When I wake up, the love is gone
Chapter 1
It all started because I accidentally spilled my drink on my husband’s girlfriend’s dress.
He then threw scalding hot oil all over my face.
Watching me fall to the ground in agony, he gently shielded her eyes.
“Don’t look, you might get scared.”
He coldly warned, “That’s the price you pay for hurting Claire. Next time, it won’t just be a little injury.”
Feeling the searing pain, I calmly nodded.
I just got to the hospital lobby when I heard Ethan and his friends gossiping about me.
“Ethan, what are you doing picking her up? She’s got legs, she can get home herself.”
Ethan scoffed. “My dad insisted. He wants me to bring her home.”
“Your dad’s crazy, why would he make you marry such an embarrassing woman?”
Ethan’s brow furrowed deeper.
“I don’t know. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve divorced Lily ages ago.”
As soon as Ethan finished, he saw me.
His friends stared at my face and burst into laughter, pointing at me. “Look at her face! It’s even worse than ruined!”
Everyone joined in the laughter.
After laughing, Claire quickly tried to stop them.
“Lily, they’re just kidding. Don’t take it to heart. It’s okay if your face is ruined, you’re already married anyway.”
Her words only made the mockery worse.
Everyone knew Ethan didn’t love me; his heart belonged to Claire.
Hearing it from Claire made me feel like a complete joke.
Before, I would have cried, but this time I just gave a quiet reply and prepared to get in the car.
Ethan stopped me, playing with his car keys.
“Claire and I are using the car today. Walk home.”
I clenched my fists, swallowing my bitterness.
Ignoring the taunts, I turned and walked away.
Ten minutes later, Ethan’s car pulled up, blocking my path.
I walked around it, continuing on my way.
Ethan hesitated, then got out, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into the driver’s seat.
He and Claire got in the back.
“You drive.”
With those ice-cold words, he and Claire started kissing. Only the sounds of their kisses filled the car.
I drove calmly, as if I couldn’t see what was happening behind me.
After a while, Ethan stopped kissing Claire and frowned at me.
“Pull over somewhere secluded, by the river.”
I did as he said. Ethan reached into Claire’s clothes, sneering at me.
“What are you still doing here? You don’t think I’d touch you, do you? Seeing your face makes me sick. Get out!”
Then, they embraced again, clothes scattering on the floor.
I grabbed Ethan’s jacket from the passenger seat and tossed it into the back.
“Don’t dirty my new car.”
As Ethan glared at me, my phone rang. It was Mr. Jiang, Ethan’s father.
“Lily, have Ethan answer the phone.”
“He’s busy making a baby with Claire in the car.”
Silence on the other end. Finally, Mr. Jiang sighed. “Are you really going to divorce Ethan?”
“Mr. Jiang, the divorce papers are signed.”
I went to see Ethan that day to get him to sign the divorce papers.
He signed without even looking.
The cooling-off period ends in a week.
Chapter 2
I hung up, watching the increasingly violent shaking of the car, and walked to the river alone.
Thinking about leaving this cage that had tormented me for years, I felt a long-lost sense of relief.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the river breeze.
Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and threw me onto the grass.
Ethan glared at me, roaring, “Lily, are you crazy?!”
I saw a hint of nervousness and panic in his eyes.
He was actually worried about me. It was funny.
Seeing my reaction, Ethan looked flustered. He knelt down, grabbed my arm, and awkwardly said,
“Even if your face is ruined, I won’t divorce you. Don’t do anything stupid.”
He thought I was going to jump in the river.
He reached out to help me up, revealing fresh red marks under his clothes.
The thought of what he’d just been doing made me nauseous.
I pushed him away and stood up.
In the distance, we heard Claire cry out in pain.
Ethan rushed over.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Let me see.”
“It’s nothing, just a twisted ankle. Go check on Lily.”
“It’s not nothing, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Ethan picked up Claire and prepared to get in the car.
“Wait, the car’s dirty. Carry me instead.”
Ethan agreed. Claire looked at me provocatively. “Lily, you can clean the car.”
I looked inside.
It was a mess, making me want to vomit.
I called Ethan’s driver to clean it up and went home in the driver’s car.
Ethan didn’t come home until the evening, with more red marks and Claire in his arms.
I quickly put the divorce papers in my bag.
Ethan frowned. “Were you snooping in my files?”
Claire chimed in, “Lily, Ethan’s company files are very important. If you want to work for the company, talk to him directly. Don’t sneak around!”
Ethan’s gaze grew more hateful. “You think you can work for my company? Get that!”
I handed him the papers.
As he reached for them, I said, “It’s just the contract for the car my dad bought me. Check it if you don’t believe me.”
“You’re so greedy. I don’t want to see it. Claire twisted her ankle, she’ll be staying here for a few days. Take good care of her.”
He threw the papers at me, carried Claire into our room, and added,
“Sleep in the guest room.”
After the door closed, I found my old diary and a photo inside.
Looking at the two children in the picture, I smiled bitterly.
Ethan probably doesn’t remember what happened eighteen years ago, and I’m ready to end this eighteen-year ordeal.
I tore up the photo and threw it away, packed my belongings into a suitcase.
I booked a one-way ticket.
I went to the bathroom and bumped into Ethan, who was about to shower, still smelling of sex.
He instinctively adjusted his clothes.
“I’ll spend a couple of days with you after Claire recovers.”
“No need,” I flatly refused. I’ll probably be gone by then.
His eyes turned icy. He sneered.
“Fine. I’ll transfer you two million, as payment for taking care of Claire.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I need money for a fresh start.
Ethan sneered, transferring the money. “I hope you’re a good babysitter!”
Chapter 3
After Ethan went back to the bedroom, I received an email, a job offer.
I could start in a week.
The next morning, Ethan had made Claire a loving breakfast.
He also surprisingly made one for me.
“Lily, you’re awake. Ethan made breakfast, come and eat together.”
Claire greeted me warmly, as if she was the mistress of the house.
Before I could speak, Ethan’s icy gaze fell on me.
“Lily, Claire’s being nice. Don’t be ungrateful.”
Thinking of the two million, I sat down.
As I reached for the soup, Claire dropped her bowl, spilling some soup on her hand.
Hearing her yelp, Ethan pushed me away. The large soup bowl fell, spilling all over my arm.
He didn’t notice my condition, tending to Claire’s injury while scolding me.
“Lily, don’t you know the soup is hot? Don’t you know how painful it is when it spills on you?!”
I sneered at my arm. I certainly know how painful it is.
Seeing my silence, he turned around, noticing my condition.
His face showed a flicker of surprise, then he put down Claire’s hand and came to me, “How clumsy, do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No,” I said coldly, going to the bathroom.
After washing my wound, I saw Claire’s hand already bandaged by Ethan.
“If you’re okay, come shopping with us. Claire wants to go out.”
I agreed, but never expected a fire to break out at the mall.
By the time the alarm sounded, the fire had spread, with only one barely passable escape route on the third floor.
Running towards the exit, Ethan shielded Claire and rushed out.
As they passed me, Claire tripped me. I fell, losing my chance to escape.
The fire spread rapidly. I ran to the bathroom to try and save myself.
Despite my efforts, I lost consciousness from smoke inhalation.
When the firefighters found me, I regained consciousness.
As I was being taken to the hospital, the last ambulance was stopped.
It was Ethan.
“Her arm is cut. Such a big wound, shouldn’t you treat her first?”
He held Claire, showing her small cut, angrily questioning the paramedics.
The cut was only a couple of centimeters and had stopped bleeding.
“Her wound isn’t serious, you can treat it at the nearest hospital. Please don’t block the ambulance, we have more serious patients!”
But Ethan insisted, “I’ll report you! I’ll make sure you can’t work in this industry anymore!”
“Saving lives comes first. Go ahead and report us.”
The paramedics stopped Ethan, loading me onto the ambulance.
As they asked for my family’s contact information, I heard Ethan mention my name.
“Lily must have escaped already. She’s not worth worrying about.”
I shook my head. “I have no family.”
Chapter 4
Luckily, I was sent to the hospital in time and survived.
Ethan found out two days later. He rushed to the hospital, and seeing my pale face, a hint of guilt crossed his eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be trapped in the fire. It was my fault, I’m sorry.”
“How are you feeling? Is there anything else wrong? I’ve contacted the best hospital, if you feel uncomfortable, I’ll take you there now.”
“I’m fine, this hospital is good, I’m almost recovered.”
Seeing my calm demeanor, Ethan frowned, noticing something different.
“After Claire and I escaped, I didn’t see you. You must have been taken away by an earlier ambulance. It’s good you were rescued in time, you’re okay.”
I smiled. “I was on the last ambulance.”
Ethan was stunned.
After a long silence, he took my hand. “I didn’t know it was you. Claire was badly hurt, so I wanted to send her to the hospital. If I’d known it was you, I would have sent you both.”
“Is someone’s life worth less than Claire’s?”
Ethan’s face darkened. “This isn’t Claire’s fault. I brought you a gift, a dress and tickets to the music festival, let’s go tonight.”
He handed me the dress.
“Want to try it on?”
Looking at the size, I shook my head. It’s the wrong size anyway.
Ethan showed some displeasure, but still patiently showed me the tickets.
“Then let’s go to the music festival tonight.”
I didn’t move. “I can’t go, I have…”
Before I finished, Ethan angrily tore up the tickets and threw them in the air.
“Lily, I gave you a chance, you didn’t cherish it. Don’t regret it!”
He stormed out of the ward.
I swallowed the words, “I have a heart condition.”
That night, I went home, but Ethan and Claire weren’t there.
They didn’t return for three days, and Ethan didn’t contact me.
Claire, however, sent me messages and photos every day.
As I destroyed photos of Ethan and me, she sent me couple photos in wedding dresses.
“I heard you and Ethan didn’t even have a wedding. He promised he’d only have a wedding with me.”
As I threw away Ethan’s birthday gifts, she sent me pictures of the expensive jewelry he’d given her.
“Ethan never celebrated birthdays with you, he was with me.”
As I packed my bags to leave, she sent me a pregnancy test.
“I’m pregnant, with Ethan’s child. He’s never touched you, right?”
I replied: I’ve never been a third party, have you? You must have a lot of experience.
I deleted my number and left without looking back.
I wasted over a decade on Ethan, it’s time for a new life.
