HOT NOVEL: Crown Up! From Discarded Wife To Unrivaled Empress by axon Frost

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Marriage changed everything: Sebastian, once flawless, turned distant and cold.

Coralie tried to close the gap with affection, until she realized another woman had been living in his heart the whole time. His devotion had never belonged to her alone.

Mocked by her mother-in-law and gutted by betrayal, she felt trapped in a frozen abyss.

She filed for divorce and poured herself into work, dropping the "housewife" mask to reveal a bright gem beneath the dust. Admirers bloomed fast.

Sebastian cracked. "Sweetie, I was wrong-come back."

Coralie shot back, "You cheated first. Why would I?"

Crown Up! From Discarded Wife To Unrivaled Empress Chapter 1 Birthday Night

On her birthday, Coralie Lloyd stepped out to buy herself a modest cake, but a sudden cloudburst trapped her halfway there, with no cab willing to stop. With nothing else to do, she ran back home through the rain.

By the time she made it back, it was nearly midnight, and she was drenched to the bone, water threading down her hair in steady streams.

The moment Coralie entered the living room, she found Vanessa Spencer waiting—mother of her husband Sebastian Spencer—staring at her like she was something unpleasant dragged in from the street.

Vanessa's eyes swept over Coralie's bedraggled state; she drew back in open contempt and barked, "Why can't you stay at home properly instead of wandering around in the middle of the night? If Sebastian's grandmother hadn't taken pity on you, do you really think someone like you would ever belong in the Spencer family? It's been a year and a half since the wedding and you still haven't had a child! Is this how you repay her generosity?"

Coralie had heard Vanessa's poison often enough that it no longer startled her. She reached for a towel on the sofa, started blotting the water from her hair, and answered evenly, "We've been married for eighteen months, and Sebastian hasn't been home in a long time. In that situation, how exactly am I supposed to get pregnant?"

Vanessa gave a harsh, icy snort. "Call Sebastian home right now. You're his wife—there's nothing wrong with doing what it takes to keep your husband happy."

Coralie had no interest in sparring with her, so she kept her attention on her phone, scrolling without looking up.

In the eighteen months since the marriage, she'd swallowed more than enough of Vanessa's contempt.

While Vanessa's complaints kept grinding on, Coralie's fingers stilled on the screen.

Lilliana Wells had just posted on social media. "Sudden downpour, but thank goodness someone always shows up when I need them most."

In the corner of the photo, a black Rolls-Royce appeared—one Coralie recognized at once as Sebastian's car, the only one of its kind in the country.

Lilliana's father had died in an accident while saving Sebastian, and ever since then, the Spencer family had treated Lilliana like something priceless.

She and Sebastian had grown up together, childhood friends bound by a relationship that never quite fit into an ordinary shape.

Air seemed to tighten in Coralie's chest, and she said to Vanessa, "If you want a grandchild so badly, tell Lilliana to give you one."

"What garbage are you talking about! If Sebastian's grandmother hadn't insisted he marry you, you wouldn't have had a chance in your life!" Furious, Vanessa snatched up a ceramic vase and flung it straight at Coralie.

Coralie wasn't prepared; she couldn't move fast enough. The vase struck her head and exploded across the floor.

Pain stung her eyes with tears, but thankfully the vase was small, and there were no cuts, no blood.

It would have been unbearable to be left disfigured on her own birthday.

Vanessa stared at her and said icily, "Instead of arguing with me, why don't you learn how to win your husband's heart back?"

With one last contemptuous snort, Vanessa turned away and left.

Only after the door slammed did Coralie seem to come back to herself.

She looked around the empty living room, and the loneliness pressed in harder than before.

Last year, on her birthday, Sebastian had thrown her an extravagant party, kissed her deeply in front of everyone, and looked at her as if she were the only thing he could see.

He'd loved her with a heat that didn't bother to hide itself—bright and fierce, like a flame that refused to be contained.

They said the eyes were the windows of the soul, and Coralie had been certain that, in that moment, she lived somewhere inside his heart.

She had fallen for him, grateful that even a marriage of convenience could still hold something real.

But the love that had arrived so quickly vanished just as fast, and in the end, it left only her standing there alone.

Her phone rang, and she saw an unfamiliar number. Without thinking, she rejected the call, but it rang again.

She answered, and the voice on the other end demanded at once, "Hello, are you Mr. Spencer's wife? We're calling from Harmony Hospital. Mr. Spencer was in a car accident and has been admitted…"

Lilliana's post flashed through Coralie's mind, and she cut the doctor off and said, "I'm sorry, I'm busy. Call his girlfriend."

If Lilliana enjoyed all the benefits of being at Sebastian's side, then she could carry the burden, too.

The doctor's tone sharpened. "No. Mr. Spencer is bleeding heavily and could be in immediate danger. We need a close family member to sign the surgical consent form."

The words struck Coralie like a bolt of lightning, and her heart tightened with sudden fear. She answered quickly, "I understand. I'm coming."

She hated him, but she had never wanted him dead.

Sebastian was infuriating, yes, but he didn't deserve to die.

...

Coralie didn't even stop to change. By the time she reached the hospital, her soaked clothes had half-dried on her, clinging in wrinkled, miserable patches that made her look worse than some of the patients.

She grabbed at a nurse and asked, voice urgent, "Excuse me, where is Sebastian Spencer—the one just brought in from a car accident..."

Before she could finish, Coralie's gaze slid past the nurse and into the corridor not far away. The rest of her words lodged in her throat, and she went rigid, stunned into silence.

Sebastian was seated on a hospital bench, while Lilliana crouched beside him, pressing his hand to her cheek.

Crown Up! From Discarded Wife To Unrivaled Empress Chapter 2 Who Was Truly The Wife

Sebastian offered no resistance, letting Lilliana hover at his side.

He carried himself like a man accustomed to admiration. Calling him merely good-looking fell short. His bone structure was precise and striking, and a quiet refinement shaped even his smallest gesture.

He wore a black shirt, the top buttons undone, a strip of gauze circling his lean forearm. Instead of appearing rumpled, he gave off a faint, unruly charm.

It was hardly surprising that Lilliana remained spellbound by him, even though he was already married.

Sebastian leaned forward and helped Lilliana to her feet. "Sit down for a bit. Don't stay crouched there. You've looked already. I'm alright."

"This is because of me. If you hadn't come to meet me today, you wouldn't have ended up in that crash." Lilliana spoke as she sat down on the bench, settling close and resting against him.

Coralie remained at a distance, unable to step closer. The cold prickling her skin was trivial compared to the icy weight pressing inside her chest.

She had told herself long ago that she no longer expected anything from Sebastian, yet watching him dote on another woman now felt like a dull blade dragging across her heart, slow and merciless.

Between her and Lilliana, who was truly the wife?

A physician walked up to Coralie with two documents in hand and said apologetically, "I'm very sorry. There's been an error. Your husband is unharmed. Another Mr. Spencer is the one requiring urgent treatment. Ten vehicles collided, and the emergency ward has been overwhelmed."

"It's fine," Coralie answered quickly, turning to go, only for her gaze to collide with Sebastian's. His expression was unreadable, stripped of any visible feeling.

Too much time had passed since their last encounter, and the air between them turned stiff without warning.

Coralie tightened her hold on the strap of her purse.

After a brief pause, Sebastian broke the silence with a faint laugh. "So you rushed over because you thought I was on my last breath. Are you let down to see me without a scratch?"

"Whether I showed up or not changes nothing," Coralie replied coolly, her eyes shifting toward Lilliana.

Lilliana met her look with a trace of discomfort. "Coralie, this happened because of me. If Seb hadn't picked me up for work, he wouldn't have been caught in the accident. Rain always makes the roads dangerous."

Though her tone carried a hint of apology, her eyes gleamed with quiet provocation, emboldened by the protection she felt at Sebastian's side.

Coralie pulled her gaze away without acknowledging her and moved toward the exit.

She understood now that such small manipulations had only wounded her before because she had loved Sebastian and refused to let go.

With divorce already decided in her mind, she had no desire to entertain these childish contests with Lilliana.

"Coralie!" Sebastian called after her without warning.

She did not pause at the sound of her name. Instead, she lengthened her stride toward the exit.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed as he watched her walk away, a cold glint settling in them. When had she begun to treat him as though he were nothing?

"Seb…" Lilliana clutched his sleeve.

Her voice came out so faint that he paid it no heed, straightening to his full height.

Lilliana's eyes flushed red at once, and she raised her voice slightly. "Seb!"

Only then did he glance back, brushing her hair lightly in a gesture meant to pacify a child. "I'll head out first. Go to work and behave."

After speaking, he did not wait for her reply. He strode toward the exit, leaving her rooted in place, staring after him with a trace of bitterness in her gaze.

Outside the emergency entrance, Sebastian spotted Coralie just as she reached her vehicle.

He let out a quiet breath and moved quickly to her side. "I'll ride back with you."

Coralie kept her feelings in check and answered icily, "Our routes aren't the same."

He replied as though stating the obvious, "My car's wrecked. You can drop me off."

It dawned on Coralie then that he had followed her solely because he required transportation.

Before she could speak, Sebastian continued, "To Moon Estate."

A humorless sound slipped from Coralie's lips. "Mr. Spencer, more than a year has passed, and you've finally decided to step back into that house."

In the next instant, as she lifted her gaze, the corner of her eye caught sight of Lilliana standing at the entrance, watching them from the steps.

Crown Up! From Discarded Wife To Unrivaled Empress Chapter 3 She Slapped Sebastian

Coralie pulled the driver-side door open, her face carved from ice as she forced the biting retort back down her throat.

She might no longer love Sebastian, but she refused to let Lilliana flaunt herself right under her nose.

She had braced herself for an unbearable silence once they were alone in the car, but thankfully, after settling into the passenger seat, he let his eyelids droop, wearing his exhaustion like a visible weight.

Coralie flicked her eyes toward him, her expression unreadable and still.

He had bent over backward soothing Lilliana, only to put on this act when facing her.

Coralie pushed her foot down harder on the accelerator, letting the car surge forward without restraint.

Sebastian's eyes snapped open, and he barked, "Coralie, do you even know what you're doing behind the wheel?"

Coralie let out a faint, humorless laugh. "Funny, coming from someone who just wrecked a car."

The flicker of irritation on his face loosened something inside her, and the anger she had been bottling all day finally slipped free, leaving her strangely lighter.

Once they arrived back at Moon Estate, Coralie walked straight into the master bedroom and shut the door firmly behind her.

She wanted nothing more to do with Sebastian.

...

Coralie changed into her sleepwear and slid beneath the blankets. As the tightness in her thoughts finally eased, a soft dizziness overtook her, and she sank into a blurred, restless sleep.

Not long after, a sharp chill tore through her dreaming haze.

Suspended between sleep and waking, she sensed arms wrapping around her from behind, their heat chasing away the cold.

In the early days of their marriage, Sebastian had held her this same way when illness burned through her.

Still lost in that fog, she forgot, just for a moment, how broken things had become, and instinctively edged closer to steal more warmth.

"Stay still." A whisper-soft kiss brushed her ear, followed by low, blurred words thick with restrained feeling.

Then she became aware of something firm pressing into her lower back, sending an unwelcome tension through her.

Coralie instinctively adjusted her position.

The breaths behind her deepened and turned uneven.

A hand slipped under her clothes, traveling up her side before closing around her breast in a slow, deliberate squeeze.

Coralie, familiar with such closeness, felt heat gather low in her body, and a quiet sound escaped her lips.

At that sound, whatever restraint Sebastian had left shattered, and his other hand moved lower, finding the slick heat waiting there.

It had been far too long since she had felt anything like this, and the sudden press of his fingers made her thighs draw together on instinct.

Her eyes flew open as clarity returned, and she shoved Sebastian off before scrambling toward the head of the bed to switch on the lamp.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded, her expression severe as the last trace of warmth turned to anger.

Sebastian pushed himself upright with one arm, the fabric of his loose pajama pants settling as he moved.

He gave a cold, mocking smirk. "This is my house. Can't I sleep in my own bed? Or who else are you expecting here?"

His words struck her like an insult, and before she could stop herself, her hand flew up and cracked sharply across his face.

He was the only man she had ever been intimate with, yet he spoke as if she were someone cheap.

The thought of him staying with Lilliana and then crawling into her bed now made disgust and rage churn violently inside her. She snapped, "You really think everyone is as filthy as you? People with rotten minds see filth everywhere!"

Sebastian could tell she had struck him without holding anything back. He sneered, "Coralie, if I mean nothing to you, then why did you ever agree to marry me?"

"Because before we got married, you treated me so gently that I foolishly believed it was love. If I had known you would run straight into another woman's arms the moment we were married, I would never have married you, no matter how much you begged! I've had enough of this miserable life!"

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