Chapter 2

The doctor shouted anxiously in the hallway. I simply smiled, turned around, and walked out of the hospital.

"Ethan! Where the hell are you?! I almost died giving birth to your son, and you pull a disappearing act?!"

From the moment she popped the baby out, Chloe kept spamming my phone. I didn't pick up once.

A week later, I finally answered.

"My son?" I chuckled.

Seriously, how did she say that with a straight face?

"What do you mean by that?! You have thirty minutes to get your ass over here, Ethan!" Chloe screamed through the receiver.

I knew exactly why she was panicking. She didn't even have the money to pay her hospital bills.

"Sure. But while we're at it, let's run a DNA test to see whose kid that actually is."

The line went dead silent.

I knew she was guilty. A few minutes after I hung up, she called back, her voice completely changed—soft and whimpering.

"Babe... I know you still love me. Can we please just talk?"

She was playing nice now. But I wasn't an idiot. Raise another man’s kid? No way.

"Sure," I said smoothly. But instead of going to the hospital, I drove straight back to my office.

On the way, I thought about how we met. An acquaintance had introduced us.

Back then, she was just a certified pediatric massage therapist. We dated for a year before getting married.

After the wedding, someone lured her into that shady spa. I didn't find out until my friend told me.

We had a huge fight about it. To convince me, she brainwashed me every day, even taking me to the spa to prove it was a "clean, professional business."

Just when I was about to believe her, I caught her in a lie.

From that day on, I stopped trusting her. I hid my real income and never told her about my promotion.

I gave her chances. I tried to pull her back. But she took my love as a license to play me for a fool.

"Ethan, you are not a real man!"

When I got home, Chloe was sitting in my living room, holding the baby.

"So raising another man's kid makes me a man?" I pulled off my tie and sat on the couch.

"Ethan, I know you still love me. Can we just start over? If you love me, you have to accept my son too."

So, she was finally admitting it wasn't mine.

Looking at her now, easily weighing 180 pounds, I found the whole thing hilarious.

"When I loved you, you treated me like trash. Now that I don't, it's over. I signed the divorce papers you wanted a month ago. Here."

I threw the papers on the coffee table.

"No! You can’t do this to me!" she shrieked, losing her mind.

"Why not? Am I supposed to just keep wearing the green hat you gave me?"

If she wouldn't sign them quietly, I’d let my lawyers handle it. Chloe knew she wouldn't get a single penny if we went to court. She might even have to pay me back for all the money she spent.

"Ethan, do you really have to be this cruel?" Chloe fell to her knees, grabbing my hand, tears streaming down her face.

Disgusted, I shook her off.

"If you don't want to see this baby, I can give him away! Just don't divorce me!" she cried, grabbing my leg.

She was crying so loudly that the baby woke up, screaming at the top of his lungs. Annoyed, Chloe didn't even look at the child. She just tossed him carelessly onto the couch.

"Get out," I said coldly.

"Ethan! Even if we divorce, I’m entitled to half of everything! This house is half mine! I’m not going anywhere!"