After that argument, I decided to leave the house and head to the Harvest Café to meet Leon and discuss my divorce from Archie. He had promised to help me erase Wendy Clark’s identity for good.
A large envelope lay on the table in front of him.
"Here," he said, shoving it towards me. "Everything you need is inside."
I hesitated before taking it, my fingers brushing against the crisp paper. Slowly, I unfolded it. Inside was a new identity card, a new passport... and the divorce papers I had been waiting for. Finally, everything was in my hands.
"Are you absolutely sure about this, Wendy?" Leon asked, his voice laced with concern.
I met his gaze with a steely stare. "There’s nothing left for me here, Leon. Archie has taken everything. Now it’s my turn."
He sighed, rubbing his jaw. "Once Wendy Clark disappears, she’s not coming back."
"I have no reason to bring her back," I muttered firmly. "Wendy Clark is dead."
Leon straightened, his expression unreadable. "Well, I’m sorry about your situation," he said. "I’ll send you the details of the plan later tonight."
I nodded and ended our meeting.
I had just climbed the stairs when a voice from the room beneath stopped me in my tracks. The door was slightly ajar, so I approached cautiously.
Archie. He was standing behind Claire, his arms wrapped around her waist in a far-too-intimate embrace.
"Oh, Claire, I’ve missed your touch so much. I feel like I’m going insane," he murmured.
Claire let out a soft chuckle. "We used to do it all the time before I had the baby, Archie."
"That was ages ago," he whined. "Don’t you feel bad for me?"
"You were always so scared Wendy would find out, yet you’ve never been able to control yourself," she teased.
I clenched my fists. So this is what they did when I wasn’t around? I should have bloody known.
Archie waved his hand dismissively. "Relax, Wendy’s not here. Come on, I can’t take it anymore."
"Just a blowjob, okay? I’m still recovering."
I watched as Archie lit up like a kid being given his favourite toy. I had seen enough.
Heart pounding, I turned on my heel, ready to escape to my room.
But once again, I was stopped in my tracks.
"See? A woman who can’t even carry a pregnancy to term, running off instead of taking care of her husband and child? How disgraceful!"
I turned around to face Charlotte Knight—my mother-in-law—wearing an expression of pure contempt. My chest felt hollow, as if a part of me had been ripped away. The old woman stood a few steps away, her gaze filled with unfiltered hatred.
"You couldn’t even take care of your own husband. Archie marrying you was the biggest mistake of his life."
My hands instinctively curled into fists, but I let her continue her verbal assault. No matter what I did, I would always be the villain in her eyes. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t my fault.
That I had done everything to protect that baby.
But what was the point? To her, I was nothing but a disgrace to the Knight family.
Before I could say a word, Archie’s deep voice rang out behind me.
"Mum, that’s enough!"
I turned to see him striding towards us, his jaw tight.
"Wendy just had a miscarriage," he snapped. "Leave her alone. Don’t make it worse."
Charlotte snorted, crossing her arms. "You’re too soft, Archie. If you keep defending her, how will you explain this to the public? You’re the heir to this family, and now you have no child! The Knights need an heir."
Archie ran a frustrated hand down his face. I saw the hesitation in his eyes, the weight of it all pressing down on him, as if I were a burden he couldn’t shake.
"I’ll take care of it, Mum."
"You should be proud to carry the Knight name. Don’t disappoint me, Archie." With that, Charlotte scoffed and walked away.
I turned to enter my room when Archie’s sharp voice cut through the air.
"Where are you going? Running away from your responsibilities as Zac’s mother?"
I stopped, my hand hovering over the door handle.
"Zac’s been crying all day, and Claire’s exhausted," he continued.
I looked away. "I just needed some fresh air."
Archie scoffed, His lips twisting in mockery. "Fresh air, huh? With another man?"
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Before I could demand an explanation, Archie threw a stack of printed photos at me. They scattered across the floor, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw myself in them—with Leon.
Where the hell did he get these?
"You always act like I’m the bastard here," Archie seethed. "But is this what you do behind my back?"
"No, Archie, I—"
"How many men have you been sneaking around with? Is that why you lost the baby? Did you spread your legs for them so much you couldn’t even keep our child?"
A stunned silence followed his words. The world around me blurred with fury. Without thinking, I swung my hand, slapping him hard across the face. The crack echoed in the hallway.
Archie turned back to me slowly, his gaze ice-cold. So cold it could freeze hell over.
Before either of us could speak, a soft voice rang out.
"Archie…"
Claire.
My stomach twisted as she sauntered towards us, draped in a delicate dress that hugged her curves. She barely spared me a glance before fixing her honeyed gaze on Archie.
"I think Zac misses his daddy," she purred. "He won’t stop crying, no matter what I do."
Archie frowned. "Didn’t he just fall asleep?"
"He didn’t sleep well."
Archie sighed heavily, then turned and walked off towards Zac’s room.
Claire and I watched him go in silence. As soon as the door shut behind him, she turned to me with a sly smirk.
"Do you really think you can hold onto this marriage, Wendy?" she whispered, stepping closer. "The more you cling to him, the more I’ll make sure he’s mine. You’ll never get what you don’t deserve."
I balled my fists, forcing myself to stay calm. I knew exactly what she was doing.
My eyes followed her as she moved towards the coffee table, picking up a small ceramic pot. She glanced at me again, her smirk widening.
"You should have died with your parents a long time ago," she sneered, taking another step closer.
Then, suddenly, she swung the flowerpot at me.
I dodged, and the pot crashed to the floor with a loud smash. My breath caught. What the fuck?
"You’re insane, Claire!"
But she wasn’t done. With a twisted look of determination, she knelt down, picked up a shard of glass, and—before I could react—dragged it across her own forehead. A thin line of blood welled up as she let out a sharp cry.
Footsteps pounded towards us.
"What happened?!" Archie’s voice.
I turned to explain, but Claire was already whimpering pathetically, clutching at her forehead.
"Archie," she sniffled, "Wendy threw a flowerpot at me!"
I froze.
What?!
Before I could protest, Archie was already at her side, gripping her shoulders anxiously.
"Are you alright?"
Claire bit her lip, looking utterly heartbroken. "I don’t know why she got so angry… I just wanted to talk…"
My whole body trembled with rage. "I didn’t do it!"
Archie’s furious eyes snapped to me. "Wendy!"
"I swear, I didn’t! She attacked me first and cut herself—"
Claire whimpered, burying her face in his chest.
"I know she’s mad at me for spending time with Zac," she murmured. "But I never stopped her from holding him. I was only trying to help… I’d do anything for the heir to your family."
