Chapter 2 Let’s Get Divorced
Emily tucked the pregnancy test results away and stepped into the living room.
Emma and Ethan’s conversation died instantly.
For the first time, Emily didn’t greet anyone. She just stood there, quiet.
Once, she’d naively thought that if she took good care of her in-laws and acted like a thoughtful wife, Ethan would finally notice. But reality had slapped her hard.
Even if she carved out her heart and served it to the Wilsons on a silver platter, they probably wouldn’t glance at it.
Five years of one-sided devotion. It was time to stop.
Ethan knew he’d come home for their “business” tonight. He glanced at Jane and said, “Jane, see my mother out.”
Emily stood to the side, saying nothing. But her eyes were different now—cold, in a way they’d never been before.
Ethan ran the Wilson Group well. He had a great reputation too: respectful to elders, loyal to friends, fair to his team, and kind to employees. Everyone who knew him sang his praises.
Friends used to joke that Emily must have saved an entire galaxy in a past life to land someone like him.
But Ethan’s kindness never reached Emily.
Five years of marriage, and only she knew how empty it was. This hollow life… she didn’t want it anymore.
As Emma walked past Emily, she stopped.
Her voice sharpened with blame. “If you can’t have a son, how will you face the Wilson ancestors?”
Once, Emily would have stayed quiet and taken it.
But now? She saw no point.
She looked straight at Emma, her eyes free of the usual eagerness to please. “Emma, we’re both women. Is having a boy or a girl really only my responsibility?”
Emily had always been meek, easy to push around. Emma thought controlling her daughter-in-law was like squeezing clay. But today, Emily felt like a different person.
Emma didn’t hold back. She raised her hand and slapped Emily hard across the cheek. “How dare you talk to me like that? Get on your knees and apologize.”
Her face was fierce, like she wanted to swallow Emily whole. She was sure her anger would break her.
Emma knew how much Emily loved Ethan. For him, Emily would give up her dignity, her pride… she’d even act like a dog for the Wilsons.
But Emily was done bending for everyone.
They’d never valued her sacrifices or her life. So she wasn’t going to accommodate them anymore.
Emily’s eyes darkened as she looked at Emma. She said nothing, just stepped forward to slap her back.
But before her hand could hit, a bigger hand caught her wrist mid-air.
At the same time, a low, angry voice rumbled in her ear. “Emily, haven’t you caused enough trouble?”
Emily looked up.
Ethan’s sharp, handsome face filled her view. His eyes were ice-cold, piercing her like needles.
That face used to make her heart race with love. Now? It made her sick.
How could someone be this cruel?
She could handle the lack of love, the cheating, the emotional coldness. But treating her like a breeding machine? Forcing her to risk another pregnancy after she’d almost died from amniotic fluid embolism?
Was he trying to kill her?
The thought made her stomach turn.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Ethan shoved her hand away roughly. “I’m not in the mood today. We’ll talk about the second kid next month.”
He took Emma’s arm and headed for the door.
Emma glanced back, a triumphant smirk on her face.
My son’s on my side. You’re just an outsider, know your place.
Once, Ethan’s refusal to defend her would have made Emily cry. Now, she just felt numb.
No disappointment, no hurt, nothing.
As Ethan reached the hall’s exit, Emily called out. “Ethan.”
Emily meant what she said. Once she decided on divorce, she’d follow through.
Just like when she’d fallen for him. Even when her family opposed it, she’d jumped into the mess willingly.
Eight years of loving Ethan. She was tired.
He’d never seen her worth. He’d never tried to build a real marriage. He’d only married her because she got pregnant—out of obligation.
Their marriage was a tomb. And she was the only one buried alive in it.
She should have woken up long ago.
Ethan stopped at the door.
Emily thought he was listening, so she took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be with you anymore. Let’s get divorced.”
The second the words left her mouth, a wave of relief washed over her.
But then Ethan pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear.
She couldn’t hear the other person, but his voice turned urgent. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”
He hung up, left with Emma, and vanished toward the lobby.
The words Emily thought would set her free… no one had even bothered to listen.
She let out a bitter laugh as Ethan’s figure was completely gone from the doorway.
When Jane came back after seeing them off, she found Emily still standing dazed in the living room.
“Mrs. Wilson?” she said, surprised.
Emily snapped back to herself, walked to the sofa, and sat down. “Jane, please prepare dinner for me.”
In the past, she’d done everything herself, hoping to win Ethan’s love. Even though they saw each other a few times a year, she’d never stopped trying. But Ethan had never cared about her efforts.
Now she was tired. She missed who she used to be—someone who never lifted a finger, spoiled by her parents and brother.
After dinner, Emily went upstairs to the study to draft a divorce agreement.
The Carters weren’t small-time, and Emily was a pediatric surgeon. She had money, and she could give her daughter, Sophia Wilson, a good life on her own.
Five years of not fighting back, not complaining, and all it had gotten her was Ethan’s coldness and cruelty.
So she made it clear in the agreement: Ethan would give her half his post-marriage income, plus an extra two million a month in child support for Sophia.
But thinking about Sophia, Emily had no idea who the girl would want to stay with.
Halfway through the papers, she decided to ask Sophia. She picked up the unfinished agreement and left Brocade Estates.
After Sophia was born, Ethan bought her a villa. Emily had been a stay-at-home mom for four years before going back to work at the hospital.
Once she returned to work, she spent less and less time with Sophia.
For the past six months, she’d been doing advanced training at a state hospital in the next state.
These recent meetings with Ethan? They’d happened because her lovesick self thought a second child could tie him down.
Even when she had no time, she’d swapped shifts with colleagues, pulled three all-nighters in a row, just to get a day or two off.
But she’d never thought about it—having a second baby wasn’t something she could do alone. Though Ethan was free, he would spend most of his time with Nancy.
Emily took a taxi to Joy Gardens. It was just past nine.
As soon as she got out of the car, her phone buzzed.
A notification popped up on the screen: “‘Nancie’ posted a new video.”
