“Ethan, we’ve struggled side by side for eight years,
helping my family survive.
I thought you’d understand me.
Having Nathan’s child strengthens the alliance between our families.
There is no ‘choice’. It’s necessity.”
A bitter laugh tore from me.
I was supposed to understand my wife cheating?
Support her giving birth to her brother-in-law’s child?
I stood up, shredded the contract, and let the pieces fall like snow.
“Olivia, I can accept IVF—someone else as a surrogate.
That’s my limit.”
Her eyes darkened with irritation.
“Ethan Carter, this child must be conceived.
I’m informing you, not negotiating.”
My fists clenched. My heart went ice-cold.
“Olivia Hayes—let’s divorce.”
Silence crashed through the room.
A live-in son-in-law daring to demand divorce?
Unthinkable.
She stared for a long time.
Her voice finally cracked and fell to silence.
She stood up and dismissed the relatives.
Before leaving, she turned back:
“Ethan…
You love me so much.
Can’t you think for me—just a little more?”
That night, I sat alone—drying out inside.
Then I dialed that confidential number.
“You told me you owed me a favor.
I’m cashing it in.”
“Done. Whatever you need.”
The next morning, Olivia had packed her suitcases.
“Nathan is flying to Miami for a project negotiation.
He just had surgery—I’m going to take care of him.
You keep the company running.”
She strode out.
No concern for my health.
No explanation.
Everything already decided.
I washed up and went to work—numb.
The private investigator’s report hit my phone.
My shaking fingers tapped it open.
Olivia accompanied Nathan for a post-op check in Miami—everything normal.
She posted on social media:
“A brand new life, hand in hand with you.”
She attended a groundbreaking ceremony with him—arm in arm like a married couple.
They went sightseeing in Paris, signed their names beneath the Eiffel Tower lights.
Eight hundred videos a day—
Flashing her happiness with him.
Titles dripping with affection:
“Happiness Beside You”
“Destiny Gives Us a Second Chance”
If the woman leaning so sweetly on his arm
weren’t my wife…
Maybe I’d even click “like.”
My vision stung.
I finally commented beneath a post:
“If you want a second chance with him,
start by divorcing me.”
My comment vanished instantly.
Then her sixty-second voice message arrived—
“What nonsense are you posting?
You’re the VP of a company—use your brain.”
“My reputation is the company’s.
Do you want to drag us down?”
Despite everything, her words still broke me.
Tears slipped without warning.
Colleagues glanced at me with strange eyes—
Sympathy?
Or ridicule?
Maybe they think I’m a spineless leech
staying for money.
I don’t understand
how people can change so fast.
Eight years ago, the Hayes Group was near bankruptcy.
I abandoned a lucrative job, joined them, and fought with all I had.
I helped Olivia win back clients, door by door.
I camped outside the bank president’s office for ten days—
staking my future as collateral
just to secure that loan.
