Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
Tags: Hidden Identity, Biased Childhood Friend, Status Reversal, Revenge Divorce
To keep my husband from feeling insecure, I hid my identity as the daughter of the city's wealthiest tycoon.
I spent seven years pinching pennies by his side.
Yet, he took my hard-earned money to buy diamond rings and a brand-new car for his childhood friend.
Meanwhile, I—his lawfully wedded wife—was treated like an unwanted mistress, suffering cold sneers in his family home.
He even sneered at me, "Chloe grew up with my family. Spoiling her is normal! Claire, why do you always have to make a scene?"
I slapped him across the face in front of everyone and demanded a divorce, my heart completely turning to ice.
In that exact second, I realized that the man I had loved for seven years had become a terrifying stranger.
Ethan grabbed a fistful of my hair and slammed me hard onto the bedroom floor.
The door slammed shut with a deafening bang a second later.
"Claire, have I spoiled you so much that you think you can slap me in front of everyone?"
He kicked me, his handsome face contorted with pure rage. "I just bought Chloe a few gifts! Was that worth humiliating me?"
"When will you ever grow the hell up?"
Before I could even find my voice, a soft knock came from outside the door.
It was Chloe.
She called out, her voice dripping with tearful concern, "Ethan, please calm down! Open the door. Don't do anything crazy."
"I know it's New Year's Eve, and an outsider like me shouldn't have crashed your family dinner. If Claire doesn't want me here, I can leave right now. Please don't fight with her over something so petty."
"You've always protected me since we were kids, and I appreciate it. But you have a wife now. You need to stop losing your temper just to defend me."
"Be good and open the door. I'll explain things to Claire myself. I won't even keep the gifts, okay?"
Listening to her innocent act through the door, a wave of sheer disgust rushed up my throat.
I dragged myself up from the floor, shoved Ethan aside, and ripped the door open. Without a shred of hesitation, I slapped her across the face.
"If you're going to get lost, do it now. Stop sickening me with your little innocent routine."
Chloe clutched her cheek, staring tearfully at Ethan behind me, looking entirely devastated.
Ethan looked as if his heart had just been ripped out. He instantly rushed past me to check on her. "Claire, that is enough!"
He roared at me, then immediately turned around, cradling Chloe with the gentlest touch.
Watching him, my heart felt like it was being torn in two by an invisible pair of hands. The pain was suffocating.
In seven whole years, he had never once looked after me with such delicate care. Now, he was openly fawning over another woman right in front of my face.
"Claire, my patience is wearing thin."
"If you want this marriage, act like it. If you don't, pack your shit and get out!"
If this were the past, hearing him tell me to get out would have sent me into a panic, desperately apologizing just to earn his forgiveness.
Because I loved him, I had been terrified of losing him.
I had catered to his every whim.
But now, every ounce of my love had been ground into dust by his endless suspicion and sickening favoritism.
I drew a slow, ragged breath and gathered every shred of my dignity to say the one word I had never dared utter: "Divorce."
Ethan froze instantly.
In the past, no matter how bad things got, I had never once threatened to leave him.
Perhaps sensing that something was fundamentally different about me, his face twisted with irritation. "Claire, stop playing games. The whole family is out here. Do you really have to throw a tantrum tonight?"
"My parents were right there when I gave her those gifts! Chloe grew up with us. We've always treated her like my own little sister. Do I need your permission to buy something for my sister? Do I not even have that right?"
"Just be a good girl, okay?"
What kind of brother buys his sister a diamond ring? If she were actually his blood sister, maybe I could have forced myself to turn a blind eye.
Chloe didn't share a single drop of blood with him!
When we got married, Ethan had whined that his finances were tight and that we needed to save every penny for our future.
He had literally ordered a five-dollar cubic zirconia ring off Wish to wear at our wedding.
He promised back then that once our lives improved, he would buy me a real ring.
Over all these years, I had secretly poured so much of my own money into our lives, finally giving him a comfortable existence.
And what did he do the moment he had money? He took everything I worked for and bought Chloe a real diamond ring.
Why the hell should she get that?"Claire, Ethan used to buy me gifts all the time back then. I really didn't know you would be this angry..."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accepted them. I'll give everything back."
"If you're still mad, slap me again. Slap me twice. I won't fight back, I swear."
Chloe's voice shook like a frightened leaf.
She played the fragile victim so well that anyone would think I was a monster terrorizing her.
I stepped around Ethan and walked straight up to her. She immediately scrambled back in fear.
"Didn't you just say I could slap you two more times if I was still mad? What are you running away for?"
I stared down at her, a cold sneer playing on my lips.
She froze for a brief second.
Then, with a dull thud, she dropped to her knees right before me.
"Claire, I'm so sorry! I really know I was wrong! But Ethan and I are completely innocent. We've never done anything behind your back!"
"Even if you don't believe me, you have to trust your own husband!"
"Claire, don't you dare push your luck!"
Ethan practically lunged forward to pull her off the floor. "A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere. You don't owe her an explanation."
He turned to glare at me with pure venom. "You really have zero trust in me, don't you? Fine! If you want a divorce so damn bad, you've got it! Just don't come crawling back on your knees begging me to take you back!"
With that, he shoved me ruthlessly toward the front door.
As if I were the outsider in this house.
I tried to fight back, but Ethan's grip was brute strength, pinning my arms until I couldn't move.
The moment the front door slammed behind me, I stood alone in the freezing snow for a long time.
Seven years of marriage. I had abandoned my family and walked away from my fortune, moving across the country for love—only to end up homeless on New Year's Eve.
I suppose those who feel unconditionally loved are always fearless. That was why Ethan was so convinced I would inevitably crawl back to him in tears.
Ethan and I had first met in college.
Back then, he was the charismatic senior running club recruitment, and I had fallen head over heels at first sight.
Just to be close to him, I joined the debate club, something I had never been good at.
I chased after him for three grueling years, getting rejected two hundred and thirty-nine times.
Ethan had never spared me a smile. Most of the time, he just told me to stop bothering him.
After my two hundred and forty-ninth confession failed, I finally had enough.
I decided to give up on him, quit the debate club, and take back my own life.
Then, one late evening, Ethan showed up at my dorm, cornering me in the dim hallway.
His eyes were bloodshot as he pinned me against the wall, resting his chin on my shoulder.
His warm breath ghosted against my ear, his voice trembling as he asked if I truly didn't want him anymore.
In that single second, my resolve completely melted.
I cupped his face and kissed his lips.
"Ethan, do you want me?"
He didn't answer with words.
Instead, he kissed me like a madman right outside my dorm, completely uncaring of who might see.
The very next day, news of the campus heartthrob being taken swept across the entire university.
Everyone told me that landing a guy like Ethan was the greatest stroke of luck I would ever have in my life.
Back then, I foolishly believed them.
I thought I was genuinely blessed to have such an exceptional man fall in love with me.
I had completely forgotten who I actually was. I was Claire Vance, the sole heiress to the Vance empire. I had the looks, the pedigree, and elite talent in every art imaginable.
Ethan was the one who had hit the lottery by dating me—not the other way around.
Right after graduation, we walked down the aisle.
Because his career was just starting out, I demanded zero dowry or gifts.
My parents were vehemently opposed to me marrying down, but I didn't care about his lack of money. I had plenty of it. If he needed it, I could just give it to him.
Ethan swore to me that once he made it, he would give me the world.
And like an idiot, I believed every word.
It wasn't until Chloe returned that I realized how pathetic and naive I had been.
Chloe was his childhood sweetheart who had moved abroad with her family when she was eighteen.
The only reason Ethan had rejected every girl in college was that he was waiting for her.
As for that night when he showed up at my dorm with red-rimmed eyes? I later found out that he had just received news that Chloe had gotten engaged to another man overseas.
To spite Chloe, he grabbed his most loyal, desperate backup option.
Me.
I thought he had cried for me, but the entire foundation of our relationship was a sick lie.When Chloe first returned, they kept things subtle. But after her birthday party, Ethan began leaving early and coming home late, often not coming home at all.
If he wasn't with Chloe, he was on his way to see her.
Finally, my patience broke.
I told him he was forbidden from seeing her again. His face darkened instantly.
He called me narrow-minded, claiming that it was just an innocent dinner between old friends and that my lack of trust was toxic.
He even sneered that if I had so much free time, I should go find a real job instead of sitting at home doing nothing, mooching off him and obsessing over imaginary affairs.
He conveniently forgot that I gave up everything to manage his household only because he wanted someone to take care of him.
He was the one who said he didn't want me suffering in the corporate world, promising that he would provide while I just stayed pretty.
Hell, even his prestigious corporate job was secured through my father's connections.
Now, he threw it in my face, claiming I was useless and treating me like a leech.
All those solemn vows had vanished into thin air.
For the past two years, our marriage had devolved into endless screaming matches.
Whenever we fought, Ethan would give me the silent treatment and vanish for days, waiting until I cried and begged for him to come home.
My love had become his favorite weapon to torture me with.
And tonight, when he threw me out into the cold snow for Chloe's sake, my delusions finally shattered. That marriage certificate meant nothing.
In Ethan's heart, Chloe was the untouchable white moonlight.
Shivering violently in the winter air, I looked up. The warm lights on the second floor felt blinding.
Shadows moved past the window.
They were probably sitting down for New Year's Eve dinner right now.
In the penthouse I bought with my own money, his whole family was celebrating while the rightful owner was locked out in the cold.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my luxury real estate broker. "Hi, Liam. Put my penthouse on the market immediately."
Since I had chosen divorce, they weren't getting a single penny that belonged to me.
With flights grounded on New Year's Eve, I booked the earliest first-class ticket out on the morning after next.
When Ethan finally tracked me down, I was sitting in a hotel room eating instant noodles.
He stormed inside and slapped the hot paper bowl straight out of my hands.
"Claire, who the hell gave you the nerve to put the penthouse up for sale without even asking me?"
"That's our home! It doesn't belong to just you!"
Looking at his furious face, I suddenly found the whole thing hilarious.
Seeing my silence, he sneered, "All this drama over a few stupid gifts! You just have to tear the whole family apart, don't you? I never realized how disgustingly selfish you are!"
"I'm selfish?"
"On New Year's Eve, I slaved away in the kitchen for hours while the four of you sat laughing in the living room. Did I say a single word?"
"You bought Chloe a real diamond ring and a brand-new car! What about me? I'm your wife! What did you get me?"
"Ethan! Which one of us is the selfish monster?"
Ethan froze, caught completely off guard by my fury.
This wasn't the first time.
Ethan had an impossibly picky palate; he insisted that every vegetable had to be freshly picked that morning.
So every single day, I woke up at dawn to fight the crowds at the fresh markets.
On rainy days, it was a nightmare.
Before marrying him, I had never ridden public transit in my life; private chauffeurs had driven me everywhere.
I had asked Ethan more than once to buy me a cheap little runabout car, nothing fancy, just something to keep the rain off me.
He shot me down every time, claiming I barely left the house.
He argued that since he took the train to work, buying a car for a stay-at-home housewife was a pure waste of money.
Yet when it came to Chloe, he suddenly worried that taking public transit was too hard on a delicate girl.
What a joke. It wasn't that he didn't know how to care for someone.
He just believed that I wasn't even worthy of a cheap car.
I looked down at the noodles scattered across the carpet. Every shop had closed for the holiday; that bowl had taken me an hour to find.
A wave of bitter humiliation rose in my chest.
Ethan didn't care at all. His mind was entirely fixed on his assets. "Call the broker and cancel the listing right now! Otherwise, I swear to God I'm divorcing you!"
I let out a cold, mocking laugh. Threats of divorce had lost all their power over me.
"That penthouse was bought under my name before marriage. You and your family need to pack your trash and get out. My lawyer will deliver the papers shortly."
"Ethan, you and I are done."
My words were cold, deliberate, and final. Seeing my unshakeable resolve, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.
"Claire, if you apologize to me right now, there's still room to fix this."
"I can even overlook the fact that you slapped me today."
Before he could finish his pathetic speech, I shoved him straight out the hotel room door.
Just like he had done to me that night.
Ethan pounded on the door, screaming from the hallway, "Claire, remember what you said tonight! You're going to regret this for the rest of your miserable life!"
Whether I would regret leaving him, I didn't know.
But marrying him? That was the single biggest regret of my entire existence.
Over the next few days, Ethan never contacted me again.
He probably had no idea I had already boarded a flight and left his city for good.
The moment I landed, I opened SnapChat and saw Chloe's latest story.
A picture of a gourmet breakfast: [Waking up to breakfast made by the man I love. Pure bliss.]
My heart gave a faint, bitter thud.
In seven years of marriage, Ethan had never cooked a single meal for me. He had never even washed a dish.
When I married him, he had just finished college, broke, without a car or a home. The moment I bought our house, he moved his parents in with their suitcases.
To earn his parents' approval, I did every single chore myself.
I transformed from a pampered billionaire heiress who never lifted a finger into a tired, hardened housewife.
And yet, seven years of devotion couldn't measure up to a single smile from Chloe.
I refreshed the feed. Ethan had already commented below: [It's my absolute honor to cook for you.]
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Watch & Promotions
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