She Got My Husband with the Sunrise

Chapter 5

The sharp crack of my palm against her cheek was nothing short of satisfying.

I'd dreamed of doing that for years.

Especially now, seeing my mother's heirloom bracelet glinting on her wrist.

"Olivia, help me up!" Ethan's mother wailed dramatically, clutching her face like I'd just knocked out a tooth.

Olivia rushed to her side, all fake sweetness. "Auntie, are you okay? Do you need ice?"

Ethan stormed over, eyes blazing. "Apologize to my mother, now!"

"If you don't, we're getting a divorce!"

I stared at him... and laughed.

Laughed right in his face.

"Apologize?" I echoed. "Oh, sweetheart. You really want to go there?"

Fine. They wanted to play dirty? I'd burn it all down.

Back when I was stupidly trying to earn the Carter family's approval, I stayed close to Ethan's mother, kept my mouth shut, played the part. That's how I uncovered the real reason they suddenly agreed to let me marry their precious son.

I pulled out a folder, flipping it open.

One by one, I laid the documents across the table like playing cards in a rigged game.

"Let's get one thing straight," I said calmly. "From the day we got married, my family's money has been propping up yours."

I pointed to the loan records. "Your parents borrowed millions just to stay afloat. The cars, the mansion, the luxury vacations? All smoke and mirrors."

"And Ethan's prestigious hospital job?" I paused. "Also bought. He barely passed his boards."

Silence fell over the room like a curtain.

"You all spent years looking down on me while living off my family's dime."

I turned to Ethan, locking eyes with him.

"If you divorce me... who's gonna cover your debts? Olivia?"

Olivia blinked. Her perfect little smile cracked for the first time. She hadn't known. She hadn't known the Carter family's glamour was just polished rot.

She backed away.

Ethan opened his mouth but said nothing. What could he say?

"I tried to spare you the humiliation," I told him. "But you forced my hand."

Then I turned to Olivia.

"You love your 'Auntie Carter,' don't you? Always playing the loyal little daughter-in-law. Cute."

I leaned in. "Well, guess what? Your father's been sleeping with her for years. Since the day Ethan and I got married."

"No," Olivia whispered, shaking her head. "That's not true."

I dumped another stack of photos and phone records on the table. "Go ahead. Deny it."

I was done pretending. Done protecting reputations that never protected me.

Ethan's mother began sobbing, begging.

But I walked straight to her, grabbed her wrist, and yanked off the jade bracelet.

"That's mine!" she screeched, lunging at me.

I held it up. "This belongs to my father's wife. Are you claiming that title now?"

Her eyes widened in horror.

I gave her wrist a sharp twist, enough to make her yelp, then handed the bracelet back to my mother.

Turning to Ethan, I asked quietly, "Tell me the truth. You only married me because your family was drowning in debt, didn't you?"

He didn't answer. He didn't have to.

I'd suspected it for years. But I was too fragile back then, too emotionally wrecked to face the truth.

So I played the good little wife. The loyal fool.

But not anymore.

Not today.