He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 02

He Tricked Me With Fake Papers, So I Sued for a Million Chapter 02

Within hours, Vanessa posted a nine-photo carousel on Instagram.

The caption read, [Thank you, Mr. Mercer, for treating me like a princess without a care in the world.]

That single sentence felt like a slap across my face.

In the photos, her long red dress made her fair skin look especially radiant.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was only thirty, yet my skin was sallow, my eyes were hollow, and exhaustion had drained the life from my face.

I smiled bitterly to myself.

I had let myself fall apart for Adrian.

Before I could close Instagram, a text from Adrian appeared on my screen, phrased like an order.

Adrian: [Mom’s in the hospital. Get over there now.]

I stared at the message, torn between anger and obligation.

I hated Adrian for his cruelty and resented him for betraying me. But I still believed his mother had done nothing to deserve being dragged into our mess.

I forced down the ache in my chest, changed clothes, and rushed to the hospital.

It took me an hour and a half to reach her room.

I had just raised my hand to open the door when the cheerful voices inside stopped me cold.

“Vanessa, you two enjoy yourselves. Don’t worry about me.”

“Lauren is taking care of everything at home, and I’ve put her in charge of everything here at the hospital too. You two enjoy the coast, relax, and maybe give me a grandbaby soon.”

Vanessa replied in her sweetest voice, “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for Lauren? I’d feel terrible.”

Adrian’s mother laughed softly, her favoritism unmistakable. “Why would it be? She married into the Mercer family. Managing the household and taking care of the family’s elders is what she’s supposed to do.”

I stood outside the door, cold from head to toe.

Everything I had poured into the Mercer family over the past five years, including every hour I had spent waiting on them, was something they simply took for granted.

They all treated me like an unpaid housekeeper, watching me work myself to the bone as if I were a fool.

I pushed the door open. The smile on Adrian’s mother’s face froze, and she hurriedly ended the video call.

“Lauren, what took you so long?”

She was so accustomed to my obedience and silence that the flicker of guilt on her face disappeared almost immediately.

“Now that you’re here, go take care of the hospital bill and tell the nurses you’ll be staying with me tonight.”

I looked at her in silence.

Ever since she had gotten sick, I had handled every late-night trip to the ER and every hospital stay. I had sat beside her bed through the night, every single time.

Even when I was burning up with a fever myself, I had never failed to show up.

Adrian was always busy. He was always with Vanessa.

Eventually, everyone began to believe that caring for his mother was simply my duty.

“Call your son.”

Adrian’s mother stared at me in disbelief. “What did you say? You’re Adrian’s wife. How dare you refuse to—”

I did not explain myself or make a scene. I ignored her shouting, turned around, and left.

Once I was outside the hospital, I called a number that had sat untouched in my contacts for years.

Tessa answered almost immediately. “You finally decided to call me. Does this mean you’ve come to your senses?”

A little embarrassed, I said, “I have. Do you still have a place for me?”

Tessa let out a delighted scream and started laughing. “You impossible woman, you finally came to your senses. There will always be a place for you here.”

At least it was not too late.

The moment the call ended, messages from Adrian began appearing one after another.

Adrian: [Lauren, Mom said you just walked out.]

Adrian: [You’re really going to storm off over something this minor? I work myself to the bone so you can stay home and live comfortably, and this is how you repay me?]

Adrian: [Go back and stay with her. If anything happens to her, it’ll be on you.]

I looked at the messages and scoffed. Then I blocked his number and deleted the thread.

For once, I was done cleaning up everyone else’s mess.