“Ethan really knows how to keep his wife in line—impressive!” someone remarked with mock admiration.
This time, I couldn’t help but speak up, but Ethan only sneered at me in return.
“It was just a joke,” he said coldly.
“Do you even realize your own worth? Who gave you the right to question me?”
So to him, a joke meant trampling my dignity under his feet.
Then came the sharp crunch—Star bit down on one of the medals, snapping it in half.
“No!” I cried out, my heart twisting in panic.
Seeing my expression change, Ethan raised his brows in smug triumph.
“If you care that much about those medals, then kneel down and beg the dog to give them back.”
I froze in humiliation, torn between rage and despair.
“Sophia can’t possibly kneel to Star,” Chloe interjected softly, though her eyes gleamed with calculation. “Maybe it’s better to let it go.”
Her words carried the air of someone already certain of victory.
“There’s only one medal left,” Ethan reminded me with a cruel smirk. “Hesitate any longer, and you’ll lose that one too.”
He gave a sharp chuckle, about to command Star to chew through the other medal.
“No… please…” I choked, before finally collapsing to my knees.
“Please, give me the medal back…” I forced the words out with unbearable shame.
When Ethan saw me actually kneeling, a fleeting trace of guilt flickered across his face.
“Let it go, Ethan. Sophia already knows she was wrong. Don’t make her bow her head again,” Chloe said gently, pulling him back into cold reason.
“No. If she doesn’t bow, how is that begging?” Ethan replied harshly.
Biting into the inside of my cheek, I lowered my head and struck it against the floor. Once, twice…
“Sophia, I’ll record a video as proof,” Chloe said sweetly, lifting her phone. “So no one can say we forced you. Everyone will see that you willingly kneeled and apologized to Star.”
At that moment, Star toppled off the sofa by accident. The last intact medal clattered to the floor and shattered into pieces.
“Never mind,” Chloe said carelessly, tossing the fragments at my feet. “Seems these medals can’t bring luck anyway. You can have them back.”
I stared at the broken pieces, my face pale, my body trembling.
My children were gone. And now even their medals were lost.
From my bag fell two things—the printed divorce papers, and the tiny urn holding their ashes.
Ethan snatched up the papers, scanning them briefly.
“You actually want to divorce me?” he said with a mocking laugh.
“Enough with the tantrums, Sophia. Do you really think I’ll tolerate this nonsense forever?”
With that, he tore the divorce papers into pieces and flung them at my face. He didn’t notice the flash of hatred that passed through Chloe’s eyes.
“What’s this? Some trinket you picked up?” Chloe sneered, picking up the urn and pretending to pry it open.
“No!” I lunged forward to grab it, but Ethan blocked my way.
“It’s just a worthless box. Let Star use it as a chew toy.”
Those words broke me. I exploded, screaming with every shred of pain inside me.
“That’s my children’s ashes! Give them back to me!”
Ethan froze, startled by my words.
“If you don’t believe me, call the hospital and check for yourself!” I shouted.
Seeing the raw truth in my face, he fumbled for his phone in panic, dialing in haste.
But Chloe’s teary voice interrupted.
“Sophia, you’re just angry I’ve taken Ethan’s attention, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll leave with Star right now. Just… please, don’t curse your own children anymore…”
Ethan stopped the call, his face twisting with fury, and struck me across the face with a brutal slap.
“You vile woman! For the sake of jealousy, you’d even dare to mention your children’s ashes?!”
Then he turned coldly to the guards.
“Lock her in the basement. Let her learn her lesson.”
