After three years of marriage, Ethan remained obsessively germaphobic to the point of pathology. No kissing allowed, and he insisted on wearing five layers of condoms. That was, until the day I brought him soup at his office and found him pinning Willow—the student I’d been sponsoring—against his desk, ravaging her without restraint. Their bodies were tangled together intimately, not even a single condom in sight. My eyes immediately turned red. I rushed forward and slapped Willow hard across the face, only to be kicked to the ground by Ethan. “How dare you hit Willow?” I couldn’t believe it. “Ethan, you’re cheating and you think you’re in the right?” Just as I was about to strike again with tears streaming down my face, his assistant suddenly appeared and expressionlessly threw a stack of papers in my face. “Lauren, your marriage certificate with Mr. Chandler is fake. His real wife is Willow. You’re the mistress!” “Given that you just assaulted Mrs. Chandler, Mr. Chandler is very angry and wants to reclaim all the assets he’s spent on you over the years.” I was ordered to repay fifty million dollars, and ultimately spent three years in prison for being unable to pay. Later, I was reunited with my billionaire father. On my first day back in the capital, I ran into a heavily pregnant Willow being held by Ethan. When he saw me, he sneered coldly. “That was just to teach you a lesson. Now that you’ve learned to behave in prison, you can come home and take care of Willow.” “As long as you don’t cause trouble, letting you work as a housekeeper in the Chandler household won’t be a problem.”
My gaze was ice-cold as I stared directly at the loving couple before me. The man who had once been pathologically germaphobic around me was now supporting Willow with a face full of tenderness. “Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and help Willow.” “After spending so long in prison, you still don’t know how to serve people properly.” Ethan’s face showed displeasure as he kept urging me. “Lauren hasn’t gone stupid from getting beaten in prison, has she? Why isn’t she responding?” Willow stroked her round belly, looking at me with contempt. Seeing me frozen in place, Ethan reached out and grabbed me. “Lauren, if you take good care of Willow, I’ll still give you a meal to eat.” “Otherwise, as an ex-convict, no one will take you in.” Watching Ethan’s aggressive expression, I thought back to when he was in college. Back then, he was still a shy and quiet young man. Too poor to apply for financial aid but too embarrassed to ask, he would eat other people’s leftovers in the cafeteria every day. As a student leader, I extended a helping hand, helping him apply for aid and buying him meals every day. His eyes would turn red, and he’d practically kneel before me in gratitude. In the end, he conspired with Willow to send me to prison. I suppressed the discomfort in my chest and turned to walk away. Willow stepped forward to grab me, and I quickly dodged to the side. She actually stumbled and fell directly to the ground. Seeing this, Ethan kicked me viciously. I cried out in pain and fell to the side. He hurried to help Willow up, his eyes full of heartache and anxiety. I lay on the ground for a long time, unable to get up. Years ago, to accompany Ethan in starting his business, I squeezed into a tiny rental apartment with him. I bought him thermal pants but couldn’t bear to buy any for myself, and my legs developed problems from the cold. During my years in prison, I had no proper care. That kick from Ethan just now—the pain was excruciating now. “You lunatic! Willow was kind enough to offer you a job, and you tried to hurt her.” Ethan’s eyes blazed with fury, his chest heaving. “I never thought that after all these years, Lauren would still hold a grudge against me.” “Ethan, she wanted to hurt our baby.” Willow cried pitifully, as if she’d suffered the greatest injustice. She was still addicted to playing the victim. Our commotion in the street attracted quite a few onlookers. “That woman just got out of prison. My husband and I are acquaintances, so we wanted to help her find a job.” “Not only is she ungrateful, she pushed me, trying to harm the baby in my belly.” Willow spoke timidly, tears streaming down her face. “That woman is absolute trash. They were kind enough to help her, and she tried to hurt their baby.” “No wonder she was in prison. Lock her up again before she hurts more people.” Several middle-aged women were indignant, throwing vegetable scraps at me. Seeing that I really couldn’t get up, Ethan reached out and pulled me to my feet. Willow’s eyes seemed ready to shoot flames as she shouted at the crowd, “I’m calling the police.”
Ethan showed a shocked expression, then whispered in my ear. “Come back with me and be our housekeeper, or you’ll have hell to pay at the police station.” I forced myself to stand, shook off his hand forcefully, and said through gritted teeth: “Dream on. I never pushed her.” Willow looked desolate. “Ethan, my stomach hurts so much.” “Won’t you seek justice for me and the baby?” Watching her tearful expression, Ethan pulled out his phone. “I’m filing a report…” The surrounding crowd encircled me, pointing and gossiping. Soon the police arrived. Willow spoke weakly: “Officers, this woman tried to harm me and my unborn baby.” “I didn’t. She fell on her own, trying to frame me.” I said firmly. Willow whimpered while clutching her stomach, collapsing against Ethan’s shoulder. “She just got out of prison. We kindly offered her a job, but she tried to hurt us.” The surrounding onlookers grew more agitated. “That prison woman pushed her. We all saw it.” “Obviously no good. Just got out and already hurting people. Lock her up again.” The police said they would take us all back to the station for investigation. Throughout the journey, Willow kept crying softly while Ethan consoled her in low tones. That gentle manner—I’d never seen it before. In all the years we were together, he had been taciturn. I once asked playfully, “Ethan, why do you always have such a stern face?” He said he wasn’t good at expressing himself, that he had childhood trauma and couldn’t say comforting words. I felt guilty for so long afterward, hating myself for tearing open Ethan’s wounds. Now it seemed he just didn’t want to say such things to me. Getting out of the police car and seeing the station entrance, I almost laughed out loud. I turned to look at Ethan. His gaze froze as well. This police station was where Ethan and I had made our relationship official. Back in college, Ethan had a breakdown and cried when his wallet was stolen. The station where I accompanied him to file a report was this very one. That day, coming out of the station, he pulled a woven grass ring from his pocket. With hesitant eyes, he asked if I would be his girlfriend. I didn’t hesitate and put on that grass ring.
As soon as we entered the interrogation room, Ethan and Willow insisted I had deliberately hurt her, even producing evidence of my recent release from prison. My gaze was cold. “I did serve time, but that doesn’t mean I pushed her.” “You went to prison for being a mistress. Now that you’re out, wouldn’t you want revenge?” Willow spoke quickly, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand, as if it was an accident. Everyone froze. Several witnesses who had followed began muttering among themselves. “Really awful. Went to prison for being a mistress, got out and hurt people again.” “This person is rotten to the core. Should be locked up for life.” People around looked at me with contempt. Even the police officers frowned. My chest felt a sharp pain. Three years ago, Ethan’s assistant said my marriage certificate with Ethan was fake, that I was the mistress. I nearly went mad. We’d had a wedding and gotten a marriage certificate—how could I be the mistress? I was ordered to pay money back. Unable to pay, I was sent to prison. In jail, I received divorce papers and a message from Ethan. Ethan said I talked back to him and wasn’t obedient at all. He told me to learn to behave, and once I did, he’d let me come back. Willow was pregnant and needed the position of wife, so I should sign quickly. I signed without hesitation. I faced the mocking stares around me and responded: “Everything requires evidence. I’m not a mistress, and I didn’t push anyone.” “I’m suing you for defamation.” The surrounding voices quieted somewhat. Willow showed a pained expression and sobbed, “Officer, you see how arrogant this person is. You must help us.” Ethan’s face was unkind as he pointed at me. “What are you threatening? You’re an ex-convict—who’s going to listen to your nonsense?” Watching him point and curse at me, I only felt amused. That innocent young man from years ago was completely dead. The police officer gestured for everyone to be quiet and said they were pulling nearby surveillance footage. Seeing the police officer get up and leave, Ethan walked toward me, his eyes full of pity. “Lauren, if you just come back with me and be our housekeeper, I won’t pursue today’s matter.” “Prison before was just to teach you a lesson. If you’d been obedient like Willow, why would I have sent you to prison?” I leaned close to Ethan and spat at him viciously. “Stop dreaming. Just seeing you two makes me sick.” Ethan grabbed my hand and forced me into a corner. “Lauren, three years in prison and you still have this much backbone. Still haven’t learned to behave!” “Looks like you need to study in there for a few more years.” I bit down hard on his hand. Ethan released me in pain. “You’re an ex-convict. No one will want you.” “Lauren, this is your last chance.” I ignored him and walked to the other side. In my heart, I prayed that as long as there was surveillance footage, it would prove I didn’t push Willow. After a while, the police officer came back in and said there was no surveillance nearby. If I couldn’t reach a settlement, I’d be detained for investigation. Hearing this, Willow’s eyes brightened. With a contemptuous smile on her lips, she looked at me provocatively. “A settlement is possible. You just need to sign a contract to be mine and Ethan’s housekeeper, taking care of our daily needs, and we’ll agree to settle.” “Ethan said you’re pretty good at taking care of people. Here’s your chance to redeem yourself.” After speaking, Willow pulled out paper and pen from her bag and threw them at me. “Our Willow is truly kind-hearted.” “Lauren, you’d better not be stubborn to the end.” Ethan’s eyes showed certain victory as he stood with his arms crossed, watching me. Looking at his smug expression, I really wanted to slap myself. I’d accompanied the penniless Ethan in starting his business years ago. I watched him grow from a stammering young man into Mr. Chandler who could command everything. In the company’s early days, I managed finances while handling business relations. I built the entire company with my own hands. Until Ethan grew strong enough and told me to stay home as Mrs. Chandler and stop working so hard. At the time, I thought Ethan was just concerned about me, so I gave up all my work at the company and stayed home trying to conceive. Looking back now, it was all Ethan’s conspiracy to seize power. I threw the paper and pen back. “I didn’t push her. I won’t settle. I want an investigation.” Shock flashed through Ethan’s eyes. “Lauren, are you crazy? You want to go to prison!” I didn’t respond and walked toward the police officer. “You can detain me, but I want a thorough investigation. I won’t settle.” The police officer showed disbelief and confirmed several times. I nodded. This time, I couldn’t be framed without knowing the truth again. Just as I was being led toward the detention room, a voice came from behind. “Wait. I have evidence proving Ms. Reed is being framed.”
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