The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 129

**Chasing Light, Finding Peace** – by Rohan Verma

**Chapter 129**

Lydia stood there, her body rigid, as if time itself had come to a standstill. Her heart was pounding in her chest, each beat echoing the disbelief that coursed through her veins.

“What did you just say?”

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating, as if they were a thick fog obscuring her thoughts. Another family? Autumn had another family?

The sheer absurdity of the notion struck Lydia like a lightning bolt, illuminating her mind with the glaring neon sign of “unbelievable.” Yet, in a strange twist of clarity, she forced a smile, a carefully crafted mask of composure. “Oh, I see! You must have seen Autumn living alone somewhere, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Hannah shot back, her voice sharp and quick, “they just had a fight, so she moved out for a bit. Another family? That’s impossible.”

The very suggestion felt ludicrous to Lydia. Autumn had always been fiercely devoted to Mars, her love for him so profound that she was undergoing the arduous process of IVF to bear his child.

How could someone as steadfastly loyal as Autumn even entertain the idea of betraying Mars, let alone starting a second family?

That thought was simply preposterous.

Lydia’s vehement dismissal only served to exacerbate the gnawing doubts that had taken root in Hannah’s mind since she had left the Bennett villa.

As Hannah mulled over the situation, it began to seem increasingly bizarre. Instead of returning to her studio, she had impulsively reached out to an old classmate, desperate for answers.

With her characteristic charm, she managed to secure the address of Mars’ villa, driving there with a sense of purpose that left no room for hesitation.

Her initial plan had been straightforward: to gauge Mars’ feelings and extract the truth from him without revealing her own motives.

However, she had never anticipated encountering Lydia first.

To be honest, Hannah had always harbored a deeper disdain for Lydia than for Autumn.

They say it takes a woman to truly understand another woman, and during their college days, Hannah had been acutely aware of the special attention Mars lavished upon Lydia.

At first, she thought it was merely a kindness stemming from his infatuation with Lydia, the elder sister.

But after witnessing their interactions on multiple occasions, the truth became glaringly evident: Mars was genuinely in love with Lydia.

Hannah felt no surprise when Mars and Lydia never ended up together.

A woman like Lydia was ambitious, adept at playing the innocent card.

She was more than Mars could handle.

Mars had his own dreams and aspirations, while Lydia was like a delicate rose, requiring nurturing and care. She could illuminate a man’s life, but she couldn’t support his career.

Thus, it was no wonder that Mars chose Autumn, a girlfriend who excelled in every conceivable way.

Hannah begrudgingly admitted that she couldn’t measure up to Autumn in many areas, yet she refused to accept that she couldn’t provide for Mars everything that Autumn did.

It simply didn’t make sense to her. If Mars didn’t even have genuine feelings for Autumn and was merely choosing a partner for her potential benefits, why not choose her instead?

Hannah harbored a unique resentment for each sister, but after years of wrestling with her own struggles abroad, she had mastered the art of masking her emotions.

“But I really did see her at someone else’s house. The housekeeper there even called her ‘Mrs.'”

Hannah intentionally withheld the detail that Autumn was staying at Owen Bennett’s house.

She had her own selfish motives.

If the Lopez family discovered that Autumn had entangled herself with a man like Owen Bennett, they would likely join forces with Autumn to conceal the truth.

Moreover, witnessing Lydia’s ease of movement in and out of Mars’ villa suggested that their relationship was far more intricate than it appeared.

To achieve her ambitions, she needed to devise a careful strategy, and these two sisters were the perfect pawns in her game.

Perhaps she could even kill two birds with one stone.

When all was said and done, not only would Mars be hers, but Owen would be as well.

“What are you talking about?” Lydia shot back, disbelief etched across her features. “How could Autumn do something like that? She’s pregnant with Mars’ baby!”

Lydia had always viewed Autumn as a naive, gullible fool.

The Lopez family had exploited her for years, and Autumn had simply accepted it without question.

Lydia herself had been entangled with Mars for what felt like an eternity, and Autumn had never suspected a thing.

The idea that someone like Autumn could secretly maintain a second family behind everyone’s back was unfathomable.

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