Unwound Free from the Perfect Trap

I was born a perfectionist. From maintaining a flawless GPA growing up, to holding myself to the highest standards, I made sure I was in peak condition every single day before stepping out the door. When it came to marriage, I chose Julian Vance, the man everyone hailed as the perfect husband. On our first wedding anniversary, Julian, a man who was never late, kept me waiting for two hours. When he finally walked in, I spotted a distinct, dark red smudge of barbecue sauce on his crisp white shirt. I knew right then. The woman he had never truly let go of was back. Before I could even utter a word, Julian ripped off his tie and snapped, "Avery, I know what you’re about to say. Can’t you just let me breathe for once?!" I slid off my wedding ring, placed it on the table, and gave him exactly what he wanted: complete and total freedom. Seeing my reaction, Julian grew even more irritated. "Avery, it was just dinner! Why do you have to be so damn wound up every single day?" "Look at you! From your head to your toes, every single strand of hair screams effort!" "You're polished, pristine, utterly flawless!" "And it exhausts me!" I hadn't said a word. A single glance from me was all it took to trigger his unprovoked tirade. I looked down at my bespoke designer suit. He had clearly forgotten. Today wasn’t just our anniversary; it was the day the contract with Apex Global was supposed to be finalized. I had reminded him days ago, but it had slipped his mind entirely. I stood up. "Julian, save your breath for the board of directors." "Since you find me so suffocating, consider yourself free. Go be with Chloe." My words caught him off guard. A flicker of rage crossed his face. "Avery! All this just because I was late?!" "Yes. Because you were late, the Apex Global representative pulled the plug on the deal." "Are you happy now?" Julian’s face drained of color. Only then did the gravity of today hit him. "I..." He stepped toward me, reaching out to pull me into a hug, but I took two steps back. "I'm exhausted. Do whatever you want." I left the ring resting on the table. After changing into comfortable clothes, I massaged the tension from my temples. My phone buzzed—it was my father. "Julian isn't coming home tonight? You two have only been married for a year. What the hell is going on?" "Dad, it was an arranged marriage. Did you really expect him to be deeply in love with me? I've put the Apex representative up at our hotel. Since the Vance family dropped the ball, we’re taking the deal for ourselves." My father caught on immediately, his tone softening. "Understood. I'll reach out to them right now. Get some rest." I hung up and lay in bed. Moments later, Julian walked into the bedroom. The mattress dipped under his weight, and his arms wrapped around my waist. "Babe, I'm sorry. Today was my fault." His hands began to wander restlessly over my body. I pushed him away. "Julian, I'm tired." I turned my back to him. His hands froze, and his voice hardened with annoyance. "Alright, that’s enough!" "Avery, I literally just grabbed a bite to eat! I'll head over to Apex first thing tomorrow morning. You don't need to give me the cold shoulder!" "You act like a wooden doll every damn day!" He threw his hands up and slammed the door as he stormed out. I looked at the confirmation screenshot of the signed contract on my phone and let out a soft laugh. Tomorrow? The ship had already sailed. I closed my eyes and drifted into a peaceful sleep. The next morning, Julian was humiliated when Apex flatly turned him away. Out of the blue, he invited me to lunch. It worked out well; I intended to have a serious talk with him anyway, so I accepted. As I reached the private dining room, a bright, bubbly voice drifted through the door: "Oh, come on, why do you only eat this fancy stuff? I want fried mac-and-cheese bites and a boba smoothie!" "Julian, try it! Stop being so uptight!" "I honestly don't know how people like you survive, walking on eggshells twenty-four-seven!" "Wait... since I’m here, is Avery going to be mad?" Julian scoffed. "Order whatever you want. Avery is like a piece of wood. Just looking at her drains my energy." "It's so much easier being around you." "Right? Told you so! Did she throw a fit because you didn't go home last night? Did she finally act like an actual human being?" So, she had kept him out on purpose. I pushed the door open. The chatter inside abruptly died. Aside from the two of them, a few of Julian’s close buddies were seated at the table. Seeing me, they greeted me awkwardly. "Hey, Avery!" "Have a seat, Avery, we were just waiting on you." I gave a polite nod and sat down next to Julian. To his left sat Chloe. When Chloe saw me, a smug, knowing look flickered across her face. She exchanged a glance with Julian and giggled behind her hand. "Is something funny?" I asked coolly.Chloe’s eyes welled with tears instantly. "Avery, I’m so sorry! I just thought... it’s just a casual lunch, but you’re in full glam and dressed in haute couture. You just look so out of place with the rest of us." "I get it, though. You come from old money, you were raised this way." "It’s my fault for saying anything." Julian immediately stepped in to protect her, glaring at me. "Avery, you overdo everything. Can’t you just relax for once when we’re eating together?" I let out a dry laugh. "I just came straight from the airport after seeing off the executive from Apex Global." "Enlighten me, Julian. How was I supposed to dress when meeting a corporate client?" Julian’s expression froze as the realization hit him, his face falling completely. His friends scrambled to smooth things over. "Hey, she dresses up to look stunning! Nothing wrong with that!" "Exactly, it's nice to look at! Julian, don't take it for granted!" "Right? My mom has worn makeup around the house for decades, I've literally never seen her bare face!" Chloe let out a theatrical snort. "Doesn't that feel like living behind a mask? It sounds so exhausting!" "Unlike me. When I'm slammed with work, I don't even have time to do my hair. I just throw on an oversized tee, denim shorts, and walk out the door!" Her blatant attempt at "pick-me" comparison was utterly pathetic. I glanced at her meticulously blended "no-makeup" makeup look and offered a cold, silent smirk. Julian cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Alright, let's get the food served!" "I ordered the steamed grouper specifically for you, Avery. Try it." "And the seafood platter." I nodded and picked up my fork to taste a bite. The flavor was decent. Julian had the staff crack open the king crab, and a server stood beside me, carefully shelling the meat for my plate. Chloe arched a brow. "You guys eat way too delicately. Seafood is meant to be eaten with your bare hands! That's the only way it actually tastes good!" "Just like last night—we had crawfish together, and the spicy sauce was everywhere!" She suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth, glancing at me with exaggerated guilt. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry! I got totally carried away eating last night and completely forgot it was your anniversary." "I told Julian today was on me because I didn't want you overthinking things." "Avery, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted Julian to decompress." I put down my fork, smiled warmly at her, and replied, "Of course. Actually, I should thank you. Because of your little dinner date, the Vance family lost an eight-figure contract. A contract that my family happily scooped up." Julian turned paper-white, fury flashing in his eyes. Chloe looked utterly embarrassed and gasped, "Tens of millions?! But you two are married! Why are you still talking about your family versus his?!" "Even in marriage, my money is my money, and his money is his. We signed an ironclad prenup." "I don't expect you to understand. After all, you're just the housekeeper's daughter. It’s natural you wouldn't know that old-money families always protect their assets." "When it comes to gold-diggers trying to climb the social ladder through our families, we never show mercy." "Isn't that right, Julian?" Julian's face turned dark. "Enough! Have you said quite enough?!" "Fine! I didn't want to spend our anniversary with you, so I blew it off on purpose!" "You act so high and mighty, but you just got lucky being born into the right family! Cut the passive-aggressive bullshit!" I nodded calmly. "You're right. Being born well is a stroke of luck, and she clearly didn't have it." Chloe broke into full-blown tears. "Avery..." "Don't call me Avery like we're close. I'm an only child, and I don't have sisters." Chloe's face shifted through every shade of red and white before she finally hissed, "Ms. Sterling, you don't need to look down on me from your ivory tower!" "Julian isn't happy with you at all! You didn't know, did you? On your wedding night, he called me and we talked on the phone until sunrise!"So that was it. I looked at Julian. He had claimed he was too drunk and slept in the guest room, leaving me alone on our wedding night—all while having a heart-to-heart with Chloe! I smiled. "And yet, I'm the one wearing the ring as Mrs. Vance." "If you're so capable, convince Julian to divorce me." "Avery!" Julian roared, glaring daggers at me. Everyone else at the table sat in stunned silence, utterly frozen. Julian grabbed Chloe's hand. "We're leaving. You don't owe her an apology!" Chloe let him drag her away, throwing a smug, provocative glare over her shoulder at me as she passed. The rest of the guys stood up, mumbling excuses to leave. One of his buddies couldn't resist looking back. "Avery, couldn't you just swallow your pride for once?" "Julian's a man. He always says he feels suffocated around you!" I looked up at him coldly. "You sure have a lot to say, Tanner. Maybe handle your own family's secret love-child drama before lecturing me." Tanner’s face instantly twisted in anger, and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him! Only the server and I remained in the room. Seeing how awkward he felt, I said calmly, "Please finish shelling these prawns for me." If they didn't want to eat, I wasn't going to let good food go to waste. Once I finished my lunch, I headed straight to my parents' estate. They were surprised to see me at this hour. "Mom, Dad, I'm getting a divorce." "Over the Apex Global deal? Surely it doesn't warrant that," my father said, taken aback. "It does. I handled the Apex deal from start to finish. Julian botched it, expected our family to clean up his mess, and then his family had the nerve to expect us to hand the profits over to them. On what grounds?" I passed my phone to my father. On the way over, my mother-in-law had texted me, claiming I had mishandled the Apex deal. She demanded I come to the family estate tonight to explain myself and apologize to Julian's father. Reading the messages, my father's temper flared. "Richard Vance has crossed the line!" I added, "Chloe, their former housekeeper's daughter, is back. They spent last night together. They never broke things off this past year. Dad, the Vance family scammed us into this marriage!" Back then, Julian's parents had painted a pretty picture, claiming our families were an equal match and a merger would yield mutual benefits to secure the massive Westgate project. Once the contracts were signed, things had gone smoothly. But back then, our family had already done the heavy lifting; we were simply short on immediate capital, which was why we agreed to the alliance. Who would have thought that once the profits were locked down, they would turn on us? In that case, I wanted nothing more to do with them. My parents weighed it for a moment and ultimately agreed. However, my mother cautioned me, "Marriage is a major decision. Think it through carefully. There's no guarantee the next man won't be the same." I took a deep breath. Julian was the one in the wrong, not me. What I needed to focus on was protecting my assets. I hired an attorney to begin dividing our estates. With two corporate dynasties entwined, separating our interests would take time. Arranged marriages were always like this. But I never anticipated he would disrespect me so blatantly as to bring Chloe into our penthouse. When I returned home, I opened the door to find a pair of dirty, scuffed sneakers kicked carelessly across the entryway. Chloe was lounging on the sofa, one bare foot resting across Julian's lap as they played video games. A lollipop was tucked in her cheek. "Julian, hurry up and revive me! You're so bad at this!" Julian chuckled and playfully smacked her foot. Crushed snack bags and soda cans littered the floor and coffee table. Looking at the scene, I shook my head. If Julian wanted to degrade himself, that was his business. But I was going to live with dignity. I walked in, my heels clicking sharply against the marble. Julian shot up the moment he saw me. "Y-You? Why are you here?!" I let out a cold chuckle. "What, am I interrupting something?" "No! Didn't my mom tell you to go to the main estate?" "She's your mother. Go explain yourself to her." I signaled the security detail behind me, directing them upstairs to pack my belongings. Julian froze. "Avery, what the hell are you doing?" "Chloe just got back and doesn't have a place to crash yet. I let her stay here for two days. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?!" I locked eyes with him. "Julian, I'm clearing out to make room for you two. That way, you can be together out in the open." "What are you talking about?" "Julian, we're getting a divorce. I'm done with you."