Back Off, You Cheating Ex Wife!

Chapter 6

The table collapsed with a deafening crash. The plates shattered. The roast chicken slides across the hardwood floor, leaving a trail of gravy and shattered porcelain. The candles rolled, and the wax splattered like blood.

Vivian let out a scream and jumped up, red wine soaking her white dress.

Jack suddenly jumped up from his chair, his eyes wide open in shock.

Ethan stood in the center of the ruins, his chest heaving violently, his eyes burning with a look Vivian had never seen before.

"You disgusting creatures," he said softly.

His voice was very calm. Too calm.

Vivian's heart was racing. For the first time in five years, she felt a hint of strangeness.

Fear.

"Are you crazy?" she screamed, her eyes fixed on the wreckage before her. "What's wrong with you?"

"Am I crazy?" His voice was low, almost inaudible. "You let your ex-boyfriend stay in my house without asking for my opinion first."

"You both were soaked, and he was half-naked in the bathroom. Then I found out you two had prepared a candlelit dinner, and I wasn't even invited.”

"Just now, I tried to tell you something that could determine my life or death, and that's the whole reason I came back despite feeling nauseous. And you, Vivian, you weren't even willing to listen to me. Your only wish was for me to apologize to that disgusting man!"

He met Vivian's gaze. "Yes, I flipped the table. I was really out of line."

The ensuing silence was suffocating.

Then Vivian laughed—cold, sharp, devoid of any warmth.

"Well said, truly touching." She slowly clapped her hands twice, her tone full of disdain. "Ethan, you're really good at portraying yourself as the victim. But to be honest, your return is not some 'important matter.' You came back because I warned you that if you really left, you would have to kneel for me to let you back in.”

She tilted her head. "That's why you're back. That's all."

Ethan stared at her.

"As for your so-called 'important news'?" she sneered, short and sharp. "You're just a househusband; what could be so important? Let me guess—you're going to tell me to stay away from Jack again. Same old story, different day."

A flicker of darkness seemed to pass through Ethan's eyes.

Vivian straightened her body and smoothed her skirt. The warmth on her face completely vanished, replaced by the cold detachment she wore like armor in the Ashford Group executive suite.

"Don't apologize to me; I don't want to hear it." Her voice was so low it seemed capable of freezing steel. "Ethan, you make me sick. I don't want to see you again."

She took a step forward, her high heels clicking against the wet marble floor. "Here's the thing. You have to leave this house tonight. You are banned from coming home for a week. Only Jack and I will be living here during that week."

Jack stood behind her, arms crossed over his chest, saying nothing. His expression carried a hint of cautious sympathy—toward her.

"Seven days from now," Vivian continued, her tone as flat as if reading a contract, "you will return to this door. You will kneel. You will apologize. Then—maybe—I will let you be my husband again." She tilted her head. "Understand?"

Ethan stared at Vivian for a long time. Although he was completely disappointed in her, listening to her heartless words still made him instinctively feel breathless, as if his old wounds were being reopened time and again.

A sad and broken smile appeared on his face.

That's it. This will be his last conversation with the person he once thought was his soulmate.

"Better than a week," he said softly. "I will leave forever. You and Jack won't be bothered anymore."

Vivian's composure shattered in an instant, her eyes burning with fury. It's not because of Ethan's resistance but because of Ethan's calmness.

Damn it, if it were before, he would have been trembling all over, crying in pain. How come he's so bold today? She definitely needed to put him in his place!

"Even now—at this very moment—you are still jealous?" She suddenly turned and walked toward the hallway. "Security! Throw this jealous idiot out of my house! Immediately!"

The security guards immediately appeared and faithfully executed Vivian's orders, dragging Ethan out of the villa and casually tossing out his packed suitcase.

Ethan did not resist.

Previously, throwing that chair with such force had already affected Ethan's wound, causing him to feel pain.

Most importantly, Ethan felt despair and sadness.

A woman who publicly announced the expulsion of her husband to be alone with her lover could no longer be described as merely crazy.

This was a wicked woman who will go to hell after death.

Ethan dragged his suitcase and found a hotel to stay in for the night.

Sitting on the bed in the hotel, Ethan felt the silence of the late night. Those complex emotions and memories, like dark currents in an abyss, began to slowly rise to the surface of his mind.

When they had just gotten married, Vivian's attitude toward Ethan was quite good.

They once experienced a sweet honeymoon together, walking hand in hand along sunlit beaches and through fresh, fragrant woods.

Although during that time, Vivian insisted that Ethan use contraception, the passion between them was very real.

Later, their relationship gradually changed.

The third year. At breakfast, her gaze swept over him. She began to demand that he kneel, serve her, and worship her, while she herself remained completely still, keeping a total distance from him.

He complied. God bless him; he accepted all the humiliation because a broken part deep inside him believed that was love. Believing this is what devotion looks like.

By the fifth year. He couldn't remember the last time she kissed him. She only spoke to him in a commanding tone. She started openly mentioning her ex-boyfriend Jack in front of him because Jack was coming back.

Oh my God, Ethan just realized how long he had silently endured!

His hands began to tremble. He bent down, covering his face with both hands, letting out a hoarse, rough, almost inhuman sound.

Then he picked up his phone, his thumb moving involuntarily, his brain not having time to stop it.

Vivian, I understand German. I heard everything. I know I have always been his substitute. I know what I mean to you.

I have always been just a substitute, a placeholder. The moment Jack came back, I completely disappeared for you.

I hope deep down you really wished I had died that night.

Everything is over. I'm leaving. I took a job—dangerous, remote, the kind of place that only the desperate go to. Maybe there, my medical training will really come in handy. Maybe I can help those who are eager to be helped.

Goodbye, Vivian. Even though we were married for five years, even though we had many pleasant times, I hope you go to hell.

His thumb hovered above the send button.

But the next moment, he froze. He suddenly realized that Vivian hadn't looked at his messages for a long time because she was busy chatting with Jack.

He deleted the message.

He opened the drawer of the bedside table and found a notebook and a cheap pen. He wrote these words on paper with the same words.

But in the end, he also gave up the idea of sending the letter.

He didn't need to explain anything to Vivian, because now Ethan had already let go of this misguided relationship.

Perhaps other travelers will come to this room and inadvertently see the love stories in the guestbook.

What would they think?

Will they sympathize with themselves?

No, none of this matters anymore.

Ethan walked to the window and pushed it open. The air before dawn brushed against his face—cold, fresh, and carrying the faint scent of distant rain.

His battered heart continued to beat steadily in his chest.

He wasn't sure if he could get through the upcoming challenges.

Will he die?