The Husband Who Lost Me

Nolan Gallagher had taken a compulsive liar, Wendy Saunter, under his wing as his god-sister after she claimed she could bring him financial luck. No matter how outrageous Wendy's claims were, Nolan always went out of his way to make them come true. When Wendy publicly livestreamed to the entire internet that Nolan would abandon his wedding for her, he left me standing at the altar 99 times. When Wendy bragged in front of our friends and family that Nolan would divorce me for her, he married and divorced me eight times, turning me into the laughingstock of our social circle. Whenever I showed the slightest sign of displeasure, Nolan would dismiss casually, saying, "She's childish. She's just making up a few stories. Don't take it seriously." For the sake of the child in my womb, I had swallowed my anger and given in time and time again. But I never expected Wendy to make another boast while I was in labor, claiming she could hear the voice of the baby inside my belly. "The baby says he wants to come out at three in the morning." Just to fulfill a careless boast Wendy had made, Nolan had forcibly pushed my nearly full-term baby back inside me. When my child finally came out at three in the morning, his little body was blue and purple. He was already dead. That also happened to be the day our divorce was set to be finalized. What Nolan didn't know was that for my ninth marriage, the man I was going to marry would be his sworn enemy. Chapter 1 No More Chances The man on the other end of the phone gave a quiet chuckle. "Have you made up your mind?" I answered calmly before hanging up. Just then, a coat was draped over my shoulders from behind. Nolan stood behind me and slipped a bracelet onto my wrist, his voice hoarse. "June, I'm heartbroken about what happened to the baby too." The moment I saw the bracelet on my wrist, I couldn't help but cry. It was my mother's keepsake, something I had lost many years ago. I never expected Nolan to find it and bring it back to me. My heart wavered. Choking back a sob, I said, "Nolan, send Wendy away. We—" But Nolan didn't seem to hear me at all. He continued on his own, "Wendy didn't mean anything by what she said. It was just a careless babble. What's done is done. Don't hold it against her." Color drained from my face at once, yet he remained completely oblivious and continued, "The baby is gone, but we can always have another one." I clenched my fists. But remembering the promise I had made to that man, I forced my tears back. When Nolan saw that I wasn't answering, he lifted the bag in his hand. "Wendy specially brought you some chicken soup to help you recover. She wanted to apologize." I lowered my eyes and saw the restaurant's name printed on the box. Wendy had just posted about that very spot on social media. Because of one careless remark from Wendy, I had nearly bled to death on the operating table while Nolan had been sitting with her in a luxurious restaurant, enjoying a carefree evening together. When I made no move to take it, Nolan sighed and opened the container himself, only to pause when he saw the gnawed chicken bones sitting in the soup. He quickly put the lid back on and pretended nothing had happened. "It's gone cold. I'll have someone send over another one." I let out a cold laugh. "A bowl of slop for an apology? Is she apologizing or deliberately provoking me?" Nolan frowned unpleasantly at once. "June, Wendy's still young. It's normal for her to be reckless sometimes. Your health is also partially why the baby never made it. She's already trying to give you a way out. Can't you stop making things difficult for me?" My whole body trembled, tears welling in my eyes. Seeing me like that, Nolan softened his voice. "June, once you've recovered, we'll have the wedding. I promise there won't be any more accidents this time." Just then, I received a refund notification from the postpartum care center. Wendy called a moment later, her voice sickeningly sweet. "June, I canceled the postpartum care center you booked. You won't be needing it, anyway. And as for your seven-day hospital bill, please foot it yourself. I'm the company's CFO now, so I have to keep an eye on costs." I whipped my head toward Nolan. There wasn't the slightest trace of surprise on his face. Instead, the corner of his mouth lifted in a faint, mocking smile. Chapter 2 Things He Gave Her Nolan took my phone from my hand and chuckled. "Wendy, is this how you're making your mark now that you've taken office? You're already taking it out on your sister-in-law?" "Everyone says I'm all talk. I just don't want to disappoint you, Nolan! Besides, even June has to follow the company's rules!" The two of them continued their sweet, affectionate exchange for quite some time before Nolan finally hung up. He then looked at me and casually explained, "Wendy said she could handle the finance department. Since you're going on leave anyway, I let her temporarily take over your position, lest people ridicule her again." I could barely get a sound out. I had worked at Gallagher Inc. for years. I started as a sales representative and slowly climbed my way up to become the CFO. Because Nolan said we needed to avoid any appearance of favoritism, I never once used the privileges that came with being the CEO's wife. It took me seven years to earn that position—Wendy got it simply by asking. After the call ended, Nolan's gaze stayed fixed on his phone, a smile lingering at the corner of his lips. He looked like a shy young man in the throes of first love. It wasn't until I coughed that he finally looked up. "What is it?" His phone wallpaper had been changed to a pink teddy bear. Before that, it had always been a photo of us two. When he noticed me looking at it, he couldn't help but laugh. He handed me the phone so I could see it clearly. "Wendy said a tough guy like me should use pink." I hadn't seen such a genuine smile on Nolan's face in a very long time. For a moment, the man before me overlapped with the Nolan I had known when we'd first gotten together. Back then, he had looked at our photo with that same radiant smile and promised me, "June, this photo will be my wallpaper forever." Another phone call pulled me out of my memories. Nolan answered, and his expression changed immediately. "Don't panic. I'm coming." He walked outside abruptly, then seemed to remember something and turned back to me. "June, give me the silver pendant I prayed for before. Wendy's been having heart palpitations lately. Wearing the silver pendant should help her feel better." When I had been critically ill after my car accident, he'd spent three days and three nights praying for my recovery, refusing to leave until he'd obtained the pendant for me. At the time, he stood beside my hospital bed with bloodshot eyes while saying, "June, with this, you'll be safe and blessed for the rest of your life." Now, he was asking to give it to someone else. But how could I bring myself to accept that? "That's mine." When I saw him drawing his brows together, I knew exactly what he would do. As if following a familiar routine, he tore off a check and handed it to me. I gave a quiet laugh, took the silver pendant from around my neck, and placed it in his hand. Then, I deliberately picked up the check. But Nolan's expression only grew darker. "June Olsen, how did you become like this? Is money all you can think about? Do you know why I like having Wendy around me? She's not like you. She doesn't want my money." With that, he slammed the door and left. I knew he'd forgotten again—he was supposed to drive me home. … I took a taxi home by myself and put the newly received check into the box. I had an entire box full of checks like this. Every time Wendy got herself into trouble, Nolan would use a check to placate me. In his eyes, the moment I asked him for money even once, I became someone after his wealth. But was Wendy asking for less? All she had to do was post online, saying she'd own a luxury mansion worth hundreds of millions, and Nolan would immediately transfer ownership of our marital home, worth 100 million dollars, to her. When Wendy bragged that she was a lost heiress from a wealthy family, Nolan then arranged an identity for her as an overseas-educated heiress. He even transferred half of the company shares under his name to Wendy. And the position I had worked tirelessly for seven years to earn? He took it away from me without a second thought. I looked around the increasingly empty and desolate house. Even our wedding photograph had gathered a layer of dust now. Just then, Wendy updated her social media again. In the photo, she was flashing a peace sign at the camera. In the background, Nolan was down on one knee, fixing her plumbing. Chapter 3 The Cost of Her Mistake "I told you I could get the big Mr. Gallagher himself to fix my plumbing! To everyone who said I was just bragging, apologize to me!" Wendy captioned it along with several smug emojis. The comments quickly filled with people agreeing with her. "Gosh, she really wasn't bluffing! Even when Mr. Gallagher proposed, he didn't kneel!" "She always makes ridiculous claims to get attention, but this time, she actually got Mr. Gallagher to get down on his knees and fix her pipes. I'm genuinely impressed." "Wait, what about his fiancee?" "What fiancee? She's already an ex-wife. Everyone calls her Saint Eight-Divorces. Don't you know?" I calmly left a comment of my own. "I wish you both a long and happy life together. Stay together forever." The post disappeared without a trace soon afterward. In its place was a wounded-looking GIF. Nolan returned home grimly and confronted me immediately. "Can't you just drop it already, June? What are you doing, posting a comment like that?" I silently looked at him. The wedding band he had never taken off was gone from his finger. In its place, he wore a pink hair tie around his wrist. I knew it was Wendy's provocation. Nolan obviously knew it too. He once deliberately wore my hair tie around his wrist and showed it off everywhere. Yet this time, he had tacitly allowed Wendy to do the same. My voice came out hoarse. "Nolan, it's been exactly a week since our baby died." The man froze. Perhaps he remembered how I had looked on the operating table. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to be completely heartless. "I had a candle lit for him." I wiped away my tears. I was about to ask him where our baby's grave was when a dog's bark interrupted me. "No barking, Andi!" Wendy scolded sweetly. Then, she looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, June. The dog doesn't know any better." Her gaze fell on the bracelet around my wrist, and she covered her mouth in surprise. "Oh, isn't that the bracelet I didn't want? Nolan said he was going to give it to someone. So it was for you, June! I only glanced at this bracelet at an auction, and Nolan immediately outbid everyone to get it for me." I turned toward Nolan in disbelief. It turned out he'd found the bracelet long ago—he had simply given it to Wendy first. Wendy suddenly changed the subject, proudly showing off her dog. "His name is Andi. Isn't he adorable? Nolan gave him to me, and we came up with the name together." I stormed over and slapped her hard across the face. "My child died because of you, and you even had to take his name and give it to a dog?" The next second, a searing pain exploded across my cheek. I was slapped to the floor, and the bracelet shattered into pieces beside me. Nolan didn't even spare me a glance. He only gathered Wendy into his arms and comforted her. When he finally looked at me, his face was dark with displeasure. "How can you slap Wendy over some name?" I stared at him, laughing and crying at the same time. "Nolan, Andi was the name we chose when we first got together. Our baby could already breathe. He could already move. He was only one step away from seeing this world." The man froze. He was just about to get up and help me to my feet when Wendy suddenly cried out. "Nolan, I'm bleeding." Nolan immediately scooped her up into his arms and rushed out the door. As he did, his foot came down on my lower leg, breaking it. I stared blankly at the man's retreating back and sat there in a daze all night. … At first light, a message appeared on my phone. "Junebug, what kind of wedding would you like?" Warmth spread through my heart. I was just about to reply when a group of people suddenly burst through the door and dragged me outside. Nolan sat in the car, calmly adjusting his suit cuffs. "June, there was a problem with a payment. You're the CFO, so I need you to deal with it." His voice held no trace of warmth as he continued, "Wendy accidentally withheld some funds, and someone died because of it." Chapter 4 The Child in the Jar "She's still young, so she can't withstand the rumors and public scrutiny. I've already arranged a press conference. You will take the blame for her." I couldn't believe my ears. With great difficulty, I opened my mouth. "Nolan, do you realize what this will do to me?" Nolan gently brushed my hair back. "Don't worry. Even if you get arrested, I can get you out. You know Wendy has unusual luck on her side. I don't want anything to happen to her." I shook my head fiercely. "No. I didn't do it, so I won't take the fall for anyone." But the next second, a scream rang out. Soon, one of Nolan's bodyguards brought over a bloodstained severed finger. The ring on it was the signet ring I had made for my father. I stared at Nolan in horror, tears streaming down my face. "You took my father? Nolan, he treated you like his own. How could you—" Nolan pressed his finger against my lips. "June, I didn't want it to come to this either. But you were being too stubborn." Then he held my father's finger out of the car window. "You have ten minutes to think about it. Once the finger is crushed into pulp, there won't be any way to reattach it." I immediately grabbed his arm. "I'll do it. Please, don't!" The man gave a soft chuckle and handed the severed finger to his bodyguard. "Take my father-in-law to the hospital." … Soon after, I was taken to the press conference, with every camera flash pointed at me, and the barrage of curses nearly drowned out everything else. I sat there without moving. Nolan handed me a video of my father screaming in agony. Like a puppet with its strings pulled, I read from the he had prepared for me. "I, June Olsen, am the person responsible for this incident…" When the press conference ended, a group of people dressed in mourning surrounded me. "She did it! This animal withheld the money and caused my son's death!" Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face as I kept trying to explain. "It wasn't me. It wasn't me—" "Bitch, how dare you still deny it? Just die already!" I was kicked to the ground. Fists and feet rained down on me from every direction. The wounds on my body split open again, blood seeping through my clothes, but no one cared. By the time I was barely conscious, Nolan's car finally stopped nearby. Instinctively, I called out his name. "Save me, Nolan…" But he merely turned his head and affectionately stroked Wendy's hair. "Are you entertained now, kiddo?" Wendy threw herself into Nolan's arms and kissed him on the cheek. Then, the car window rolled up. Before long, muffled sounds of intimate affection drifted from inside. I stared wide-eyed at the rocking car, unable to look away. At some point, the pain finally overwhelmed me, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, the nurse was looking at me with a strange expression. "You were brought in too late. Your uterus was already necrotic." Someone whispered outside the door, "Isn't that the woman who withheld the money people needed to save their lives? Disgusting. That's karma for you. She deserves to be unable to have children for the rest of her life." I listened numbly to the curses until a shadow fell across me. Wendy threw a pregnancy test report onto the bed in front of me, her face filled with smug satisfaction. "Do you know why Nolan didn't care about your baby? Because I am pregnant with his child too. That bastard in your belly wasn't even as important to him as my dog." Then, she suddenly walked over to the window and lifted a transparent jar. Inside was a tiny baby, its entire body blue and purple, suspended in liquid. The moment I saw it, every hair on my body stood on end. Even my fingers began to tremble. Wendy smiled triumphantly. "You didn't know, did you? I only had to whine a little, and Nolan turned your baby into a specimen for me!" Chapter 5 The Wedding Invitation I was about to rush forward when Wendy climbed onto the windowsill in a panic and looked at Nolan, who had appeared behind her at some point, her voice filled with grievance. "Nolan, I only came here to apologize to June. But she forced me to clarify the withheld funds publicly! Now, everyone online is cursing me and wishing me dead." As she spoke, she leaned out the window, taking the jar with her. "I might as well die!" My eyes were red, and I could barely find my voice. "Please, leave my child alone." But Nolan's eyes held nothing but Wendy. He looked frantic. "Wendy, come down. Don't do anything stupid. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you!" Wendy turned toward me. "June forced me to apologize to her on my knees just now. I want her to do the same to me!" Nolan turned toward me, his face dark and menacing. "How could you be so vicious? Get down on your knees and apologize to Wendy. Do you really want to watch her die?" I stared at the man before me in despair and choked out, "Nolan, you said you had already buried our baby. What exactly is she holding?" Nolan was momentarily speechless. Only then did he notice the jar in Wendy's hand. Wendy suddenly became agitated. "I only felt sorry for June because she'd never even gotten to see her own child. I wanted to bring him here so she could see him, and this is how she repays me! She accuses me of something I didn't do! Nolan, maybe I should just die. By then, no one can slander me anymore!" As she spoke, her body suddenly swayed. Nolan immediately called for his bodyguards. They forced my head down and slammed it against the floor again and again. No matter how desperately I begged, he never told them to stop. I didn't know how long it went on. But when they stopped, blood from my forehead eventually seeped down and blurred my vision. Everything before me began to fade in and out. Nolan carefully carried Wendy down from the window. Just then, I heard a crash. The jar fell from the windowsill. I lunged forward and watched helplessly as the dogs downstairs tore my child apart. I threw myself at Wendy and grabbed her by the throat. "You bitch! How dare you go this far!" The next second, several people pinned me down. Nolan looked at me coldly. "She's completely lost it. Lock her in the morgue so she can calm down." I was dragged into the morgue, surrounded by freezing air. I pounded desperately on the door. "Nolan, let me out!" But the only answer I received was the sound of barking. Wendy's sweet voice came from outside. "Nolan, the morgue is so scary. Why don't you let Andi go inside and keep June company?" Nolan pinched the tip of Wendy's nose. "You're always so kind. Fine, we'll do whatever you say." I listened to their footsteps gradually fading into the distance and collapsed onto the floor. The dog suddenly lunged at me and tore the flesh from my lower leg. I fought back with everything I had, struggling desperately against it, but it continued ripping at me until my entire body was covered in wounds. When I had exhausted every last ounce of strength, I closed my eyes in despair… … The next day, Wendy woke to find the dog lying on her bed, covered in blood, and screamed in terror. Nolan was just about to go upstairs to see what had happened when his assistant hurried in and handed him a blood-red invitation. "Mr. Gallagher, the company building was bombed. Someone used a drone to scatter these invitations over the building." Nolan frowned and opened the invitation. Under the bride's name, three words were printed in stark black letters—June Olsen. And the groom was none other than the man who had been Nolan's sworn enemy for years. His heart lurched, and he turned toward his assistant in panic. "Where's June?" The assistant answered cautiously, "She's still in the morgue, I think." By the time Nolan reached the hospital, the sight before him was almost enough to drive him mad.