The Plane Tickets He Hoarded The Wife He Hid novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Buried Alive No More

Blanche’s Perspective

I slipped the pregnancy test results into my purse before entering the living room. The moment I appeared, Zain and Ophelia’s conversation abruptly stopped. For once, I didn’t bother with the usual polite greetings I forced myself to say.

For years, I had convinced myself that playing the perfect wife and dutiful daughter-in-law would eventually make Zain notice me. Life, however, had shown me just how wrong that belief was.

Even if I tore my heart out and laid it at the feet of the Jacobs family, they wouldn’t spare it a glance.

Five years of pouring everything I had into this marriage had left me empty and broken. Today, that chapter would close.

Zain knew exactly why he had come home.

He shot a sharp glance at Cherry. “Cherry, please escort Blanche out.” I stood silently in the corner, but my eyes had turned cold and unyielding.

Zain ran Jacob Group with flawless precision—efficient, methodical, and exacting. He respected his elders, stood firmly by his friends, led his team with fairness, and genuinely cared for his employees.

Everyone who knew Zain spoke of him with admiration. Our mutual friends often joked that I must have saved entire nations in past lives to deserve such a man.

But his kindness stopped at me, his wife. After five years of marriage, I finally understood the harsh reality. This empty, icy marriage was no longer something I could accept.

Ophelia brushed past me, then paused, her voice dripping with icy contempt. “Without a male heir, you’ll never truly be a Jacob.”

Before, I would have swallowed those words silently. Not anymore. I met her gaze, every ounce of submission gone. “Ophelia, we’re both women. Since when is a baby’s gender solely my responsibility?”

Ophelia had always treated me like a timid mouse she could torment at will. My sudden defiance took her by surprise, but she wasn’t about to let it go. Her palm struck my cheek like a thunderclap. “You dare talk back? Get on your knees. Now.”

There was something savage in her expression, fueled by the absolute certainty that I would break beneath her dominance. She believed I loved Zain enough to sacrifice my dignity, abandon my pride, and grovel like a servant for the Jacobs.

But I was done swallowing pain.

Since the Jacobs never valued my sacrifices or even acknowledged my existence, I refused to bow to them any longer.

My eyes hardened into steel as they locked with Ophelia’s. Without a word, I stepped forward and raised my hand to strike back.

Before my hand could connect, a large palm grabbed my wrist. A deep, reproachful voice rumbled close to my ear. “Blanche, do you really need to escalate this?”

I lifted my head to meet Zain’s sharp, cold features. His glacial stare cut through me like shards of ice. This was the face that once consumed me with obsession, but now, looking at it up close, a quiet disgust twisted in my stomach.

How could anyone be this cold? I could endure being ignored, betrayed, and treated like nothing. But being viewed as a mere breeding machine? Demanding another child as if my life had no worth? That thought alone made me sick.

Snapping back to reality, I moved numbly to the sofa and collapsed. “Cherry,” I said hollowly, “prepare dinner.”

For years, I had done everything myself, surviving on scraps of Zain’s attention. His rare visits had fueled my pathetic hope, but now I knew better.

A bitter smile flickered across my lips as I remembered how I had once been my family’s cherished youngest daughter, so fiercely protected that I never had to fend for myself.

After dinner, I went straight to the study and began drafting divorce papers. The Callum family had money, and as a pediatrician, I could easily support Carry on my own. But after five years of silent suffering, I had earned nothing but a cold, distant husband.

So I made it clear that Zain would surrender half of our marital assets, plus $700,000 monthly in child support.

I hesitated when I reached the section about Carry. I didn’t know which parent my daughter would choose. Realizing I needed to talk to Carry first, I gathered the unfinished papers and left Alexander Villa immediately.

After Carry was born, Zain had bought Blissfield Villa for her. I had cared for Carry full-time for four years before returning to hospital work. But as my professional duties increased, I found fewer chances to be with my daughter.

For the past six months, I had been undergoing specialized training at a major regional hospital in the neighboring city. The only times I’d seen Zain recently were when my foolish heart hoped that another baby might anchor my drifting husband.

I stayed constantly busy, yet still traded shifts with colleagues, working three overnight shifts in a row just to see Zain. It never occurred to me that I couldn’t have another baby alone. If I was overwhelmed, Zain could have come to me. But he always chose the other woman instead.

Just after nine that evening, I took a taxi to Blissfield Villa. As I stepped out of the car, my phone buzzed with a new video notification from Vinshub, one of my regular subscriptions.