The Betrayed Wife Is A Global Legend

By seven that evening, every corner of the private estate glowed beneath dazzling lights.

At the entrance stood Cheryl Pearson. Dressed in a simple outfit, she looked completely out of place among the lavish surroundings.

Only two hours before, her husband, Jeremy Barrett, had called her. "I've got an important meeting tonight, so I won't be coming home. Don't wait up for me."

Instead of attending a business meeting, he was standing there as the groom beside another woman.

Seated at the main table were Cheryl's own parents and her brother.

Surrounding them were relatives and friends who knew both Cheryl and Jeremy well.

Even with all those familiar faces, not a single person had let her know about the wedding.

Every breath carried the fragrance of fresh roses mixed with a deep woody scent.

The perfume filling the air was called Surrender. Cheryl had created it herself and intended it to be a wedding gift meant for Jeremy alone.

That same fragrance, once meant to represent devotion and belonging, now filled the wedding venue where Jeremy was taking another woman as his bride.

At the end of the red carpet, Jeremy wore a customtailored white suit. His eyes rested gently on Danica Pearson, the woman who had taken Cheryl's place in the Pearson family for more than twenty years.

Cheryl was the Pearson family's biological daughter. She had only been reunited with them three years earlier after finally being found. Years ago, her grandfather and Jeremy's grandfather had fought side by side and made a promise that their grandchildren would marry one day.

Because of that agreement, Cheryl became Jeremy's wife as soon as she returned to the Pearson family.

What no one else knew was that Jeremy had already lived in Cheryl's heart for seven long years.

She once believed fate had finally smiled on her. She truly thought she would spend the rest of her life as the happiest woman alive.

Instead, reality shattered that dream without mercy.

Wrapped in a white wedding gown, Danica held tightly to Jeremy's arm. She looked so weak that even a gentle breeze seemed enough to knock her over.

The gentle notes of the Wedding March stumbled before breaking into a harsh screech as Cheryl stepped into the venue.

One by one, every gaze turned toward her.

The smiles on the Pearson family's faces disappeared.

"How did she end up here?"

"We made sure no one told her."

"Who let this slip? This is going to ruin everything."

Whispers spread through the crowd as everyone stared at Cheryl.

Although she was Jeremy's lawful wife, she was treated like someone who had no place at the wedding.

For a brief moment, surprise showed in Jeremy's eyes when he noticed her. However, he quickly regained his usual calm expression.

After whispering a few comforting words to Danica, he gently placed her hand into the bridesmaid's before walking straight toward Cheryl.

The familiar scent of fir drifted over Cheryl as Jeremy approached.

For years, that fragrance had been the one she treasured most.

"Why are you here?" he asked, choosing to question her instead of explaining himself.

Her eyes settled on the man she had loved for the past seven years.

His sharp features, his deep eyes, and the cold line of his lips suddenly felt unfamiliar.

Only then did the cruel irony of the situation sink in.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Cheryl replied calmly, as though they were talking about something ordinary. "My husband is marrying someone else today. Don't I have every reason to come and offer my congratulations?"

A deep frown formed between Jeremy's brows, revealing the impatience he was trying to hide.

Without another word, he reached for her wrist and led her into a quiet corridor away from the crowd.

After making sure they were out of everyone's sight, he finally let go of her hand.

"Cheryl, don't turn this into something bigger than it already is," he said.

Jeremy took a cigarette from the case inside his suit pocket. Instead of lighting it, he rolled it between his fingers. "Danica doesn't have much time left. The doctors diagnosed her with terminal liver cancer. They said she has no more than half a month to live."

Not a single emotion crossed Cheryl's face. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"All she wants before she dies is to put on a wedding dress and become my bride." Jeremy looked straight at her with complete certainty. "This wedding isn't legally binding. It's only a performance to fulfill her final wish so she can leave without any regrets. Surely you can understand that."

A moment later, he spoke again in a gentler tone that sounded more patronizing than comforting. "Cheryl, it's nothing more than a ceremony. Do you really need to hold this against someone who's already dying?"

Cheryl shifted her attention toward the lawn beyond his shoulder, where the guests laughed and chatted as if nothing were unusual.

Nearby, her mother, Laura Pearson, held Danica's hand while gently wiping away her tears. Not far away, her father, Walter Pearson, watched Danica with unmistakable concern.

And her brother, Nicholas Pearson, stayed close to Danica and quietly offered words of comfort.

Every one of them shared Cheryl's blood, yet they had secretly joined forces with the adopted daughter to hold this absurd wedding with her own husband.

In the end, Cheryl was the only person left outside the truth.

The irony was almost laughable.

Although her eyes began to burn, she stubbornly held back her tears.

After taking a moment to steady herself, she swallowed the pain in her chest. Then she lifted her eyes to meet Jeremy's and spoke with forced composure.

"Jeremy," she whispered. "If this wedding is nothing more than a performance, then why did you keep it from me?"

A trace of impatience appeared on Jeremy's face as his lips tightened. "Would you really have accepted it if I'd been honest with you? I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to make unnecessary assumptions. Besides, Danica is far too fragile to handle any emotional setback. I couldn't let anything upset her."

So he had gone to great lengths to protect Danica from heartbreak, yet he saw nothing wrong with deceiving his own wife.

In Jeremy's mind, marrying his wife's adopted sister in a ceremony was acceptable, yet his own wife was not even worthy of hearing the truth. Instead, he saw her as someone who might lose control at any moment and ruin everything.

A cold smile touched Cheryl's lips. "Jeremy, if I hadn't shown up tonight, when were you planning to tell me?"

"After Danica was gone," Jeremy replied without the slightest pause.

"What about everything in between? What happens after this wedding?"

Without changing his expression, he answered, "I'll stay by her side as her husband until the very end. That's the role I promised to play. But don't worry. I know where the boundaries are, and I won't cross them."

For a long moment, Cheryl simply looked at the handsome man standing before her. Then a quiet laugh escaped her, filled with nothing but ridicule.

He was willing to play the role of another woman's husband.

So where did that leave her?

What place was left for the woman who was legally his wife?

"When she's gone, everything will return to normal. You'll still be Mrs. Barrett, and your place beside me won't change," Jeremy said.

His words only sounded more absurd to Cheryl.

Silently, she lifted her eyes to the handsome man standing before her.

For the past three years, she had sacrificed countless things because she wanted nothing more than to be a good wife to him.

Since his stomach was sensitive, she spent her time learning recipes that were gentle, nourishing, and suited to his health.

Because he struggled to sleep at night, she searched everywhere for aromatherapy blends that could help him rest peacefully.

She had always believed her sincerity would eventually reach him. Even if his heart was as cold as an iceberg, she thought her unwavering devotion could one day melt a small part of it.

Only then did Cheryl realize that every bit of his kindness and compassion had always belonged to someone else.

Just to fulfill another woman's dying wish, he had cast aside his wife's pride as though it meant nothing.

"Jeremy, you're more selfish than I ever imagined."

A deep sense of weariness washed over Cheryl.

The emptiness inside her was so overwhelming that even the simple act of breathing weighed heavily on her chest.

Instead of crying or losing control, she faced him with quiet composure. "I want a divorce."

Jeremy's fingers stopped moving the instant those words reached him. The cigarette remained motionless in his hand.

Jeremy fixed his eyes on the woman before him. She was the same woman who had loved him with everything she had.

There were no tears in Cheryl's eyes when she mentioned divorce. She didn't question him, and she showed no sign of anger.

That quiet acceptance unsettled him because it felt as though she had slipped beyond his reach.

Before long, that uneasiness gave way to burning anger.

"Cheryl, have you gone crazy?" His fingers crushed the cigarette until it bent out of shape before he threw it onto the floor. His voice dropped into a dangerous growl. "I've already explained that this wedding is only for show. Danica is dying. She may not even survive another month. And this is when you decide to use divorce as a threat?"

"A threat?" Cheryl gave a quiet laugh that held no amusement. "Jeremy, you've known me for seven years, and we've been married for three. Tell me, when have I ever used anything to force your hand?"

All this time, she had been the one who always chose to compromise.

Whenever his mother made things difficult for her, Cheryl never argued back. Whenever Jeremy came home late, she always kept a light on and waited for him.

Because he had once rescued her during the darkest chapter of her life, she had endured every disappointment and kept every wound to herself.

In return, what had all those sacrifices given her?

They only convinced Jeremy that she would stay with him forever. That confidence gave him the nerve to gather both families and their friends so he could hold a grand wedding for another woman without even telling her.

"I mean every word." Cheryl quietly stepped farther away from him.

As the distance between them grew, the familiar scent of fir slowly disappeared. The cool breeze brushed against her face, and her thoughts became clearer than ever.

"Weren't you the one who said this wedding isn't legally binding?" Cheryl met his eyes with a detached expression, as though she were looking at a stranger. "Once our divorce is finalized, you can marry her for real. She won't just have the ceremony. She'll become the true Mrs. Barrett. Isn't that exactly what you want?"

"Cheryl!" Jeremy snapped. A vein stood out at his temple. "If you think I've treated you unfairly, I'll make it up to you. You can have company shares, property, or anything else you want." His voice left no room for discussion. "As for a divorce, you can forget about it."

"Jeremy..." A frail voice echoed from the far end of the corridor.

Without anyone noticing when she arrived, Danica stood there.

Her fingers gathered the layers of her elaborate wedding gown while the color had completely drained from her face.

She steadied herself with one hand against the wall and looked at them with tearful, vulnerable eyes.

"Cheryl, please don't blame Jeremy." Danica's voice quivered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Everything happened because of me. I never wanted to take him away from you. I only... I only wished I could experience wearing a wedding dress before I die. I know I shouldn't ask for something like this, but I don't have much time left."

Before she could say anything else, a violent fit of coughing overtook her.

The moment Jeremy saw her condition, his expression changed completely. He hurried over in a few quick steps and immediately gathered her into his arms. "Danica, why did you come here? It's cold, and the wind is getting stronger. The doctor warned you not to expose yourself to weather like this."

The concern and tenderness filling his eyes were emotions Cheryl had never once been fortunate enough to receive throughout the seven years she had loved him.

Resting quietly against Jeremy's embrace, Danica lifted her eyes and looked at Cheryl.

Despite the tears welling up in Danica's eyes, Cheryl failed to find any remorse in them. All she saw was quiet triumph.

"You should go comfort Cheryl, Jeremy. I'll be alright. I can make my own way back," Danica said with forced generosity. Even so, her hand never loosened its grip on his sleeve.

Jeremy faced Cheryl coldly. "Don't make me see you as someone without compassion."

Every word struck Cheryl harder than any knife ever could.

Keeping Danica close in his arms, Jeremy rushed toward the lounge without looking back even once.

Meanwhile, the relatives and friends waiting near the red carpet quickly surrounded the pair, treating them like a couple worthy of everyone's sympathy.

From the crowd, Cheryl's own parents and her brother looked at her with obvious disapproval, as though she was responsible for spoiling Danica's happiest moment.

No one walked over to ask how Cheryl was feeling. Instead, they stayed by Danica's side and left with her.

No one remained in the corridor except Cheryl, who stood frozen as everything that had happened weighed heavily on her.

A stronger breeze swept through and tossed loose strands of hair across her face.

Just then, her phone buzzed inside her pocket.

The message came from Laura. "Cheryl, Danica has always been a pitiful child. She has no one in this world except us. Now that she's so seriously ill, please treat this as one final act of kindness toward her. Help her fulfill her last wish. Jeremy's heart still belongs to you."

An act of kindness?

Cheryl kept staring at the message, unable to believe what she had just read.

They expected her to act as though nothing had happened. They wanted her to quietly watch her own husband marry the woman everyone called her sister and remain by that woman's side until the very end. Somehow, they believed that counted as an act of kindness.

For more than twenty years, Danica had already lived as the Pearson family's beloved daughter in her place. Now they expected her to surrender her husband just as willingly.

The moment she refused, everyone would see her as the cruel and heartless one.

A quiet, mocking laugh escaped Cheryl as she opened another conversation.

Danica had sent her a few messages earlier that day with an unfamiliar number.

"Cheryl, Jeremy was supposed to be with me from the very beginning. You're the one who took him away. I'll make you see that both Jeremy and the Pearson family have only ever cared about me. To them, you mean nothing."

Right after that came a photograph. In the picture, Jeremy was crouched in front of Danica, carefully helping her put on a pair of custommade crystal heels.

Two more messages appeared beneath it. "Do you see it now, Cheryl? He's only willing to do something like that for me."

"Tonight, Jeremy and I are getting married at the Barrett family's private estate. Why don't you come and see it for yourself?"

One after another, Cheryl read every message on the screen before letting out a quiet laugh filled with bitterness and selfridicule.

Jeremy had always insisted that he treated Danica as nothing more than a friend.

Even so, the same man who had spent three years keeping Cheryl at a distance now gave Danica all the affection and tenderness Cheryl had longed for but never received.

He had even joined forces with both families and their friends to arrange this grand wedding without his wife knowing a single thing.

Although tears threatened to fall, Cheryl stubbornly held them back.

She had already accepted defeat. There was no point in shedding tears over someone who had already broken her heart.

Cheryl slipped her phone into her bag.

Then she turned around and walked away, leaving every feeling she had ever carried for Jeremy behind in that silent corridor.

Once, he had been the person who rescued her. Now, she was choosing to let him go.

From that day forward, Jeremy would never again have her love.

By the time Cheryl made it back to the villa she shared with Jeremy, night had already settled in.

An eerie silence filled the spacious house.

Without bothering to switch on the lights, she went straight to the bedroom. She opened a drawer and took out the divorce agreement.

She had prepared those papers the moment she discovered that Jeremy was holding a wedding ceremony at his family's estate that evening.

Back then, a small part of her still hoped everything was a misunderstanding.

Everything she had witnessed that night destroyed the last bit of hope she had left.

Gentle moonlight streamed through the window as Cheryl lowered the pen and carefully signed her name across the designated line.

As she packed her belongings, a box containing a new tie caught her attention inside the walkin closet.

She had designed the tie herself and visited three different workshops before finding the fabric she wanted. It had been prepared as Jeremy's twentyeighth birthday present.

Without the slightest hesitation, Cheryl took the box and threw it into the trash.

Every lie and every betrayal had stained the memories she once treasured until they became nothing but something she wanted to forget.

As soon as her phone turned back on, a new unread message appeared.

The message came from her former investment partner. "Cheryl, the medical project you asked me to monitor has finally made some progress. Have you really decided to come back?"

Her eyes remained fixed on the screen as the determination that had disappeared long ago slowly returned.

After she married Jeremy, his family made it clear that they didn't want her to build a public career. They expected her to devote herself entirely to him. Because of that, she concealed her identity in the business world, walked away from the company she had founded with her own hands, and chose to become a fulltime housewife.

She had abandoned everything she worked for because of him.

Now it was her turn to reclaim it all.

"Yes. I'll be at the office tomorrow at ten in the morning."

Once she finished replying to her partner, Cheryl blocked Jeremy on the chat app and erased his contact number from her phone.

After packing every belonging that was hers into a suitcase, she reached out to Jeremy's assistant.

With everything finally settled, Cheryl paused to take one final look at the house where she and Jeremy had lived together for the past three years.

Without looking back again, she gripped the handle of her suitcase, opened the front door, and walked away.

...

The following morning, Cheryl arrived outside the courthouse. A fitted business suit replaced her usual clothes, and her long hair was neatly tied into a bun. Her flawless makeup gave her a distant and composed elegance.

Right at nine o'clock, a black Maybach slowly came to a stop by the curb.

A moment later, the car door opened, and Jeremy got out.

His suit was as perfectly tailored as ever, but the bloodshot eyes on his face made it obvious that he had not slept the entire night.

As soon as Jeremy caught sight of Cheryl, surprise crossed his face, followed by a brief moment of admiration.

In his eyes, she had always been nothing more than a quiet and devoted housewife. Never once had he seen her carry herself with such confidence and professionalism.

He had never expected a business suit to suit her so well.

Then his expression quickly turned cold.

Without slowing his pace, Jeremy walked straight toward her. His voice carried restrained anger. "Cheryl, how much longer are you going to drag this out? I spent the entire night at the hospital with Danica. She had been on the verge of death twice. Do you have any idea how exhausted I am? Can't you stop making things more difficult?"

The night before, Jeremy's assistant informed him that Cheryl wanted him to meet her outside the courthouse at nine the next morning.

The moment he heard the message, he tried calling Cheryl, only to realize she had blocked him on the chat app and rejected every way he had to contact her.

That was the only reason he had shown up.

Jeremy remained convinced that Cheryl was only acting out in anger.

After all, she had loved him for years. Throughout their threeyear marriage, she had always followed his wishes, built her life around him, and never once gone against him. In his eyes, there was no way she truly intended to end their marriage.

To him, this was nothing more than an attempt to force his attention onto her and make him choose her instead of Danica.

"Mr. Barrett," Cheryl said coldly. Even the way she addressed him had become distant.

The words stopped Jeremy in his tracks, and he frowned. "What did you just call me?"

Instead of replying, Cheryl reached into her bag, took out the signed divorce agreement, and held it in front of him.

"These are the divorce papers. I'll leave this marriage with nothing, and I won't ask the Barrett family for a single cent." She met his gaze without hesitation. "If you don't have any objections, Mr. Barrett, then sign them."

For the first time, Jeremy's calm expression cracked as genuine disbelief appeared in his eyes because of Cheryl.

A faint smile of ridicule appeared on his face as he looked at Cheryl's slightly pale complexion. "Cheryl, do you honestly expect this little trick to fool me? Don't you think you're acting like a child?"

Over the years, he had become completely accustomed to her unquestioning obedience.

Cheryl had always adjusted herself to suit him, never once pushing back against what he wanted.

Even in their private moments, she always followed his wishes because pleasing him had always come first.

That was why he couldn't believe she genuinely intended to leave him.

In response, Cheryl remained silent as she met his gaze. The affection that once filled her eyes had disappeared, replaced by a distant chill.

Instead of trying to defend herself like she always had, she answered him with nothing more than a faint, cold smile.

"If you truly believe this is a trick, Mr. Barrett, then prove it." Cheryl raised an eyebrow slightly. "Sign the papers and expose my bluff. Or is it you who's unwilling to do it?"

Jeremy's expression instantly hardened, and the atmosphere around him grew noticeably colder.

He locked eyes with her before speaking in a slow, measured voice. "Cheryl, I hope you don't end up regretting this."

He took the divorce papers from her hand and pulled a pen from his suit pocket. Just as he was about to sign, his phone suddenly rang.

The pen stopped in midair as he answered the call.

A frown gradually settled on his face while he listened to the person on the other end.

Once the call ended, Jeremy faced Cheryl again with his usual air of arrogance.

"There's an urgent matter at the company that needs my attention." His voice returned to its familiar dismissive tone. "We'll discuss the divorce another time."

Without giving Cheryl a chance to respond, he turned around and walked back toward the Maybach.

Silently, Cheryl remained where she was as the Maybach gradually disappeared.

A familiar ache crept into her chest once again.

To Jeremy, she had never been his highest priority.

Not even their divorce could come before everything else in his life.

Still, she had already made up her mind to leave him, so waiting a little longer wouldn't change anything.

Cheryl flagged down a taxi and made her way to the place she had stayed away from for the past three years.