Watching the car speed away, the pent-up frustration in my chest seemed to dissipate immediately.
Maybe because I knew I could finally leave these toxic people behind.
This was the best birthday gift from fate.
Sure enough, Sophia gave birth prematurely to a son.
But the baby was healthy and unaffected.
Ethan finally agreed to sign the divorce papers.
As I walked out of the civil affairs bureau, he called out to me, looking resentful.
“Sunny, did you cheat with Michael? Is that why you insisted on forcing a divorce?”
I told him, even though I knew the new neighbors had moved in next door, the first time I really talked to Michael was the day I went to the hospital with a miscarriage scare.
I had nothing to hide. No matter who asked, the answer was the same.
“Ethan, what about you? Was your relationship with Sophia purely protective, with no thoughts of crossing the line in these years?”
Ethan opened his mouth but didn’t speak before I interrupted him.
“You don’t need to answer. I already know the answer. Stop deceiving yourself.”
Sophia was skilled. She ignored Ethan, the eternal simp, until he succeeded in his business, and then she returned, the idealized white moonlight.
And she never directly slept with Ethan, making him think she was always independent and aloof.
I have to admit, her methods were clever.
But alas, from the painting plagiarism being taken down and her studio being reclaimed, Sophia panicked.
The more desperately she tried to hold onto Ethan, the less he treasured her.
Just like he did to me back then.
“Ethan, I owe you nothing. But to me, you have a guilty conscience.”
With that, I waved to Michael to stop the car.
Ethan stood there for a long time until he disappeared from the car’s rearview mirror, vanishing from my world.
A year later, I got pregnant and went to the hospital for a check-up.
I didn’t expect to see Ethan again.
He looked pale, with stubble covering his face, and his wrinkled shirt was stained with blood as he followed a stretcher.
I walked past, only catching a glimpse of Sophia lying on the bed, her face covered in blood, groaning in pain.
Even if I didn’t care, I couldn’t help but be curious.
I discreetly asked around and got explosive news.
Sophia and Ethan divorced again.
But this time, it wasn’t as amicable as with me.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but Sophia’s child isn’t even Ethan’s!”
The gossiping person eagerly spilled everything without needing me to ask.
Turns out, Ethan’s company went bankrupt.
Sophia, used to her lavish lifestyle, couldn’t handle the ordinary life and filed for divorce.
Ethan and his mom tried to fight for custody, but Sophia mocked them, saying the child wasn’t even Ethan’s.
“That Sophia is something else, pretending to be so pure and high-minded, but she was wild in private! Who knows who the child’s father is? In the end, she made Ethan the scapegoat!”
I suddenly understood why she deliberately fell.
I had thought she was trying to frame me, but it seems the real reason was the child was almost full-term, and she needed to pretend it was premature.
I touched my pregnant belly, feeling a mix of emotions.
I knew it. Ethan’s ‘seeds’ were so bad that I failed IVF multiple times, and even when I barely conceived, the pregnancy was unstable.
How did Sophia succeed so easily with IVF? Turns out they weren’t even Ethan’s kids…
“That woman is ruthless. Ethan took care of her and the child all this time, and she still insulted him, calling him a loser and saying she could find another rich fool. It gave Ethan’s mom a stroke and infuriated Ethan… Anyway, her face is ruined.”
“They’re tearing each other apart like dogs, and the drama is endless in our family group chat.”
Michael peeled a red pomelo and placed it in front of me, taking my phone away.
“The doctor said not to play with your phone too much. It’s not good for you or the baby.”
Maybe because he experienced my two miscarriages, he’s overly cautious now, almost treating me like a delicate flower.
I didn’t argue, taking the fruit he fed me.
The cool autumn breeze blew in from the balcony, and everything felt perfectly happy.
