Chapter 2

Ethan handed me his phone. "Melody said she wants to eat at Le Petit Paris tonight. I have a business dinner, so you take her. Consider it returning the favor for the gift."

"Be polite to her. And after dinner, take her to buy a designer bag. It’s called etiquette."

A ten-dollar brooch in exchange for a ten-thousand-dollar bag. What a brilliant calculation.

I didn't reach for the phone. Seeing me ignore him, Ethan dialed Melody’s number himself.

Melody answered, her voice sweet and bubbly. "Ethan? Do you miss me already?"

Ethan cleared his throat, his eyes fixed on me. "Chloe is taking you out for dinner tonight. Pick out a gift you like, and she’ll pay for it."

Melody paused for a second before squealing, "I knew you were the best, Ethan!"

I looked at him coldly. "I told you, I’m not feeling well. I'm not going."

Ethan’s face fell. He grabbed my wrist tightly. "Don't push your luck, Chloe. You are going tonight, whether you like it or not!"

With a burst of anger, he ripped off his coat and threw it directly at my face to vent his frustration.

The force of his throw was so strong that I lost my balance. I stumbled and fell hard against the sharp corner of the sofa.

My right leg slammed into the wood. Instantly, blood began to gush out.

Ethan looked at me as if I were acting. "Seriously? Fine, I’ll get the medical kit."

He rummaged through the drawers for what felt like forever but couldn't even find a single roll of gauze.

He grew even more annoyed.

"Chloe, is this how you keep the house? You can't even keep a damn roll of gauze in the medical kit?"

He seemed to have completely forgotten that I had appendicitis surgery just a month ago. The gauze was used up during my recovery. I had explicitly asked him to buy some more when he passed by a pharmacy.

Before, I would have argued with him to prove it wasn't my fault.

Now, I didn't want to waste a single breath.

My vision was swimming. I had a severe phobia of blood. Forcing myself to stand, I whispered, "Just... take me to the hospital to get it bandaged."

Ethan muttered an annoyed curse, grabbed his keys, and walked out.

I dragged my leg and followed him.

But right after we drove out of our neighborhood, Ethan's phone rang.

I glanced at the screen. The caller ID read: *Melody.*

The next second, Ethan blocked my view with his hand and declined the call, looking at me guiltily.

I turned my face toward the window, completely indifferent.

He stared at me, his expression strange.

"You’re not going to make a scene?"

Why would I?

I looked back at him.

Did he expect me to scream, snatch his phone, and block her number to assert my dominance like I used to?

Right now, my only priority was getting to the hospital.

The phone rang again. Ethan frowned, glanced at me, and finally pressed answer.

Melody's crying voice filled the car. She claimed someone was stalking her and she was terrified. Even then, she didn't forget to play the victim: "Ethan, please explain to Chloe so she doesn't get mad at you because of me..."

Ethan panicked. He glanced at my bleeding leg, then shouted, "Get out of the car!"

I didn't move. He literally got out, walked to my side, opened the door, and dragged me out onto the curb.

"If I don't go, Melody might die!" he yelled, slamming the door.

He stepped on the gas and sped away.

I sat on the cold pavement, inhaling the exhaust fumes he left behind. My heart was completely shattered.

I managed to hail a Uber to the hospital. On the way, the driver looked at me through the rearview mirror with concern. "Are you okay, miss? Your leg is bleeding pretty badly. Are you alone?"

The genuine concern from a stranger made my eyes sting with tears.

While the nurse was bandaging my leg, I could hear the girls at the nurse's station gossiping about Ethan and Melody trending on Instagram.

Ethan's family company was a titan in the city, so it wasn't surprising that he was always in the spotlight.

Even though I didn't want to hear it, their whispers drifted over.

"Ethan’s muse is so gorgeous!"

"They look perfect together. I heard she’s a world-class pianist."

"Do you think they’ll announce a wedding soon?"

As I sat there numbly, the nurse bandaging me shouted toward them, "Keep it down! If the head nurse hears you gossiping, you’ll get your pay docked."

I smiled bitterly. I had attended several charity galas with Ethan after we got married, yet I was so forgettable.

Under the bright light of his "first love," everyone had forgotten he actually had a wife.

When I stepped out of the hospital, my phone buzzed with a breaking news notification.

Someone had uploaded a video of Ethan physically beating a man. The internet was in an uproar.

Melody had indeed been harassed, but Ethan usually cared deeply about his public image; his assistants usually handled these things.

This time, he had actually lost his mind and fought the guy himself for her.

I remembered during our company’s annual gala earlier this year, someone had accidentally shoved me, causing me to fall flat on the floor in front of everyone.

Ethan had been holding Melody’s hand, walking toward us under the spotlight.

I called out his name, but he didn't even look at me. It was only after Melody whispered something to him that he glanced at me with utter disgust, as if remembering I was his wife.

"How embarrassing," he had muttered.

Then, he walked away, leaving me to be mocked by the entire room.

The next day, he casually bought me a diamond necklace as an apology.

At the time, I cherished it like a treasure and was too afraid to even wear it. Only later did I find out it was just a custom piece that Melody had rejected.

I limped back to our house and began packing my bags.

At the same time, I called my best friend, Ashley. She was a top attorney at a major law firm in the city.

"Ashley," I said, my voice steady. "I want a divorce."

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