The Wife Strikes Back

##Chapter 1

"I'm pregnant." My husband Kaiden Fenwick's stepsister Quinn appeared at my doorstep, holding her pregnant belly.

Kaiden took her in and demanded I give up the nursery. "She needs care, Isabella. Learn to be tolerant."

I was forced to accept Quinn barging into my life. But her behavior gradually crossed boundaries.

She would dry Kaiden's hair after he showered, would knock on our bedroom door in the middle of the night, lying that she had 'nightmares.'

Kaiden enjoyed Quinn's complete dependence on him, making me the extra person.

I couldn't tolerate it anymore. "Let’s get a divorce! And both of you, please get out of my house!"

……

"I'm pregnant," Quinn Devereux said in a trembling voice, sitting on our living room sofa, her eyes red and swollen. Caspian, Quinn's husband, had been killed in a sudden car accident last month. We hadn't yet recovered from the sorrow when Quinn dropped another bombshell. My husband, Kaiden Fenwick, quickly pulled her into his arms, as if protecting a precious treasure. "You'll stay with us," he declared confidently. "I have to take care of her. Quinn is pregnant, and she's my sister."

I frowned and pulled him to a corner of the kitchen, lowering my voice. "We don’t have a spare room, Kaiden." Our small two-story villa was our cozy home after marriage. It wasn’t large, but I had painstakingly decorated every corner, especially the upstairs nursery—decorated with starry wallpaper, equipped with an aroma diffuser and a cradle, all of which took me three months.

"Let her go to your parents' place," I suggested calmly. "Marigold is her biological mother. It would be most appropriate for her to take care of Quinn."

Kaiden seemed prepared for this. "My stepmother is too old to take care of a pregnant woman. Besides, they are going on a trip to Europe."

"We don’t have a spare room," I repeated.

"Clear out the nursery," he interrupted sharply, his tone suddenly cold. "You’ve been trying to get pregnant for so long without success. It’s just sitting empty anyway."

His words pierced my heart like an icicle. Speechless, I stood in the sunlight but felt chillingly cold.

Kaiden turned back to comfort Quinn gently, patting her shoulder and whispering, "Don’t worry, Isabella is just upset." He dismissed all my grievances as a mere tantrum while Quinn, who looked worried and hesitant, murmured softly, "Maybe I should just go to our parents' place..."

The more she said that, the more unreasonable I appeared.

Quinn moved in shortly after.

Kaiden and I began a cold war. Yet with Quinn, I found no excuse to trouble her. Pregnant and delicate-looking, she was grateful for everything and often clung to my arm, saying, "Sister-in-law, you are the kindest to me."

She even spoke up for Kaiden at the dining table in front of him. "Kaiden didn’t mean it. He’s just too worried about me being alone. Now that Caspian is gone, and I'm pregnant..."

Watching her gradually softened my heart.

But one night, I caught her "helping her brother dry his hair."

Kaiden had just showered, his towel loosely wrapped around his waist as droplets fell from his toned chest. Quinn stood behind him with a towel, smiling innocently, "Don’t be mad, sister-in-law. I always used to help him dry his hair before he got married."

My face stiffened, and I turned away, the inexplicable discomfort in my heart rising like a tide.

Later came a stormy night. I was awakened by thunder with an empty space beside me.

Kaiden was not there.

Instinctively getting out of bed, through the door crack, I saw two familiar figures huddled together at the end of the hallway. Quinn nestled in Kaiden's arms like a frightened bird, softly saying, "I’m scared..."

"I'm here with you," Kaiden responded quietly, patting her back before leading her back to her room.

He came back reeking of Quinn’s signature jasmine perfume. I fought back the urge to vomit, turning over to bury my face in the pillow.

After that, nightmares became routine for Quinn. Without fail, Kaiden would stay in her room to comfort her—first for an hour, then two. The longest time, he didn’t return until midnight.

Quinn suffered severe morning sickness. Almost everything she ate came back up. Kaiden accused me of deliberately making unsanitary food, claiming I’d done it on purpose to target her.

Each argument left Quinn like a frightened rabbit, trying to pacify us from the side, saying, “Don’t fight over me. It’s my fault—not Isabella’s.”

Then Kaiden would gently reassure her, “You did nothing wrong.”

Watching my husband's drastically different attitudes chilled my heart bit by bit.

Five years into our marriage, I molded myself into what he wanted. He asked me to quit my job, so I gave up my career. He wanted children, so I took the pills and endured the injections, bearing the physical rejection and the restless anxiety of hormonal imbalance—all just to conceive. I learned to cook his favorite dishes and dressed how he liked—almost becoming someone unrecognizable, constantly seeking his approval and love.

But what did I get in return? I was treated like a maid and discarded like an insignificant ornament.

One day, I locked myself in our room and cried until it felt like the world was ending. The next morning, with swollen eyes, I dialed my father's number.

"Dad, I want a divorce."

After a long silence, my father gently asked, "Are you sure?"

I nodded firmly. He sighed on the other end of the line, saying, "I always knew Kaiden was unreliable. Don’t worry. Half of the Fenwick family’s business was built with my help. I’m confident enough to tear it down myself."

I hung up the phone and stepped out of the kitchen only to see Quinn swaggering into the living room, wearing Kaiden’s shirt.

My face chilled as I commanded her sharply, “Take off that shirt!”