his tone was threatening,

"Go back and take care of yourself. Don't make a scene in front of Lily, or I'll immediately stop paying for your mother's hospital bills. You know how expensive that place is."

All my pent-up emotions exploded at once. I grabbed the vase from the table and threw it at him,

"Get out, you bastard!"

He dodged slightly, called his assistant Mark Rodriguez to take me to the airport, then suddenly asked before turning away,

"Why did you suddenly come here this time?"

I looked at him calmly, saying nothing.

He would never know that I came to tell him I was pregnant with his child, wanting to celebrate our first wedding anniversary as a family of three.

On the way to the airport with Mark, I took out my phone and blocked Robert.

Then I replied to the email from that key military functional fragrance research lab on the other side of the ocean, who had wanted to invite me to join them for a long time:

[I'm willing to participate in the research project. My only requirement is ensuring my mother's safety.]

They replied surprisingly fast.

[The project will take at least ten years, possibly thirty. Does your spouse agree?]

I replied through tears:

[Very soon, there won't be a spouse anymore.]

This trip to Asteria - the surprise had become a joke.

And it was time to settle my accounts with Robert, slowly.