After I got pregnant, I became incredibly anxious. Every day, I’d text Ethan Vance, asking if he loved me. For the first 99 times, he’d respond gently. Until the 100th time I asked. He suddenly replied with three impatient messages. `[Aria, are you that bored?]` `[Now that your morning sickness is over and the baby isn’t bothering you, you’re going to start bothering me?]` `[If you have so much time, why don’t you look in the mirror and see that face of yours? It looks like a bruised piece of meat.]` I froze. The next second, the messages were unsent, and a voice message popped up. “My apologies, my assistant accidentally sent that. Please don’t mind it.” Whether it was accidental or not didn’t matter anymore. All I knew was, our marriage was completely over. I got up and went to the clinic. When I walked out, my four-month-old baby was gone. By the time I got home, it was pitch black outside. The living room lights were on, and Ethan Vance was sitting on the couch. He looked up when he heard the door, his brows furrowed. “Where have you been? Why are you back so late? Couldn’t you bother to reply to my messages or calls?” I didn’t say anything. I kicked off my shoes and went to pour myself a glass of water. He looked at me, his gaze lingering on my face for a few seconds before he finally spoke: “About what happened this afternoon, I explained it to you. My assistant grabbed the wrong phone.” “She’s already apologized to me, and I gave her a stern talking-to. It won’t happen again.” An assistant, grabbing her boss’s private phone by mistake? I chuckled softly, put down my glass, and looked at him. Ethan Vance was incredibly handsome. I’d known that from the first moment I saw him. Now at thirty-three, he looked better than most men his age. Sitting on the couch in his loungewear, he looked like he’d stepped right out of a magazine. I used to love looking at him, thinking I’d never get tired of it. But today, I suddenly realized that his good looks had nothing to do with me anymore. It was like a beautiful dress in a storefront window. You look at it for a long time through the glass, thinking it’s yours, but you never actually get to hold it. “Ethan,” I spoke, my voice calmer than I expected: “What was your assistant’s name again?” He paused. “Megan. Why?” “How long has she been with you?” “About six months,” he said, then added, “Why are you asking? I told you it was a misunderstanding, didn’t I? Do you have to keep dwelling on it? Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see it?” He fired off four questions in a row. I didn’t answer him, instead continuing: “I remember when she first started, you mentioned she was clumsy, nothing like the efficient type you usually preferred. Then you stopped talking about her, and I thought you’d fired her.” “Turns out you didn’t fire her. And because of her, I’ve noticed that for the past six months, your overtime hours have been getting longer, and your business trips more frequent.” Ethan Vance’s brows furrowed again. “Aria, what exactly are you trying to say?” I smiled. “I’m just stating facts.” His frown deepened, and his tone became impatient: “Aria, I know pregnancy is hard, and your emotions are all over the place. I get that. But you can’t be paranoid over a few accidentally sent messages. It’s not good for you, and it’s not good for the baby.” Baby. That word was like a needle, piercing straight through my heart. How long had we been married? Four years, I think.
When I was twenty-two, I secretly came back from overseas to have some fun. At a friend’s party, I fell for Ethan Vance at first sight and pursued him. At first, he thought I was too young. Later, I relentlessly pursued him, laying my heart bare. I sent him flowers, gave him jewelry, and even proposed to him. People gossiped, saying I was too bold, too eager. But I didn’t care. Shouldn’t you be brave when you love someone? Later, we got together. We dated for a year before getting married. For four years of marriage, every single day, I was the one carefully giving my all. He’d respond with just a little bit, and I’d feel like my whole world lit up. It wasn’t until I got pregnant that I noticed he seemed happy, even giving me more attention than usual. But deep down, I suddenly started to feel uneasy. I kept pestering him, asking if he loved me. Though he never said “I love you,” he’d gently reply with “I’ll come home early.” Until this time, his private phone, which he never even let me touch, was taken and used to send multiple messages. Only then did I understand. He’d never truly cared about me, not once. But it was fine; it was over now. I was tired of loving him. Seeing that I remained silent, he probably thought I’d given in. He walked over to me, bending down as if to hug me. “Alright, don’t overthink things. The housekeeper made you some soup; drink a little and get some rest. Tomorrow’s the weekend, I’ll take you shopping…” “I aborted the baby.” My words were barely a whisper. He froze. His arm was still in mid-air, poised to hug me. The living room was so quiet you could hear the wall clock ticking. One tick, two ticks, three ticks. Then he straightened up, looking down at me, as if he hadn’t understood. “What did you say?” I looked up, meeting his gaze, and said, word for word: “I said, the baby’s gone.” “After you sent those messages, I went to the clinic and had the procedure done.” Ethan Vance’s face gradually turned white. In the five years I’d known him, I’d almost never seen him lose his composure. He was always in control in front of everyone, emotionally stable like a finely tuned machine. But at this moment, that machine had jammed. I found it oddly refreshing and kept watching him. “You aborted the baby without consulting me?” My lips remained curved. “Yes.” “Aria.” He called my name, his voice trembling: “That was my baby too.” I shrugged indifferently. “I know.” “You know?” His voice suddenly rose, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot: “You knew, and you still went to the clinic by yourself and aborted the baby, without even telling me!” “Aria! Do you even see me as your husband?” He had never yelled at me like this before. In our occasional arguments, he would at most just go silent with a cold expression, waiting for me to back down first. At that moment, I suddenly laughed: “Ethan, so you *can* get angry? You *can* get red-eyed? You *can* have moments like this when you lose your composure? I thought you were only capable of giving me the silent treatment.” Ethan Vance froze, then instantly clamped a hand on my jaw, his eyes blazing with fury. “Aria! What exactly are you trying to pull? I told you those messages weren’t from me. Why won’t you just believe me!” “And that wasn’t just your baby, it was mine too. How dare you get rid of it by yourself without consulting me?” “Since you’re so capable of aborting my child on your own, then you better make me another one!”
He suddenly lowered his head and bit my lip. A metallic taste quickly filled my mouth, and I winced in pain. In our one year of dating and four years of marriage, he had never initiated a kiss. Even during our most intimate moments, I was always the one to initiate the kiss. There was a time I dreamed he’d be more proactive. But now, I just felt disgusted. I bit him back, hard. He cried out in pain and roughly shoved me away. I looked up, my eyes red, staring fixedly at him: “If you want a baby, go find another woman to have one with. I’m sure your assistant would be thrilled to have your baby.” Ethan Vance froze: “What did you say?” My eyes red, I shrieked: “I said, if you want a baby, go have one with your assistant! Don’t you dare disgust me!” “Ethan, you truly, truly disgust me now!” He stared intently at me, like he wanted to pierce right through me. Three seconds later, he suddenly laughed. “Fine! Since you’re so generous, I’ll give you what you want.” “Don’t you dare regret it! And don’t come back crying and begging me!” The door slammed shut with a heavy thud. Silence fell. I looked at the closed door, tears silently streaming down my face, until finally, I burst into loud sobs. As if to cry out all the grievances of so many years. Ethan Vance, this time, I won’t regret it. And I won’t beg you ever again. I wiped away my tears and made a call. “Marcus, pull the funding we gave Ethan.” Ethan Vance didn’t come back that night. The next morning, I went to a lawyer’s office to prepare divorce papers. It was the weekend, so he wasn’t at work. But I didn’t know where to find him. Just then, my phone popped up with a video. Immediately followed by Chloe’s frantic voice message. “Aria! Isn’t this your super-cool, unapproachable husband?” “I saw him at The Galleria with some woman! He even knelt down to tie her shoelace for her!” “You’re only four months pregnant, and he’s already out chasing other women? That asshole, has he no shame?! Holy crap, I’m going to kill those two scumbags!” I tapped on the video. In the clip, the man who always acted so superior around me was kneeling down to tie a girl’s shoelace, just because of a few playful words from her. The girl laughed and filmed him with her phone, and he was smiling reluctantly too. My heart still couldn’t help but ache. I used to wish for that, too. But back then, he always maintained an aloof posture. He never flat-out refused, but he never reciprocated either. Leaving me to awkwardly find an excuse to back down. I forced a smile and replied to Chloe. “We’re getting a divorce.” No sooner had I sent the message than an unknown number called. “Ms. Vance, your husband and a friend have had a disagreement. Please come to the police station as soon as possible.” Chloe was impulsive, but I hadn’t expected her to act so quickly. I quickly hailed a taxi and went there. As I arrived at the entrance, the noisy commotion was still ongoing. “Ethan Vance! How could you do this to Aria? She’s only four months pregnant, and you couldn’t resist going out and cheating! And you openly took your mistress shopping, tying her shoelace! Why don’t you just drop dead!” “Our Aria was so good to you, loved you so much…” “Wasn’t she practically throwing herself at me?” Ethan Vance interrupted her, his face cold. I froze in place. Ethan Vance’s voice continued: “Did I ask her to be good to me? Did I ask her to love me? Wasn’t she the one who was desperate, who practically climbed into my bed, who married me at the flick of my wrist? So, what’s her kindness got to do with me? I don’t love her, why should I respond to her? Now that she’s pregnant, do I have to stay loyal to her forever?”
Chloe was furious; if the officers hadn’t held her back, she would have lunged at him. “Ethan Vance! Do you have any conscience?! If it wasn’t for Aria back then, you’d be behind bars by now…” “Chloe!” I cut her off, walking in and looking at the police officer. “I’m taking her.” Before the officer could speak, Ethan Vance said in a deep voice: “Are they just going to leave after hitting my person?” I looked at the woman next to him, eyes red, covering her face and leaning into him, then finally at Ethan. “What do you want?” Ethan Vance’s eyes were cold and narrowed. “Your friend slapped Megan, now I want her to return it.” Chloe looked like she’d heard a joke. “Let her hit me, you think…” “Who said I want you to return it?” Ethan Vance cut Chloe off, his gaze fixed on my face. “Aria, your friend made a mistake for you, so you should be the one to pay the price.” “You son of a bi—” Chloe trembled with rage, rushing forward to tear apart those two scumbags. The next second, I spoke. “Okay.” Chloe whipped her head around: “Aria, are you crazy? He cheated! He wronged you!” I ignored her and walked up to Ethan Vance and Megan. “Do it.” Megan’s eyes were red, and she said softly: “Mr. Vance, please don’t make your wife uncomfortable, I…” *Slap!* Before she could finish, Ethan Vance grabbed her hand and harshly swung it across my face. A burning, stinging pain instantly spread. After the slap, I turned to leave. “Did I say you could leave?” Ethan Vance’s tone was icy cold: “She slapped Megan once. I want you to return it ten times over.” He pulled Megan forward. Before I could react, slaps rained down, one after another. *Slap! Slap! Slap…* Nine slaps, each one heavier, each one crueler than the last. With each blow, what little love remained in my heart dissipated a little more. After the final slap, I felt nothing at all. A warm liquid flowed from the corner of my mouth, and my mouth was filled with the taste of rust. None of the nearby officers dared to interfere. Because the one doing the hitting was Ethan Vance, who practically ran the city. After hitting me, Ethan Vance rubbed Megan’s hand. He warned me coldly: “Keep your friend in check. Next time, don’t let her bark like a mad dog and scare my person.” With that, he pulled Megan, ready to leave. “Ethan.” I called out to him, taking out the divorce papers: “Let’s get a divorce.” Ethan Vance looked incredulous: “You want to divorce me?” I nodded: “Yes.” He stared at me for a full ten seconds, then laughed. “Aria, I haven’t even settled the score with you for aborting our baby behind my back. Now you’re coming at me with divorce, playing hard to get?” I forced a smile: “You’re overthinking it.” Ethan Vance’s face instantly darkened. He snatched the divorce papers, quickly signed his name, and then harshly slapped them back onto my face. “Aria, a friendly reminder: without me, you’re nothing.” “And when you come crawling back to me crying for forgiveness, I won’t even spare you a glance.” At the hospital, Chloe cried while applying medicine to my face. “How dare he hit you? What right does he have to hit you? If it wasn’t for you back then, that Ethan Vance would be behind bars, and he wouldn’t be here throwing his weight around and bullying you!” “That asshole! I’m definitely going to find a way to get revenge! I want him dead, I want to avenge you!” I chuckled a little, “I’ve already told Marcus to pull the funding.”
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