From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 79

The next time they spoke was after the wedding.

She and Frederick were honeymooning overseas when her mother found out she had been removed from her professor's research team. She called and tore into Lydia with a blistering lecture.

No matter how hard she worked at the overseas lab, there was always some excuse forcing her to share credit for her discoveries. She was clearly more brilliant and capable than the rest, yet they constantly took advantage of her and pushed her out, leaving her completely drained of her passion for research.

Besides... being with Frederick was the only way she could sleep without having nightmares.

No one understood her pain. From the time she was little, her mother only cared about how high she could fly, never once stopping to ask if she was tired.

She knew everything her mother did was for her own good, out of love.

She could handle the pressure. She was independent enough to survive.

But that didn't mean she never needed someone to care about her.

It was as if her mother was terrified that a single word of comfort would instantly make her weak.

That time, she had simply hung up the phone, and a wedge was driven between them.

Thinking of the past, tears spilled from the corners of her eyes.

The humiliation and suffering she endured now mirrored exactly what her mother had gone through with Arthur and the Sutton family.

She regretted ignoring her mother's warnings, effectively repeating history step for step.

And now, her mother refused to let her get a divorce. She knew it wasn't just because of Charles's promise. Her mother was terrified she'd be trapped in a messy split, but even more terrified of what Sierra and her mother would do to destroy her.

As long as Frederick offered her a shred of dignity, her mother believed the marriage was salvageable, making her opposition to the divorce all the more intense.

But this time, she was going to let her mother down again.

She was getting this divorce, no matter what.

Lydia's eyes hardened with newfound resolve as she raised a hand to wipe her tears. Suddenly, a cold touch brushed her cheek first. Looking up through a watery blur, she saw Frederick's thumb gently sweeping away a tear from the corner of her eye, a rare flicker of softness in his gaze.

Was he feeling bad because she was crying?

She scoffed inwardly.

The second he saw Sierra shed a single tear, he would drop her in a heartbeat.

She had outgrown her need for his sympathy a long time ago.

Slapping his hand away, Lydia stood up from the swing and marched toward the door. "Tomorrow is the day my mom and Julian go to the registry office to get married."

"I need to go over there tonight to help them prep."

The man's icy voice chased after her. "I'll go with you."

Disgust flashed in her eyes, but going back to the Zane house was infinitely better than being trapped alone with him at Tidal Crest Manor.

They sat around for a while.

Her mother brought out some pajamas for her. "Charles is coming back in a few days. He'll be thrilled to see you two have worked things out. If you could give him a big surprise, that would be even better."

A sharp, piercing gaze drilled into the back of her head.

The corner of her mouth twitched, her fingers turning white as she squeezed the pajamas.

Her mother was as subtle as a freight train. She wanted her and Frederick to have a baby.

What a shame...

A lump formed in Lydia's throat. Swallowing down the bitter agony, she said quietly, "Mom, get some sleep. You've got to be a gorgeous bride tomorrow."

"I even brought a veil for you."

Her mother showed a rare hint of shyness. "What do I need that for? I'm not a young girl anymore."

Lydia tried to walk her mother back to her room, but her mother insisted on walking Lydia to hers, fussing over the sheets and the room setup, terrified of offending Frederick.

Once her mother left, the room fell dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Fully clothed, she climbed straight into bed, while the man took the change of clothes Caleb had delivered and headed into the bathroom.

An unknown amount of time passed before the room was plunged into darkness. The mattress dipped on the other side, and the faint scent of damp skin filled the air.