Chapter 1Cutting Ties

After my husband's stepsister was widowed, he asked me for a divorce while I was five months pregnant.

He looked earnest and guilty:

"Her child is still young. Without someone to take care of them, the mother and son will be bullied. I can't just ignore them."

I didn't make a big scene; I calmly agreed.

Because in my previous life, I didn't agree. I even went to his military base with my heavy pregnant belly to make a fuss, just to save the marriage.

In the end, because of her widow status, Jessica was bullied in the village. A local thug even sneaked into her house, forcing her to commit suicide.

My husband, Ethan, resented me for this. He spread rumors that I used a past favor to force him to marry me, and that I wasn't a virgin beforehand.

I was investigated by the organization, sent down to a labor farm, and finally died of difficult labor in a cowshed.

This time, I determined to let go, abort the child, and continue my studies.

* * *

I put down my pen. Before I could even stand up, Ethan hastily snatched the divorce application from my side.

His slender fingers held those thin pages and immediately handed them to the instructor.

The instructor took the application, frowned slightly, and sighed:

"This divorce matter... Sigh, what a pity. Come get the certificate when the approval comes down."

Hearing this, a relaxed smile actually appeared on Ethan's face.

I sat there without saying a word, staring blankly out the window.

Today is the beginning of spring, but this blizzard came unexpectedly.

Coming out of the office, the snow pressed down the color of the sky, and the stagnant air around was suffocating.

Ethan stopped, turned his head slightly to look at me, with a serious face:

"Sarah, thank you for understanding me."

"Don't worry, on Jessica's side, when the child gets a little older, we can remarry."

His tone was solemn, as if I should be shedding tears of gratitude.

But his tone was more mixed with a vague warning:

"By the way, don't tell everyone about our divorce. It will be very troublesome if outsiders know."

I froze for a moment, and only said one word, "Okay."

He's afraid that if my father, a military commander in Washington D.C., finds out, it will hinder his future career, right?

As husband and wife for a while, I was willing to leave him the last shred of dignity.

He nodded, as if finding peace of mind, and his steps quickened a bit.

But when I walked towards the car, he suddenly stopped me.

"I have to go pick up Jessica. You walk back yourself."

After saying that, he started the car and drove away.

The snowflakes beat against my face, it was very cold.

So cold that my skin went numb, to the extent that even when I smiled bitterly, the corners of my lips were a bit stiff.

As a pregnant woman, I really didn't dare to walk 5 miles in such snowy weather.

I had to endure a whole day at the guesthouse, waiting for the ox cart the next day to get back to the village.

Just arriving at the village entrance, I heard some rumors from my previous life about me demanding repayment for a favor and being promiscuous.

The speaker was in high spirits, not noticing at all that the subject of discussion was walking right past her.

I didn't stop to argue. As I continued walking forward, I only heard the last sentence:

"Sigh, Ethan is just an honest man, planted for this life."

When I got home, my chest felt heavy and tight, and my stomach ached faintly.

I didn't understand why, even though I agreed to the divorce, such rumors still happened.

Until early morning, Ethan still hadn't come back.

I originally wanted to wait for him to have a good talk about these messy rumors, but the needle-like pain in my stomach made me unable to wait any longer.

Just as I planned to go back to the room and lie down, the main door was finally pushed open.

He didn't turn on the light. When he walked in with heavy steps, he brought a gust of freezing wind.

He even carried the smell of rose perfume, obviously just coming back from Jessica's side.

Seeing me leaning on the sofa, he looked indifferent and annoyed: "We are already divorced, don't tell me you still want to control where I go?"

Before, whenever he came home late, I couldn't help asking where he went, worried about his safety.

But he always found me annoying, saying I was too controlling.

Now, he's actually acting self-righteous.

I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm my emotions:

"Do you know about those rumors about me in the village? Did you really not marry me voluntarily?"

His eyes dodged, not daring to look at me, but he said toughly:

"I don't have time to listen to that gossip, you shouldn't care either..."

The more he dodged, the clearer it became in my heart.

I'm afraid he was the one who spread those rumors.

Anger and grievance intertwined. I fought back tears and said:

"Ethan, you know clearly in your heart what happened back then wasn't like that. Why throw dirty water on me?"

"I've already agreed to the divorce, what more do you want? Go explain clearly for me!"

He turned his face, his eyes gloomy but carrying a bit of impatient indifference:

"They're just rumors, what are you feeling wronged about?"

"Right now everyone is staring at Jessica and gossiping. If there's nothing else to distract everyone's attention, how can Jessica stand it!"

"Besides, I wanted to marry Jessica a long time ago."

"If you hadn't been promiscuous and gotten into trouble, I wouldn't have married you out of gratitude!"

His voice was like a whip lashing my heart, making me feel embarrassed and chilled.

I gritted my teeth, but still let my emotions collapse:

"It was Jessica's brother who almost assaulted me! It was you who hugged me saying you wanted to marry me, it was you who stopped me from calling the police!"

Mentioning this again, it still feels like a nightmare.

When this happened, he coveted my father's power in the military, and also wanted to protect Jessica's brother.

He came to me immediately to comfort me and make promises.

"Don't be afraid, no one will know about this. Marry me, I will love you."

"If you call the police, your life is over."

He kept assuring me that he would definitely love me and care for me after marriage.

I believed him, because marrying him, I had to interrupt my studies and get pregnant.

He quickly got promoted because of my father's convenience, immensely proud of himself.

But it's only been a year, and he has gone back on his word. Now, for Jessica, he casts me aside like a worn-out shoe.

He froze for a moment, his thin lips pressed tightly together. He was clearly exposed by me momentarily.

But the next second, his face returned to coldness, and he even squeezed out a sneer:

"That was my kindness, not wanting your whole life to be ruined by that kind of thing."

"Besides, if you weren't slutty, who would want to assault you."

I stared blankly at him, only feeling that the man in front of me was incredibly unfamiliar.

How could he say such mean and heartless words.

"Ethan, you are indeed not wrong. All this is my fault..."

It was my failure to judge character.

To actually mistake a jackal for a benefactor.

"Enough,"

He interrupted impatiently, not even willing to give a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't bring up old things anymore. Jessica and her son will move over in a few days. You better pack up early."

"Don't make any more fuss, and you are not allowed to bully them! Otherwise, get out!"

After saying that, he turned and went upstairs with an indifferent face, too lazy to even look at me again.

At the moment he left, a spasm of pain pierced my abdomen like an ice pick.

Beads of cold sweat the size of beans popped out on my forehead, my back went numb into a stiff block of ice.

I tried to call out to him, "Ethan!"

"I... my stomach hurts so much..."

He stopped, glanced back, but showed no intention of approaching:

"If it hurts, go find a doctor. I'm not a doctor, what are you calling me for?"

"Ethan, I might be miscarrying..."

My voice was mixed with a faint tremble, my legs so weak I could barely stand.

"What are you trying to do? Trying to use the child to threaten me?"

His tone became even colder, "I advise you to be rational, don't play these little tricks, it's boring!"

He watched coldly from the sidelines for a few seconds, then turned and walked towards his room.

"Don't forget, you should move your things out of the bedroom, this is my last tolerance."

Finally, he disappeared at the end of my sight.

I held onto the trembling sofa wanting to prop myself up, but the abdominal pain gradually spread to my whole body.

"It hurts... hurts..."

I tried to save myself, looking down and hugging my violently twitching abdomen.

But ultimately powerless, I fell to my knees, a dark tide surging before my eyes...