The Unwanted Mrs. Whitmore Chapter 01

The Unwanted Mrs. Whitmore Chapter 01

I had never imagined spending the rest of my life with Callum.

But being humiliated by him in public, again and again, still hurt.

I grew up in a remote little town in West Virginia called Hollow Creek.

Callum Whitmore was the only heir to an old-money Boston family.

If I hadn’t accidentally saved Evelyn Whitmore back then, I probably never would’ve gotten close enough to brush shoulders with him.

But after it happened, Evelyn insisted that I move into the Whitmore family home.

After we graduated college, she used the family trust and his inheritance to pressure Callum into a courthouse marriage.

I had wanted to object.

Evelyn looked furious and heartbroken.

“Lena, you saved my life. The Whitmore family owes you more than a thank-you.”

She was convinced I was the right wife for the Whitmore family.

She gave me a marriage settlement and a Boston apartment.

Even though Callum’s parents barely looked at me, Evelyn still handed me the emerald necklace that had been passed down through the family.

Just like that, she pushed the marriage through anyway.

After the wedding, the bedroom door shut behind us.

Callum, whose face had been cold all night, let out a low laugh and pinned me against the edge of the bed.

“I must be cursed, getting dragged into this insane arrangement.”

He tried to touch me.

I fought to pull away.

In the end, he gripped my chin hard enough to hurt.

“Stop acting. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“How else are we supposed to have children? How else are you supposed to get your hands on everything from the Whitmore family?”

“A poor little social climber like you, always scheming, should stay as far away from me as possible.”

I had never been good at fighting back.

At home, my parents had controlled me for as long as I could remember.

Everything in that house revolved around my younger brother Tyler.

For his sake, I swallowed more blame and unfairness than I could count.

The vicious look on Callum’s face dragged every fear I had buried deep in my memory back to the surface.

I didn’t know how long it lasted.

Eventually, that awful, painful night finally ended.

Callum rolled out of bed and went straight into the bathroom.

From that day on, Callum used needing his own space as an excuse to move out of Whitmore Estate.

Without Evelyn watching him every day, he could finally do whatever he wanted.

And I could breathe a little easier too.

Year after year, Callum and I kept up a fragile peace.

He hated me.

I was afraid of him.

I thought my life would probably stay that way forever.

Until Vivian Prescott, Callum’s childhood friend, returned to Boston.

Pretending she was only curious, she kept inviting me to gatherings with their circle.

At one private dinner after another, I heard them insult me without even trying to hide it.

I had always known I was a joke in that circle.

But I hadn’t expected Callum to deny me even the last shred of dignity.

This time, he acted intimate with another woman right in front of me.

I dug my nails into my palms and forced down the fear in my chest.

I tried to keep my voice steady and asked him, “If I file for divorce, will you talk Evelyn into accepting it?”

Callum had been leaning back lazily in his chair.

When he heard that, he gave a mocking laugh.

“You go convince her yourself. You’re her precious little treasure. What are the rest of us supposed to be?”

His eyes were cold enough to scare me.

But I knew he wanted the divorce too.

After thinking for a moment, I pressed my lips together.

“Fine. I’ll go back to Whitmore Estate tomorrow and talk to her about it.”

“Now come home with me. It’s late. You have a business trip in a couple of days. You should go home and rest.”