Chapter 2

While I was lost in thought, the porcelain shard slipped and sliced my wrist. Blood instantly gushed out.

An annoyed look of "here we go again" flashed across Ethan's face.

He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly strode over, grabbed me, and threw me into the bathtub with no expression.

The ice-cold water soaked through my clothes. The moment I realized what he was doing, I began to struggle frantically.

"Ethan! I'm pregn—"

"Shut up," he growled, cutting off my words brutally.

He pinned my wrists above my head, staring down at me for a few seconds. His eyes were filled with disgust.

"Didn't you drug me just to get me into bed? Was my performance not enough to satisfy you?"

I froze in disbelief, a sense of absolute absurdity washing over me.

I don't know where I got the strength, but I broke free from his grip. I grabbed whatever was near me and threw it at him like crazy.

"Get out! Get the hell out!"

He didn't dodge. He took the hits numbly, as if he were already used to it.

When I finished venting, he wiped the blood dripping from his forehead. Without a shred of warmth, he walked away.

"I recovered the videos you secretly recorded. Whether you want to send them to the media or plaster them all over the city’s billboards, go ahead."

"The files you used to stalk and threaten me are on the flash drive on the desk. Do whatever you want with them."

He assumed I wouldn't let this go, so he laid out all the ways I could ruin him.

Because those, at least, were consequences he could handle.

He was afraid of me.

This realization made me laugh until tears came out.

"Ethan, then why don't you just divorce me?"

His footsteps stopped at the doorway. He seemed to find it hilarious.

"Would you even agree?"

"Scarlett, I’ve accepted that I’m stuck with you for life."

The last shred of hope in my heart shattered.

"Just please, leave Chloe alone."

Those words, followed by the deafening slam of the door, made my head spin for a long time.

This was the third time I had heard Ethan say the word "please."

The first time was when we were eighteen.

His billionaire father had his private security guards beat him bloody to force him to break up with me. He was bruised and battered, but he just wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "I’m marrying Scarlett. Please, disown me or beat me to death. I don't care."

The second time was during my postpartum depression.

He had rushed onto the rooftop, dragging me back just as I had one foot over the edge. He was shaking all over. "We can have another baby! Please don't leave me! If you jump, I’ll jump with you right now!"

And this was the third time.

Only this time, he was begging me to spare Chloe.

My lips curled into a bitter smile. Tears mixed with the blood dripping into the tub.

Shaking, I reached for my phone, but my finger accidentally swiped the emergency contact.

I thought no one would answer, just like always.

Just as I was about to hang up, Chloe’s voice drifted through the speaker.

"Ethan, a cold shower will make you sick... let me help you."

Ethan’s muffled voice came through, mixed with the sound of running water. "No. I don't want to hurt our baby. Or you."

Chloe paused, a hint of a smug smile in her tone. "Then why don't you go find Scarlett?"