I pretended I saw nothing, knocked lightly on the door, and walked into the office.
Ethan greeted me with a gentle smile. “You really came? Sorry about earlier—the meeting was important, so I was a little harsh on you. I won’t do that again.”
“It’s fine. Just do whatever you want,” I said quietly, trying to keep my emotions in check.
Usually, when I saw that familiar crescent-shaped smile of his, my resistance would crumble. No matter what we argued about, I’d always be the first to give in and make peace. But today, something was different. I couldn’t bring myself to surrender.
Noticing my cold attitude, Ethan frowned. “I already apologized. You’re not really going to be petty about this, are you?”
I looked at him directly. “No woman would be so broad-minded as to allow her husband to have other women on the side, right?”
He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he reached out and gently touched my cheek. “Claire, have you heard any rumors?”
“You have to believe me—I only love you,” he added, his voice soft and full of sincerity.
I wanted to laugh bitterly. How many times had I believed those words? But now, I feel utterly helpless. If I hadn’t seen the proof with my own eyes, I might have believed his lies again.
Without a word, he took out his phone, flipped to a photo, and placed it on the table in front of me.
I looked at the photo calmly. “Anything else you want to say? I’m listening.”
I expected panic, maybe some hesitation, but Ethan remained calm, almost too calm.
He glanced at the photo and said casually, “I was going to tell you in a few days, but I guess you already know.”
“Tell me what? Do you have another woman? And even children with her?” My voice cracked with disbelief.
Ten years ago, I had willingly undergone surgery to give him a vasectomy scar. I gave up everything for him, sacrificing my body and future. And now, he treated it like it was nothing.
Ethan continued, “I’m doing this for our future. So, are you blaming me?”
“For us?” I laughed bitterly, stunned by his audacity.
“Yes. Her name is Vanessa Clarke, CEO of Sterling Pacific Group. We met six years ago.”
“If you want to cooperate with Moriyo, you have to get through her first. Is there anything wrong with sacrificing yourself for the sake of profit?”
“If I hadn’t signed that contract with Moriyo, the company would have gone under long ago.”
Sterling? I stared at him in disbelief, suspicion rising in my chest.
Before I could say a word, he interrupted, “Anyway, I’m injured and can’t have children, so I agreed to stay with her one night.”
“Maybe she was a blessing from God. She gave me twins—a boy and a girl.”
I looked at Ethan’s surprised, almost proud expression, but inside, my heart was bleeding.
How could he speak so casually about something so devastating?
“The boy’s name is Caleb Quinn, and the girl’s Chloe Quinn. They’re really well-behaved and sensible children.”
“In the future, I’ll change my daughter’s surname to Mitchell. She’ll be our child.”
That “our” sounded so ridiculous. How could he expect me to accept such a thing?
“You have a woman on the side and children with her, and now you want me to raise them?”
I wasn’t sure if I understood him correctly, but it sounded like he wanted me to continue living with him and raise these children as if they were mine.
“So what am I to you?” My voice grew heavier, filled with pain and anger.
Seeing my tone, Ethan tried to comfort me patiently. “Claire, I know it will be hard for you to accept at first. But it’s okay. I’ll wait until you come around.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Do you really think I’ll accept this?”
In that moment, I realized how despicable my life had become.
Everything I had done for him, every sacrifice I had made, had turned into a cruel joke.
Maybe he was confident in his love for me, but I wasn’t.
I picked up my phone and typed coldly, “No. I don’t deserve this.”
I lowered the phone, staring blankly at the screen. The weight of betrayal pressed down on me like a suffocating fog. For years, I had convinced myself that love, loyalty, and sacrifice would hold us together. But now, those promises were shattered, replaced by a cruel reality I couldn’t ignore.
I thought of the twins—Caleb Quinn and Chloe Quinn. Innocent children born from deceit, their existence a sharp reminder of everything I had lost.
My heart ached not just for myself but for the family we could have been. For the future that was stolen.
I had been willing to give everything to Ethan—my body, my dreams, my identity. But he had never truly been mine.
The room felt cold and empty, despite the warmth of his presence. And I knew, with painful certainty, that nothing would ever be the same again.
