He Cheated, I Chose Better

When I was 20 years old, my adoptive brother, Maxine Ryan was drugged by his opponents. I kissed him on the lips as if I were the antidote.

He did not refuse and put his hand into my underwear.

After a night of absurdity, he said in a hoarse voice, “I will be responsible for you.”

The next day he publicly announced that he had registered his marriage to me.

Everyone in the circle thought that the notoriously unreliable ‘playboy prince’ of the Ryan Family had fallen in love with me.

I also thought that I had become a special person in Maxine's heart.

Until our tenth wedding anniversary...

On our tenth anniversary, I nearly died.

That day, I was kidnapped by my husband Maxine Ryan’s business rivals. In a desperate bid to make him back down from a high-stakes corporate battle, they took me—his wife—hostage. Their message was clear: withdraw, or lose me.

But Maxine’s phone was off. He never picked up.

Hours later, high above the ground, they shoved me out of a helicopter—10,000 meters in the sky. No parachute. No mercy.

By some miracle, I survived. A massive lake broke my fall, saving me from certain death. I awoke days later in a hospital, battered, broken… and betrayed.

That was when I learned the truth.

While I was being hurled toward death, Maxine was in a hotel suite—with his secretary, Valerie Stone. He had gone to pick her up from the airport after a business trip and spent what should’ve been our anniversary wrapped in her arms.

Three days after I regained consciousness, I was discharged. Maxine never came.

My assistant was the one who picked me up.

The driver took me directly to the group's annual meeting. At the meeting, I saw with my own eyes that he punched a company partner in the face because Valerie was molested.

The scene was so chaotic that as Mrs. Ryan, I had to calm the situation immediately and use sweet words to coax everyone out.

When I came back exhausted, I heard Maxine's assistant say, “Mr. Ryan, if you really like her, why not just keep her as your lover like before? Madam loves you so much that she will probably turn a blind eye to this.”

Maxine played with his lighter and answered, “She cannot do that. Being her lover is unfair to her.

“She is not a self-deprecating person like Betty. I don’t want to treat her casually.”

I stood outside the door and felt my fingertips getting cold.

Self-deprecating?

It turned out that after ten years of marriage, in his eyes, I was no different from his previous lover.

But I clearly never begged him to marry me.

I stood there, feeling as if I had lost all the temperature in my body.

In the past, Maxine was a playboy and everyone said that it was easy for him to make a woman think he loved her.

At first, I did not take it seriously and thought I was an exception.

But that time my heart hurt a lot.

While I was lost in thought, I accidentally bumped into the table and the conversation between the two of us came to an abrupt end.

Maxine looked at me and said, “Betty, thank you for your hard work.”

He always spoke with a smile and in the eyes of outsiders, he was very doting on me.

But when I looked into his eyes at that moment, I saw a hint of impatience in them.

I forced a smile and said nothing.

The party was finally over and Maxine and I called a designated driver and sat in the back seat.

He unbuttoned two buttons on his collar, put his hand into my skirt and said lazily, “You did a great job today, what reward do you want?”

The strange driver was still in front, but he seemed not to see him.

In the past, I would blush and my heart would beat fast because of his teasing and I would suppress my shyness and cooperate with him in playing exciting tricks.

But at that moment, all I could think of was him saying he did not want to be casual with another woman.

What about me?

Was he treating me like this because he thought I was not worth cherishing?

Before I could say no, Maxine's phone rang.

He immediately answered the phone and distanced himself from me, “Well, I'm fine, don’t worry. Go to bed early tonight and don’t think too much.”

Maxine's tone was so gentle and nervous.

The frivolous look he showed towards me instantly disappeared, leaving only a tender and affectionate look behind.

My heart ached. This was what made someone special.

“Is it Valerie who called?”

Maxine frowned and immediately interrupted me with a dark face, “Betty, don’t be jealous.

“She is my subordinate. When someone teases her, should I not protect her? As my wife, don’t you understand this?

“I thought you were sensible.”

I just said one sentence, but his attitude changed instantly and he started to educate me.

As if I had done something unforgivable.

We were silent for a long time until the car stopped in front of the company.

Before leaving, Maxine returned to his usual self and kissed me on the ear. “Be good and wait for me to come home.”

If it were in the past, I would blush and whisper to him not to get too tired. But that time, I did not answer nor smile.

It was not until the car started again that I found his briefcase still on the seat.