She Got My Husband with the Sunrise

Chapter 4

Ethan's mother had looked down on me from the very beginning.

To her, my family was low-class, new money with no pedigree. She refused to let Ethan visit my home, claiming it would "taint" him.

Even on our wedding day, she humiliated me. The bridal car had just arrived at the hotel entrance when she physically blocked me from entering. It wasn't until my parents agreed to add a luxury car, one Ethan had picked out, to the dowry that she finally let me through the door.

Over the years, I bent over backward trying to win her approval. I bit my tongue through her insults, cooked for her, bought her gifts... and still, she looked at me and my family like we were dirt under her heels.

"I'm not deflecting. I'm just telling the truth."

Ethan's face darkened. "Sophia, have you completely lost it? You seriously faked these photos just to justify cheating? And now you're dragging Olivia into it? There's nothing inappropriate between us, none of the filth you're accusing us of."

His tone was laced with contempt, like I was disgusting just for standing my ground.

But honestly? I wasn't surprised. I'd spent years being his doormat. Letting him blur every line with Olivia, swallowing every ounce of self-respect just to keep the peace. Of course he thought I'd never fight back. Of course he assumed I wouldn't dare gather real evidence.

"Fabricated, huh?" I gave a low laugh.

Right then, the projector clicked, and the screen shifted.

There I was, pale and barely conscious on the hospital bed, while Ethan and Olivia stood next to me, clinging to each other. Her lipstick was smeared across his face. At one point, she actually sat on the foot of my bed, giggling, while I was hooked up to IVs.

The footage kept rolling, showing them stumbling into the hallway, locked in each other's arms like they were in a rom-com, not a hospital.

My father's face turned red with rage. He lunged forward and grabbed Ethan by the collar.

"My daughter was dying, and you were doing this crap? And now you've got the nerve to blame her? the Carter family is shameless!"

His words rang loud and clear.

But something about them didn't sit right.

When I looked at my mom, she kept her head down. Silent. Too silent.

Then I noticed something.

The jade bracelet she always wore, the family heirloom passed down from my grandmother, was gone.

And the car my dad drove today... wasn't his usual sleek Benz. It was a plain, secondhand Audi. No driver. No plates with political connections.

Something clicked.

"Mom? Dad?"

My voice came out small.

My dad just sighed. Didn't answer.

Ethan's mother, meanwhile, let out a bitter laugh. "And yet you still think your family is so noble? Please. Your daughter was the one who cheated first! My son was devastated, he leaned on Olivia because he had no one else, "

SLAP.