Reyna felt her world fall apart as the crowd was immediately abuzz with the news, whispering and pointing in her direction.
She could barely hear any of it, staring at the stranger who was her husband or, rather, would be her ex-husband.
It wouldn’t take long before the word spread, and everyone would know that her husband was going to divorce her and have a new wife who was her sister.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she asked, “Why?” “Isn’t it obvious?
You don’t qualify to be his wife.
You couldn’t give him what he needed,” Dolores said as she whipped her wavy, sandy brown hair and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
Bile rose up in her throat, but she swallowed it back as people started congratulating the new couple.
Several shot Reyna looks of mockery and contempt; not a single person looked at her with pity.
She wanted to scream that she was pregnant with his child.
She wanted to run back into the mansion, grab the pregnancy tests, and throw them into their faces to prove to them that there was nothing wrong with her.
That they couldn’t treat her this way, but she couldn’t force the words past the lump in her throat or move her legs.
Instead, she said in a whisper, “But I’m his wife.” Reyna might as well have been saying it in her regular voice, as Dolores said, “Not anymore.” Begging Grey with her eyes, Reyna wanted him to deny her words.
When he opened his mouth, her hopes were dashed by his next words.
“We’ll get a divorce, and I’ll take Dolores as my new wife,” he declared.
Her knees felt weak as people cheered again.
Seeing the happy expressions on everyone’s face, she felt like a complete joke.
No one seemed to care that Grey had cheated on his wife with his sister-in-law of all people.
It was as if her five years in the Villegas family meant nothing.
Like she had been nothing more than a placeholder for her sister who seemed to get everything Reyna wanted.
Her family’s love, her place in this house, and her husband’s heart.
Why had she bothered to hold on?
“I expect you to clean up your room.
Oops.
I mean my room.
After all, you won’t be needing it anymore,” Dolores said as she sneered at her.
At those words, Reyna clenched her fists and bit down on her tongue, drawing blood, before she could embarrass herself any further.
No matter what she said or did, it would only add to her humiliation.
Everyone was clearly on her sister’s side, and since it was clear that her sister would be the new wife, any restraints the servants had about harming her would be completely gone.
There was now nothing holding them back from seriously harming her or possibly killing her.
She couldn’t let that happen, not with the life growing in her belly.
“I understand.
I’ll go now,” she said after giving them a stiff nod.
As she was about to leave, Grey said, “Wait in your room.
I will speak to you later.” Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t going to happen, not if she could help it.
She had been a fool to think that everything would change once she was pregnant.
Even though no one had respected her or treated her as Grey’s wife, she had deluded herself into thinking that she just had to endure or try harder.
It had been nothing more than an illusion she had crafted for herself.
In a way, everything that happened was her own fault for turning a blind eye to the truth.
She stared at Grey wordlessly before turning her back on him.
Several people complained about her disrespect, but no one moved against her, allowing her to retreat to her room undisturbed.
Watching her walk away, Grey felt a twinge of guilt.
He wanted to chase after her and explain everything right then and there, but he forced himself not to act rashly as everyone showered him and Dolores with praises.
No matter how much he cared for and respected Reyna, his family demanded he have an heir, and he couldn’t just abandon the mother of his child even if the way it happened was morally wrong.
Just recalling the incident made the muscles in his jaw tense.
A sharp hiss of pain told him that he had gripped Dolores’ waist too tightly.
He loosened his grip and looked back to see that Reyna was gone.
Grey tried not to let it bother him as he considered how to break the news to his parents and grandparents.
They always said he was too soft, but Dolores was Reyna’s sister.
She would be upset if he had thrown Dolores onto the streets.
However, he noticed something off about the sisters’ interaction moments before.
Dolores almost seemed to enjoy her sister’s suffering, which made no sense.
Why would someone let their sibling move in with them and share a room if they weren’t close?
His dark brown eyes fell on Dolores, who seemed oblivious to his stare as she accepted the congratulations with a beaming smile.
He wondered what had gone through his mind to sleep with her.
There was nothing appealing about her, despite what others said.
They praised her to the heavens, claiming it would have been better if he had married Dolores over Reyna, but in his eyes, the difference was night and day.
While Dolores was sociable and had a figure that many considered the ideal female body, Reyna was more reserved with a gentle disposition and had a body he would never get tired of embracing.
His only complaint would be that she was too thin like a stick.
It was as if she were starving herself, and he was always constantly worrying about her health.
That was probably why they haven’t been able to conceive a child after so long.
A hand clapped against his back, pulling him out of his thoughts as someone said, “It’s about time you had a child.
Your family must be happy that you have an heir now.” The man’s words bothered Grey, but he didn’t let it show on his face.
He couldn’t wait to get this over with and speak with Reyna.
They had so much they needed to discuss.