Chapter 3

“I don’t care what tricks you used to win those prizes.”

“The results are out. I’m not wasting my breath arguing. I have just one thing to say: I want a divorce.”

By the time we got home, both sets of parents were waiting in the living room.

The moment my mother-in-law saw me, she started shouting.

“What is wrong with you? Sophie wins one little prize, and you’re so jealous you start demanding a divorce!”

I shot back,

“You seem awfully familiar with Ethan’s company. You even know his secretary’s name.”

She faltered, then forcibly changed the subject.

“Stop changing the subject. Go ahead and throw your princess tantrum, but think about who’s going to put up with you after you divorce Ethan.”

Dad pulled me to his side.

“I’ll spoil my daughter. What are you going to do about it?”

My mother-in-law rolled her eyes at him.

“So what if you spoil her? A father isn’t the same as a husband.”

“Can a father warm her bed? Can he give her children?”

“Oh, I forgot. Your daughter can’t have children. Ethan’s the one making a sacrifice by staying with her. He’s the only son in nine generations of the Hayes family!”

Her words sawed at my heart like a dull blade.

Dad noticed the change in my expression and immediately thundered, “Shut up!”

Determined to stand up for me, he called his lawyer without another word.

“I’m having my lawyer come over and handle the divorce right now.”

When Ethan first started his business, Dad had provided the funding.

But Ethan had too much pride. He didn’t want people to think he’d made his fortune through my family.

The business should have taken three to five years to become profitable. Instead, he insisted on turning a profit, doubling it, and paying Dad back within a year.

I’d been young and reckless too. I worked around the clock beside him.

Several times, I was too busy to eat and passed out from hunger, landing in the hospital.

Even as I was about to lose consciousness, the first thing I said was, “Don’t tell my dad.”

Between our relentless work schedule and the connections Dad introduced out of concern for me, Ethan hit his goals ahead of schedule. Then he told the world it was all thanks to his own bold leadership.

But all those years of overwork left me with lasting health problems.

The doctor said it would be very difficult for me to get pregnant.

Back then, Ethan had held me close, kissing me everywhere as he comforted me.

“It’s okay. Even if we never have children, my love for you won’t change.”

“We can always adopt. We’re both exceptional people. We’ll raise an exceptional child.”

To keep Dad from worrying, we told everyone I wasn’t planning on getting pregnant because I wanted to maintain my figure.

But Ethan told his parents the truth.

When his mother heard I couldn’t have children, she came straight to our house and demanded he divorce me.

“Ethan’s the only son in nine generations! We can’t let our family line end because of a barren hen!”

Dad was furious and demanded an explanation from Ethan on the spot.

He nearly made me leave that ungrateful bastard then and there.

But Ethan knelt outside Dad’s house for three days and nights, refusing food and water to prove his love for me. Only then did Dad reluctantly forgive him.

He warned their family never to reopen that wound again.

Yet here my mother-in-law was, throwing my infertility in my face at a time like this.

I couldn’t help wondering what had made her so confident that she could get away with it.

Ethan was still afraid of Dad.

When he heard Dad angrily insist on a divorce again, he fell back on his old trick and dropped to his knees.

“Claire, I was wrong. Please don’t divorce me.”

“We poured everything into building that company together. It’s practically our child. Can you really bear to watch our child die when it’s thriving?”

“Just tell me why you want a divorce. I’ll change, okay?”

I remained unmoved.

“I already told you. Because you gave Sophie a year of paid leave.”

“You’ll change? How? Are you willing to cancel her paid leave?”

Ethan’s eyes flickered.

“You can’t take back a prize once you’ve given it out. If people hear we rescinded a company prize, we’ll be a laughingstock in the industry.”

I gave a cold laugh.

“Then there’s nothing to discuss. Let’s get divorced.”

The lawyer arrived quickly. I signed the papers without hesitation and tossed them to Ethan.

His hand trembled around the pen, but he couldn’t bring himself to sign.

Finally, as though he’d reached some great decision, he looked up at me.

“Can you tell me why you’re so fixated on Sophie’s year of paid leave?”

To clear up his confusion and get him to sign, I answered.

“You staged that whole show just to give Sophie a legitimate excuse to take a year off with pay, didn’t you?”

“A lot can happen in a year. For example…”