The Moment I Realized I Can't Lose You novel Chapter 3

A torrential downpour battered the windows that night. Audrey tossed and turned, unable to sleep as memories of her year with Joaquin flashed behind her eyes.

Their grandfathers had been close friends, so the families visited often. She had actually known Joaquin since she was little.-

Even at eight years old, Joaquin had been an old soul—always dressed in custom miniature suits, aloof, and completely uninterested in childish games.

But five-year-old Audrey would relentlessly follow him around, begging for his attention. Ever the gentleman, Joaquin would patiently tolerate her presence and look out for her.

Once, she was playing too close to a lake and fell in. It was Joaquin who dove into the freezing water to drag her out, giving her CPR until she coughed up water. When Audrey opened her eyes, she thought she was looking at an angel.

Later, her parents died in a car crash, leaving her as an unwanted burden to the Sinclair family. Sent away to live with her grandparents in a rural town, she never returned to Silveridge City, and never saw Joaquin again. That is, until a year ago, when her uncle Arthur Sinclair showed up at her grandparents' rustic wooden house in the dead of night.

Everyone in high society whispered that she only married Joaquin to escape her pathetic, impoverished life and claw her way into wealth. But only she knew how violently her heart had pounded that night when she heard she was going to be his wife.

Yet, she had always known this was just a beautiful dream granted by God.

And now, it was time to wake up.

Outside, the storm raged with thunder and lightning. Tucked under her covers, her turbulent emotions slowly began to settle.

...

The next morning, Audrey was jolted awake by her ringing phone. Still half-asleep, she answered, only to be met with her mother-in-law Fiona's shrill, disgusted voice. "Do you have any idea what time it is? How are you still in bed? How did the Judd family end up with such a lazy, useless brat?"

Audrey had endured this toxic, bitter nagging for a solid year. She always took it in silence. Not because she was a pushover, but because she didn't want to put Joaquin in a difficult position. She knew how stressful his life as a CEO was and wanted to spare him any family drama.

But today, she was utterly done playing the punching bag.

Fiona was still ranting. "If we hadn't been in a state of emergency a year ago with no other options, I would never have let Joaquin marry you! You are completely beneath my son—"

"I agree I'm beneath him, but a marriage takes two." Audrey took a deep breath and cut her off cleanly. "If you hate me and look down on me so much, you are more than welcome to convince your son to sign the divorce papers. Then he can go find someone on his level. He only married me out of necessity, and that crisis has passed, hasn't it?"

"Mom." Joaquin frowned. "There was a massive thunderstorm last night. Audrey probably didn't sleep well because of the noise."

He lifted his wrist, glancing at his absurdly expensive steel watch. "It's barely seven in the morning, and there's nothing important on her schedule today. Why did you even bother her?"

As he spoke, he turned around and caught sight of a woman in a hospital gown standing in the doorway of a room.

His eyes tightened. Lowering his voice, he spoke into the phone. "I have things to handle here. I'm hanging up."

Pocketing his phone, he walked over to Rainey. "Why are you out of bed?"

Looking deathly pale, Rainey gripped the doorframe and offered a weak, tragic smile. "I overheard... Fiona telling you that Audrey wants a divorce... Is she asking for a divorce because of me?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at him. "Joaquin... should I have stayed away?"