Chapter 2

Through the mask, my voice sounded muffled.

Feeling humiliated, Ryan's face turned ugly.

He lunged forward to grab the flowers. I held on tight, and the petals scattered all over the floor in the struggle.

Vivian looked uncomfortable and grabbed Ryan's hand.

"Hey... forget it."

But Ryan was fired up. He punched me hard in the stomach.

"Fuck! Do you know who you're looking at? This is Vivian Sterling, the richest woman in New York! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

His punch was brutal. I crashed to the floor, my head slamming hard against the corner of the wall.

Vivian gasped, but Ryan rushed over, snatched the ruined flowers from my hand, and shoved them into her arms.

In my daze, memories of the past seven years flashed before my eyes.

On our wedding day, that toy had slipped out of Vivian's dress on the red carpet.

The paparazzi went wild, their flashes blinding me. Still, I used my own body to shield Vivian from the cameras.

When the media stormed us with vicious rumors, I looked Vivian in the eye, asking her over and over if it was just a misunderstanding.

She bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.

But Ryan chose that exact moment to do a media interview.

"That toy is mine. I don't care how powerful the CEO of Sterling Enterprises is—she's mine in bed! That pretty boy she married is useless. He can't satisfy her at all."

Ryan was just a low-life security guard at Sterling Enterprises—lazy, vulgar, and utterly disgusting.

Overnight, I became the biggest laughingstock in New York's high society.

I had been a model for years, seen the worst of humanity, and never believed in love.

Until Vivian came along. Despite our massive difference in status, she never looked down on me.

She pursued me relentlessly, eventually winning me over with what I thought was pure devotion.

I thought I had found true love. I loved her with everything I had.

But Vivian had never stopped her dirty affair with Ryan.

After the wedding scandal, I fell into a severe depression.

For my sake, Vivian called Ryan right in front of me and told him to never show his face again.

She knelt before me, crying and begging.

"I broke up with him, Ethan. For you, I'll do anything."

I had barely managed to force a smile back then.

Now, a crowd was starting to gather in the hospital corridor.

Vivian grabbed Ryan's arm nervously.

"Let's go. If someone takes a video and Ethan sees it..."

At the mention of my name, Ryan's anger flared.

He spat on me and kicked me in the ribs.

"Fuck Ethan! It's been seven years! Why can't I be with you in public?!"

"Let them record! Let the whole of New York know we've been together this whole time!"

Then, Ryan's eyes locked onto Vivian's belly. His eyes turned red.

"Vivian, this baby is mine, right? If it's that pretty boy's, I'm taking you to get an abortion right now."

Vivian covered her stomach, whispering nervously, "You know I take the morning-after pill every time I have to sleep with him..."

Hearing this, Ryan smiled with satisfaction.

"Good. Divorce him. He's useless to your career anyway. Look at me—I closed several massive deals for you last year using your name. The man beside you should be someone like me."

My fists clenched as I stared at Vivian's belly.

For seven years, she had kept him as her secret lover and even let him interfere with her company's business.

And the baby—the child I thought was the start of our new life—wasn't even mine.

Ryan grabbed Vivian's hand and found her phone.

"Call him. Tell him you want a divorce."