Chapter 2

The ring had never fit properly. It was a little too tight.

After wearing it for so long, it had left an obvious red mark around my finger.

Ava took it from me and gripped the ring in a daze.

Then she let out a cold laugh and tossed it to the young man beside her. “Fine. You’re really something now.”

“You’re just giving up a three-million-dollar ring, the only one of its kind in the entire world?”

The boy bit his lower lip tightly and hesitated before saying, “…Ethan, the ring you’re treating with such disdain is something I’ve never even dared to hope for…”

He carefully held it in his palm, then met Ava’s eyes with a bright, sparkling gaze.

“I’ll treasure it.”

Ava studied the boy’s face with tender affection, took his hand, and naturally slid the ring onto his finger. The boy looked overwhelmed by the honor.

“Leave, Ethan. What are you still standing here for?”

She gave me a mocking glance.

“Where can you go without me? What are you without me?”

The boy immediately joined in, obediently leaning against Ava. “Ms. Morgan, everything Ethan has now came from you… and he still dares to speak to you like that… It’s completely unacceptable.”

Ava grew even angrier after hearing that.

I took one last disappointed look at her.

I looked at the woman who had captivated me for more than a decade, then turned and walked away.

There weren’t many things in the mansion that belonged to me: two or three changes of clothes, my daily toiletries, and nothing else.

It had always been this way, as if I had been a stranger with no importance from the very beginning.

I had once thought about decorating a warm home for the two of us.

I bought some adorable cats and dogs, but Ava complained that they were too much trouble and had them taken away right in front of me.

Following an online tutorial, I knitted Ava a scarf with my own hands. She looked at it with disgust.

“How am I supposed to wear something this cheap in public? Ethan, could you stop wasting your time on things like this?”

We had supposedly been married for three years, but in reality, Ava and I didn’t even have a marriage certificate.

I had been so excited on the day we were supposed to register our marriage that I couldn’t sleep all night.

I got up early, washed, and prepared everything. But something suddenly happened on Ava’s end. A guy she had recently met had slit his wrists and was threatening to kill himself.

After answering the call, Ava’s expression turned cold as she headed for the door. “I have something to deal with. Go wait for me at the courthouse.”

I grabbed her and asked when she would be back.

We were going to get our marriage certificate eventually.

I thought Ava would only be gone for a little while, but that day, I waited outside the courthouse for a very, very long time.

I waited until the staff went off duty, and until I had counted thirty-seven newlywed couples leaving with radiant smiles after registering their marriages, but I still never saw Ava.

I imagined that we would be like those couples, excitedly planning our future together.

Reality slapped me hard in the face.

Ava took that boy to watch fireworks over the city, giving him a romantic spectacle meant only for him. Everyone knew about it except me.

I only found out when someone accidentally let it slip during a conversation.

When Ava came back, I complained about how unhappy I was.

I asked why she had left for so long that day without saying a word.

Ava smiled and shrugged as she apologized. Then she promised me:

“Ethan, I’ve cut things off with him. I won’t contact him again. Can you forgive me just this once?”

I pulled her into my arms without thinking, feeling our hearts beating close together, and nodded.

“Okay.”

But after that, I never heard Ava mention registering our marriage again.

We had held a wedding. In everyone’s eyes, we were already husband and wife.

Looking back now, this marriage was filled with too much carelessness and indifference. My wholehearted devotion had turned into nothing but a joke!

“Mr. Blake, after all…”

The butler hesitated, wanting to stop me, but Ava prevented him. Holding the young man close, she ordered, “Without my permission, no one is allowed to bring Ethan back.”

Ava sounded as if she were making a declaration.

“I want Ethan to beg his way back!”