The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Lydia jumped, startled by Mars’s sudden appearance.

“M–Mars?”

Meeting Mars’s stormy gaze, the color drained completely from Lydia’s face.

“Y–you’re back so soon.” Lydia tried to play it off like she always did, but even forcing a smile felt impossible. Her fingers trembled with fear.

“Just now, I…” Lydia wanted to explain, but she had no idea how much Mars had heard. She didn’t even know where to

begin.

In a last, desperate move, she shot a pleading look at Autumn.

Deep down, Lydia believed that if Autumn still cared about keeping their family together, she would cover f she always did when they were kids.

for her just li

her, just like

But this was the exact situation Autumn had been hoping for. Why would she play the scapegoat again?

Autumn even gave her own thigh a vicious pinch, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked at Mars. “Mars, is what Lydia just said… Is it all true?”

Lydia’s eye twitched. She snapped, yelling, “Autumn, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to cause trouble between me and Mars on purpose? How can you be so vicious!”

Autumn said nothing, only continuing her fake crying.

The whole scene was giving Mars a massive headache.

Seeing Autumn covering her face and sobbing, a deep wave of guilt washed over him.

He never knew Lydia treated Autumn like this behind his back.

Even with his ‘special relationship” with Lydia, Autumn was her sister–and his wife.

Mars had always known how good Autumn was to Lydia.

He didn’t want Lydia to provoke Autumn; it put him in an impossible position.

He didn’t get it. He’d gone so far for Lydia–he was even letting his own wife have a baby for her. Why wasn’t that enough?

What good would ruining his marriage do her?

Didn’t she know the company still needed Autumn right now?

Mars couldn’t help but remember when he’d pursued Lydia, only to be rejected time and time again.

Back then, he’d been head over heels, skipping breakfast every day just to save up a little money to buy her gifts.

But every time, Lydia would take the gift and never accept him.

She never shut him down completely, either–never giving him hope, but never letting him lose it entirely.

His friends all said he was just one of the guys she was stringing along.

He’d argued back that Lydia definitely liked him, she was just worried her family wouldn’t approve, so she held back.

And the result? He found out Lydia was with someone else, and he had to settle for second best, choosing Autumn, who had always been right there and seemed like a better fit.

“Enough!”

Mars’s eyes, as he looked at Lydia, were filled with disappointment,

Years of resentment, jealousy, and pain surged up, making it impossible for him to treat Lydia the way he had before.

“Just look at the group chat.”

Mars strode over to Autumn’s hospital bed..

His voice was softer than ever before. “Honey, I got you that funky blue cheese burger you wanted.”

Autumn was so shocked she almost broke character.

She rubbed her eyes until they were red, and when she looked up, she saw Mars carefully pulling a well–protected burger from inside his jacket.

Mars opened the container for Autumn, and the distinct, pungent smell immediately filled the room.

“Ugh-”

Autumn dry–heaved.

Mars immediately panicked. He scrambled to throw the burger out, then rushed around opening windows and turning on

the room’s ventilation fan.

“How are you? Feeling any better?”

Watching Mars be so considerate to Autumn, Lydia felt like she was about to explode with jealousy.

“Mars! You-”

She wanted to scream, How can you treat Autumn like that? What about me?!

But she bit her tongue.

Mars was already pissed off. If she blew up now, it would only add fuel to the fire.

Lydia’s eyes darted around as she quickly came up with a new plan.

“Mars, I’m sorry. I was just talking nonsense before. I… I mean, she’s my sister. I thought it was okay to talk about this stuff. You get that, right, Mars?”

Hearing this, Mars gave Lydia a complicated look.

He repeated what he said before. “You should really check the group chat.”

“What group chat?” Mars had said it twice now, and Lydia didn’t get what he meant.

But at least his tone had softened a bit. She gave him a placating smile. “Did Mom and Dad say something in the family chat again?”

She tapped open WhatsApp, and new messages exploded on her screen like wildfire.

Lydia was stunned.

“This…”

She glanced at the notifications and saw they were mostly from Mars’s friends–and they were all tearing her apart.

[You bitch, talking shit about me behind my back like that. Just you wait! I’m gonna make your life hell.]

Lydia’s eyes went wide. “W–what is this? Why is everyone suddenly cussing me out!”

Lydia burst into tears, looking genuinely terrified.

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