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Home / Romance Short Story / My Adoptive Son Was Husband and Best Friend’s Bastard / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of My Adoptive Son Was Husband and Best Friend’s Bastard: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

12 Chapters

Chapter 1

My adopted son Ethan's lips curled into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. And then I heard a familiar voice right behind me."Oh, Vivian. You really are something else, you know that? You handed your husband over to my bed, and you spent fifteen years raising my biological son.""I should actually be thanking you."My best friend Rachel pressed both hands down on my shoulders and breathed the words against my ear like a ghost.I spun around and caught the exact moment my husband Derek locked eyes with her.My stomach lurched. I pressed my hand to my chest."No," I said, shaking my head. "That's impossible. Ethan misspoke. Derek told me our son was gone, so we adopted."Rachel let out a cold laugh and handed me two documents.One was a photo of Derek at the grocery store, holding the son who had supposedly disappeared.The other was a paternity test confirming Derek and Ethan as a match.The blood drained from my face.Derek stood there with a smirk, silently mouthing: You stupi

Chapter 2

Ethan piled on. "Yeah, say sorry to my mom, or everyone's going to think you've lost your mind."He grabbed my arm and started hauling me across the floor, ignoring the wine soaking through my clothes and my sharp cry of pain.I stood my ground in front of the whole crowd and spat three times in their direction."Rachel, drop the act. You were loving every second of it. What happened? Can't keep going?"Before she could answer, Derek lit up his phone screen.A naked photo of me stared back at everyone in the room.He leaned in close, voice low and threatening. "Vivian. Unless you want these pictures everywhere, you're going to sign the divorce papers. Right now.""Give up custody, leave with nothing, keep your mouth shut, and I'll let you walk away with your dignity. Otherwise..."His breath was warm against my ear.Every vein in my body went cold.The whole room was watching, soaking up every second.I smiled. "Fine. Let's do it."My easy agreement seemed to catch Ethan off guard.Der

Chapter 3

Ethan was thrilled. He immediately dragged Derek and Rachel to a luxury boutique to go on a shopping spree.They ran right into me. I was there buying a power suit.Derek was dressed to the nines in a made-to-measure suit, head tilted back like he owned the place."Well, well, Vivian. What's it been, a few days? Already working retail? Oh wait, don't luxury stores require a bachelor's degree minimum? Didn't you drop out of community college?"Rachel had Hermès bags stacked up both arms, barely able to hold them all.She sauntered over, fake-annoyed."Derek, don't be like that. Vivian's still my best friend. If she can't hack it in retail, she'd make a great cleaner. Honestly, if it weren't for her babysitting Ethan all those years, I never would've landed a Harvard son for free."She covered her mouth and laughed.Ethan looked around the room, then deliberately stepped away from me like I was something that might contaminate him."Why are you still following us, Vivian? You signed the

Chapter 4

Rachel clucked her tongue. Derek sighed."Vivian. We were married for years. I get it, you don't have money. But stop overextending yourself. You snuck in there, couldn't afford anything, and made yourself look like an idiot. Why do that to yourself?"Then he offered her some unsolicited advice, with a leer that turned my stomach.I didn't bother responding.Give your enemies enough rope.When the auctioneer came out a few minutes later with a miserable-looking Ethan in tow, Derek and Rachel finally got the news about the card's payment hold."Dad, Mom, the auction house says the large transaction on the card is delayed three days. They're saying I bid too high for a standard hold, and I need to pay three-point-five million up front as a deposit before they'll release it.""What?"Both of them shrieked.Derek went dark. "What kind of operation is this? You don't get the item, and you still have to pay a deposit? That's insane."Rachel nodded vigorously. "Exactly! It's a scam. My son ha

Chapter 5

The floor manager, following my instructions, started him off with a few complimentary chips.Once Ethan was hooked, they offered him more at a "discounted" rate.He was gone, day and night, eyes bloodshot, barely eating, locked on the roulette wheel.Security footage showed him screaming at Derek and Rachel."Give me your chips. The table's about to open. Move out of my way or I swear to God—""Ethan, have you completely lost it? That's how you talk to your father? Gambling is addictive, and don't forget, your dad sold the house and both cars to get you that three-point-five million. You keep this up and there's nothing left.""Ethan, please," Rachel begged. "We're your parents. We're not trying to hurt you.""I got into Harvard on a full ride. I deserve to blow off a little steam. Three-point-five million? That's nothing. I have a black card, I just spent seventy million without blinking. Out of my way."He shoved them both to the ground.Derek hit the floor hard. Rachel cracked the

Chapter 6

Ethan blinked like he was seeing things. "Vivian, what are you doing here? Didn't you go off to scrub toilets somewhere?"Rachel looked like her head was on fire, but she still couldn't resist. "You think dressing up in designer clothes makes you someone? You're still a nobody, Vivian."Derek didn't even speak. He pulled two crumpled dollars from his pocket and dropped them on the sidewalk between us."Today is Ethan's first day at his internship. Stop embarrassing yourself. Take a bus to the police station and turn yourself in, and don't come crying to me when I stop playing nice."Ex-husband. The thought nearly made me laugh.Ethan was already speed-walking toward the building entrance, too anxious about being late to deal with me.All three of them were a mess, father and son dark-circled and ragged, Rachel wobbling in heels that were one step from snapping.The security guard at the door didn't even look up from his watch."No appointment, no entry. New staff and family need to reg

Chapter 7

A second later, Rachel frantically waved her hands."No, no, that's impossible."She looked at me, then looked at the group of executives bowing in my direction.Then her voice went up an octave."Oh, I get it, you hired all these people to put on a show, didn't you? She's mentally ill, people. She's been delusional for years."Rachel tapped the side of her head and spun her finger in circles.Derek's jaw was tight. "Vivian, what kind of game is this? You're deliberately tanking Ethan's internship to get back at me. Real mature."He turned to my secretary, smiling through gritted teeth, talking fast."You've been misled. This woman is unstable; she's had this fantasy for years about having a Harvard son. I'm going to take her home right now."He grabbed for my arm. Two bodyguards stepped in front of him.My secretary cleared her throat."Excuse me. Please show some respect. Ms. Ashford is the company's new chairman. One more word and I will have security remove you from the premises."

Chapter 8

The office around us took the cue and called out together:"Good morning, Ms. Ashford."The three of them hadn't moved and weren't moving.The HR manager, afraid of being caught in the blast radius, turned on Ethan."Say it. Right now. Ms. Ashford."He practically willed the words into Ethan's mouth by sheer force of anxiety.Derek clenched his jaw and held out. "Vivian. What are you pulling here? You make one call and suddenly Ethan's own company bows to you? Tell me what you did.""Forget the small talk."Rachel had never been able to stop herself, even now. She stepped forward the same way she always had, hand raised, gunning for my face.She never got there. A bodyguard had her flat on the pavement, limbs twisted.She thrashed and screamed."Vivian, you bitch! You can't do this to me. Derek's not going to let you get away with this! Ethan, Ethan, come help me!"A bodyguard grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back.I crouched down to her level and met her narrowed, rage-blur

Chapter 9

I had no idea what was happening.Before I could react, Ethan was already spinning a story and patching over the gaps."Mom, I know you were upset that I spent so much time with Rachel. But I was only doing it to get your medication. She's a doctor, the only one who could get you those imported prescriptions. I had no idea she'd been slipping you something to make you seem unstable and get you committed."His nose was running, tears streaming down his face. "These past weeks, Dad and I have been playing along with her act just to get you out of that facility. But you'd already gotten out on your own. Why didn't you tell us?""I know we hurt you. But please, after everything we've been through, give us one more chance."I almost had to admire the performance.With Rachel unconscious and unable to contradict him, Ethan had dismantled his own guilt in three sentences and recast himself and Derek as devoted men who had suffered in silence just to rescue me.If I didn't know every single th

Chapter 10

On the screen, all three of them were talking to a camera. Derek's eyes were red and swollen, and a mounted set of antlers hung on the wall behind him."My wife Vivian played the humble housewife for years while secretly being loaded. I handled every household expense. Our son just got into Harvard, and instead of celebrating as a family, she walked out because I didn't give her an expensive watch.""She even used her connections with our company's HR manager to cancel our son's internship. I know I've let her down over the years. But tuition isn't cheap, and I've done everything I could."Rachel handed him a tissue and faced the camera directly, cataloguing my supposed sins."Vivian, we've been best friends forever. A little tantrum is one thing, but have some perspective. Derek has given you everything you've ever asked for over the years. You mentioned an Hermès bag offhand, and he went and worked construction to buy it for you.""And you're walking out over a watch? Leaving your fa

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