Chapter 1The Price of a Delayed Train

Ethan’s little canary had run away again.

This time, he forced a high-speed train to make an emergency stop just for her.

That night, he hurried home and saw the divorce papers in my hand. He let out a muffled laugh.

"The little girl was being disobedient. It took a lot of effort to catch her and bring her back. Honey, you understand, right?"

I still handed him the pen. He sneered:

"You can't be serious. You really want a divorce?"

"You signed a prenuptial agreement. If we divorce, you won't get a single cent!"

I nodded: "I want a divorce."

Ethan's smile faded.

"You're not going to treat your mom's illness anymore? You're just going to watch her die?"

He threw out the trump card that had never failed him before.

I calmly shook my head.

"I'm not treating it anymore."

Ethan's face completely darkened.

He didn't know yet.

My critically ill mother had been lying on that very high-speed train.

The hours of delay caused her to miss the critical window for her treatment.

From now on.

This place could never trap me again.

* * *

Ethan was very arrogant.

He was certain I couldn't leave my mother.

After all, she was severely ill, and the medical bills were incredibly expensive.

And my pockets were completely empty.

As long as he had a hold on my mother, it was like he held my life in his hands.

So no matter how far he went, even having an affair with my mother's former student, I never dared to mention divorce.

But this time, not only did I bring it up, but my attitude was also incredibly calm.

So even he was taken aback.

We remained at an impasse for a few seconds.

Ethan was the first to break the silence. He chuckled lightly and patted my head:

"Alright, don't make yourself sick with anger."

"Are you still mad that Chloe ran to the hospital last time and disturbed Mom's rest? I promise there won't be a next time, okay?"

"Besides, didn't you get your revenge in the end? The poor girl was terrified of you."

The "revenge" he mentioned...

Referred to the time Chloe, just to provoke me, barged into my mother's hospital room and showed her a bunch of intimate videos of her and Ethan. My mother couldn't catch her breath and almost died right there.

I was furious to the extreme.

I brought people to block her at her workplace, beat her until she was crying and begging for mercy on her knees, and even got her fired.

That was the second time I had completely lost my mind.

"Don't touch me! You're filthy!"

I scoffed, slapping Ethan's hand away:

"Ethan, your promises are just like you—worthless!"

Ethan pulled his hand back in pain, his eyes suddenly turning sharp.

Obviously, being repeatedly rebuffed by me today had ignited a fire in him.

Right at that moment, his phone rang.

He glanced at me and answered it.

It was Chloe's aggrieved voice.

"Ethan, I wanted to go apologize to Mrs. Davis, but the nurses said she was transferred..."

"But all the specialists you hired are at this hospital! Does Chloe hate us so much that she'd risk Mrs. Davis's health just to spite us? And Mrs. Davis, too, how could she let her daughter act so recklessly!"

Ethan gently comforted her for a while.

When he put away his phone and looked at me again, he had resumed his usual careless demeanor.

"Olivia, you colluded with Mom just to get back at me? Tsk, Mom really is getting old and senile from her illness."

He lazily held a cigarette in his mouth: "Are you mother and daughter so sure I wouldn't dare pull the medical team?"

Countless times in the past.

This was how Ethan forced me to compromise.

Using my mother as a bargaining chip, forcing me to obey, even making me bow my head to the mistress he was keeping.

It was a tactic that never failed him.

But now.

Looking at his posture, thinking he was in control of everything.

I suddenly wanted to laugh. And as I laughed, my eyes uncontrollably turned red.

I violently grabbed an ashtray and hurled it at him as hard as I could.

"Pull them! Pull your medical team right now! My mom and I don't need your charity!"

Blood seeped from Ethan's forehead.

The veins on his forehead bulged.

After a long silence, he stood up, walked toward the door, and said indifferently:

"Olivia, you might not have a conscience, but I can't be without one."

"After all, a teacher's grace is as heavy as a mountain. I can't be as reckless and willful as you and delay the teacher's treatment."

What answered him...

Was another vase I hurled fiercely at his back.