After Divorce, No Longer Waiting for Him

Chapter 12

I'm the only child in the Carr family, and I've always wanted a little sister. River is like a fragile porcelain doll, born with a weak constitution. Through her, I got to fulfill my wish of being an older brother, always looking out for her. Even when she acts irrationally, I can't help but indulge her.

There was this one time when she made a bet with her friends to find a boyfriend in three days. When she couldn't, she asked me to pretend to be her boyfriend for a while. I couldn't refuse her, so I reluctantly agreed.

One day, River was out near the university, and she lost her dog. She insisted that I help her find it. That's when I met Amber, serene yet playful. I showed her a picture of the dog on my phone, hoping she'd seen it. Before I could finish, she interrupted and said, "I don't have a boyfriend. I'm single."

I was caught off guard. It turned out she misunderstood and thought I wanted her contact info, so I asked if she had a boyfriend. I was so flustered that I blurted out the truth and forgot to ask for her number. Afterward, I told River that I couldn't keep pretending to be her boyfriend anymore, it was getting in the way of me finding my own girlfriend.

A month later, I saw Amber again. She was walking with a guy from the library toward the campus cafeteria. So, she already had a boyfriend. It made sense, such a beautiful, confident girl certainly wouldn't be without admirers.

I never believed in love at first sight. Until it happened to me. And then, I believed.

That night, I was heartbroken and drunk at a bar, only to end up being set up. By some twist of fate, I spent the night with Amber. I felt both frustrated and relieved. I rushed to explain myself, afraid she might think I was a scoundrel. She just said, "It's okay."

For the next three months, it was like nothing had happened. Then her mother came to me, demanding that I marry her. My emotions were all over the place. It felt like everything had been part of some elaborate plan just to get into the Carr family. But despite my family's objections, I insisted on marrying her and gave her a grand wedding.

At first, we were truly happy. Even though her gambling-addicted mother kept asking for money, and even if it seemed like it was all part of her scheme, I willingly became her pawn. Besides, with so many wealthy people around, she chose me. That had to mean something, right? I had to be special to her.

But the pressure of taking over the Carr Group eventually broke me. What frustrated me most was how little she seemed to care about anything except for our daughter.

Our daughter had hemophilia, and we had to take her to the hospital dozens of times a year, sometimes for weeks at a time. I was exhausted and just couldn't handle it anymore. What hurt the most was that I stopped seeing any light in her eyes.

To get me to even look at our daughter, she would bow and beg me. At first, I was shocked. Then I got used to it. Eventually, I just became numb.