“I’m not agreeing to a divorce!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethan refused instantly, without a second thought. Frowning, he glanced down at Chloe, who was cowering in his arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As if suddenly remembering something, he slowly let her go, but stayed positioned in front of her\u2014shielding her as though he was terrified I might hurt her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his hand, he held a knife, its cold metal tip pointed directly at my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Sarah, I give you my word,” he said, his voice brimming with conviction. “Chloe will never threaten your position in this house.” He paused, his expression hardening. “But you have to promise me that you won’t bring any trouble to her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The “trouble” Ethan was talking about was the raw, red handprint still visible on Chloe\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If he had come home a few minutes later, I probably would have grabbed her by the hair, smashed her head against the coffee table, and shredded her face with a shard from the broken glass on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sounded psychotic. Malicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Except I had never been that person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had always been the controlled one, the calm one who rarely raised her voice. That day was the first time in my life I had ever raised a hand against anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I turned my head toward the bedroom door. Lily and Leo were peeking through the crack, terrified. On their skin were visible purple bruises\u2014scratches left by Chloe herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I couldn’t endure it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps Ethan was terrified of me, too. The girl he had treasured for over a year was now clutching her swollen face, weeping as she accused me of monstrous things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man who once swore he would never betray me was now consumed by rage. Ignoring our sobbing children just steps away, he had grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen counter and pressed it toward my throat just to make me “calm down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I still remembered years ago, when he used that exact same knife to face his parents, swearing I was the only woman he would ever marry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of that fiery devotion, we married, had children, and built what looked like a perfect life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet here we were. The man was still standing, but his heart had turned to stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Sarah, ten years of marriage… our lives are too deeply intertwined,” Ethan said, his eyes unwavering. “Even if we die, we die together. Do you understand?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn’t even bother to acknowledge the bitter, resentful glare Chloe was shooting him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe wanted a legal title. If she weren’t so ambitious, their year-long affair wouldn’t have been uncovered by me so easily. But she had deliberately sought me out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was the young girl my husband and I had sponsored through school for years. Today, she walked up to my front door, holding a stack of intimate photos with Ethan, and knocked with total confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Sarah, I\u2019m truly grateful to you and Ethan for funding my education,”<\/em> she had said, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. “BUT DEBTS ARE DEBTS, AND LOVE IS LOVE. That doesn’t mean I have to hand him back to you. You two have been together for ages\u2014you’re old now, Sarah. You’ve lost your spark. I just turned twenty. I’m young, I’m beautiful. What do you have to compete with me?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n “I doubt he even touches you once a month anymore, right?”<\/em> she sneered. “Did you know? Ethan and I need each other every single night. He told me I’m the only one who makes him feel alive. Tell me, Sarah… does he still feel anything for you?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every single word shredded my heart to pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the day I completely broke. I didn’t want to relive it ever again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked straight into Ethan’s eyes and repeated my words: “Ethan… let’s just let each other go. Please?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside the window, the cicadas kept up their relentless, droning hum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suddenly remembered the summer I turned sixteen. The same oppressive heat, the same buzzing cicadas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the day Ethan, a transfer student, stepped into my life for the very first time. Under the bright sunlight, a soft breeze ruffled his crisp, spotless white shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a single fleeting moment, my heart skipped a beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the class president, it was my duty to help the new student get settled. That gave us an excuse to get close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, all I knew was his name, Ethan Vance, and that he came from a wealthy family in the capital. He seemed to have a privileged background\u2014perhaps banished to our small town because he was too rebellious or had gotten into trouble. But I didn’t care. I only cared about doing my job and helping him fit in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, of course, I had my own selfish motives: he was undeniably handsome. I wasn’t some deeply complex person; when it came to beautiful things, I naturally gave them extra attention. Or perhaps… it was fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We were desk mates for three years of high school. What started as a distant acquaintanceship slowly morphed into a deep, unbreakable friendship with no secrets between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, when our eyes met by accident, I could feel my heart racing. Seeing his ears turn bright red, a quiet warmth would bloom inside my chest. We both knew how we felt, but neither of us said it aloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the college entrance exams, he showed up holding a bouquet of lilies\u2014my favorite flowers\u2014and asked if I was brave enough to stay his classmate for another four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had never been a coward. Four more years together? Why wouldn’t I dare?<\/p>\n\n\n\n So that summer, we filled out the exact same university application and headed off to a foreign city together to start a new chapter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, I truly believed I had found real love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, Ethan still refused to sign the divorce papers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We met at sixteen, fell in love at nineteen, married at twenty-five, had our first child at twenty-six, and had our second at twenty-nine. Now, at thirty-six, our lives\u2014both emotional and financial\u2014were inextricably tied together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was why he refused to let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wife and kids at home, a soft, young mistress on the side\u2014Ethan wanted to keep things exactly as they were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, if we divorced, the company shares he had lovingly transferred to my name years ago would cost him a massive fortune to buy back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Vance family was hardly a unified front; his father had plenty of ambitious illegitimate children, and Ethan was far from the sole heir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for me? Walk away empty-handed with my children and leave everything behind? Not a chance. Everything that belonged to me, I was going to take back down to the last penny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we remained at a standstill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like now, when Ethan told me to “calm down” before ushering Chloe out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe had several cuts on her arm. One was so deep you could almost see the bone\u2014inflicted by the glass shard I had held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan let out a long sigh, dropping a cold final line: “Sarah, stay home and rest. We’ll talk about this later.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, he dragged her away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite her injuries, Chloe turned around right before leaving and flashed me a smug, triumphant smirk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consuming rage surged through me. I grabbed a heavy crystal ashtray off the table and hurled it straight at her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ah!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A sharp scream echoed. The ashtray struck Chloe squarely on the forehead. Ethan scooped her up and rushed out, but the door hadn’t completely shut behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could hear her pathetic whimpering, and I heard Ethan clearly calling me a complete lunatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How tragic. How miserable. How infuriating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once they were gone, Lily and Leo crept out from the bedroom. Hand in hand, the two children cautiously approached me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knelt down, and they threw their little arms around my neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Don’t cry, Mommy. Leo and I will always stay with you,” ten-year-old Lily said. She was mature beyond her years. Even with the dark bruise on her cheek, she patiently patted my back to soothe me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leo reached out his tiny hand to wipe the tears from my face. “I’ll protect you and Sis forever! I’ll stay by your side my whole life!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n His tiny palm had a deep cut from the broken glass, but he didn’t cry. He just quietly stood by his sister, comforting me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That mean lady was terrible!” Lily sobbed against my neck, kissing my cheek. “She stole Daddy’s key and came into our home just to show off!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the weekend, but I had been called away for an urgent work matter, so I had left the kids with our nanny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hadn’t expected Chloe to take advantage of my absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the nanny was washing fruit in the kitchen and the kids were playing on the backyard swing set, Chloe had snuck in, trying to force Lily to call her “Mommy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lily had always been sharp. She vaguely understood the messy reality between Chloe and me, so she bluntly told her to get out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furious, Chloe glared at her and snapped: “Your daddy doesn’t love your mommy anymore! If you don’t start pleasing me now, once I marry into this house, I’ll make your dad send you away to the middle of nowhere so you can suffer everything I had to go through!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe came from a impoverished mountain village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The year Ethan and I got married, following a Vance family tradition, we sponsored a group of underprivileged children so they could go to school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back then, Chloe was only nine years old\u2014skinny as a rail, but with striking, intense eyes. She had tugged on my sleeve, begging: “Please help me go to school, ma’am. I promise I’ll repay you one day.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I never imagined that her idea of “repaying” me was sleeping with my husband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At nineteen, full of youth and vitality, claiming she wanted to express her gratitude, she constantly popped up in front of Ethan\u2014persistent, fresh, and alluring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, someone allegedly spiked her drink at an event. Ethan happened to pass by. The drug was potent; she acted weak and helpless, clinging to him while crying… and he couldn’t find it in himself to push her away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came the clothes scattered at the foot of the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And just like that, Ethan personally destroyed eleven years of our sacred marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Chloe didn’t stop there. She showed up at my house and said those vile things to my young daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lily had lost her temper and shouted at her to leave. Infuriated, Chloe reached out and pinched my daughter’s cheek with all her strength. A child’s skin is delicate\u2014it bruised instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing his sister being bullied, seven-year-old Leo rushed forward. How could a seven-year-old boy overpower a twenty-year-old woman?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was shoved hard against a side table. A glass tumbler fell and shattered. Leo fell right onto the sharp shards, slicing his little hand open, blood pooling on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the exact moment I returned home to retrieve a forgotten file\u2014and witnessed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What mother could watch her children being abused and stay calm?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enraged, I lunged forward, kicked off my high heels, grabbed Chloe by her hair, and slammed her head against the wall. Again and again, satisfying a primal need for vengeance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I could make her feel the agony of glass slicing into skin… Ethan walked through the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing me acting like a madwoman, seeing his precious little girl being beaten, he didn’t care about his own children screaming in terror. He lunged for the kitchen knife and aimed it straight at me…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing would ever be the same again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Vance didn’t immediately agree to my proposal, but she didn’t reject it outright either. When she left, her face was heavy with thought, as if weighing her options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was in no rush. Whether she chose to remain trapped in a marriage rotted to its core, or sever the decayed flesh to embrace a new future\u2014that was her decision to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just hadn’t expected her to make her choice so soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It had been a full week since I brought up the divorce to Ethan, and he hadn’t returned home even once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Occasionally, Lily and Leo would mention their father, but not often. Everything that day had been too chaotic. They had cried and called out for “Daddy,” only to watch him walk away, holding another woman in his arms. Young as they were, that emotional scar ran deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I met Ethan again under circumstances no one would ever want: at the old Vance family estate, where his parents had drawn knives on each other\u2014and spilled blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moment I heard the news, Ethan and I both rushed over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I arrived, I saw his parents sitting at opposite ends of a long leather sofa while the family doctor bandaged their wounds. Not far away stood a young woman\u2014glamorous, seductive, and oddly familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A second later, a commercial played on the living room TV. The face of the starlet on screen was an exact match for the girl standing in the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Vance\u2019s face turned deathly pale. She snatched the remote control and hurled it straight at the TV screen, shattering the display. The audio cut out instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The young starlet flinched slightly, but her eyes burned with unabashed ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Dad, Mom… are you seriously fighting again?” Ethan asked, exasperated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arguments like this had played out countless times over the years. It had just never gotten bloody until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first, Ethan used to take his mother’s side. But after so many instances, a deep exhaustion settled into his eyes\u2014one he didn’t even realize he was showing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ask your father if he still considers me his wife!” Mrs. Vance barked, her voice trembling as she pointed at the young woman. “To let some trash into my home to mock me\u2014to let her sleep in my bed, wear my clothes… do you have no shame?!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The starlet didn’t back down. Instead, she sneered, “Mrs. Vance, no wonder Mr. Vance doesn’t like coming home. With a temper like yours, what man could stand you? I just wanted to play a little roleplay with him\u2014who knew you’d come home early?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She actually pouted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard from the maid that Mrs. Vance was supposed to be at a spa today. For some reason, she returned early, only to catch her husband bringing an actress home… into her personal bedroom. Wearing her silk robe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, no matter how bad their fights were, they maintained a facade and kept their affairs outside. Bringing a woman directly into his wife’s bed was the final straw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, she snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Dad, you’re getting up there in age. How can you still act like this?” Ethan frowned, finally speaking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Vance merely raised an eyebrow and chuckled coldly. Looking at the son who was practically his carbon copy, his eyes flashed with contempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If this were in the past, I might feel embarrassed by your words,” Mr. Vance taunted. “But now, Ethan? You have a young girl on the side too, don’t you? Look at the mess you just made at your own house. If you can play around, why can’t I?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan had no right to demand moral purity from others when his own hands were dirty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan’s face turned instantly thunderous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furious, Mrs. Vance lunged forward to strike her husband again. Ethan quickly stepped in to pull her back, but his mother’s nails scratched his arm, drawing blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Enough!” Ethan barked, pushing his mother back as he looked at the bloody scratch on the back of his hand. “Stop making a scene! It’s just a woman! If she bothers you that much, kick her out! Why throw a psychotic fit in front of everyone? Is this fun for you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing those words, the light in Mrs. Vance’s eyes died completely. She stared at the son who had once almost killed someone to protect her, now standing before her like a complete stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ethan… your father cheated on me and brought a woman home to humiliate me,” she whispered, her voice shaking violently. “And you’re telling me not to make a scene?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan took a deep breath, trying to de-escalate. “That’s not what I meant, Mom. But acting like this now just clears the path for the mistress. You’re giving her exactly what she wants.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n That single sentence snuffed out the last remaining spark in Mrs. Vance’s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at this rotted marriage and the woman sharing my exact fate, I stepped forward slowly and took her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Mom… remember what I told you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Vance raised her head, her eyes meeting mine. In that split second, I knew she had found her answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scenes like that had played out in the Vance family too many times to count, so Ethan didn’t give the outburst much thought afterward. After all, his mother only had one son. No matter what, he was still her sole reliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And when it came to business interests… he believed his mother trusted him far more than she trusted me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After that day, Mrs. Vance locked herself in her room for two days, refusing to eat or drink. On the third day, she called me herself, inviting me out for a shopping trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t refuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just hadn’t expected the timing to be so ironic. Not long after stepping into the luxury mall, I ran straight into Ethan… and Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An hour ago, he had called our daughter, claiming he had an emergency business trip abroad and couldn’t make it to her birthday party tomorrow. His voice had been full of fake guilt, promising his assistant would buy her plenty of gifts to make up for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet here he was, letting his little mistress cling to his arm as they strolled casually through a high-end mall, showing zero signs of rush or urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To put it plainly: the problem wasn’t a lack of time. It was a lack of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This time, I didn’t feel the sharp ache I felt before. But I wasn’t generous enough to pretend I hadn’t seen them either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the middle of a crowded mall, my husband was openly holding a young girl, feeling no shame or guilt whatsoever. Meanwhile, Chloe kept casting provocative glances in my direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If they didn’t care about their dignity, there was no reason for me to save face for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I let out a soft laugh, making sure my voice carried clearly: “Well, well. Do mistresses get to walk around this brazenly nowadays? Linking arms with a rich man right in front of his legal wife?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned my eyes to my husband. “And you\u2014just an hour ago you called your daughter claiming you were flying abroad for work, and now you’re taking your mistress on a shopping spree? You really are a time-management genius, Ethan.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bustling mall suddenly fell dead silent. Shoppers stopped in their tracks, turning their heads toward us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe turned pale as a sheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan\u2019s face hardened into ice. Through gritted teeth, he hissed, “Sarah, don’t cause a scene here!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was a businessman who valued his reputation above all else. But today, he was the one who threw his own dignity away. He had no right to blame me for breaking the peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I raised an eyebrow, my voice utterly calm. “Aren’t you my husband? And isn’t the girl beside you the mistress you’re keeping?” I paused deliberately, flashing a polite smile. “If you don’t want your little lover to feel wronged, it’s simple: let’s get a divorce. You can marry whoever you want, and I won’t stand in your way. We go our separate ways, everyone’s happy\u2014isn’t that better?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I already told you, I am NEVER getting a divorce!” Ethan snapped, his voice stubborn despite the judgmental glares of the surrounding crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at him, letting out a cold laugh. “You refuse to let me go, yet you can’t tear yourself away from the butterflies outside. Ethan, what makes you think you get to have both?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right at that moment, Mrs. Vance\u2014who had been standing quietly beside me\u2014suddenly reached out and shoved me aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What makes him think he can?” Mrs. Vance sneered, her voice sharp. “Because he’s my son! Because he’s young and successful! As for you, Sarah\u2014you tried to climb the social ladder by marrying into our family, and now that things are hard, don’t you dare play the victim!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She cast a disdainful look at me before turning around and beckoning Chloe over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe stepped forward obediently, letting Mrs. Vance take her hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You’re Chloe, right? You look much sweeter than Sarah,” Mrs. Vance said warmly. “I like you. It would be wonderful if you became my daughter-in-law.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “…Mom, what on earth are you saying?” Ethan frowned, clearly displeased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His mother glared back at him. “Back then, I begged you not to marry Sarah, but you insisted, swearing you’d love her for the rest of your life. And look at you now! Aren’t you still infatuated with someone else? I think Chloe is wonderful\u2014she suits my taste. Why don’t you just divorce Sarah and marry her instead?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe’s face lit up like a flower, turning to look at Ethan with hopeful eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan remained silent for a long moment. His eyes rested on my face, filled with a messy, complex storm of emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, he spoke: “Sarah is my wife. Ten years of marriage isn’t a joke. I won’t divorce her.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Vance let out a cold smirk, then turned to me. “Fine by me. I don’t like Sarah anyway. From now on, Ethan, just bring Chloe over to visit me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn’t hold it in any longer. My voice choked as I asked, “Mom… do you really want to humiliate me like this too?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She scoffed softly. “Who told you to be so unlikable?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that exact moment, tears spilled over my eyelashes. Covering my mouth, I turned around and stumbled away from the mall, utterly wretched and heartbroken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hayes family’s private dinner party wasn’t a large event; most attendees were top executives from the industry. The primary goal was to select the best partner for a massive upcoming joint venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This project was a lucrative prize that the entire industry lusted after, and Vance Group was no exception. Securing this opportunity was critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan was on the guest list, which was why he had specifically returned home to ask me to be his partner for the evening. The reason was simple: Mr. and Mrs. Hayes had been married for over forty years with a notoriously deep bond, meaning they held exceptionally strict moral standards regarding their business partners’ marital loyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since I held a significant share of Vance Group stock, the company’s growth directly tied into my personal wealth. Attending the gala together was an unspoken agreement between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, before heading out, I intentionally sent a message to Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was young, hot-headed, and impulsive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the past, she had repeatedly sent me explicit photos of herself and Ethan. The most shameless instance was when she personally went to my daughter’s school, handing a stack of photos to the teacher to “pass along to her mother.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ever since seeing those photos, my daughter had stayed silent the entire evening. From that day on, she never called Ethan “Daddy” again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So this time, I simply gave Chloe a taste of her own medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew that after receiving my message, she would lose her mind. After all, for a long time, she had been the one Ethan escorted to high-profile events. This time, he had hidden it from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I anticipated her reaction the moment I hit send.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Half an hour into the party, Chloe arrived, wearing a high-end designer gown that Ethan had bought for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What are you doing here?” Ethan\u2019s expression dropped the moment he saw her, though he kept his voice hushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe looked deeply wronged. “I know I don’t have an official title, but you promised me! You said to make it up to me, you’d bring me as your date to every party! But this time you didn’t say a word. If I hadn’t been visiting your mother and happened to catch a glimpse of the invitation, I wouldn’t even have known you brought her<\/em> here…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her voice trailed off into quiet sobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I wasn’t hiding it from you,” Ethan explained hastily. “Tonight’s event is different\u2014everyone is required to bring their legal wife. I…”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “So… you think I’m not worthy to stand beside you?” Chloe choked back a sob before covering her mouth and running out of the venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan immediately chased after her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scene was loud enough to draw dozens of staring eyes\u2014including the host of the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Who was that?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Word is that’s CEO Vance’s mistress. A good wife at home, a pretty little thing on the side. The mistress just threw a huge tantrum, and now he’s running after her to coax her back.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked toward the speaker\u2014it was Vance Group’s biggest rival for the project. Right now, he looked utterly triumphant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The incident was neither too big nor too small, but while extramarital affairs were an open secret in high society, everyone knew enough to bring their legal wives to formal galas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan was the only one who let his mistress crash the party and cause a scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scandal deeply displeased Mr. Hayes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With both companies evenly matched in capability, Ethan’s “moral misconduct” shattered months of hard work instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, the multi-million-dollar contract was awarded to their rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of this, Ethan received a brutal tongue-lashing from his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ethan, where the hell are your brains?!” Mr. Vance roared in his study. “You let a woman ruin a game-changing deal! Do you have any idea how much money and effort the company poured into this project?! It all went up in smoke because of your little pet!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don’t care how many women you mess around with on the side, but you damn well better control them! If one doesn’t listen, replace her! There are plenty of women out there!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan froze, staring at his father in disbelief. “Dad… Chloe isn’t like the others.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He really was somewhat different from his father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After his first affair, the senior Mr. Vance became addicted to chasing new women, changing mistresses faster than he changed clothes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan, at least, had stayed devoted to Chloe for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But… who knew?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had loved me just as fiercely once. Where did that lead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Infidelity. Betrayal. It was always just a matter of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing his son talk back, Mr. Vance sneered, dropping a sharp warning: “Don’t think that just because you’re running the company, you can do whatever you want. Let me remind you: you aren’t my only son. There are plenty of people just as capable as you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “If you can’t handle the job, I can easily put another son in your seat.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan’s face drained of color instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Love and loyalty were trivial matters. The moment personal interests were threatened, human nature exposed its ugly truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listening from outside the study door, I silently walked downstairs, my eyes meeting Mrs. Vance sitting on the couch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The invitation left on the table weeks ago hadn’t been left there by accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not long after, as Ethan walked downstairs, he saw Julian walking through the front door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “What are you doing here?” Ethan’s face darkened instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julian flashed a radiant smile. “Dad said you were incompetent, so he asked me to join the company. From now on, we’ll be co-managing the firm… dear elder brother.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I presented my divorce terms once again. This time, I held the winning card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Your father has already brought Julian into the company and transferred shares to back him up,” I said calmly. “If you refuse to divorce me, I will transfer all my shares directly to Julian.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan stared at me in absolute shock. “Sarah, after ten years as husband and wife, you really have the heart to leave me with nothing?!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I laughed out loud. “We were together for so many years, Ethan\u2014yet you had the heart to betray me, didn’t you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He looked uncomfortable at the unspoken mention of Chloe. “Those are two completely different things.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “They’re the exact same thing to me.” I took a deep breath, laying down my final demand. “I know you don’t want years of hard work stolen by a half-brother. Once he takes that seat, you know better than anyone what your fate will be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “So if you don’t want his shares to overshadow yours, sign the papers. I take full custody of the two kids. You buy back all my shares at market value. From now on, we owe each other nothing. What do you say?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had always said I would leave, but never empty-handed. My equity, once liquidated, amounted to a massive fortune. I was never going to walk away from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan let out a bitter, angry laugh. “Your greed really knows no bounds.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I smiled back. “I learned from the best.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wasn’t he greedy too? Refusing to give up his wife while refusing to let go of his mistress. Trying to keep both, only to end up losing everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before leaving, I left him with one last condition: “I don’t accept IOUs. I’ll give you one month to gather the funds\u2014just enough time for the mandatory divorce cooling-off period. In one month, I hand over the shares, you hand over the cash. Then, we’re done.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I said before, romance is a trivial thing. When personal profit is at stake, so-called “eternal love” is nothing more than a hollow skeleton wrapped in skin\u2014revolting to look at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like Ethan, who had previously sworn he would never divorce me, was now obediently signing the divorce agreement I prepared. With a cold, detached face, he accompanied me to the civil affairs bureau to file the paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirty days later, we would return to officially pick up the divorce certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After leaving the bureau, Ethan officially moved out of our house and into Chloe’s apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for me, I didn’t stay in that house either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, I had accumulated my own savings and owned several properties. I chose a quiet home with a beautiful view and moved in with the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From that day on, I started receiving strange messages\u2014often accompanied by photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One showed Ethan holding Chloe on the sofa while watching TV, looking like a picture of domestic bliss. Another showed them holding hands along the beach. Another was a messy bed with crumpled tissues scattered on the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A mixture of petty flexes and desperate grandstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt no heartache, no sorrow. The only overwhelming sensation was a deep, nauseating disgust rising from my stomach, slowly consuming me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And with every photo, the image of the Ethan in my memory\u2014the man who once swore he would never betray me\u2014was sliced away, bit by bit, until he was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pain was necessary. You have to scrape away the rotted flesh before a wound can heal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next month, while Ethan was indulging in passion with his young mistress, he was also locked in a brutal corporate battle with Julian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time we met again a month later, he had visibly lost weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sarah,” Ethan said as we stood near the entrance, “I still want to say this one last time: if you just agree, you will always be my only wife. Do we… really have to take it this far?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked up at the sky above the civil affairs bureau, watching the bright clouds and the passing crowd. I simply refused to look at the man beside me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ethan, your idea of ‘the only one’ makes me want to vomit.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned and walked straight inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I stepped out holding the official divorce certificate, an incredible sense of peace washed over my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A brand new life was finally beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan’s expression was the exact opposite. He stared blankly at the red book in his hands, lost in thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Sarah… can we still be friends in the future?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n I smiled without answering. But as I turned my back to walk away, something crossed my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ethan, after divorcing me… do you plan on marrying Chloe?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gust of wind blew past, accompanied by the endless hum of summer cicadas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He froze for a moment, then shook his head firmly. “I told you once that you were the only woman I would ever marry in this life. That will never change.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Good to know,” I murmured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I lowered my head as my phone screen lit up in my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I immediately forwarded the recorded video directly to Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having waited so long for my divorce, she was desperate for Ethan to marry her. Seeing that video would undoubtedly push her over the edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure enough, the very day she received it, she lost her mind. She threw a hysterical fit, demanding either an immediate wedding or an instant breakup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan found himself juggling her chaos while trying to fight off Julian at the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having bought back my shares, Ethan held a dominant position at Vance Group. But he couldn’t handle Chloe’s constant, insane disruptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the day of the crucial shareholders’ meeting, she faked a disappearance, flying off to a country torn apart by civil war. Since he still cared for her, Ethan frantically flew overseas to search for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right at that moment, Mrs. Vance proposed a “perfect solution”: she suggested Ethan temporarily transfer all his personal shares to her name. Combined with her own shares, she would hold absolute veto power at the upcoming meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That way, even if Ethan was absent, the shareholders’ vote couldn’t be manipulated, and Julian would be ousted from the board once and for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Normally, Ethan would never feel safe transferring all his assets to someone else. But this was his biological mother\u2014the woman who had carried him for nine months, his closest blood relative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a brief hesitation, he signed the transfer papers and rushed abroad to find his mistress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That very afternoon, the shareholders’ meeting began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The war-torn country was extremely dangerous, and communication signals were practically non-existent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the time Ethan finally tracked Chloe down and brought her back, his plane landed to news that the entire corporate landscape had collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance Group wasn’t purely a family-owned business; it had been founded by multiple partners and expanded through outside investments. Mr. Vance senior had only managed to become CEO by securing the largest individual block of shares through aggressive maneuvers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That didn’t mean the other co-founders lacked ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mrs. Vance had sold her entire stake\u2014including the shares Ethan just transferred to her\u2014at an astronomical price to one of those founding factions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crucially, she didn’t sell to the strongest faction. She sold to the weakest, most incompetent one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It meant the massive corporate empire was guaranteed to plunge into chaotic ruin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Vance senior suffered a massive heart attack from the shock and was rushed to the ICU, falling into a deep coma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Ethan finally tracked me and his mother down, we were sitting in a sunroom, calmly discussing luxury vacation destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Mom… why would you do this to me?” Ethan demanded, his voice cracking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facing her son’s hysterical confrontation, Mrs. Vance merely offered a serene smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Once upon a time, you were the sole purpose of my life,” she said softly. “To ensure you inherited the company smoothly, I endured your father’s cheating, refusing to divorce or compromise. Later, I watched you climb to the top, watched you build a happy home with Sarah, and I was genuinely proud.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I never imagined that you and your father were cut from the exact same cloth. Utterly disloyal. A traitor to your wife.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Even then… I thought you would at least stand by my side. But the son I suffered to give birth to didn’t care about my pain at all. Since that’s the case, you and I are nothing more than strangers connected by blood. You and your father are the ones who truly belong together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “So why on earth would I save his company?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, she signaled the security guards to toss Ethan out of the estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The moment he was gone, Mrs. Vance and I picked up right where we left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I filed for divorce from that old bastard weeks ago,” she mentioned casually, sipping her tea. “I timed the paperwork so it was finalized two days before the shareholder meeting. The share sale agreement was executed the day before, so he couldn’t touch a single dime of my payout. That money is more than enough for me to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As for him… the doctors said his body was exhausted from years of reckless living. When I brought him to the hospital, I happened to ‘accidentally’ take a slight detour. The doctor said he arrived a bit too late.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She smiled softly. “Even if he survives, he’ll be bedridden and paralyzed for the rest of his life. That’s the best outcome for everyone.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She turned and gently pinched Lily’s cheek. “From now on, the four of us will live a peaceful, happy life together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n A year later, during a brilliant summer, Mrs. Vance and I took the two children on an extended overseas holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Occasionally, news from back home would reach us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan ultimately never married Chloe. Whatever passion they once shared had completely withered into constant, violent arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ethan wanted to end things, but Chloe refused to let go, using suicide threats to hold him hostage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The knife Ethan had once aimed at my throat was now held against Chloe’s own neck during their fights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Except this time, Ethan refused to back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two wrestled over the hilt of the blade, pulling back and forth in a frantic struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the chaos, the sharp tip plunged deep into Ethan’s chest. He collapsed on the spot, dying instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe was arrested for murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon hearing the news of his son’s death, the paralyzed Mr. Vance suffered a fatal stroke from emotional shock and passed away shortly after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without leadership, the once-mighty Vance Group saw project after project collapse. The industry giant steadily crumbled until it officially declared bankruptcy, dissolving into nothingness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To the outside world, Sarah was simply a wealthy socialite raising two bright children on her own, enjoying her freedom, occasionally dating, and living entirely on her own terms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAPTER 2<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 3<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 4<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 5<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 6<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 7<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 8<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 9<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 10<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 11<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
CHAPTER 12<\/h1>\n\n\n\n