You Left Me for Doubt, I Made You Beg

Chapter 2 The Escape Plan

Ethan's reply to Julian was just one word.

Ethan: Congratulations.

His reply to Blair followed immediately.

Ethan: Professor Faulkner, I accept the offer.

Julian's response came instantly. He sent a photo of two clasped hands, the diamond ring on the ring finger glaringly bright on the screen.

The caption carried unconcealed joy.

Julian: She said I'm her Prince Charming.

Blair also replied in seconds.

Blair: Fantastic! The orchestra members will be back home soon, and they'll arrange your flight. Remember to report in seven days. You've got this!

Ethan let out a long breath at the screen.

He shoved his hidden college diploma into his backpack. That piece of paper, originally meant to be a surprise for their seven-year anniversary, was now his only ticket to escape.

The dark web page was still glowing on his screen. With a light tap, he hit the send button on his family search request.

Through the dense foliage of the sycamore trees, he could see the silhouette of the woman inside the villa, looking as manipulative and in control as ever.

'Mindy, this time, I'm leaving for good,' he thought. 'Since you, who called yourself my family, could stab me in the back, I'm going to find my real family.'

He stumbled back to their apartment. As expected, Mindy didn't come home that night.

At 3:00 AM, his phone buzzed. It was a text from her.

Mindy: Babe, an emergency came up at work. I have to go out of town. Be a good boy and wait for me at home. Love you.

Just before dawn, Julian's message popped up, accompanied by a video.

Julian: Ethan, I'm in Sunyaga! She actually built a white horse sculpture for me! I'm so happy!

In the video, a massive crystal white horse stood in the center of a 100,000-square-foot musical fountain. Sunlight bounced off it, the fragmented light blindingly bright.

Mindy's face was only partially visible, but her voice sounded sickeningly sweet. "Julian, who are you texting?"

"Ethan, of course," Julian replied with a bright smile, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong, Miss Sterling? Ethan is my best buddy from college."

The camera abruptly turned, focusing right on Mindy's face.

Ethan clearly saw her pupils shrink in panic before slowly relaxing, a hint of disdain even surfacing in her eyes.

It made sense. In her eyes, there was no way a guy like Ethan could ever step foot on a college campus. In the past, she would always snuggle into his arms, her eyes filled with crazy possessiveness. "Ethan, don't go to college, okay? I don't want anyone else eyeing my man."

She would kiss his earlobe. "You're so handsome. What if some college girl steals you away from me?"

But harboring a dream for music, he enrolled in a university behind her back. He wore a mask to class every day and had zero interaction with other girls. His classmates thought he was some antisocial weirdo.

But he didn't care.

On the day he got his diploma, he secretly practiced his lines multiple times, planning to wave the certificate in her face when she got home and say, "See? Nobody stole me away."

Then he would drag her to his graduation ceremony.

Now, it seemed that the one who got "stolen away" was Mindy.

Julian was the one who approached Ethan first back in the day. Ethan always felt his enthusiasm was a bit over the top, like he had an ulterior motive.

But later, he found out they actually had a lot in common. They both loved horseback riding, archery, the color white, and playing the piano.

Julian even shared bro secrets with him. "Ethan, this goddess said she likes me and wants to be my sugar mommy. I don't know what to do."

At that time, Ethan was so intoxicated by Mindy's tenderness that he just laughed and patted Julian's shoulder. "Just follow your heart, man."

If he hadn't stumbled upon that proposal, he probably would never have known that the "goddess" Julian was talking about was the same Mindy who told him "I love you" every single day.

Ethan swallowed back his tears, the ache spreading until his whole body went cold and stiff.

The video was still playing.

Mindy had already snuggled into Julian's embrace, her words dripping with absolute doting tenderness. "Baby, what did you just call me? Miss Sterling? You've got some nerve. Now it's time for your wifey to teach you a good lesson."

The video cut off abruptly.

Ethan's phone slipped from his palm and fell into the corner of the sofa.

Mindy had never called him by such intimate pet names. He used to think she was just cold by nature, not good at sweet talk. Now he understood. It wasn't that she didn't know how. She was just too stingy to give it to him.

Julian's messages kept popping up one after another.

Julian: Ethan, she's so wild in bed! I really hit the jackpot.

Julian: The wedding gift you got me was ripped by her.

Julian: Ethan, you said your wife is super clingy too. Give me some tips, man. I can barely keep up!

Ethan felt completely hollowed out, as if something inside him had died and left him frozen.

He thought of the wedding gift Julian had begged him for. It was a set of lingerie he had visited three different stores to pick out. At the time, he naively thought he had to get his bro something special for his big day.

A wave of nausea surged from the numb depths of his heart, suffocating him.

The two people he trusted most in the world had combined forces to destroy him.

Was all of this really just a coincidence?

Suddenly, his phone rang with Mindy's exclusive notification tone.

Opening it, he saw a photo of her signing a contract with a client. Her makeup was flawless, and her smile was composed. The caption exuded her usual gentleness: Babe, the meeting is over. I can make it back for dinner. There will be a surprise.

Her acting was absolutely flawless.

If Ethan hadn't seen Julian's video, he probably would have been sweet-talked into a dizzy spell just like before, foolishly living in the fairytale she spun with her lies.

At 6:00 PM sharp, Mindy walked through the door.

Her haute couture suit was ironed without a single wrinkle. She smelled of the freesia perfume he had given her, and her neck and wrists were completely clean, not a single hickey in sight.

Her eyes held that same old tenderness. Carrying a bouquet of white roses and a box of Ethan's favorite chocolates, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm home, sweetheart."

Ethan watched coldly as she skillfully arranged the flowers in a vase and turned to change her clothes.

Dinner was at a piano restaurant. Outside the window lay the harbor at night, deep and serene.

Amidst the soothing piano melody, Mindy pushed a plate of sliced lamb shank in front of Ethan, her brows furrowed slightly. "Ethan, you're mad."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement of fact.

"Three times. You ignored my texts three times," she complained.

She reached out and grasped his hand, staring right into his eyes. "Are you mad because I missed our seven-year anniversary?"

Ethan's hand gave a slight tremble, his heart feeling like it had been violently pricked by a needle.

She knew exactly what day it was, yet she chose to propose to Julian on their anniversary.

Bringing it up now was beyond ironic. After all, there had never been a real marriage between them to begin with.

Ethan lifted his gaze, his cold, exhausted eyes looking straight into hers, asking word by word, "Have you ever done anything to betray me?"

Mindy tightened her grip on his hand across the table. "Ethan, I've told you. You are my everything. If I ever did anything to betray you, I deserve to lose you forever."

She gazed at him, her eyes brimming with sincerity. "So, Ethan, I will never, ever betray you."

Ethan lowered his eyes and chuckled aloud. "Okay, I got it."

'As you wish. Soon, you will lose me completely,' he thought.