Another pair of lace panties fell out of my husband’s pants pocket while I was doing the laundry. Before I could even confront him, he calmly handed me a plastic vase. “Go ahead. Smash it.” It seemed that over our seven years of marriage, he had figured out my entire routine. Whenever I found out he was cheating, I would go crazy, smash things, cry my eyes out, and then continue living with him. So, he had replaced every breakable item in our home with plastic or stainless steel. He thought our marriage was just like those plastic things. No matter how hard I tried, I could never break it. But this time, I calmly put the vase back in its place. “Let’s get a divorce.” Hearing those words, Ethan Hayes froze for a second, and then he laughed. “What? You realized throwing tantrums doesn’t work anymore, so you’re trying a new tactic?” “Who gave you this idea? Your bestie?” He was so sure that I would never leave him. So sure that when I mentioned divorce, he didn’t believe a single word. Seeing my silence, Ethan massaged his temples, stood up lazily, and lit a cigarette. “Fine. When do you want to do it?” In the brightly lit living room, his tall figure leaned against the wall, gradually fading into the rising white smoke. His cold eyes stared blankly at the plastic vase. I hated smoking, so Ethan rarely smoked indoors. I knew he was doing it on purpose. On purpose to provoke me. Maybe he was more used to the way I used to handle his cheating, throwing everything in the house onto the floor in a wild rage. Once I let my anger out, everything seemed to magically go back to normal. For the past seven years, that was how I handled my emotions. And that was how he handled me. But tonight, I suddenly realized that just because a wound looks healed on the surface doesn’t mean the flesh underneath isn’t rotting. My heart was already black and blue, yet I was still trying my best to maintain this marriage that Ethan thought was unbreakable. Was it really worth it? No marriage is unbreakable. I calmly threw the lace panties into the trash can and took all the clothes out of the washing machine. The lipstick stain on Ethan’s white shirt hadn’t even been fully washed out. I clenched my fists, turned to look at him, and said, “Today. Let’s do it today.” For a rare moment, Ethan’s face stiffened. But quickly, he flicked the ash off his cigarette, his voice turning cold. “Fine. Let me change my clothes first.” As he turned around, he didn’t forget to order me. “Make sure you put my clothes in the dryer. You know I can’t stand even a bit of dampness on my shirts.” To him, divorce was as trivial as doing the laundry. He didn’t care at all. Before we could even leave, Ethan took a phone call and had to rush out. He only left me with one sentence. “30 days should be enough for you to cool down, right?” I didn’t say anything. After he left, I dried all the clothes. Then, I packed my own clothes, piece by piece. I turned around and walked out of this “home” forever. Ethan didn’t know that I didn’t need a month. I was perfectly calm right now.
Everyone in our circle knew that I was madly in love with Ethan. Since we were kids, I would cry and scream that I wanted to be his only bride. I even went to our parents, crying and throwing tantrums so they would force him to play with me. When we grew up, I became the most unreasonable “bodyguard” around Ethan. Every love letter sent to him had to go through me first. Later, Ethan fell in love with a girl. But because of my constant presence, she rejected his confession. I still remembered the look on Ethan’s face when he saw her holding hands with another man. He was heartbroken. It was a level of pain I had never seen on his face before. That was also the first time Ethan ever lost his temper with me. I had cautiously approached him, grabbing his arm, trying to comfort him. “Ethan, you still have me. I’ll always be with you.” But he violently shoved my hand away. “Chloe, aren’t you sick of this? Can you stop stalking me?” His shove sent me stumbling backward. The back of my head hit a tree trunk hard, leaving a deep gash that bled profusely. That was the first time I saw Ethan look so terrified. “Chloe! Are you okay? Does it hurt?” I showed him a bloody grin, pulling my hand away from the back of my head, covered in blood. But I still said, “Ethan, don’t worry. I’m fine.” Ethan stared at my bloody hand in horror. I forced a smile. “You… you’re not sad anymore, right?” Ethan froze completely. He gripped my hand tightly, a mix of complex emotions flooding his face. He looked like he wanted to say something. But before he could speak, I fainted. I had a phobia of blood. From that day on, Ethan wasn’t as cold to me as before. He gradually got used to having me follow him around like a little shadow. Later, the Hayes family’s business hit a major crisis. I practically threatened my parents until they agreed to inject nearly ten million dollars in cash to save Ethan’s company. During those dark days, when everyone else avoided the Hayes family like the plague, I was the only one who stayed firmly by his side. Once, to secure a crucial project, Ethan drank until his stomach bled. I stepped in and drank for him. In the VIP lounge, the smell of smoke and alcohol mixed together. Those middle-aged businessmen with beer bellies mocked me. “Miss Miller, if you want to drink for Mr. Hayes, that’s fine. But you have to drink double.” I downed two large glasses of whiskey without blinking. Ethan grabbed my hand. “Don’t.” The whole room burst into laughter. “Miss Miller is indeed a pathetic simp.” “How about this? You don’t have to drink anymore. Just spend the night with us, and I’ll give this project to Mr. Hayes. What do you think?” “Aren’t you willing to do anything for Mr. Hayes?” Before the bald man, Vance, could finish his sentence, Ethan, who had been slouched on the floor, jumped up and punched him square in the nose. One, two, three… I counted carefully. Ethan punched him sixteen times for me! At that moment, Ethan looked like a guardian angel who had come to protect me. Now, I couldn’t really remember all the pathetic things I did when I loved him. But I would always remember those sixteen punches. That night, Ethan and I were taken to the police station together. Squatting in the corner, his face covered in blood, he suddenly said, “Chloe, let’s get married.” Back then, his tone was so certain. Just like now, when he was certain that I would never divorce him. He believed that as long as he asked, I would never say no. And back then, that was the absolute truth.
I went back to my parents’ house. My mom, Sarah, opened the door with sleepy eyes. Seeing me, she was completely shocked. “Chloe? It’s so late. What are you doing here?” I pushed my suitcase through the door and acted spoiled. “Mom, aren’t you happy to see me?” My mom glared at me. “No…” “Ever since you married Ethan, you’ve never spent a single night away from him.” “On my last birthday, I wanted you to stay over so we could chat. But what did you say? You said you had to run back to draw Ethan’s bathwater! You didn’t want him to wait.” “And another time, when Ethan was on a business trip, you accidentally broke your leg. I told you to stay in the hospital, but you insisted on limping back home because you were afraid Ethan would worry if he found out you weren’t there!” “And…” I couldn’t listen anymore and cut her off. “Mom, stop.” My mom rolled her eyes and poked my forehead. “You can’t even listen to it? Have you forgotten how many humiliating things you’ve done over the years?” “You’ve been like a lost puppy since you were a kid, wishing you could be glued to him 24/7!” I squatted down in shame and opened my suitcase. My mom seemed to notice the suitcase just now, her eyes widening in shock. “Don’t tell me you ran away from home?” “Yeah.” I nodded and dropped a bomb casually. “Ethan and I…” “We’re getting a divorce.” My mom froze on the spot, completely speechless. Just as I pulled out my pajamas to change, my mom’s phone rang. It was Ethan. “Sarah? Is something wrong?” Ethan’s voice sounded raspy, with a hint of impatience. My mom quickly said, “Ethan, Chloe is here with me.” My face changed. I jumped up to grab her phone, but she was already rushing to speak. “Did you two have a fight?” “She loves you so much, how could she really want a divorce? Just come over and comfort her, and this will all blow over!” My mom quickly handed me the phone. “Chloe, speak to him.” On the other end of the line, I suddenly heard a soft, satisfied female sigh, followed by the rustling of bedsheets. My heart sank into a freezing abyss. My hand froze in midair, refusing to take the phone. Having shared a bed with Ethan for seven years, I knew exactly what that sound meant. Ethan probably thought I had taken the phone. His voice came through the speaker, arrogant and lazy. “Chloe, did you regret it already?” He let out a low scoff. The speaker was loud enough for his voice to echo in every corner of the villa. “I really underestimated you. You couldn’t even make it through a single night.” “I can’t come right now. I’m on a business trip out of town. Take a cab back yourself.” The sound of a lighter clicked. Ethan was lighting a cigarette. I could easily picture his face right now. He must look extremely smug, looking down on me. When he spoke, it sounded like he was giving me charity. “Wait for me at home quietly. I’ll consider withdrawing the divorce application as soon as I get back.”
Ethan hung up the phone. He didn’t even wait for my response. Under the dim light, my mom quickly turned around, her shoulders shaking violently. Seeing her cry, all my rising anger instantly dissolved. I walked over and hugged her. “Mom, why did you call him?” My mom couldn’t help but sob. She grabbed my arms and spoke with a trembling voice. “I did it for you!” “Every time you have a big fight with him, you’re the one who can’t eat or sleep! You lost so much weight last time. You were so distracted that you got hit by a car and broke your leg!” “The doctor said if you were any luckier, it wouldn’t have been just a broken leg, it could have been…” My mom turned around and hugged me tightly. “Chloe, since you can’t leave Ethan, your father and I had to accept it.” “We just want to find ways to make sure you get hurt less. We wanted to be the glue between you two.” My mom wiped her tears and pushed me toward the door. “Alright, stop throwing a fit and go back.” “Once Ethan gets back from his trip, everything will be fine.” She stood in the corner, her face half-hidden in the shadow. I could clearly see the complicated expressions on her face. The years of enduring Ethan’s coldness on my behalf. The anger she had to suppress. Her frustration with my helplessness. And… her deep love and worry for me. At this moment, I suddenly realized something. In this obsessive love of mine for Ethan, I wasn’t the only one bleeding. My parents, the people who loved me most in the world, were bleeding with me. I was such an idiot. Wasting so many years of my youth on a man who wasn’t worth it. I gripped my mom’s hand tightly and said with absolute certainty, “Mom, I am really divorcing Ethan this time.” I knew my mom didn’t believe me. After all, I had loved Ethan so fiercely for so many years. No one would believe I was letting go so suddenly. But my mom still supported my decision. When I said I wanted to join the family company to learn the business, she had my dad arrange a job for me. But because they were worried I would make a mess, they didn’t put me in the core project team. Instead, they put me in the admin department. I knew I needed time to adjust, so I didn’t complain and quietly settled into my role. In the blink of an eye, ten days passed. Ethan was back from his trip. But the place where we met again was at my father’s company. He had brought his team to negotiate a business deal. I was asked to serve coffee. When I pushed the door open, the first person I saw sitting next to Ethan was her. With red lips, dark hair, and a crescent-moon smile. As she spoke, she leaned so close to Ethan that she was almost in his lap. I would never forget that face, even if it turned to ash. It was Mia Crawford. The girl Ethan almost ended up with. So, the woman who accompanied him on his business trip was her. As I calmly set the coffee cups down, Mia reached out to take one. The hot coffee spilled right onto the back of her hand. She let out a sharp shriek. Ethan violently shoved me aside, the veins on his forehead bulging. “Chloe, are you stalking me?” I gripped the empty tray. “I’m not. You forgot this is my family’s…” Ethan frowned deeply and interrupted me. “Don’t lie to me! The moment I get back, you show up here. If that’s not stalking, what is?” “I already told you, if you just wait for me at home, I’ll withdraw the divorce paper within a month.” “Is there any need to play these cheap tricks?” Looking at Ethan’s self-righteous face, I suddenly felt too exhausted to argue. Letting out a sigh, I shook my head slowly. “Think whatever you want.” I didn’t care about the cozy vibe between them anymore and turned to leave. But Ethan called out to me, “Chloe, stop embarrassing yourself here. Go home.” “I had my assistant send my dirty laundry back. Go home and wash it.” “That’s what you’re supposed to do, and that’s what you’re good at!” In front of everyone in the room, his cold eyes stared at me, leaving me with no dignity whatsoever. Since he didn’t care about my pride, I didn’t need to care about his either. A sarcastic smile crossed my lips. “Ethan, this is my family’s company. I work here. How is that stalking?” “You say I’m good at washing clothes. Then what are you good at? Cheating? Sleeping with your assistant? Flirting with college girls?” Ethan’s eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed a finger at me. “You…” I slapped his hand away. “We are getting divorced. You should let your mistress by your side wash your dirty laundry.”
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