He made Me the Scapegoat, so I Left Him and Married My Childhood Friend

On the eve of my wedding, rumors suddenly spread that I was a star of misfortune, a harbinger of death for relatives, my husbands and children. Thomas Stafford summoned a great master to cast a divination for me. Three consecutive readings all foretold great calamity.

That very night, my parents were in a car accident that left them both with leg disabilities. Reporters swarmed me, livestreaming the scene of my “cursed” parents becoming disabled.

As I broke down before the live cameras, Thomas shielded me from all the reporters’ fire. “My parents inlaws’ car accident was just an accident. She isn't a jinx. If you have any problems, come to me!”

The next day, Thomas was struck by a falling object and rushed to the ICU. I was three months pregnant when my pregnancy suddenly ended in miscarriage.

The Stafford Family pressured Thomas to break up with me. He severed all ties with them and married me in a globally sensational celebration.

On the third anniversary of our wedding, during the MidAutumn Festival, Thomas sent me a message.

[Ursula, I finally convinced Dad and Mom to accept you. They have agreed to allow you to return to the main house to celebrate Thanksgiving together this fall.”

Filled with joy, I arrived at the ancestral home only to see Thomas sitting in the courtyard drinking tea with a boy around five years old and a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to me.

“Silly Ursula, if I’m not with that artificial disaster star like her could Dad and Mom possibly accept you and our son?”

In the instant I plummeted from heaven to hell, I finally realized that all my suffering was proof that Thomas loved another woman. He deceived me for three years for someone’s sake. And someone had waited for me for three years as well.

I dialed Thomas’s archnemesis’s number as I walked towards them and asked, “When can you come pick me up?”

Faster than the reply on the other end came Thomas’s panicked demand, “Ursula, why are you at the old mansion?”

I clenched my palms, rooted to the spot, refusing to answer Thomas. My gaze remained fixed on the woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to me.

Thomas, feeling guilty, seized my icy hand, blocking my view. “Ursula, when did you arrive?”

Pulling my fingers from his grasp, I offered a lie of my own. “Just arrived.”

I refused to listen to his lies anymore. Thomas exhaled in relief, noticing my gaze fixed on the other ‘me’ and their son.

With his usual soothing tone, he began to placate me, “My Mom and Dad are getting old and I’m their only son. The Stafford Family’s vast mansion can’t go uninherited. Valeria Collioure and I are merely maintaining the family line through a physical relationship.”

He continued his barrage of lies to placate me, his body leaning more toward Valeria as he shielded me from her.

“Ursula, don’t overthink it. You’ve always been the one I love.”

After a few rough words of coaxing, Thomas forcefully pulled my hand and led me out. “Ursula, I’m sorry, Mom and Dad aren’t quite ready to accept you yet. I’ll take you back first.”

Thomas still used the same old excuses to deceive me, his eyes darting away nervously. I offered no resistance, letting him lead me away.

Thomas’s sworn rival had returned from abroad to pick me up. It was time for me to head back and pack my things.

Just as I was about to get into the car, Valeria’s clear voice called out from behind, “Thomas, who is she? It’s getting chilly now that autumn’s here. Why not invite her in for a moment?”

Thomas gripped my hand tightly, his tension palpable. Valeria had already caught up. She flashed a sweet smile and shot him a reassuring glance.

She then suddenly took my hand. “Miss Brescia! Thomas has spoken of you often. It’s wonderful to finally meet you today.”

She introduced me warmly, “Miss Brescia, I’m three years older than you. Five years ago, Thomas and I had William. You can call me Valeria.”

My hand jerked back as if electrocuted. We were only married for three years, yet that child was five. So, the three years we were in love were all a deception Thomas had crafted for me.

Suddenly, I realized with horror that it wasn’t Valeria who resembled me, who looked like me, but I looked like her. Noticing my distress, Thomas instantly released my hand. He shielded Valeria and William behind his broad back.

He coaxed me with gentle words, “Ursula, trust that I love you. I’ll explain everything about Valeria and William when we get home.”

I shot Thomas a sarcastic look at his protective stance toward Valeria and her son, tears welling up uncontrollably in my eyes.

Seeing my tears, Thomas instinctively raised his hand to swear, his gaze fixed on me. “Trust me, I’m not lying.”

A bitter smile forced itself onto my lips. “I know.”

Thomas truly hadn’t lied. He loved her, not me.

Lost in thought for a moment, Valeria spoke with unabashed composure. Her eyes were flashing with a light that made me uncomfortable.

“Miss Brescia, rest assured. Though Thomas and I had William five years ago, I would never disrupt your relationship with him. For three years of marriage, thank you for taking such good care of Thomas.”

As she spoke, she gently ruffled the fiveyearold boy’s hair. “William, say hello.”

William blinked his bright eyes, curiously studying me before calling out in a clear voice, “Hello, Mistress.”

Valeria playfully shoved William away, apologetically explaining to me while struggling to suppress the smile at the corner of her mouth. “Miss Brescia, children speak without thinking. Don’t take it to heart.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, my limbs instantly turning icecold. Tears welled up in my eyes and a sour sting hit my nose. Thomas tenderly wiped the uncontrollable tears from my eyes, then sent William flying with a single slap.

William’s hands, hidden in his sleeves, trembled slightly. Thomas then asked, “William Stafford, who taught you to speak like that?”

Valeria let out an incredulous scream and rushed over to embrace the knockedback William. I stared in shock at Thomas, trembling with rage.

He only flew into such a fury when others humiliated me. But William was his cherished son!

The image of Thomas protecting me in the past was still vivid in my mind, yet the conversation I had overheard outside the door moments ago had been so jarring. Just as I was beginning to question whether everything I’d experienced was real or a dream, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my arm.

Looking down, I saw William clamp his teeth down on my right forearm. When Thomas pulled us apart, a deep gash, flesh and bone exposed, remained on my arm.

Thomas was utterly enraged. Valeria took another slap from him in his place. William’s cries grew louder.

His curses became more intense. “Daddy, you lied! You promised that once Grandpa and Grandma accept Mommy, then move in with Mommy to your big house! You don’t love me or Mommy anymore because of that other woman!”

Thomas maintained his furious expression. His body instinctively lunged forward before reason pulled him back. As he coldly ignored William’s sobs, his fists clenched and trembled violently.

When his parents came out upon hearing the crying, Valeria was sitting on the floor, holding William in a pitiful embrace.

Thomas immediately shielded me behind him. “This has nothing to do with Ursula. Take it out on me if you have a problem.”

Thomas’s parents, Zachary and Yona, shoved their son aside. Raising their hands, they cursed and lunged at me, “You are a bringer of disaster! You cursed your parents into highlevel paralysis! You cursed our Stafford Family’s grandson in the womb to death!”

“You nearly cursed Thomas to death, forcing him to sever ties with us for your sake! Must you curse our family into ruin before you’re satisfied, right?”

Just as their palm was about to strike my face, Thomas violently shoved me out of the way. A sharp slap echoed against his cheek.

His parents wept bitterly in regret. “Five years ago, we were wrong to stop you from marrying Valeria. As long as you divorce this jinx Ursula immediately, we won’t stand in your way of marrying Valeria.”

I saw Valeria’s smug smile curl at the corners of her mouth. So, every time Thomas’ past acts of protecting me were just to provoke his parents into accepting Valeria.

I couldn’t recall how Thomas and I returned home, his parents’ curses still ringing in my ears. Only when the stinging pain from the bloodstain on my wrist snapped me back to reality did I finally come to my senses

After disinfecting and bandaging my wound, Thomas held me close and comforted me like he always had when I was humiliated before.

He whispered to me, “Ursula, I’m sorry. I admit I lied to you. Before marrying you, Valeria and I had a relationship.”

I closed my eyes in despair, resigned to the fact that Thomas had used me and was finally laying all his cards on the table. The plane that was coming to pick me up should be arriving in the country soon.

As soon as this thought left my mind, Thomas pulled me into his embrace, brimming with the scent of Valeria’s favorite gardenia perfume.

“Ursula, Valeria and I have no feelings left for each other. If I didn’t love you and you were truly the ‘Celestial Star of Misfortune’ bringing me such bad luck, I would have abandoned you long ago.”

He listed all the ways he’d deceived me in the past, attempting to continue his deception. Swallowing the bitterness in my heart again and again, I forced a selfmocking smile from the corners of my mouth.

The pungent scent of gardenia perfume stung my eyes, making tears stream down my face. I didn’t understand what Thomas was thinking and I didn’t want to understand anymore.

Just as I tried to break free from his embrace, Thomas’s phone buzzed with a message. After glancing at the notification, he gently pushed me away from his embrace and placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Something urgent came up at the company. I can’t spend the Thanksgiving Festival with you tonight.”

Without giving me a chance to stop him, he slipped on his coat and hurried out. Not long after Thomas left, a friend request from an unknown contact popped up on my phone.

[Hi, I am Valeria.]

As soon as I clicked on the friend request, the message notification jingled on for a full thirty seconds before finally stopping. Seeing the 99+ notification, I felt an inexplicable wave of trepidation wash over me.

The notification sound chimed again. It was a message from Thomas’s archrival, Adolph MacBricc.

[Ursula, wait for me. Thomas heard I was returning to this country and is deliberately trying to make trouble for me. I will definitely pick you up on time tomorrow.]

I clicked on it and the screen automatically switched to my chat with Valeria. She sent me some messages that were a blatant provocation.

[Miss Brescia, you saw today that Thomas loves me! He may lie to deceive you, but his actions protecting me and our son speak for themselves.]

[Let me tell you the truth, if the two elders of the Stafford Family hadn’t disliked me, Thomas wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to find someone who looks just like me and it’s you. And then spread those rumors about you being a star of solitary misfortune. Only then did the elders finally accept me and tear you two apart.]

[If you had more sense, you would have left on your own initiative.]

Before I could reply, she sent over a dozen more photos. My hands trembled as I opened the first one. It was a picture of Thomas and Valeria having dinner together at their home.

After severing ties with the Stafford Family, he doubled his workload to provide me a better life, transforming into the feared “Mr. Stafford” everyone dreads.

His schedule was relentless. Though we planned dinners together, he had always returned late at night. On our wedding anniversary, we planned to see a movie, but he kept postponing it.

Even on my birthday, he lied about working overtime, promising to make the following one special. That night, he was actually accompanying Valeria to their favorite Japanese restaurant.

Then every time he claimed to be busy, he was with Valeria. His lies to me felt like boomerangs, stabbing me repeatedly.

As I flipped through the photos, Valeria sent another video. It was a warm scene she’d just recorded of Thomas spending the holiday with her and William at another home.

Numb, I reached to turn off the screen, but at the end of the video, amid William’s whining, I heard Thomas coaxing Valeria with the same tone he’d once used to deceive me.

“If I don’t protect Ursula, how will your grievances stand out? The more I protect Ursula, the more my parents dislike her and think you’re obedient and sensible.”

His voice was gentle, yet it plunged me into an icy abyss. Valeria’s suggestive voice came through the video, “Don’t go back tonight. Stay with me and our son.”

The video abruptly ended and a text message alert sounded.

[Ursula, unexpected work at the office. So, I won’t be home tonight.]

Reading this expected notification, I thought I could calmly accept his latest deception. But my heart still gave an uncontrollable, violent jolt.

A video call alert sounded. I instinctively tapped to answer. Thomas appeared on my screen, seated at his office desk.

“My dear wife, I’m working overtime at the company. I’m checking in with my wife via video.”

Numbly, I stared at Thomas. Behind the camera, Valeria’s silhouette in a nightgown flickered faintly.

Seeing my lack of reaction, he coaxed me with a mix of guilt and deep affection, “Ursula, you’ve been wronged today. I should have been home with you. The company is too busy. I really couldn’t leave! I work hard just to build a bright future for us.”

His gaze was so intense it seemed to melt me through the screen. A chill ran through me. My heart ached, yet I couldn’t help but feel amused.

Every time Thomas deceived me, he’d coax me like this. I’d believed he truly loved me, but it was merely a ploy to prepare me for his subsequent, more profound betrayal. Wiping away my tears, I watched his clumsy performance with numb indifference.

Over the next few days, Thomas continued using his busy work schedule as an excuse to avoid coming home, while Valeria’s messages grew increasingly frequent. From the initial heartwrenching discovery of the truth, I finally felt a complete, icy detachment wash over me.

The text alert sounded again:

[Ursula, I’ve arrived in Frankfort City.]

As autumn brought the chill, I wrapped myself in my usual trench coat and walked straight out the door without a single piece of luggage.

As soon as I left the house, excruciating pain shot through the back of my neck. My vision darkened and I lost consciousness altogether.

I didn’t know how long had passed before I regained awareness amid the stabbing pain in my neck and Valeria’s sobs. I strained to open my eyes, but my eyelids refused to budge.

Before I could grasp my situation, amid Valeria’s wails, I heard Thomas’s frantic cry, “Release Valeria! I’ll agree to any terms you demand!”

The stabbing pain in my neck intensified and warm liquid trickled down my throat. A hoarse, mocking voice came from behind, “Saving some random woman instead of your own wife? When did you become a philanthropist, Mr. Stafford?”

Amid the relentless, searing pain in my neck, I forced my eyelids open just in time to see Thomas shredding our marriage certificate into pieces. Panicked, he kicked his phone toward me.

“Ursula and I have a fake marriage certificate. Valeria is my legal wife.”

My pupils contracted in disbelief as I stared at the phone screen. Under the column for Thomas’ legal wife, the name ‘Valeria’ was clearly displayed.

“The milliondollar ransom can only save one person. Have you decided who to save, Mr. Stafford?”

The wind howled in my ears. Thomas’s frantic voice thundered like a clap of lightning, “Please, release Valeria. You can do whatever you want with Ursula.”

My gaze went unfocused as I stared across the room, a constant buzzing ringing in my ears. Forcing myself to snap back to reality, I saw Thomas carrying Valeria, his figure still visible not far away.

The cold flash of a dagger flashed before my eyes, the stranger’s hideous face and the fear of near death growing ever more pronounced.

My mind went blank, stripped of thought and reaction. Pure instinct drove me to scream for help at Thomas’ retreating figure, “Thomass, save me! Please! I don’t want to die.”

The only response was Thomas’ figure, clutching Valeria, accelerating until he vanished from my sight. The icy, gleaming dagger thrust toward me seemed to slow down infinitely. Lying cold on the ground, I felt no fear of death, only numbness from heartache so profound it bordered on numbness.

Just then, my smartphone screen lit up with a provocative text message from Valeria: "Enjoy your last breaths."

“Miss Brescia, goodbye.”

The next second, the knife in the man's hand stabbed straight towards my heart!