Chapter 3

Before, I trusted him because he'd truly risked his life for me.

Now that I'd seen it with my own eyes, I had no interest in playing dumb and humiliating myself.

"Being foolish?"

I looked up, forcefully suppressing the hidden pain in my heart, my tone cold and hard.

"At least I'm smarter than when I chose you all those years ago."

At those words, Ethan's expression darkened sharply.

His large hand came toward me.

I turned my head to avoid it and stepped back.

"It's either me or her."

"Make your choice."

He'd never considered giving up Vivian.

Five years together, three years of marriage—he knew my vulnerabilities better than anyone.

When I was fifteen, my father had an affair.

From then on, my parents fought constantly.

Eventually, my father couldn't take it anymore and left home.

My mother fell into depression, warning me never to trust love.

In the end, she jumped from a building right in front of me.

Once, to open my heart, he'd been willing to risk his life to save me.

Now he wanted me to share him with another woman.

This fickleness shattered the last bit of fantasy in my heart.

I bit my lip hard, struggling to calm my burning eyes.

I refused to show any weakness.

"I'll send you the divorce papers."

"Remember to sign them."

Propping up my crumbling body, I wanted to leave this place of heartbreak.

Behind me, Ethan's cold laugh came, piercing through me like ice.

"Divorce?"

"Lana Anderson, have you forgotten?"

"You still owe me a life."

How ridiculous.

His life-risking sacrifice had now become chains binding me.

I forced out a bitter smile, concealing all emotion.

I turned to face him, yielding nothing.

"I was deliberately targeted because of you, drank until I had a stomach hemorrhage."

"Doesn't that count as repayment?"

Unfortunately, those closest to us always know exactly how to hurt us most.

With just one sentence, Ethan completely broke through my defenses.

"If it weren't for you, would I have ended up in that situation?"

"Back then, if my brain hadn't been damaged, I wouldn't have fallen for you."

"I'd have more than just today's achievements!"

Perhaps remembering those difficult times, he suddenly stepped forward and gripped my shoulder, using enough force to crush bone.

"And everything you wear, use, and live in—which of it wasn't given by me?"

His large hand lightly patted my face.

Humiliation surged through me.