Chapter 5: The Carter Woman’s Stand

At that moment, my throat felt so tight I could hardly breathe.

The Carter family is a proud and upright clan; our women have never been pushed aside like this.

If I set this precedent today, what will become of my unmarried sisters?

Images flashed in my mind—my little sisters at the breakfast table, my mother’s worried face, my grandmother’s stories about the Carter women who never backed down.

“I already said, it’s not really being a house manager. You’ll still have the rights of the wife, only the title changes.”

“But others don’t know that…” My voice trembled.

In a place like Maple Heights, what people thought mattered. Titles weren’t just words—they were everything.

“Enough.”

Marcus suddenly flung my hand aside, his expression turning cold.

“If you hadn’t taken advantage of my amnesia, do you think you could have married into the Carter family?”

“And now you’re bargaining with me!”

My throat grew even tighter, and I fought to keep my voice steady.

“Before I married you, all I knew was that you’d lost your memory. I had no idea about your relationship with Aubrey. How is that taking advantage?”

“Ha! My history with Aubrey was known all over Maple Heights. How could you not have heard?”

Marcus’s tone was mocking, as if accusing me of lying.

But I truly did not know.

Since childhood, I was taught never to disgrace the Carter family.

Every day was spent learning piano, math, painting, and how to run a household…

I never had time for outside gossip.

Only now, with Aubrey’s appearance, did I suddenly understand—

No wonder, after our engagement, whenever I asked my father and brothers about Marcus’s character, they always hesitated.

No wonder, ever since I began sewing my wedding dress, my mother often wept in secret…

“Natalie, I promised Aubrey a lifetime, just the two of us.”

“Now, instead of divorcing you outright, I’m letting you stay as house manager. I have to coax her in every way just to get her to agree.”

“I’ve done all I can for you. Don’t push your luck!”

Push my luck indeed…

I closed my eyes.

The last shred of hope in my heart was extinguished.

“No Carter woman’s ever let herself get pushed aside—not in this town, not ever. If you insist, then divorce me.”

Marcus clearly hadn’t expected me, always so gentle, to be so stubborn.

The veins on his forehead bulged, and the tendons on the back of his hand stood out.

At last, he gritted his teeth and spat out:

“There’s no divorce here—only a formal separation!”

He slammed the door so hard the whole truck shook. I was alone, just me, the echo, and the ache he left behind.