I Left My Ex-Husband, He Begs at My Wedding

On Ethan's birthday, Claire was at home, happily preparing a surprise for her husband. Three hours earlier, however, she'd received security footage showing her husband cheating on her and spending the night with another woman at a hotel. In the footage, a woman dressed in a revealing outfit knocked on the door of Ethan's presidential suite in the middle of the night. He opened the door and let her in. Three hours passed before she finally left. At first, Claire told herself it was nothing more than a business trip. Maybe he'd simply found someone to satisfy his needs while he was away. After all, Ethan had always had a high s*x drive. During their two years of marriage, aside from the days when she was on her period, they'd slept together almost every night. But after seeing the footage, Claire came up with every excuse she could think of to convince herself to stay calm. There had to be a reason. So she sat alone all night beside the cold food and untouched birthday cake, holding on to the last shred of hope that her husband would walk through the door. Two hours later, what she got instead was a news story about the man she'd always thought incapable of romance. Ethan had booked out the biggest hotel in Riverdale to celebrate the birthday of Eliana Hayes, the company's vice president. He'd sent red envelopes to hundreds of thousands of employees across the company, all to make Eliana smile. In front of a swarm of cameras, he'd even given her jewelry worth millions for her birthday. And the limited-edition black tie around his neck? Eliana had personally tied it for him. One birthday celebration alone meant nothing. One piece of security footage alone might mean nothing either. But what if they were connected to the same woman? Claire recognized her instantly. The radiant woman smiling at the birthday party, gazing lovingly into Ethan's eyes, was the exact same woman who had walked into his hotel room. She couldn't take it anymore. And yet, she still held on to one last hope. She needed to hear the truth from Ethan himself. Until he admitted it to her, she refused to believe any of this was real. But dawn came before Ethan finally returned home, reeking of alcohol and another woman's perfume. The moment he walked in, his eyes landed on the food and birthday cake sitting on the table. Claire pulled herself out of the pain of betrayal and forced a smile. "Why are you only getting home now? I made you a cake. I even prepared a surprise..." Ethan's response was flat. "It's the same thing every year. You can't really call it a surprise anymore." For two years, Claire had eagerly prepared every birthday and anniversary they celebrated together. And every time, all she got in return was his indifference. She swallowed her disappointment and carefully tested the waters. "Were you on a business trip? Ethan... how come you never told me that the vice president who always travels with you is a woman?" "What's going on at work isn't something you need to know." His answer was cold. He drank the hangover soup she'd made for him. When he lowered his eyes, he happened to see the news about Eliana's birthday party on Claire's phone. He didn't explain a single word. Claire saw it all. She pressed her lips together before finally finding the courage to ask, "Is celebrating a female employee's birthday part of your job too?" Ethan frowned in annoyance and looked up at her. Claire saw her own reflection in his eyes. So small. So insignificant. His long silence felt like a cruel reminder. 'Look at you. You're nothing but the pathetic wife who's been betrayed by her husband.' "My business is none of your concern. Go pack a couple of bags. I'm leaving on a business trip." When he finally spoke, his tone was even more forceful. He refused to explain the news that had sent another woman trending that night, and he made it clear he wouldn't tolerate any more questions. Claire finally broke. "We're married. Why don't I have the right to ask? The millions you spent on jewelry for her—did you use our marital assets? I have every right to ask where our money is going!" "It's only a few million. Do I really need your permission to spend that?" Ethan rose to his feet, his expression turning icy. "When your family was taking billions in resources from me, why weren't you keeping such careful accounts then?" Claire stared at him in disbelief. Their marriage had been kept secret, but after the wedding, her family had repeatedly taken advantage of every opportunity to secure resources and business deals through Ethan. He knew perfectly well that Claire had nothing to do with any of it. He'd even told her before that no matter how much of a mess her family was, he would never judge her because of them. And now, because of Eliana, he was throwing those same things in her face. Her heart went numb. "You didn't use to talk like this. And this is completely different. We're married. She's the other woman. How can you even compare us?" "Of course I can't compare you to her." The contempt in Ethan's eyes cut straight through her heart. "Those few million are nothing but a fraction of what she's brought to the company. How could you possibly compare?" The look in his eyes was colder than anything she'd ever seen from him. It was as if the man who had once lost control in her arms and whispered sweet nothings against her ear had never existed. "If she's so wonderful, then why don't you marry her?" Claire's eyes burned with tears, her voice trembling. "Why did you marry me in the first place? Wasn't it because you loved me?" She had fallen for Ethan at first sight. And when she'd later learned that he was the man she'd been promised to since childhood, she'd been overjoyed. Two years ago, when her family's investments collapsed and her father planned to marry her off to an old man for money, Ethan had stepped forward and said he was willing to honor their engagement and marry her. That's how she'd ended up standing here today as Mrs. Sterling. Naturally, she'd believed it meant he loved her. But now, it seemed the woman he truly loved had always been someone else. Ethan ignored her hysterics, apparently finding her words ridiculous. He finished the hangover soup in one swallow and turned to head upstairs. But when he reached the stairs, he stopped. "If you want money, I'll give you five hundred thousand a month." He glanced back at her without emotion. "Five hundred thousand a month for sleeping with me. What more could you possibly want?" Claire's mind went blank. For a moment, every hurt she'd been holding inside seemed to freeze in her chest. "Five hundred thousand?" Her voice shook. "For sleeping with you?" Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she met his icy gaze. "Ethan Sterling, I married you. I didn't sell myself to you..." Was this what marriage meant to him? Have money to spend, sleep with a man, and call it a marriage? What was the difference between this and p**********n? The only difference was a piece of paper. Was their marriage nothing more than a legal transaction? Was that how Ethan saw marriage? No. That was how Ethan saw her. As someone who was only worth that kind of marriage. Claire finally spoke, her voice filled with despair. "So that's what this is. There was never any love between us. And now there's not even the bare minimum of respect..." A loveless marriage was never what she'd wanted. She could accept that Ethan was a cold man. What she couldn't accept was that he was only cold to her. To Ethan, her emotional breakdown was nothing but unreasonable behavior. In his mind, five hundred thousand a month for sleeping with him was more than enough. To him, their marriage wasn't a marriage at all. It was a transaction. Claire wiped away her tears. She closed her eyes for a moment. "Fine. I guess I'm just impossible to satisfy." When she opened her eyes again, there was no hesitation left in them. "If you don't love me, then let's get a divorce."