Since she didn’t treasure it,
there was no need to keep that agreement.
I lowered my eyes to the couch, noticing faint streaks of blood on the cushion.
Vanessa’s illness had advanced to the point where it left marks on her skin.
She wouldn’t last much longer.
News had spread that I’d moved out and handed all fixed assets to Vanessa.
That was when a childhood friend, someone I hadn’t seen in years, showed up out of the blue.
The first thing he did was scold me:
“Back when you broke with your uncle and aunt just to marry that woman, I thought you’d lost your mind.
Now you finally woke up and filed for divorce, and yet you gave her the house and car? What the hell are you thinking?”
I chuckled and asked:
“Who said I was giving them to her?”
“What? Then why…”
My friend frowned, scratching his head in confusion.
“Forget it. As long as you know what you’re doing. Anyway, I came here on someone’s request. I want to take you somewhere. You up for it?”
I replied, “Why wouldn’t I be?”
To my surprise, he dragged me into a luxury private club.
The waiters smiled politely, the guests dressed in wealth and status.
It was the city’s most extravagant den of indulgence.
He fiddled with his phone, then turned to me:
“My cousin’s had feelings for you since before you got married. When she heard you split with Vanessa, she cried and begged me to set up a meeting.
Come on, she’s booked a private room for us.”
Awkward realization hit me—this was his plan all along.
I was about to decline when, by sheer misfortune, I bumped straight into Vanessa, who was clinging to another man’s arm.
“What are you doing here?”
Vanessa blurted out, glaring at me with impatience.
“Didn’t you agree to divorce me? Why are you chasing me here to pester me? Don’t you ever get tired?”
Since our masks had come off, she’d reverted to her true self.
Every word out of her mouth was crueler than the last.
I kept my face calm.
“I came with a friend for dinner. This has nothing to do with you. Don’t flatter yourself.”
Vanessa sneered, turning to the man beside her:
“Marcus, this is my useless ex-husband.
I’ve made up my mind to divorce him, but he keeps following me around like some mangy dog. It’s disgusting.”
The man smirked, looking me up and down.
“So this is your ex? Pathetic.”
My friend couldn’t stand it. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to curse him out.
But his phone buzzed urgently. With a grim look, he swallowed his anger, threw a harsh word, and pulled me toward the elevator.
I thought that would be the end of it.
But when I opened the door to the private room—
Vanessa and Marcus were already inside.
“Miss Bennett, could you talk to your father for me? I really need that land in the west of town.”
The same man who insulted me earlier was now bowing and scraping before a refined young woman.
Every gesture was careful, every word ingratiating.
Chloe Bennett’s expression was calm, but the moment her eyes fell on me, her face lit up in surprise.
“Ethan? You’re here!”
Vanessa froze. Marcus’s head whipped around.
“You actually know Chlo—”
Marcus hadn’t finished before Vanessa cut him off sharply:
“Ethan Cole, why are you here again?”
Her eyes burned with irritation.
I barely spared her a glance before turning my attention to Chloe.
