The overnight trillionaire Ex-husband

The End of Brotherhood

The night was quiet, but Ethan Carter’s mind was not.

He walked slowly along the sidewalk, the cold wind brushing against his face as if the world itself was reminding him of how lonely he had become. His hands were buried deep inside his coat pockets, and his steps were heavy.

A few hours earlier, he had received a message from Victor.

Come see me.

That was all the message said.

Victor had always been a man of few words, but Ethan knew him well enough to understand that if Victor asked him to come, then the matter must be serious.

For years, Victor had been Ethan’s closest friend. They had shared countless memories together—struggles, laughter, ambitions, and dreams.

Back when life had been simple.

Back when neither of them had stepped into the complicated world of wealth and status.

Ethan finally arrived at Victor’s apartment building. The place was luxurious, far more elegant than the modest apartment Ethan lived in now. The building itself stood tall and proud, its glass windows reflecting the city lights.

Ethan stared at it for a moment before walking inside.

A few minutes later, he stood in Victor’s living room.

Victor stood near the large window that overlooked the city, his back facing the room. One hand rested in his pocket while the other held a glass of whiskey.

For a moment, neither man spoke.

Victor finally turned around slowly.

His sharp eyes studied Ethan carefully.

“You look terrible,” Victor said.

Ethan forced a faint smile.

“That’s what happens when a man lives in the Bennett household.”

Victor said nothing.

Ethan walked further into the room and sat down on one of the chairs. He leaned forward, rubbing his hands together nervously.

“I have loved Sophia with all my heart,” Ethan said after a long pause.

His voice was quiet.

“But it seems that she doesn’t love me.”

Victor took a slow sip from his glass.

He stared at Ethan as if examining something that had lost its value.

“Ethan,” Victor finally said, “the first day you stepped into her life was the only day the Bennett family recognized you as their son-in-law.”

Ethan frowned.

Victor continued calmly.

“And when they noticed your intelligence, they began to use it. They used your ideas, your knowledge, and your hard work to strengthen their company.”

Victor placed the glass down on the table.

“They gained fame and recognition because of your efforts.”

Ethan’s brows tightened.

“But the moment you finished helping them grow their company…”

Victor shrugged slightly.

“They discarded you.”

Ethan leaned forward.

“What do you mean by that?”

His voice carried frustration.

“I have worked for that family for years,” Ethan said firmly. “Years, Victor. I handled the company’s most difficult problems. I made decisions when their executives were too afraid to act. I stayed awake countless nights fixing issues that could have destroyed their reputation.”

His voice began to tremble slightly.

“And yet my effort seems not to be recognized.”

He laughed bitterly.

“Not even my wife Sophia could appreciate it.”

Ethan lowered his head for a moment before continuing.

“I am disgraced every single day in that house.”

Victor’s face remained expressionless.

Ethan looked up again.

“You know what it feels like, Victor?” he asked.

Victor said nothing.

“It feels like I am not even a person in that family,” Ethan continued. “Her mother humiliates me in front of guests. Her friends treat me like I am some kind of joke. Even the servants look at me with pity.”

He clenched his fists.

“And Sophia…”

His voice softened.

“She never defends me.”

Victor exhaled slowly.

“What do you expect from a family that has used you?” Victor asked.

His tone was calm, but the words were harsh.

Ethan stared at him.

Victor walked toward the table and leaned against it.

“Ethan,” Victor continued, “as I am speaking with you right now, I do not want to see you anywhere closer to me.”

The words struck Ethan like a sudden blow.

For a moment, he thought he had heard wrong.

“What did you just say?”

Victor looked directly at him.

“You heard me.”

Ethan slowly stood up from his chair.

“Victor… what are you talking about?”

Victor crossed his arms.

“Your life has become a disaster, Ethan.”

Ethan felt anger rising in his chest.

“So you’re abandoning me too?”

Victor shook his head.

“I am simply refusing to be dragged into your problems.”

Ethan took a step closer.

“Dragged into my problems?” he repeated.

His voice grew emotional.

“Victor, do you remember who stood beside you when you had nothing?”

Victor remained silent.

Ethan continued.

“Do you remember our college days?”

His eyes grew distant as memories filled his mind.

“We lived in that tiny dorm room with broken heaters. Sometimes we didn’t even have enough money for food.”

Victor looked away slightly.

“But we survived,” Ethan said. “Together.”

His voice grew stronger.

“When you almost failed your second-year exams, who stayed awake with you every night helping you study?”

Victor did not answer.

“And when my father died, and I felt like my whole world had collapsed, who was the one person who stayed with me at the hospital until morning?”

Ethan’s eyes locked onto Victor’s face.

“You.”

Silence filled the room.

Ethan continued.

“We promised each other something back then,” he said quietly.

Victor’s jaw tightened slightly.

“We promised that no matter where life took us, we would always remain brothers.”

Victor finally spoke.

“That was a long time ago.”

Ethan shook his head.

“But those promises meant something.”

Victor gave a faint smile.

“They meant something back then.”

Ethan frowned.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Victor straightened his posture.

“It means the world has changed.”

Ethan’s expression hardened.

“Friendship doesn’t change because the world changes.”

Victor laughed softly.

“You still believe that?”

Ethan’s voice grew firm.

“Yes, I do.”

Victor walked slowly toward the window.

“You and I started from the same place,” Victor said calmly.

He looked down at the busy streets below.

“But we did not end up in the same place.”

Ethan felt a strange uneasiness growing inside him.

“What are you trying to say?”

Victor turned back to face him.

“You are still struggling to earn respect from people who clearly despise you.”

His eyes were sharp.

“You continue begging for recognition from a family that laughs at you behind your back.”

Ethan clenched his fists.

“And what about you?” Ethan asked.

Victor shrugged.

“I moved forward.”

Ethan felt anger burning in his chest.

“You moved forward by abandoning your friend?”

Victor shook his head slowly.

“No.”

He paused.

“I moved forward by understanding the world.”

Ethan stared at him.

Victor continued.

“This world is built on power, wealth, and status.”

Ethan scoffed.

“So that’s what you care about now?”

Victor looked directly at him.

“That is what everyone cares about.”

Ethan’s voice grew louder.

“Not everyone!”

Victor’s gaze hardened.

“Look at yourself, Ethan.”

His voice was cold.

“You are a man who married into wealth but still lives like an outsider.”

The words stung.

Victor continued.

“You work in the Bennett company, yet you have no authority. No respect. No influence.”

Ethan remained silent.

Victor took a step closer.

“And now you come here asking for sympathy.”

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

“I didn’t come here for sympathy.”

Victor tilted his head slightly.

“Then why did you come?”

Ethan hesitated.

“I came because you are my friend.”

Victor stared at him for a long moment.

Then he spoke quietly.

“That is exactly the problem.”

Ethan frowned.

“What do you mean?”

Victor sighed.

“We are no longer the same, Ethan.”

Ethan’s heart sank.

Victor continued.

“You and I no longer share the same status.”

The words echoed in Ethan’s mind.

Status.

That single word felt like a blade cutting through everything they had once shared.

Ethan looked at Victor in disbelief.

“Status?”

Victor nodded.

“You are a man being humiliated daily by his wife’s family.”

He gestured around the luxurious apartment.

“And I am not.”

Ethan felt the weight of those words crushing him.

Victor walked toward the door.

“I told you already,” he said.

“I do not want to see you anywhere close to me.”

Ethan stood frozen.

“Victor…”

Victor stopped at the door but did not turn around.

“Our lives have gone in different directions.”

His voice was calm.

“You should accept that.”

The door opened.

Before stepping out, Victor spoke one last sentence.

“Ethan… we are no longer equals.”

The door closed behind him.

Ethan remained standing in the middle of the room.

Alone.

The silence around him felt heavier than anything he had experienced before.

For the first time in his life, Ethan realized something painful.

He had

not only lost respect in the Bennett family.

He had also lost the one friendship he believed would last forever.

And that realization hurt far more than any humiliation he had endured before.