Once the Forgotten Wife, Now His Biggest Regret

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: The irony of me cheater husband accusing me of cheating

The question hung heavily in the air as Lucas’ eyes darted between Rhys and me, his face darkened instantly. It seemed that neither he nor my sister recognised Rhys. After all, I never had much of a relationship with my family, so I never officially introduced them.

"Are you serious?" I asked with an incredulous look plastered across my face.

I caught a glimpse of the smug look on Jessica’s face before she pressed her lips together, feigning hurt innocence. "I’m only asking because it seems a little coincidental, doesn’t it?" Her eyes lingered on Rhys deliberately. "You suddenly wanted a divorce, and now you are running around with another man. It’s not that I wanted to imply anything, but...it’s kind of obvious, isn’t it?"

"You should really stop talking," Rhys said coldly. His stare was fixated on my sister, who was still playing the innocent victim.

I watched with a hint of satisfaction as Jessica visibly stiffened beneath the weight of his gaze. But Lucas wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. His attention was locked entirely on me.

He let out a huff. "I fucking knew it. You little bitch," he sneered through clenched teeth, and his expression twisted violently. "You are just a fucking slut who would crawl into any man’s bed if you could!"

"You’d better watch your mouth," Rhys warned beside me, his fists clenched tightly beside him. I could tell he was doing everything he could to not lose control of his anger. But Lucas seemed unaware of the anger that was simmering beneath, and he wasn’t planning on backing down.

For a second, I almost laughed at the absurdity and hypocrisy of it all.

He was the one who had cheated on me. He was the one who had gotten my own sister pregnant while we were still married, yet somehow he still found the audacity to accuse me and get angry that I was moving on.

It was ironic, wasn’t it?

"I’m not like you," I said through gritted teeth.

"Then why the hell are you here with another man? We aren’t divorced yet, you are still my wife on paper, Evelyn," he snarled, stepping closer towards me.

But before he could get any closer, Rhys shifted in front of me again, blocking him effortlessly with his broad body towering above mine and Lucas’. "Stay away from her," he warned, his voice dangerously low.

Lucas scoffed angrily, but he didn’t move an inch. "And what if I don’t?" He challenged, defiance glinting in his brown eyes.

"Don’t make me repeat myself."

Lucas’ eyes grew wide with anger, and Jessica almost looked jealous that he seemed to care so much. "And why are you acting like her fucking boyfriend?"

Rhys didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned slightly toward me, his dark eyes meeting mine for the briefest second. Something unreadable flickered across his expression before he looked back at Lucas again, a slow smirk forming across his handsome face.

"Because unlike you," he said slowly, "I know how to treat her properly."

The air left my lungs. Did he just...

Jessica’s expression twisted almost instantly. "So it’s true," she whispered. "You really are involved with him."

"I’m not," I denied immediately, though my voice came out weaker than intended.

Rhys glanced at me but said nothing.

Lucas let out a bitter laugh. "Wow." He shook his head mockingly. "And here I thought you were acting all righteous and playing the victim who was wronged." His eyes raked over Rhys before returning to me again. "But this whole time you were already fucking another man."

Something inside me finally snapped.

"So what if I was fucking another man?" I retorted, my voice trembling with anger as I kept my voice steady. "You cheated on me first. You humiliated me, lied to me, made me feel like I was the problem while you slept with my own sister behind my back." free𝑤ebnovel.com

Jessica’s face paled.

"And now you want to stand here acting all betrayed?" I laughed harshly. "That’s pathetic. You don’t get to play the victim here."

"How dare you..."

"And for the record, he is much better in bed than you are," I lied, just to get a rise out of him, knowing that his ego would be too fragile to handle the truth.

Beside me, I could hear Rhys suppressing what seemed like laughter as he rolled his lips together, his ears turning red.

Meanwhile, Lucas’ expression darkened dangerously, his pride clearly unable to handle being spoken to like this in front of another man. For one horrifying second, I thought he might actually lose control.

But then Rhys took my hand. His fingers wrapped firmly around mine, and I could feel the warmth of his skin seeping into mine. The simple gesture stunned everyone into silence, including me.

Lucas stared down at our joined hands, disbelief flashing across his face before it slowly twisted into rage.

"You..." His voice came out deadly quiet. "You’re really choosing him?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but Rhys beat me to it.

"She already did."

"You really think you can replace me that easily?" Lucas growled.

I stared at him for a long moment before laughing softly under my breath. Did he really think he was all that? Let’s see how long the Smith Enterprise can last without my secret support. I couldn’t wait to see the day he falls apart, crashing right down into hell itself.

"Replace you?" I repeated. "Lucas, you’re not some irreplaceable prize."

His face darkened further, and I knew my words had dug a hole into his heart, bruising his ever-so-fragile ego.

My sister looked at me as she possessively wrapped her well-manicured fingers around Lucas’ forearm. "Evelyn, how could you say that? After all, Lucas is still your husband."

"Lucas is not my husband anymore. How many times must I say this?" I retorted, and felt Rhys squeezed my hand lightly in support. "I wasted years in this loveless marriage with you. I trusted you, I believed every lie you fed me. And for what? So you could sleep with my own sister behind my back?"

Jessica immediately burst into tears, acting as though she had been wrongly accused.

"Evelyn, I never meant for this to happen—"

"Then what exactly did you mean?" I cut her off sharply. "Did you accidentally fall into his bed and accidentally fucked my husband?"

Her face turned completely pale.

Lucas stepped forward again, angrily, as he protectively held my sister in his arms. "Enough. Do you have to act this way?"

"What?" I snapped back immediately. "Was I wrong about something?"

Lucas was gaping at me, the words still stuck in his throat, when I continued to speak.

"Just to make it clear, I don’t want you. Just wait for the divorce letters, you will get them very soon."

***

Despite everything that happened the previous night, I still showed up to the office on time the next morning.

My brows furrowed in confusion as I stared at the mini bowl of candies sitting on my desk. My eyes swept across the office, and it seemed that everyone had their own personal candy bowl.

"I heard that Mr. Carson made the receptionist prepare all these late last night." I heard one of my colleagues murmur among themselves.

"It’s odd, isn’t it? What’s with the sudden change? I wonder if something happened," the other colleague chimed in.

"Or maybe he just loves candies." They laughed, and I plopped down into my seat, stuffing a candy into my mouth.

After checking some emails, I headed straight for his office to hand him some documents he had requested yesterday. I pushed open the doors to see him pacing around, as though he was in deep thought.

I cleared my throat. "Good morning, Rhys," I greeted with a demure smile, and his eyes snapped to mine immediately. "Thank you for the candy," I added after a moment of hesitation.

He raised one brow. "It’s not just for you."

"Can’t I thank my boss either way?"

He smirked. "Ah...sucking up to your boss, real smart."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Wait, why the hell are you in the office? I told you to rest."

"I told you I am fine, seriously."

It was only now that he was fully looking at me, his eyes raked over my body from head to toe. I was clad in a long, deep blue dress that hung off one shoulder. The smooth fabric hugged my curves perfectly, cinching at my waist before flowing out from my hips.

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he quickly averted his eyes. "I see you are ready for dinner tonight."

A small smile formed at my lips. "Yeah, of course. I put on my best dress."

He muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t hear.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Right...anyway, here are the documents you needed," I informed, walking over to carefully place them on his desk.

"Thank you, that will be all."

I nodded. But just as I turned to leave, I heard Rhys yell out.

"Careful—"

But it was too late, hot liquid spilled across my dress, and a sharp yelp burst out of me.

"Ah!"