Seven years ago,I saved a girl from a living hell. She repaid me by sleeping with my husband. At our third-anniversary gala,Ethan Vance hugged me from behind. He leaned toward my neck. I pushed him away. “Why so cold?”he said,his tone a playful complaint. “You’re not afraid I’ll seek comfort from another woman?” I smiled at him. “Have you heard the saying?”I asked in return. “Cheaters always end up losing everything.” Ethan scoffed. His thumb brushed the big diamond on my ring finger. “The CEO of the Sterling Group believes in something like that?” I looked at him and shook my head. “That was the vow you made when you proposed to me three years ago.” Ethan’s expression changed. I looked away from him and took off my wedding ring. I handed it to my assistant,Chloe. “Happy anniversary.Yours,not mine.” Both Ethan and Chloe were stunned. … “Tori…Miss Sterling,it’s not true…” Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. Her voice caught in her throat. “I…I never wanted to hurt you.” She shook her head. Her limited-edition Van Cleef&Arpels clover earrings chimed. She looked nothing like the girl from seven years ago. A desperate girl from a remote Appalachian town. She had begged me to save her. Her family was trying to force her into a marriage with a violent alcoholic. Back then,she had said,”Please get me out of that hellhole,and I’ll do anything for you.” So this was how she repaid me. Chloe was crying now. A flicker of pity crossed Ethan’s eyes. He stepped forward and pulled Chloe behind him. “Tori,it’s not what you think…It’s our anniversary tonight.Half of New York’s elite is here.Can we talk tomorrow?I’ll give you an explanation?”
I tilted my head and looked at him. My eyes landed on a faint lipstick mark below his collar. It was our anniversary.That hadn’t stopped him from sleeping with her.Or from asking why I was cold. I glanced down at my wrist,which he still held. I pulled it free. “Afraid I’ll make a scene?” His expression froze. He quickly changed his argument. “I’m worried about your father’s reputation!” My father,Robert Sterling,built the Sterling Group from nothing,with courage and integrity. Everyone who ever dealt with him admired his character. He had passed away. Now his son-in-law was openly sleeping with his daughter’s assistant. In the very empire my father built. If word got out,the Sterling Group would become a joke. Seeing me stay silent,Chloe thought Ethan had swayed me.She spoke up at once. “Miss Sterling,you were born with everything.You could never understand someone like me,someone who has to rely on others to survive…I only wanted to help you.” She paused,then went on as if it were true. “You’re meant for more than this.You shouldn’t waste your time on him.” So that was her excuse for sleeping with my husband？
Her shameless excuse almost made me laugh. Ethan glanced at Chloe,signaling her to stop. He turned to me,his gaze intense. “Tori,trust me one more time,please?I promise I’ll explain everything!” “Alright.” I gave a cold smile. I pushed open the doors to the banquet hall. A spotlight hit me. Hundreds of guests turned to look. Our third-anniversary video was playing on the big screen. In it,Ethan was down on one knee. His eyes were red-rimmed. His voice echoed through the hall. “Victoria Sterling,I swear,if I,Ethan Vance,ever betray you in this life,may I lose all my wealth,be abandoned by everyone,and die alone!” The guests applauded. I watched Ethan and Chloe hurry out after me. I picked up the microphone. “Thank you all for coming to Ethan’s and my third-anniversary celebration.Since Ethan Vance chose to cheat with my assistant,Chloe Miller…this marriage ends tonight.” The room erupted. Ethan rushed onto the stage,his face pale. “Are you crazy?”he hissed.”Do you have any idea of the consequences?” I gave him a cold look. “I only know the consequences of not doing this.” The crowd was in an uproar. Scornful looks turned on Chloe. She instinctively started to play the victim. “Miss Sterling,you’ve misunderstood.Ethan’s feelings have never changed.He only loves you…” Her knees gave out mid-sentence.I caught her. I raised my voice into the microphone. “Careful now.Don’t want to hurt the baby.” Chaos broke out. I left the two of them frozen on stage. Camera flashes exploded around me. I walked away,head held high.
My first stop was our penthouse on the Upper East Side. I changed every password. All of Ethan’s things were packed up and thrown out. Then I took a bath and fell asleep. My dream was full of him. He was eighteen and broke. We were outside the university library. He stepped in front of me and scared off some rich kids who were harassing me. At twenty,he worked odd jobs for months. He did it to buy a decent suit for my birthday party. He stopped me. “Victoria,I know I have nothing right now.No connections,no future.But…can you wait for me?Five years…no,three.In three years,I’ll make something of myself.I’ll earn the right to pursue you!” Back then,I had laughed. I found the ambitious boy amusing. I laughed in my dream and woke up laughing. My pillow was wet with tears. I sighed and wiped my tears. I opened my bedroom door. Chloe stood outside my door,deathly pale. “Miss Sterling,I came to apologize.” Her eyes were red. She pressed an abortion clinic appointment slip into my hand. “I never meant to ruin your marriage.” Didn’t ruin it? Just slept with my husband?
Her shameless logic almost made me laugh. I blocked the door with my arm. “The baby is yours.Your choice.”I shoved the slip back at her. “Don’t try to guilt-trip me with it.Get out.” I went to shut the door. Chloe pressed her hand against it. “Miss Sterling,it’s true!” “You got me out of that town.Without you,my parents would have married me off to that drunk.They would’ve used me to clean up their mess and bankroll my brother.” I watched her coldly. I wanted to hear what she would say. Her eyes welled with tears. She looked down,her hand on her stomach. “He told me you never wanted children.He said he’d given up on having a family with you.I know that doesn’t excuse anything.But I lied to myself.I thought if I got pregnant,maybe he would choose me.I know it sounds pathetic.” My stomach turned. I felt sick. “So what was the plan?I’d raise the baby as my own while you disappeared?” Chloe bit her lip. She looked up at me for a second,then lowered her head. “Fine.” I stared right at her,a humorless smile playing on my lips. “You’ll go to Europe and stay there until the baby is born.” I paused. “I’ll have someone take the baby the moment it’s born.” “You will stay abroad.Forever.Never see Ethan or the child again.Do you agree?”
Silence fell. She said nothing. After a long moment,she dropped the act. “Miss Sterling,you saved me.But compared to your condescending charity,Ethan is truly good to me.” I almost laughed.I still remembered their first meeting. Ethan had hated that she dirtied the carpet.He made her wipe it clean with her sleeve. “All you did was help me escape my hometown.You got me out,but I lost my family because of you.Ethan is different.” “He got my brother a job in the city,helped my parents pay off their debts,gave me the warmth of a normal family.He’s treated me better than you.” I felt sick again. Since childhood,her useless brother had pushed their parents to sell her for video game money. Her greedy parents nearly beat her to death trying to marry her off to an alcoholic. I paid them off and had a lawyer put them on notice. She would still be trapped there if it weren’t for me. Now she thought Ethan was better for being”generous”to that trash? I suddenly regretted every cent I had ever spent on her. I was done with her. “That’s enough,”I said.”You’re fired.” Chloe’s lip trembled. “Miss Sterling…” “It’s Ms.Sterling to you.” “But—” “Get out!” “But…the penthouse is in my name now.” I froze. Then I heard a car downstairs. Ethan was here.
He dropped the act,wrapped an arm around Chloe,and comforted her with a tenderness I’d never seen before. “Honey,wait for me in the car.” We were together for two years.Married for three. Ethan was good to me. He remembered everything I liked. No matter where I traveled for work,he would fly out to meet me. Everyone said I was lucky to have a husband like him. But now I understood. What he gave me wasn’t love. It was performance.With Chloe,it was different. He watched her get into the car. Then he turned back to me,a hint of blame in his voice. “Tori,you were too impulsive.” “Whatever Chloe did,she’s pregnant.You didn’t have to go that hard on her.” I looked away and fought back tears. “Cut the crap.What did she mean,this penthouse is hers?” Ethan sighed. He took out a document. The money for this penthouse came from my premarital account. But I was focused on my sick father at the time. Ethan handled all our finances. He had suggested putting the property into a new LLC for”tax optimization.” I signed the papers without reading them. Ethan had secretly changed the LLC’s beneficiary to Chloe. The transfer date was the day my father died. Rage flooded me. Smack. I slapped him across the face. “You son of a bitch!”
Ethan tilted his head and kept talking. He still spoke calmly. “She’s carrying my child.I can’t make it official,so I can only compensate her with material things.You’re not short on properties.She’s used to living here.So I transferred it to her.” Blood rushed to my head. My legs nearly gave out. I grew up in this house. Before my father founded the Sterling Group,it was only an old home. My childhood memories were of curling up here to watch Mom read. And waiting for Dad to get home from work. Later,when Mom fell gravely ill,Dad sold the house to pay for her treatment. Her dying wish was to come back here one last time. Ethan knew what this house meant to me. And he still gave it away. My throat tightened. I bit my lip hard to keep the tears from falling. I finally spoke. “How dare you…” I swayed.Ethan reached for me. “Tori,face reality.Your father is gone.You dropped everything to care for him for three years.You’ve spent the last month grieving instead of running the company.The Sterling Group isn’t the same anymore.” He reached to smooth my hair. “You’re a woman.Why make life so hard for yourself?Wouldn’t it be better to leave everything to your husband?”
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