Chapter 3

I went to find Ethan at his office.

The place was buzzing. Half the staff were falling over themselves trying to get close to Zoe.

Ethan pulled me into his office.

When he saw the divorce papers in my hand, he looked mildly annoyed.

"There's no need to go that far. The online drama will blow over."

He and Zoe were already openly flaunting their relationship in public now.

They walked hand in hand — a real couple, a devoted pair.

Word was that Ethan had even taken Zoe home to meet his family. After everything they'd been through, they were finally living their happy ending.

I bit down hard on my lip. Grandpa had been in the hospital, and Ethan hadn't shown up once.

I wasn't angry for my own sake. I was angry for Grandpa. He'd always treated Ethan like his own grandson.

Whenever Ethan and I fought, Grandpa would look for ways it was my fault and put in a good word for him.

"Sophie," he used to tell me, "Grandpa knows you're strong and sharp — but sometimes in love, men don't like that. You have to bend a little."

Grandpa was old-fashioned. He believed that as long as a woman was gentle and willing to compromise, a marriage would hold together.

But Grandpa didn't know that not every man was as loyal as he was. And not every woman's sacrifices got repaid.

Ethan had given up on this marriage a long time ago. My tolerance had only earned me more humiliation.

I handed him the pen anyway.

"Do you think people online are that naive? A real divorce on paper actually shuts up the skeptics. I don't want Grandpa to wake up and deal with more drama."

Zoe chimed in.

"Sophie has a point."

Ethan's expression eased.

"Once things settle down, we can remarry. I've told you — your position won't change. You'll always be the lady of this house."

I gave him a small smile and said nothing.

I didn't want the position anyway.

I'd never raised divorce before because our two families' companies had been deeply intertwined. But over the years, I'd quietly been untangling those ties. The connection had grown thinner and thinner.

All thanks to Ethan.

Once, to get back at me on Zoe's behalf, he'd torpedoed a startup subsidiary I'd just launched. All because I'd cancelled one of my own credit cards — which had accidentally left Zoe unable to pay at a department store and embarrassed in front of everyone.

Without asking a single question, Ethan leaked confidential information about my company.

He lounged back in his chair without a care.

"Sophie, you were the one who pulled that dirty move and humiliated Zoe. Besides, it's all jointly owned — everything tied to my company is mine to deal with however I want."

My company folded.

A full year of work. Gone.

A whole office full of deflated employees who'd poured everything into something that ended like this.

I was furious. I slapped him across the face.

"I didn't do anything. What kind of person are you? What am I supposed to tell my employees? Do you have any idea how much time and effort goes into R&D?"

Ethan didn't listen. His eyes were fixed on Zoe, standing there teary-eyed.

He even used financial leverage to squeeze Grandpa's company, trying to force me into apologizing to Zoe.

I was terrified of it affecting Grandpa, so I swallowed my pride and went to Zoe with an apology I didn't mean.

Afterward, Ethan found out it had all been a misunderstanding — he was the one who'd taken my card and given it to Zoe. I had only cancelled my own card.

He came to apologize. He even wanted to celebrate our anniversary.

"I didn't realize I'd grabbed the wrong card. As for the company — I'll make it up to you. But you never explained yourself clearly either."

I almost laughed. He hadn't listened when I tried. But sure, it was my fault for not explaining.

The anniversary didn't happen, of course. Because Zoe had a headache.

From that point on, I separated every single one of my assets from Ethan.