Chapter 2

The next day, I brought some homemade chicken noodle soup and toast to the hospital.

As I reached the door, I heard voices from inside.

"Mr. Vance, is Mrs. Vance always... this dominant at home?" Clara’s gentle voice drifted out.

"Sigh. She’s very career-oriented. Everything at home has to go her way," Ethan replied, sounding incredibly victimized.

"With your condition, stress is the worst thing. Being suppressed for so long... even a heart of steel couldn't take it..."

"Maybe you're right..."

"If you ask me, a woman’s place is ultimately in the home. Taking care of her husband and children is her real duty. With Mrs. Vance running around outside all day, the house doesn't even feel like a home. How can you recover in an environment like that?"

I thought Ethan would defend me. He had always claimed to support my career.

Instead, he fell silent for a moment and sighed. "If she had half your gentleness, maybe I wouldn’t have fallen ill."

I pushed the door open.

"Ethan, did you not hear my choice yesterday?"

Both of them jumped.

Clara wasn't wearing her caretaker scrubs today. Instead, she wore a tight knit dress that hugged her curves.

She had light makeup on. And around her neck was the vintage emerald and diamond necklace that Ethan's late mother had passed down to me!

His mother had placed it around my neck on her deathbed, telling me it was reserved strictly for the daughter-in-law of the Vance family.

My throat felt like it was being squeezed. I couldn't make a sound.

Ethan looked guilty, but seeing Clara beside him, he squared his shoulders.

I took a deep breath, fighting the tremors in my body.

"I’ll ask one last time. Who do you choose?"

Five years of marriage, countless sacrifices—all worthless compared to a scheming caretaker.

He had actually given away my mother-in-law's heirloom to an outsider.

Clara acted as if she had just noticed me, gasping, "Oh, Mrs. Vance, why are you feeding Mr. Vance that? A recovering patient needs proper nutrients! Simple soup and toast won't do at all!"

The doctor had explicitly ordered a light diet.

"You young people really don't know how to take care of anyone..."

I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed the food container and smashed it onto the floor!

"Ethan, we are getting a divorce!"

"Fine! I've had enough anyway!"

Ethan bolted upright, pointing a finger at my face.

"Olivia! Is your heart made of stone? Is a stupid apartment more important than a human life?"

"Clara has to commute two hours by bus to get to the hospital every day! What's wrong with letting her stay in our apartment?"

The hot soup splashed onto his hand, making him wince in pain.

Clara rushed over, wiping his hand with tissues, her tears flowing instantly.

"Mr. Vance, does it hurt? It’s all my fault... all my fault..."

She turned to me and suddenly fell to her knees with a loud thud.

"Mrs. Vance, I beg you, please don't be angry. Don't divorce Mr. Vance because of me... It’s all my wretched life’s fault. I'll leave right now, I’ll never show my face again..."

What a brilliant performance of playing the martyr.

Ethan, heartbroken, tried to pull her up, shielding her behind him as he glared at me.

"Olivia! Look at what you’ve forced this poor, honest woman to do! Just because your family has money, you think you can stomp on everyone else's dignity?"

I looked at him, feeling utterly alienated.

When we first met, his family was dirt poor. My father recognized his academic talent and paid for his Ivy League PhD.

When he pursued me, he swore he loved my independence and intelligence.

Now, he claimed he was sick of my dominance?

I ran my father's company so he could comfortably pursue his research without worrying about bills.

And in his eyes, it was all my fault?

My heart turned to ash.

"Ethan, this marriage is over."

Furious, Ethan grabbed a glass cup from the bedside table and hurled it at me!

I couldn't dodge in time. A sharp pain bloomed on my forehead, and warm blood immediately began pouring down my face.

He froze.

Clara gasped loudly. She pretended to hold him back, but in the chaos, she gave me a sharp push!