My Husband Chose My Best Friend, So I Chose Myself

When I discovered that the “kept woman” Lucas had been hiding all this time was actually my best friend, who had supposedly been away on a business trip for six months, I wasn’t the only one shocked.

As a man who usually remained indifferent to everything, Lucas uncharacteristically lost his composure. Shielding my trembling friend, who was cowering under the bedcovers, he snapped, “Sienna, you try laying a finger on her, and you’ll know what’ll happen to you!”

I wasn’t surprised by his reaction. After all, back when things were at their most volatile, I had once doused both myself and one of his mistresses in gasoline, threatening to set us all ablaze unless he broke up with her.

He had simply poured gasoline over himself as well, smiling as he declared that if we were going to die, we’d die together.

Over the past five years, I had dealt with countless mistresses of his, employing increasingly brutal methods each time.

I had acted like a madwoman, confronting, tearing into, and emotionally flaying him without rest.

But this time, I simply drew the curtains and discreetly suppressed the news to prevent Hayes Group’s stock from crashing.

Lucas watched my actions, stunned for a moment, before his expression darkened. He said, “Sienna, what kind of stunt are you trying to pull now?”

I just looked at him and spoke calmly. “Nothing. I’ve just... suddenly realized something.”

What Lucas didn’t know was that three days ago, to punish me for tailing him, he had ordered his subordinates to cut off the funding for my mother’s medical treatment.

Not only did this worsen her condition, it cost me her life entirely. I didn’t want to fight anymore.

Lucas, I’m letting you go, and I’m letting myself go, too.

Lucas narrowed his eyes; he clearly didn’t believe me. “Realized something?”

He yanked my arm and shoved me out the door. As he got close, the scent of Maya’s perfume clinging to him assaulted my senses, making my stomach churn violently.

The moment the door clicked shut, Lucas seemed to cast aside all restraint. He gripped my chin, his eyes filled with condescending disdain. “Sienna, who do you think would believe such a clumsy lie?”

With that, he shoved me aside and turned to instruct his bodyguards, “Protect Maya well. If anyone dares to harm her...”

He glanced at me, his tone openly threatening. “No matter who that person is, execute them on the spot.”

I looked at Lucas, whose eyes were filled with wariness, and felt a moment of daze.

Over the past five years, I had dealt with countless “canaries” kept by him, yet I had never seen him care this deeply about any of them. He must love Maya to such an extreme extent to protect her so fiercely.

While I was momentarily stunned, the phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor. Before I could pick it up, a bodyguard beside Lucas rushed forward and tackled me to the ground.

Watching this scene, Lucas sneered and slowly walked over to kick the phone away. “You really never learn. I suppose there are photos of Maya and me on that phone, aren’t there?”

Seeing his actions, I dug my fingernails hard into my palms, struggled to rise, and shouted, “There are no photos of you two in there! Give it back to me now!”

That phone held the last few photos I had of my mother.

“Is that so?”

He turned his head and signaled for the bodyguard to bring the phone over. He continued, “We’ll know soon enough, won’t we?”

The phone was quickly unlocked. 0312, our wedding anniversary.

Lucas and I knew each other far too well after all these years; the lock screen password was meaningless against him.

But this time, the moment he saw the photo album, he froze. “How is that possible?”

Lucas frowned as he looked at the photos of my mother in the album. He asked suspiciously, “Did you delete the photos beforehand?”

Noticing that I was still being pinned to the ground, he paused, then waved his hand to signal the bodyguards to let me go.

I stood up, stumbled over to Lucas, and held out my hand. “I didn’t take photos of you two. Give it back.”

He remained silent, his gaze still filled with scrutiny and suspicion. Just then, a startled cry from Maya rang out from inside the house. Lucas’s expression shifted instantly. He shoved the phone into my hands and strode inside.

“Maya!”

From within the room, I could hear Maya’s intermittent sobbing and the sound of Lucas offering words of comfort.

In the past, witnessing such a scene would have driven me into a frenzy; I would have stormed in, held a knife to Maya’s throat, and demanded to know exactly what Lucas was up to.

But now, I simply took a deep breath, wiped the phone clean, changed the passcode, and walked out of the hotel.

Once outside, I took out my phone and dialed my lawyer’s number. “Please draft a divorce agreement for me as soon as possible.”

When I returned home, I was about to hand the divorce agreement to Lucas when I spotted Maya inside. She was surrounded by a group of bodyguards.

Upon seeing me, they immediately closed ranks around her, as if guarding against a dangerous intruder. The spectacle struck me as almost comical. Lucas was truly terrified of me.

As our eyes met, Maya didn’t jump up and rush toward me as she used to. She simply looked at me, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.

“Sienna, you’re back.” Her tone was composed; she sounded exactly like the mistress of the house. “Come in and have a seat.”

Maya had changed significantly over the past six months. The most striking change was her demeanor.

She had transformed from someone timid who couldn’t meet another person’s gaze into a woman who sat on someone else’s sofa without a hint of hesitation. It was a testament to the money and affection Lucas had lavished on her during that time.

“Where is Lucas?” I had no patience for a confrontation with Maya and got straight to the point. “Tell him to come out; I need to speak with him.”

“Oh, Lucas?” Maya smiled, her hand instinctively drifting to her belly as she spoke softly. “He’s gone out to buy things for the baby.”

The moment my gaze locked onto the flash of red on her wrist, my pupils contracted sharply. That was the red cord my mother had climbed 9,999 steps to obtain, a prayer for the child I had lost. Yet now, it was wrapped around Maya’s wrist, blessing the child she carried.

“Give it back to me.” I stared fixedly at Maya’s wrist, my voice hoarse. “That red cord was a gift from my mother.”

The bodyguard beside me blocked my path, looking conflicted. “I’m sorry, Madam, but Mr. Hayes has forbidden you from getting close to Ms. Callahan.”

“Move aside.” I looked at the bodyguard, my voice raspy. “I just want to get back what belongs to me; I won’t hurt her.”

“But, Mr. Hayes...” said the bodyguard.

I suddenly grabbed the fruit knife from the nearby table, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes. “I said, move aside!”

But before I could make a move, her face turned deathly pale, and she slumped over, unconscious.

Just then, a furious roar erupted from behind me. “Sienna!”

Lucas snatched the knife from my hand. He gripped the knife tightly before flinging it behind him, sending blood splattering onto the floor in a small pool.

Thrown off balance by the momentum, I stumbled and fell to the ground, a sharp, nagging pain radiating from my lower abdomen.

“Maya!” Lucas cradled Maya in his arms, his eyes filled with undisguised shock and terror. “Maya, Maya, wake up! Don’t scare me like this!”

When there was no response, Lucas scooped her up and glared at me with bloodshot eyes. “Sienna, it seems you haven’t changed at all, still as unhinged as ever.”

He flung a necklace at me. I couldn’t dodge in time, and the edge sliced ​​a small cut across my face. “I was naive to ever harbor any foolish hopes about you. This necklace was meant for you, but looking at it now, the whole idea is a joke.”

I didn’t wipe away the blood seeping from the cut on my face; instead, I clutched my lower abdomen and looked at him. “Give me back the red cord my mother prayed for.”

A flash of furious disbelief crossed Lucas’s eyes. “You wanted to hurt Maya over this wretched piece of string?!”

I stared straight at him, saying nothing.

“Fine, fine, fine.” Lucas let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Sienna.” He unclasped the red cord from Maya’s wrist and looked at me. “Whatever it is you want—”

Before he could finish, my pupils contracted sharply; anticipating his next move, I sprang to my feet. “Lucas, don’t!”

But it was too late. With a violent yank of both hands, he snapped the red cord in two. “I won’t give it to you.”

With that, he tossed the broken cord aside, gathered Maya in his arms, and walked away without looking back.

I stared at the wreckage scattered around me, my vision swimming with dark spots. After an indeterminate amount of time, trembling, I picked up the severed red cord and made a phone call.

“Come pick me up in two days. I’m going to divorce him and leave with you,” I said with determination.

“With the utmost pleasure,” said the person on the other side.

After hanging up, I threw that necklace into the trash without a second thought. Just then, a sharp, agonizing pain shot through my lower abdomen, and a stream of warm fluid suddenly gushed from between my legs.

I looked down to see fresh blood pouring from my body. The pain struck with no warning; my vision blurred and darkened.

With no time to think, I clung to the last shred of consciousness and dialed emergency services.

Having done that, I could no longer hold myself up; everything went black, and I collapsed onto the floor.

When I woke up again, I was on the operating table. A heavy, dragging sensation pulled at my lower abdomen, as if a curved blade were constantly churning inside me. Wave after wave of agonizing cramps washed over me, making me curl up and tremble on the table.

Seeing this, the doctor spoke up anxiously, “You’re suffering from a massive hemorrhage due to a miscarriage! We need to operate immediately!”

“Where are your parents? Do you have an emergency contact? Get them here to sign the consent forms right away!”

“If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to save the baby, or you.”

Before I could answer, a nurse hurriedly found my phone. She dialed the number listed as my emergency contact.

It took a long time for the call to be answered; Lucas’s voice sounded deeply weary.

“Hello?”

The nurse spoke urgently, “Are you Ms. Brooks’s family member? She is currently miscarrying and hemorrhaging heavily! She needs immediate surgery; please come to the operating room on the second floor of the Hope Valley Hospital to sign the consent forms!”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by the sound of Maya crying. “Lucas, what about our baby? Will something happen to him...?”

His voice betrayed a moment of panic. “It’ll be fine, Maya. I won’t let anything happen to our baby.”

A moment later, Lucas’s voice came through, cold and sharp. “Sienna, have you made enough of a scene? Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You want to send me away so you could go after Maya, right? Your tactics are getting more and more vicious.”

The doctor, unable to listen any longer, snatched the phone and shouted into the receiver. “Listen, we really are medical professionals. Please come to the hospital and sign the forms immediately! Otherwise, this patient’s life could be in danger!”

Lucas gave a cold laugh. “Stop the act, Sienna. Don’t think I don’t know; your body hasn’t been able to conceive for a long time.”

With that, the call was disconnected. The doctor stood frozen, holding the phone. Watching this scene, I suddenly felt like laughing, but as I laughed, tears began to stream down my face.

My mind flashed back to that earlier time; the accidental miscarriage and the moment the doctor told me I would never be able to conceive again.

That night, as I stood on the hospital rooftop, it was Lucas who violently hauled me back just as I had stepped one foot over the edge.

He wrapped his arms around me, trembling all over, his voice filled with lingering terror and desperate pleading.

“I was wrong! Sienna, I was wrong! I’ll never act recklessly again! Don’t listen to the doctors! We can have another child later! Please don’t leave me! I’ll die without you!”

After that, Lucas seemed like a changed man; he treated me incredibly well. He showered me with jewelry as if money were no object and always kept me informed of his schedule whenever he went out for meetings; to the point where, for a fleeting moment, I actually wondered: Could we really live like an ordinary couple?

But fate could be so cruelly ironic. I forced myself up and looked at the doctor. I murmured, “Can I sign the consent form myself?”

She cast a pitying glance at me, nodded, and handed the document over. Struggling, I picked up a pen and gritted my teeth as I signed my name.

As the final stroke was completed, I could no longer hold myself up and collapsed onto the hospital bed.

The doctor’s urgent voice rang in my ears. “Prepare for surgery!”

In my final moments of consciousness, I summoned every ounce of strength to pull the ring off my ring finger and toss it aside.

I woke up again in a hospital room. My lower abdomen felt hollow, as if a chunk of flesh had been forcibly carved out, and my entire body ached as though I’d ​​been run over by a heavy truck.

Before I could fully gather my wits, the chattering voices of nurses drifted in from the hallway.

“Hey, did you see that couple in the room next door?”

“I did! She didn’t want to take her medicine, so he coaxed her gently and kept bringing her all sorts of fun little gifts. He said the hospital was too dreary.”

“And they’re such a good-looking pair; the guy looks just like a public figure. I think he’s the CEO of the Hayes Group...”

I listened to the conversation calmly; not a single ripple of emotion stirred within me. A moment later, I took out my phone, removed Lucas’s number from my emergency contacts, and blocked him without a second thought.

Then, I sent a message to that number, telling him to come to the hospital and take me away. Just as I finished, the door suddenly opened: It was Lucas.

Seeing me sitting on the hospital bed, a flash of disgust crossed his eyes. “You’re putting on quite an act.”

I ignored him. Having just undergone a life-or-death surgery, I felt a profound sense of calm and had no energy to argue with him. “Is there something you need?”

Lucas was visibly taken aback by my reaction. Recovering his composure, he sneered, “Do you think this will make me back down? Not a chance.”

He spoke with a condescending air. “Because of you, Maya suffered complications with her pregnancy. Even though she doesn’t intend to hold you accountable, I’m going to make sure she gets what she’s entitled to.”

I looked at Lucas, and for the first time, I found the situation amusing. Love was truly a strange thing; even someone as intelligent as Lucas could lose the ability to distinguish truth from falsehood because of it.

“So, what do you want to do?” My voice remained completely flat.

My reaction clearly infuriated him. Lucas stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. “I want that ‘Blackwood Estate’ property registered in your name.”

His expression was grim, and he continued, “To make amends to Maya.”

I was stunned for a moment. “Blackwood Estate” was the first property Lucas had ever given me, a gift for our first wedding anniversary.

I understood his intentions. Lucas wanted to provoke me; he wanted to see my anger, to see me compromise and apologize to Maya because of it.

But he was mistaken. I simply stared at his face, slightly distorted by anger, and said slowly, “Fine.”

I took out the divorce agreement and continued, “Then let’s transfer the title to your name first.”

As I spoke, a look of sheer astonishment flashed across Lucas’s face. “Good, good, good.”

He picked up the pen and signed without a moment’s hesitation, not even glancing at the document. “You’re really willing to part with things this time, aren’t you?”

Only then did I notice that the ring on his ring finger was no longer our wedding band, but a childish cartoon ring.

As he finished the final stroke, Lucas’s expression turned icy. “When the baby is born, you, as the elder, ought to give a gift, shouldn’t you? That silver bracelet on your wrist, give it to the child as a token for their safety.”

I looked down at the bracelet. It was an eighteenth-birthday gift Lucas had given me back when we were young.

All these years, I had worn it faithfully. But now, I simply removed it with a blank expression and handed it to him.

“You’re right. I’ll give it to the child,” I said without hesitation.

This time, Lucas’s anger exploded; his voice rose sharply. “Sienna! Are you deliberately giving me an attitude?! You agree with everything I say! So if I say ‘divorce,’ do you agree to that too?!”

At those words, the hospital room fell silent for a moment. Lucas and I were both stunned. Finally, I simply nodded and replied, “Fine, I agree.”

“Impossible!” He cut me off, his eyes burning crimson. “Sienna, don’t even think about it! You will never leave me, not in this lifetime!”

With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Unlike his rage, as I looked at the divorce agreement in my hands, I felt nothing but a sense of liberation.

Lucas, from this moment on, I no longer need you to leave your mark on any part of my life.

I quickly gathered my things, left the hospital room, and got into the car waiting to take me away.

The man in the driver’s seat gazed deeply at me. “Sienna, I’ve waited so many years for this moment. I’ve finally got you back.”

***

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Lucas stormed back into Maya’s hospital room. No sooner had he sat down than Maya looked over with a worried expression. “Lucas, are you alright?”

He rubbed his temples irritably and replied, “I’m fine.”

Lucas placed Sienna’s belongings on the table and gritted out. “She’s really something this time; playing the ‘hard-to-get’ game with me, is she?”

Before he could finish, Maya interrupted him, sounding slightly delighted, “Lucas, did you two get a divorce?!”

Lucas paused, then turned to look at Maya with a dark expression. “Didn’t I tell you not to try and threaten me with the child? I love Sienna, and I am not going to divorce her.”

Maya’s smile froze as she looked down at the divorce agreement. “Then what is this?”

“It’s just the property...”

He stopped mid-sentence. His face turned deathly pale the moment he actually looked at the document!