Divorcing My Cheating Wife,She Didn't Know I Owned Her Entire World

On our third wedding anniversary, my wife lied and told me she had to go on an out-of-town business trip. In reality, she snuck off to a clinic and aborted our baby. When I found out the truth, my heart turned completely to ash. I dialed Chloe’s number to demand an explanation, but the voice on the other end belonged to Julian, her first love. "Hello? My wife is asleep right now. If there's a message, I can pass it along tomorrow." I didn’t say a word. I hung up in silence, feeling as though our three years of marriage had been nothing more than a pathetic joke. That night, I smashed the anniversary cake and the gifts I had spent weeks preparing. I sat alone in the living room, drinking until sunrise. In that moment, it finally hit me: our marriage was over. A week later, Chloe called me for the first time since leaving. She told me she had just landed at the airport and ordered me to pick her up. I looked out the window. It was pouring rain outside. In the past, I would have grabbed my jacket and rushed out the door without a second thought. This time, I simply said, "I'm busy," and hung up. When she finally made it back to the apartment, her makeup was ruined, and water dripped from her soaked hair. Her face was livid, and her eyes glared at me as if she wanted to tear me to pieces. I only gave her a calm, detached glance before looking back at my screen to continue working on my architectural blueprints. Chloe looked ready to explode. Furious, she stormed over and slammed her high heels into my desktop computer tower over and over again, only stopping once the machine was completely smashed. "Ethan, what the hell is wrong with you? Lounging at home playing games instead of coming to get me?" "Are you blind? Didn't you see how hard it's raining out there?" "I bust my ass working every single day to support you, and you can't even show a little consideration? If you went out and got a real job, I wouldn't have to carry this whole family on my back!" I looked up at her bitter, angry face. Chloe seemed to have completely forgotten that the moment she mentioned she disliked gaming, I hadn't touched a single video game in our three years of marriage. The only reason I stayed home was that she constantly complained about her hectic job. She hated coming home to a dark, empty apartment. She begged me to quit my job so I could look after her and take care of the house. To give her peace of mind and a warm home, I agreed. After quitting, my entire world revolved around Chloe. While taking care of her daily needs, I used my free time to design architectural projects. Over the years, I made just as much money as she did, often even more. Even her current promotion to Project Director was secured through my personal network. Yet she never acknowledged any of my sacrifices. She stubbornly convinced herself that because I stayed at home, I was just a freeloader mooching off her paycheck. "What? You play dumb the second I mention getting a job?" "Are you even a man, Ethan? Do you honestly expect me to support you for the rest of your life?" "No," I replied calmly. "I've already started sending out my resume." Hearing that, Chloe's expression softened slightly. "You'd better." "I'm starving. Hurry up and make me something to eat. I'm going to take a hot shower." She barked the command and headed straight for the bathroom without looking back. When she came out and saw the dining table completely bare, her suppressed temper flared up again. "You're still messing with that broken computer? Did you not hear a word I just said?" "Chloe." I called her name in a quiet, even voice. She froze for a few seconds. Ever since we got married, I had never addressed her by her full name like that. "Was that week-long trip really for business?" She didn't answer, but I caught the flash of panic and guilt in her eyes. "What do you mean by that? Are you accusing me?" "Ethan! Are you so bored sitting at home all day that you've turned into a paranoid, jealous housewife?" I let out a dry, bitter laugh. Even now, Chloe was trying to shift the blame onto me, acting as if all our problems stemmed from my supposed uselessness. "When I called you last night, Julian picked up." The moment the words left my mouth, Chloe scoffed defensively. "Oh, so that's what this drama is all about. You're throwing a tantrum over jealousy." "The company budget was tight, so they booked us rooms at the same hotel. What's the big deal?" "Besides, it was a room with two separate beds. Nothing happened! Your mind is disgusting, Ethan." "Julian is ten times the man you'll ever be. He has a successful career, and he actually knows how to treat a woman. If I could do it all over again, I'd choose him over you in a heartbeat!" Every word hit like a hammer. If she had said this in the past, I would have bent over backward to make it up to her, blaming myself for not doing enough. But now, I felt strangely empty. I had gone completely numb to the pain. Seeing me quiet and unresponsive, her tone softened slightly. "Alright, look. I know I was gone for a while, and I neglected you. But everything I'm doing is for our future." Chloe stepped closer, tiptoed, and pressed a soft kiss against my lips. "There. That's your reward. Now go wash my laundry. I'm exhausted from the trip, so I'm going to take a nap." Whenever we fought, she used this exact trick. A quick kiss, and she assumed everything was forgiven. In her mind, no matter what line she crossed, a little affection could erase it all. She tossed her dirty clothes into my arms. As she turned around, something slipped from her coat pocket with a soft thud. I bent down and picked it up. The ultra-thin label instantly burned into my eyes. The sight struck me like a bolt of lightning, knocking the breath straight out of my lungs. I nearly lost my balance. It was an opened box of condoms. Peach-flavored.Chloe’s gaze instantly locked onto the small box in my hand, her pupils shrinking in shock. In the silence that followed, I knew she was frantically scrambling for an excuse. I hadn't been on that trip. If she needed these, the answer was painfully obvious. My hand trembled as I held the box out toward her. "Take it. Don't drop it next time." Chloe stared at me in disbelief, making no move to take it. My hand hung there in mid-air, frozen in the heavy silence. "Ethan, let me explain. This is..." I gave a bitter smile and cut her off flatly. "There's nothing to explain." "What is that supposed to mean? You think I cheated on you? Ethan, we've been together for five years! Do you not trust me at all?" Her face flushed bright red with fury. I honestly didn't understand what she had to be angry about. She was the one who stepped out on our marriage. I hadn't even raised my voice, yet she was already breaking down in righteous outrage. "Nothing happened between Julian and me! Stop overthinking things! We're just colleagues!" Her excuse was laughably pathetic. I hadn't even mentioned Julian's name, yet she brought him up without missing a beat. I nodded slowly. "I know. You're just colleagues. You've told me that a thousand times. You don't need to repeat it." Hearing that only fueled her rage. She slapped the box out of my hand, her voice shrill and piercing. "Ethan! You know how much I despise that sarcastic tone!" "I already explained myself, what more do you want?" "A loser like you has no right to question me. If I really wanted to cheat, I would just divorce you!" It was always like this. She never missed an opportunity to elevate herself while tearing me down. She needed me to remember that I was beneath her in this marriage, that I had no right to demand anything. In her eyes, offering an explanation was an act of charity on her part. I let out a tired sigh. "How did you expect me to react when I saw that?" "Ethan! Do you just live to pick fights with me?" "If you showed even an ounce of understanding, you wouldn't be cornering me like this!" Before I could say another word, Chloe shoved me out the front door. The icy wind howled through the corridor. Dressed in only a thin long-sleeve shirt, I shivered in the cold. She saw how cold I was, but she had no intention of letting me back inside. "You stay out here and think about what you've done! When you're ready to admit you were wrong, then you can come back in!" With a loud slam, the heavy door shut in my face. Chloe was gone. Two years of dating, three years of marriage, and all it brought me was betrayal after betrayal. Maybe it was finally time to walk away. I didn't linger outside the door for a single second. I walked straight down into the pouring rain and exited the residential complex. The moment I stepped onto the street, a diamond-encrusted, limited-edition Rolls-Royce pulled up smoothly beside me. The chauffeur stepped out into the rain, bowed respectfully, and opened the passenger door. As soon as I sat inside, the woman beside me handed over an executive folder. "Welcome home, Mr. Vance."Before marrying Chloe, I was the CEO of Horizon Group, running a multi-billion-dollar publicly traded empire. Because she said she wanted a partner who could take care of her, I threw away the spotlight, dimmed my own shine, and put her first in everything. And my reward? She aborted our child in secret and fell into another man's arms. Back at my private penthouse, I took a quick hot shower. Just as I stepped out, my phone buzzed on the counter. It was Lucas, a mutual friend of mine and Chloe's. After a brief hesitation, I picked up. There was no need to drag an outsider into our mess. "Ethan, where the hell are you? It's pouring outside! Chloe called me and said you two got into a fight. She told me that as long as you apologize, she'll let you come home." I realized then that Chloe had asked him to reach out to me. Hearing my silence, Lucas sighed and tried to reason with me. "Bro, stop being stubborn. Every time you fight, you're the one who ends up groveling anyway. Don't wait until she walks out of your life for good. By then, it'll be too late to fix it." Lucas meant well, even if his words stung. Throughout our marriage, we had had countless arguments, and every single time, I was the one who lowered my head and begged for her forgiveness. She had never reached out first. Not once. Even tonight, after kicking me out into a freezing rainstorm, she still had our mutual friend call me to demand an apology instead of admitting her own faults. "Do me a favor and tell her I'm not coming back." "What?" Lucas sounded stunned. "Ethan, did the rain fry your brain tonight?" "Others might not know how much you love Chloe, but I've watched you for years. There's no way you'd just walk away from her." "I mean it, Lucas. I'm never going back to that apartment." I repeated the words firmly. Lucas grew frantic. "Bro, you've been married for three years! Don't throw your whole life away over a moment of anger!" "When I said she might run off with someone else, I wasn't joking! Check your phone right now. I ran into them at a restaurant tonight." I glanced at the picture Lucas sent over. It showed Chloe and Julian sitting close together at a high-end dinner table, their fingers intertwined beneath the tablecloth. The radiant smile on her face was almost blinding. She had never smiled at me like that in our entire marriage. "Ethan, people make mistakes when they're vulnerable. We've been brothers for years, and I really think—" "Lucas." I cut him off before he could finish. "I know you're looking out for me." "But I have standards." "I don't touch things that another man has ruined. It disgusts me." With that, I hung up the phone and closed my eyes, desperate for some rest. Around three in the morning, a customized ringtone suddenly shattered the silence. I jolted awake. The caller ID on my screen flashed brightly: "My Darling Wife". It was Chloe. When we first started dating, I was swamped with corporate business and missed a few of her calls. She threw a massive fit, accusing me of not caring about her. To make sure that never happened again, I assigned her a unique ringtone so I would never miss her call. My instinct was to reject it, but my finger accidentally swiped across the accept button. Just as I was about to hang up, Chloe's drunken voice came through the speaker. "Why are you touching my phone?" "I told you, within three days, Ethan will be crawling back on his knees begging for my forgiveness." Then, another woman's voice came on the line. "Hey, Ethan, sorry about this. Chloe had way too much to drink. She's over at my place right now. Can you come pick her up?" "Don't take what she just said to heart. She's totally wasted." "Really?" I replied coldly. "Sounded like honest drunken truth to me.""I'm sleeping, and I don't have time to pick her up. Call Julian. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to do it." Hearing my response, Chloe snatched the phone from her friend's hand and screamed into the receiver. "Ethan! If you don't show up tonight, don't you ever bother showing your face in front of me again!" "Works for me," I said flatly, hanging up before rolling over to go back to sleep. A few minutes later, the phone buzzed again. Annoyed and nursing a pounding headache, I blocked her number immediately. The moment she was blocked, absolute peace returned to the room. I assumed I could finally sleep until morning, but Chloe refused to let it go. Over the next hour, she called me from a dozen different burner and friend numbers. Pushed to my limit, I finally answered one. "Ethan! How dare you block my number?" Chloe sounded both furious and wronged. "You've never treated me like this before! You keep pushing me into Julian's arms. Aren't you terrified that I'll actually choose him and divorce you?" "You're the one who always said you'd never let me stay out overnight alone! Why won't you come get me?!" I had said that once. Back then, no matter how late it was or where she was, I would drive across the city to bring her home safely. But ever since she started taking frequent business trips with Julian, she stopped answering my late-night calls altogether. Eventually, I stopped asking where she was and why she hadn't come home. "Your friend is right next to you," I said evenly. "You can take an Uber, or you can sleep on her couch. Why do I have to pick you up?" "Chloe, I have my own life." "My entire world doesn't revolve around you anymore." My words left her stunned. The other end of the line went dead silent for several long seconds. "Are you still throwing a fit over Julian?" "Ethan, can you stop acting like a child? I already apologized to you! You know I never lower myself for anyone, yet I swallowed my pride for you. What more could you possibly want?" "I don't want anything from you." When all hope is gone, there's no room left for expectations. "If you hate that I'm close to Julian, I can pull back on talking to him outside of work." "But we're colleagues! We work together every day! Can't you think about my career for once?" "Are you done? If you're done, I'm hanging up." A sudden sob broke out through the phone. "Ethan, are you trying to force me to quit my job so we both starve on the streets?" "You're a grown man, not a three-year-old toddler!" Her voice grew sharper and more frantic. After listening to her for this long, I couldn't detect even a hint of real drunkenness in her tone. "Chloe, I'm saying this for the last time. Do whatever you want from now on. You don't need to report to me, and you don't need to explain anything." Sick of listening to her tears, I powered off my phone entirely. The next morning, I arrived at Horizon Group's headquarters just as Vanessa was preparing to inspect a newly acquired subsidiary. Vanessa and I had grown up together. Over the past five years while I was playing househusband, she had been running my multi-billion-dollar empire as executive vice president. "Well, well. If it isn't the prodigal CEO finally tearing himself away from his domestic paradise," she teased. When she picked me up the night before, I had laid out the whole truth. I knew she had spent years harboring resentment over me abandoning the company for a woman, so I let her tease me without complaint. "Consider it my way of making amends. I'll accompany you on the inspection today." "Oh, please. I wouldn't dare order our big boss around." "Is there anything in this world you don't dare do, Vanessa?" She gave me a long look, clearly wanting to say something, but ultimately kept quiet and gestured for me to follow her. It wasn't until we pulled up outside the office building that I realized the company Vanessa was inspecting was the exact firm where Chloe worked. Just as we reached the lobby, Chloe and Julian walked in together, laughing and chatting intimately. The moment she spotted me, her smile froze solid. "Ethan!" She marched toward me, her eyes flashing with rage. Without warning, she grabbed her iced coffee and threw it directly at Vanessa's silk blouse. "So this is why you've been acting so cold to me? Because of this little homewrecker?" Before the words could even settle, Vanessa swung her arm and landed a sharp, ringing slap across Chloe's cheek. "Watch your mouth, sweetheart. I don't know who you are, but you'd better learn some respect." Ever since Chloe met me, her life and career had been an unbroken streak of good luck. I smoothed over every obstacle in her path. She had never been publicly humiliated like this in her life. "Ethan! Are you just going to stand there like a corpse and let someone assault your wife?!" Julian immediately stepped forward, pulling Chloe behind him protectively. "Ethan, Chloe told me you two fought over me. You can hate me all you want, but you can't stand by and let a stranger bully your own wife!" "How is Chloe supposed to hold her head up in this company after this?" Chloe's rage flared even higher, her eyes glaring at me with raw venom. Seeing that I still had no intention of defending her, she lost her patience completely. Grabbing my wrist, she yanked me aside and hissed, "Ethan, are you sleeping with that woman? You used to drop everything to protect me!" "No," I replied coldly. "Didn't you complain that I was unemployed?" Chloe's face turned pale with disgust. "I complained that you didn't have a job, not that you should go become some rich woman's kept boy!" "Chloe, not everyone is as dirty-minded as you." Her whole body trembled with fury. "Did you bring her here on purpose just to humiliate me? Does she work here too?" "Let me tell you something, Ethan. With one word from me, I can have that woman fired today, and you won't even have a penny left to buy food!" I let out a cold chuckle. I had spoiled her far too much over the last five years. I paved her way all the way to Project Director, using my personal connections to give her immense influence inside the company. It had gotten to the point where she completely forgot who built her ladder. She genuinely believed she owned the place and could fire whoever she pleased. Just as her words faded, Vanessa walked over, having already changed into a fresh designer blazer. She clapped her hands together, a brilliant, mocking smile on her lips. "Quite the attitude, Miss Brooks. I'd love to see how you plan on getting me fired with a single word."