Chapter 2

The next day, I went to my prenatal checkup alone.

Unsurprisingly, Ethan never showed up.

Right after I finished talking with the doctor, my phone buzzed violently in my coat pocket.

It was my mother.

The moment I answered, her eager, almost sycophantic voice filled my ear.

"Hazel! Did you and Ethan finish the checkup? I've already invited everyone over to celebrate your pregnancy, but Ethan isn't answering his phone! Where is he?"

I froze.

But then it clicked. He was probably exhausted after spending the night in his little influencer's bed.

After a brief hesitation, I decided to lay it out. "You don't need to celebrate. We're getting a divorce."

"What the hell are you talking about?! Don't you dare mention divorce!" her screech nearly shattered my eardrum.

Just as I expected, she was completely against it.

Hearing her relentless scolding, I remained calm. "He's cheating on me. I'm not raising my child in a broken home."

That finally shut her up.

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally, she sighed. "Just... come over first."

"Fine," I said, hanging up.

I got into my car and started the engine. Just then, the custom ringtone I had set specifically for Ethan blared through the speakers.

Followed by his annoyed voice:

"Have you lost your mind? Divorce? What kind of game are you playing now, Hazel? Just because I couldn't make it to one checkup? You're just pregnant, it's not like you can't walk to the clinic yourself."

So, he was only just reading the text I sent last night.

Before I could reply, Ethan kept ranting.

"And you went completely overboard yesterday! You terrified poor Chloe. She was sobbing for hours, and it took me forever to calm her down."

"Go home and stay put. When we get back, you're going to apologize to her, and I'll let this slide."

I let out a bitter, mocking laugh.

What on earth had I done in the past to make Ethan think I could never live without him?

I kept my voice as flat as possible.

"I'll have my lawyer draft the divorce papers and send them to you. As for Chloe, you can comfort her however the hell you want."

I hung up.

When I reached my mother's house, she was pacing the living room, fuming.

Thinking she was angry on my behalf, I walked up to her and said softly, "Mom, don't worry. I'm definitely divorcing him."

Those words were like throwing gasoline on a fire.

My mother snapped, glaring at me with utter contempt.

"You're divorcing him over a tiny slip-up? You're a pregnant, soon-to-be single mother! Who the hell is going to want you if you're damaged goods?"

I froze, staring at her in disbelief.

Her rage wasn't directed at Ethan's betrayal. It was directed at my decision to leave.

Hearing her call me "damaged goods" made my entire body tremble.

"Mom... you're telling me I should just accept this?"

"What else? It's normal for wealthy men to have their fun! You're the legal wife. Just have the baby, apologize to Ethan, and this will all blow over."

A cold chill crept up from the soles of my feet.

When my dad cheated on her when I was a kid, instead of leaving him, my mother had tried even harder to please him. The result? My dad only got worse, eventually turning physically abusive.

She thought a man could be won over by submission. She thought her endless suffering would earn his loyalty.

But in reality, toxic men only step on you harder when you submit.

She knew firsthand how miserable a toxic marriage was. Why was she forcing me to live through the same nightmare?

"Mom, that's not love! My husband has to be loyal to me—"

"Love doesn't put food on the table!" she snapped, cutting me off. "I don't care what you think. If you dare divorce him, you are no longer my daughter!"

"You are going to come with me to find Ethan right now, and you're going to beg for his forgiveness. Since you're carrying his baby, he won't stay mad at you for long."

I was so angry my chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

But I held my ground.

"I am absolutely sure Ethan and I are done. Nothing you say will change that."

Hearing this, my mother shoved me out the door and slammed it in my face.

"If you want a divorce, don't come back here! I don't have a pathetic, damaged-goods daughter like you! Get lost!"

Even though I knew what she was like, the sting of her rejection still suffocated me.

It was like a wound that had healed over, only to be violently ripped open again.