Iva's pov.

"How dare you!"

My ear rang with the nasty loud sound as my face jerked to the other side, my head lowered, my eyes burned and blurred my vision of the gleaming white marble floor, and an unfortunate tear streamed down my cheek.

The slap wasn't on my cheeks; it was on my dreams, the dream that I could happily live a happy marriage. The slap jolted me back to reality, reminding me that how dared I to pursue them despite the fact that they were never mine, to begin with, and belong to someone else.

Someone else's unfortunateness blinded me into believing that I could live their dreams thinking of them as my own.

"Why hasn't Legacy's suit been ironed yet?" Blakely, my mother-in-law, yelled and yanked me back to face her, her perfectly manicured nails digging into my arms, but I didn't show any signs of pain because doing so would likely irritate her even more, earning me more slaps. "Will you take responsibility if he got late for school?"

"I-I'm s-sorry," I sniffled as my voice cracked but I tried my best to not show my vulnerability.

Blakely continued to curse and call me names, making me wince, but I didn't defend myself this time that I was preparing breakfast. I had learned from the previous lesson that any explanation would only make things worse for me. Which she already knows and that's why always looking for reasons to vent her rage on me. She has never liked me, and I can't blame her. Who would like a homewrecker?

I only desired three things in my life. A career, but I became a maid with no pay, a lover who never glanced at me unless asking for his things, and...a marriage.

I felt a sting in my chest, my heart filled with thoughts of self-loathing and the absurdity of ever thinking that someone like me could have the right to be happy. My marriage was more like a deal I forced on someone's husband, which he probably accepted out of guilt.

"Are you now pretending to cry?" Blakely grunted wickedly as she grabbed my jaw and forced me to look into her honey-brown eyes, which were brimming with rage. "Do you think blackmailing my son into marrying a bitch like you who belongs on the streets and showing him these fake tears will change his heart and he'll start loving a homewrecker like you? Who only knows how to steal someone else's husband?"

I winced as she tightened her grip on me as she laughed. I didn't feel anything from her words, though, because I'd heard worse.

"I'm so happy that he's finally getting rid of you."

Terror paralyzed me as my eyes widened. The world around me seemed to stop when my eyes met with her evil smirk.

"M-Mom, what do you mean by he gets rid of m-me?" I asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't call me Mom, I'm not, not before, and never will be."

As a wave of humiliation washed over me, I began to tremble and my heart thundered in my ribcage.

Marriage has always fascinated me since I met Hunter. I fell in love with him at the first sight, then I married him as I wished. In order to keep that love alive, I made numerous sacrifices and gave up innumerable things, including my family, friends, and even pride.

However, after three years, I got nothing, not even his nice smile to me.

I questioned whether this unhappy and broken marriage was worth the pain I had endured over three years.

"Is breakfast still not ready, I'm hungry?" Legacy, my 16-year-old brother-in-law, exclaimed, drawing Blakely's attention to him and, thankfully, causing her to let go of me.

Blakely gave him a cheerful smile, "you woke up earlier, my dear."

I looked at Legacy with gratitude in my eyes, but he rolled his eyes as if he didn't get it. I knew he treated me like a servant, but I was also aware that he always pretended to order me to do something when Blakely bullies me so that I could escape.

I hurriedly went to iron his suit without wasting any time.

"Stupid woman." Looking at my tears, Legacy dropped two words and put on the suit, and went to school.

"Waiting for me, I go with you, Legacy." Blakely slid her purse onto her shoulder as she walked out the door for the beauty spa, without giving me a sight.

I then proceeded to clean the living room because it is the largest area in the house and will take up a lot of time and energy, which could potentially give Blakely another opportunity to bully me.

Halfway through cleaning, my entire body began to ache, particularly my back, possibly because I hadn't eaten anything since last night. When I straighten up to relax some of my muscles, a handsome but tired face emerges from the stairs.

I felt a tingly sensation in my stomach and wondered how I could still feel such emotion after knowing that that person never liked me. How could he still give me butterflies after three years of marriage, when he never said anything nice to me? Are my standards this low?

I was surprised when he trudged over to me instead of going straight to his office, as he usually does. Every clink of his shoes sent shivers down my spine, and the closer he got, the more I could admire his perfectly coiffed jet-black hair and immaculate black suit that fit him perfectly.

The intimidating aura surrounding him living up to his name, Hunter Woods, the CEO of Woods Inc, and also my husband who hasn't spoken to me more than three words in our three-year marriage.

"I got a call from the doctor, and he said Tess woke up." Hunter gruffed, in his smoky low voice.

And I froze, as if I couldn't hear or feel anything else, my heart skipped a beat, and my legs turned to jelly. I could feel my conscience slipping away, as if I was about to meet my impending end soon.

"T-Thats great," I weekly let out, my voice cracked but I hoped he didn't notice it. I tried to smile, but my eyes ditched me and water began to collect in them. I despise myself, and I despise my fate even more.

I hate myself for being such a heartless bitch and hoping Tess, my husband's first love, and him to never meet again. I had no idea I could be so hopeless and insecure that I wished Tess would never wake up.

"And now that she's waking up I think we should do something about this so-called marriage." Hunter indifferently said. "I want a divorce."

I clutched the cleaning cloth that I was using earlier, looking up at my husband Hunter. I barely have time to look at him and ask him about all this divorce nonsense he's talking about, but he walks away from me before I can.

Seeing him walk away like this made me feel like my entire world was slipping away from me and falling apart. Why is it so easy for him to walk away after saying something so heartbreaking? How could he do this to me after I'd hoped for so long that one day he'd look at me the way he looks at Tess? Does he not have any sympathy for me, if not as his wife, then as a human being? Is my pain invisible to him, and are all my sufferings in vain now that Tess is waking up?

No! I need to run after him and beg. No! I can't just let him disappear from my life like that. Not after what I've been through. If Tess has suffered, I have also suffered too. If she deserved her lover's love, then I deserved my husband's love as well.

I wiped my tears away and dashed after him. I must beg him until he changes his mind.

I need to hold my marriage, I need him!