The AA Wife

Chapter 1

Sarah's POV:

Since I started working, I no longer obsessed over the trivial details of our relationship.

I no longer drained my energy waiting for his messages.

I no longer overanalyzed his every word and action.

I used to lie awake all night, tormenting myself in a constant, exhausting cycle of wondering whether he loved me or not.

Now, the moment my head hit the pillow, I fell fast asleep.

Yet, in the middle of the night, Ethan Crawford woke me up.

"Tomorrow is your birthday, but I won't be able to spend it with you. Nora had a huge fight with her family and has nowhere to stay. I need to go over and help her get settled for a few days."

My head felt heavy with sleep, so I just nodded vaguely.

But a split second later, I snapped awake and bolted upright.

"No!"

Ethan smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Jealous?"

I shook my head.

"I just remembered there's something I forgot to tell you.

I get paid on the fifteenth. I'll pay you back the money I owe you for my sister's surgery that day." I added quickly.

"After that, we are even."

Ethan's expression went cold.

"Sarah, what is that supposed to mean?"

I looked up at him.

"Exactly what I said."

When my sister had a sudden medical emergency and needed surgery, the hospital billing clerk urged me to pay three times in a row.

With the surgery costing 220,000, my bank account balance was nowhere near enough to cover it.

In desperation, I had no choice but to call Ethan.

He said he was in a meeting, but Nora Whitfield's playful laughter could be heard over the phone.

I begged him for ten minutes before he finally relented.

"We'll go halves. I'll pay half, and you figure out the rest yourself."

Ethan's voice was icy, instantly extinguishing all my hope.

It wasn't that he was short on cash.

He had just casually bought an antique at an auction for six million.

He was simply using this split-payment to punish me.

The night before, Nora had posted a selfie at home.

She was wearing Ethan's loose, custom-made white shirt, posing suggestively.

Her caption read: The rain soaked my clothes, so Mr. Crawford let me borrow his shirt for now~

I guess this counted as secretly having his special favor.

I had commented right away: This kind of cheap trick to get attention is truly pathetic.

Just as the message was successfully sent, Ethan finished showering and walked out of the bathroom.

He snatched the phone straight out of my hand and glanced at it.

He deleted my comment, picked up his own phone, and gently comforted Nora.

Ethan: [If you like wearing it, keep it on for now. Get some rest.]

After doing all this, he placed his phone face down on the nightstand and sighed.

"Is there really nothing else to your life besides keeping tabs on me? Stop making a mountain out of a molehill over such trivial things."

That night, we had a massive fight, which ended with me kicking him out of the bedroom.

At the time, clutching the life-saving hospital bill, I had pleaded in a low voice, "Ethan, please just transfer the full amount to me first for the emergency. I can write you an IOU. I promise I'll pay you back later."

There was a long silence on the other end.

"I can transfer the money to you, but you must apologize to Nora."

Before I could even open my mouth, Nora quickly chimed in on the other end to stop him, "Mr. Crawford, her sister's surgery is more important. Even if you force her to apologize now, she won't mean it anyway."

Rage instantly flared up inside me, and I couldn't help but snap at her, "Does a shameless woman like you even deserve an apology from me?"

The other end of the line went dead silent.

"Since you refuse to swallow your pride, you can earn the rest of the money yourself."

The next second, Ethan hung up on me.

Soon after, 110,000 arrived in my account.

I had to resort to usury to scrape together the rest of the money.

Once my sister was discharged, I sold my diamond engagement ring to pay off the loan sharks.

Later on, to save up enough to pay back the massive sum I owed Ethan, I sold off many of my personal valuables one after another.

As of today, I am only 5,000 away from being completely even with him.

Ethan notices my bare neck.

"Where's the necklace I bought you?"

"Sold it."

His face instantly darkens.

"I told you a long time ago, if you just swallowed your pride, you wouldn't have to pay back a single cent."

He probably never expected that I would actually get a job to pay him back.

After all, in the past, I would always back down and apologize.

I remember last winter when I had a severe flu and a raging fever. Ethan wouldn't answer my calls or reply to my messages.

When he finally came home, I found a red lipstick stain on his collar.

I cried hysterically, pulling at him and demanding an explanation.

Ethan just looked at me coldly.

"Sarah, your tears are so cheap."

I hugged him tight, crying as my voice trembled, "So what if they're cheap? I just want you to stay by my side. Is that so wrong?!"

Coincidentally, my sister had come to visit me that day and overheard those words.

With tears in her eyes, she said, "Sarah, don't talk about yourself like that."

But back then, my entire world revolved around Ethan, and I was too busy desperately trying to hold on to him.

I didn't even notice how pale and sickly my sister's face was.

If I had noticed earlier, maybe she wouldn't have had to spend so much money on medical treatments.

Ethan is still waiting for me to back down.

But I simply lie down on the bed and say in a flat voice, "Get some rest. I'm tired."

As the words leave my mouth, even I am slightly taken aback.

In the past, he used this exact phrase countless times as an excuse to brush me off.

Back then, I always resented him for being cold and heartless.

Only now do I realize that when you completely let go of someone, you can't even be bothered to think of a proper excuse.

I closed my eyes.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again, "Are you really going to pay me back?"

I said nothing.

Ethan turned around in frustration.

But I had already drifted off into a deep sleep.