CHAPTER 3

ETHAN

I avoided home for over a week, mostly because I wasn’t sure how to face Aurora or how to talk about what she saw in my office.

Pulling into the driveway in the car Jasper got for me last month, I stepped out quietly and walked into the house. When I found the living room empty, I tiptoed up the stairs, hoping not to alert her that I was home.

If I am lucky, I can pick up some fresh clothes and leave without her noticing I came back.

I successfully made it to the bedroom, took a shower, packed an overnight bag, then quietly made my way downstairs again… that was when I bumped into her in the dining room, eating.

She lifted her head, our eyes meeting for a few seconds before she quietly averted her gaze back to her food.

Exhaling heavily, I dropped the overnight bag and joined her at the dining table. Dragging a chair out, I sat down and waited for her to serve me some of the soup she was having.

Aurora remained silent, totally ignoring my presence.

Frowning, I finally spoke up.

“Are you seriously going to act like you don’t know I’m here?”

Slowly, she lifted her head and fixed me with a cold glare. “Isn’t that what you wanted when you tiptoed your way through the house?”

Oh... so she did see me when I came in.

“Well, now that I’ve made my presence obvious, you should have at least served me breakfast.”

Her grip tightened around the spoon. “Are you seriously rage-baiting me right now?”

I rolled my eyes dismissively. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” she hissed under her breath before dropping the spoon noisily. “You think I’m being dramatic?”

The more she spoke, the more her voice rose.

“You cheated on me, Ethan! Humiliated me in front of your whore and your secretary, kicked me out of your office, and I’m being dramatic?!”

Sighing, I licked my lips and leaned forward.

“I’m going to need you to listen to me with a clear mind.”

Stunned into silence, she folded her hands and blinked slowly at me. “I beg your pardon?”

“Jasper and I are not serious.”

“Is that supposed to make this any better?” she spat.

“My business is struggling,” I whispered, hoping she would listen to me and see my reasons, but all I got was a cold stare. “Jasper promised to invest and also pull in investors. He promised to take me to places I never thought my business could ever get to_”

“And in exchange, you betray your wife and bend over for him?” she completed, her voice icily cold.

“Don’t put it like that...” I groaned, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

“I shouldn’t put it like what?” she hissed. “Let’s call a spade a spade, Ethan. That is the reality of your life.”

“I did what I had to do!” I roared, feeling choked by her self-righteousness. “I am tired of having to scrape for the basic things in life! I deserve more! My business deserves more!”

Aurora slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet, her face flushing with anger.

“You should have come to me, Ethan! You should have spoken to your wife about your struggling business!”

“And what difference would it have made?!” I bellowed, standing to my feet too. “What could you have possibly done?! You are useless to my business, Aurora!”

Chest heaving, I watched her stare at me unblinkingly, her eyes turning glossy.

Taking a deep breath, I sat down again.

“All I’m asking for is your patience and understanding.”

Chuckling bitterly, she slowly sat back down.

“My understanding?” She licked her lips slowly. “You want to continue the affair?”

“I know Jasper doesn’t love me,” I muttered. “And he’ll grow tired of me eventually. All I ask is that you look the other way while that happens, and I promise to give you the life you want in the end. I’ll give you the life you deserve. I swear it, Aurora.”

Sniffling, she wiped her tears. “You mean the life you want? The life you think you deserve?”

Chuckling bitterly, she shook her head in disbelief.

“You are indeed shameless, Ethan. Shameless to have asked me to condone this madness.”

Her insult pricked at my pride.

“I am not shameless!” I spat. “You may be okay with eating crumbs at the master's feet and living like a church rat for the rest of your life, but I am not! I refuse to settle for that kind of life!”

She drew in a deep breath. “If the case were reversed, if I was the one shagging my boss and asked for the same understanding, would you have stayed?”

I bit my lower lip and lowered my head, unable to meet her gaze. “As long as there are no strings attached.”

“That says a lot about our marriage then,” she remarked, her voice filled with disappointment.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but she lifted a hand, shutting me up.

“How long has this been going on?”

Really? She’s actually going to go for that cheesy line?

“Does it matter?”

“Answer my question with another question, Ethan, and I will smash that vase over your head!” she warned, her glare intensifying. “How long have you been bending over for him?”

“Six months.”

She blinked rapidly, her lashes fluttering as she looked away, her throat bobbing.

“Do you regret it?”

Jasper is the reason we can afford what we have. He is the reason I own this little house. He is the reason I have a car. He is the reason I can afford the rent for my business.

“Ethan!” Aurora yelled when I failed to respond. “Do you regret it?!”

“What do you want me to say?!” I erupted, shoving my chair backward angrily. It crashed to the floor behind me. “That I regret it?! Well, news flash, honey, I don’t regret it! I don’t!”

“You shameless, long-mouthed rat!”

“What?!” I shot back at her. “If wanting more makes me shameless, then so be it! You have nothing meaningful to offer me in this life, so why should I remain loyal to you?”

Aurora sprang to her feet, jabbing her index finger angrily at me.

“You were the one who told me not to bother finding a job! You said you wanted me to stay home and focus on building us a home and a family!”

“And you couldn’t even do that!” I fired back. “You couldn’t even do the one simple job I gave you, Aurora! How difficult is it to make a baby?!”

Her hand cracked across my cheek, snapping my head to the left.

The sting exploded across my face.

“How could you say that to me?” she whispered, her voice trembling.

“Let’s call a spade a spade,” I spat, throwing her own words back at her. “You are a barren disgrace.”

Her trembling hand moved to her chest.

“Me, Aurora Wells, a barren disgrace?”

“And you say you’re not dramatic?” I asked with an eye roll, settling back down in the chair. “Why are you suddenly using your maiden name?”

“Because I am done with this marriage,” she spat.

My head snapped up. “You can’t be serious.”

“What?” she chuckled bitterly. “Did you seriously think I would continue this entire joke of a marriage with you after you chose that man over me, stayed with him for an entire week, and returned home with nothing but insults for me?”

She snatched up the big brown envelope lying next to her plate and slammed it in front of me.

I eyed it suspiciously. “What is that?”

“Last I checked, your hands are very much functional enough to find out what’s in the envelope.”

Trust her to turn everything into an insult.

Reluctantly picking up the envelope, I opened it, expecting to see a list of things she wanted from me as compensation for cheating, but nothing prepared me for what I saw inside.

“Divorce papers? Seriously?”

Tucking hair behind both ears, her face relaxed into a stoic expression as she took a seat.

“I was going to have it delivered to your office since you decided not to come home, but thankfully, you decided to save me the stress.”

She gestured toward the papers.

“I already signed, so all that’s left is your signature, and when you are done, my lawyer will be the one to pick it up.”

“Lawyer?” I asked mockingly. “You can’t even afford that.”

She shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not, but Dora’s brother was more than happy to act as my attorney to get rid of your ass.”

I knew that bastard always had an eye on my wife.

“Don’t make decisions you’ll regret, Aurora.”

“I already did,” she deadpanned, “and it’s looking me in the face.”

I tried not to wince at her painful words.

“If I sign these papers, don’t come crawling back to me because this door will not be open to you.”

I know for a fact that she’ll come back to me.

Aurora has nothing to her name. Her middle-class family took her name off the register the moment she insisted on marrying me, so I don’t even see a way out of hardship for her.

Rolling her eyes, Aurora stood to her feet.

“Just sign the damn thing. I have already moved all my belongings out of this house, so you don’t have to worry about running into me, and please, if by any chance we do run into each other, let’s act like strangers.”

She’s serious?

My fingers slowly began to tremble.

“Aurora...”

“My lawyer will pick that up.”

With those last words, she turned and stomped out of the house, banging the door loudly behind her.