The Husband She Left Behind

Chapter 5

Darren closed his eyes, his heart churning with emotions too complicated to put into words.

This was not the first time Vanessa had indirectly admitted she was at fault in such a subtle way.

Whenever conflict arose because of Adrian, she would never truly acknowledge the core of the problem. Instead, she would apologize vaguely, offer a small gesture of goodwill, and expect everything to return to normal.

He had endured it countless times before. And he knew that as long as Adrian remained between them, this would not be the last time either.

After a long moment of silence, Darren calmly reached up and removed Vanessa's hands from around his waist. Then he turned away, deliberately putting several steps between them.

"Our wedding night no longer exists," his voice was cold and emotionless.

The words struck Vanessa harder than any shout ever could. She stood frozen.

At first, annoyance flashed across her beautiful face. She had already lowered herself enough to apologize. Yet Darren had pushed her hands away without hesitation.

But as his words echoed in her ears, the annoyance slowly faded, replacing it was guilt. Their wedding night should have been the happiest night of their lives.

Instead, she had left her husband alone in their bridal suite to spend the entire night at the hospital with Adrian.

Even now, remembering it made her chest tighten.

Suddenly, she remembered something and her eyes brightened. Quickly opening her handbag, she carefully took out a luxuriously packaged gift box.

Inside was a limited-edition luxury watch from one of the world's most prestigious brands. On the drive back from the hospital earlier that day, she had deliberately stopped at a luxury boutique to buy it. She had thought Darren would surely like it.

Walking over with a hopeful smile, she handed him the gift.

"Darren... I bought this especially for you. Take it as my apology. Try it on. I spent quite a while choosing it."

Darren merely lowered his eyes and glanced at the expensive watch. Without even opening the box completely, he calmly placed it back onto the coffee table. "I have no use for it."

His indifferent tone instantly froze Vanessa's smile. She stared at him in disbelief, and a sense of grievance filled her heart.

In her eyes, she had already humbled herself enough. She had apologized. She had bought him such an expensive gift. Why couldn't Darren simply act the way he always had before?

Every previous argument had ended because he had chosen to forgive her. Why couldn't he just pretend nothing had happened this time as well? Wasn't it merely one unfortunate incident on their wedding night?

Did Darren really have to treat her so coldly over something like this?

She had already expressed sincere remorse. What else did he want?

Thinking she had already done everything she possibly could, Vanessa's guilt slowly transformed into dissatisfaction. She looked at Darren unhappily.

"I've already apologized. I bought you a gift. What exactly are you still unhappy about? Do you really have to make such a huge issue out of this? Why are you forcing our relationship into such an awkward cold war?"

The room fell silent. Then— Darren laughed. His icy gaze slowly landed on Vanessa.

"So... in your eyes... abandoning your husband on your wedding night, running off to accompany another man, and staying with him until morning is just a small matter?"

Before Vanessa could answer, Darren continued. "We've loved each other for years. If you've changed your heart... Just tell me. I'll let go. I'll disappear from your life completely."

His voice trembled slightly despite his efforts to remain calm. "But what I cannot accept... is watching you become closer and closer to another man. I cannot accept watching you blindly favor him every single time. I cannot accept seeing you entangled with him in ways that have long crossed ordinary boundaries... only for you to come back to me afterward as though absolutely nothing happened."

Vanessa's face gradually turned pale. For a brief moment, she truly realized how deeply she had hurt him. Without thinking, she hurried forward and tightly hugged one of Darren's arms.

"No! Darren, you're misunderstanding! I've never cheated on you! I've never betrayed you! The only person I love is you! I haven't changed my heart."

Her voice became increasingly anxious. "Adrian is just my subordinate..He's physically weak. He can't even take proper care of himself. But despite that, he works harder than anyone else. He risks himself for every company project. I only pay more attention to him because I feel responsible for him. That's all. There has never been anything else between us." She looked at Darren pleadingly.

Every word sounded sincere. Yet Darren no longer believed them.

Suppressing the anger surging inside him, he firmly removed her hands from his arm once again and looked directly into her eyes.

"Adrian has already become the source of every problem between us. There is only one solution. Fire him, and completely cut ties with him."

Vanessa's eyes widened in shock. "What?" She stared at him as though she had heard something unbelievable. "That's impossible. We're only employer and employee. There's nothing emotional between us. You don't need to think so much."

"In my opinion, the problem isn't Adrian. It's you. You're overreacting. You're too sensitive. And you're suspicious of everything."

Darren sneered. "Am I?"

He looked at her calmly. "Then let's talk about two months ago. We were supposed to spend our vacation together. We had planned it for half a year. We were already at the airport. Then Adrian called. You didn't hesitate. You left me standing there by myself. You rushed straight to his house."

"He had been injured in a car accident during a company project. You stayed there. You spent the entire night taking care of him. You left your own husband waiting."

Vanessa immediately explained.

"He broke his leg and several ribs. He got hurt because he was working for the company. How could I ignore an employee who was seriously injured just so I could enjoy a vacation? I couldn't do that."

Darren remained expressionless.

"Fine. Then what about one month ago? The company anniversary banquet."

Vanessa's body stiffened.

"In front of every employee... You and Adrian embraced each other. And he kissed you. Tell me. Is that also part of taking care of an employee?"

Embarrassment spread across Vanessa's face. She lowered her head. "...That incident really wasn't appropriate. But it was an accident. Everyone was drunk. No one was thinking clearly. He lost his balance, and he pulled me down with him. That's why we hugged."

"And the kiss..."

"It was accidental too. He already explained everything afterward. He apologized."

She looked up at Darren with frustration. "Why do you keep bringing up old things? You're being too petty."

The final sentence completely shattered Darren's remaining patience and his eyes became frighteningly cold.

"So... If one day... you actually sleep with Adrian. Will you still believe it was an accident?"

Vanessa's pupils contracted violently.

"Darren!"

But he no longer stopped.

"Will you forgive him because he cries? Because he apologizes?" Will you come back and tell me not to mind it?"

"And if I do mind, will I be petty again?" His voice rose for the first time. Years of suppressed pain erupted all at once.

"You keep saying everything is an accident! Leaving me alone was an accident! Hugging him was an accident! Kissing him was an accident! So what comes next? Sleeping together? Will that also be another accident?"

His words pierced straight into Vanessa's heart.

She instinctively shook her head. "No! That would never happen!"

But Darren no longer wanted to hear another explanation. A bitter smile spread across his face.

"You know what? If every boundary can be explained away as an accident, then rather than waiting for another ‘accident’ where the two of you drunkenly end up in bed together, you might as well marry Adrian on the spot.”