Chapter 4

I had intended to make a clean break and finalize the divorce with Ethan as quickly as possible, but his parents' surgery was suddenly bumped up. I had no choice but to shelve everything else and dedicate myself entirely to taking care of them.

The night before the operation, I returned home to get some rest and recharge.

Unexpectedly, Ethan came home before midnight for the first time in months. He even poured me a glass of wine and brought it over. "Serena, how long has it been since we sat down and actually talked?"

"I know how much you care about me. But a guy with my status... you have to expect women to throw themselves at me, right?"

"Chloe and I talked it over. As long as you stop targeting her, we won't press charges. Finish this glass, and you can go back to being Mrs. Miller in peace."

Frowning, I felt an overwhelming wave of revulsion.

The Miller family's wealth was kept alive purely through my efforts, yet he spoke as if he were granting me charity.

His excuses were even more laughable. Plenty of rich men kept side pieces, but none were foolish enough to hand over four million dollars on a silver platter like he did.

Tomorrow was a critical day for his parents' procedure, and I didn't have the energy to fight him. I gave a noncommittal hum, took the glass, downed it, and brushed him off to head straight to bed.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, my head pounded with a splitting migraine.

The sheets were completely disheveled, showing clear signs that another person had slept beside me.

Ethan and I had been sleeping in separate rooms for ages. Who else could have been in my bed?

Glancing at my phone, I panicked—it was already late morning! Their surgery was scheduled to begin any minute, and my alarm hadn't gone off!

Throwing everything aside, I sped straight to the hospital.

While I was frantically processing the admission paperwork, Ethan and Chloe suddenly barged in.

"Serena, my parents saved your life back then, and this is how you repay our family?!"

Ethan slammed a thick stack of glossy photographs straight into my face in the middle of the crowded lobby. "It wasn't enough that you tried to hoard our family assets, but you actually brought random men into our bed?! Have you no shame at all?!"

Staring at the pictures scattered across the floor, my vision blurred, my ears ringing violently.

The photos clearly showed me in bed with an unfamiliar man. A flock of tabloid reporters suddenly swarmed in, flashing cameras wildly in my face. The suffocating chaos made it nearly impossible to breathe.

"The wine..."

Dazed and horrified, I stared at Ethan. "You drugged me?!"

The memory of the glass of wine he handed me last night hit me like a train. I had blacked out completely right after drinking it, and the nausea and headache were still lingering.

Everything clicked into place. I gritted my teeth until they nearly cracked. "Ethan, how could you be so evil?!"

He swung his hand and delivered a stinging slap across my cheek. "You filthy whore! You're the one sleeping around, and you have the nerve to blame me?!"

He grabbed my collar, pulling me close to whisper a cold, vicious laugh into my ear. "That's what you get for clutching onto the Miller family assets and hurting Chloe! You're finished, Serena! If you confess right now, I might still take pity on you and throw you some scraps. Otherwise, pack your bags and get the hell out of our family!"

"I'll make sure your reputation is utterly destroyed, with zero chance of recovery."

In that instant, I wanted nothing more than to tear him apart with my bare hands.

Yet the paperwork wasn't finished. His parents were already prepped for surgery; every minute of delay increased their risk of complications.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of his parents being wheeled toward us in wheelchairs, pushing through the crowd.

I bit my tongue until I tasted blood to choke back the rage, shoving Ethan away to reach for the reception desk. "We can settle this tonight. Mom and Dad need to get into the operating room right now!"

Ethan refused to let go, his grip like an iron vice around my wrist. "Still trying to stall for time so you can spin the PR? Dream on! Confess your sins in front of the press right now!"

He was completely unhinged!

I never imagined he could be this heartless. "Ethan! Don't you give a damn whether your own parents live or die?!" I roared through gritted teeth.

Seeing my bloodshot eyes and raw desperation, his expression faltered slightly. He pulled out his phone, seemingly about to call and confirm.

Chloe stepped up beside him, tugging softly at his sleeve. "Ethan, maybe we should let Serena go for now. We can handle this privately. Your parents have always treated her so well; I'm sure they wouldn't want to see her publicly humiliated and cursed by everyone."

Ethan lowered his phone, wearing a sneer of sudden realization. "Oh, I see. You want my parents to step in and save your skin, don't you? Ha! They're getting senile, which is why they always take your side. Serena, even if they're on their deathbeds, I'll make sure they despise you and throw you away like the trash you are before they go!"

The moment the words left his mouth, the wheelchairs carrying his parents broke through the crowd, stopping right in front of us.

Ethan froze for a second before rushing over. "Mom, Dad! You're at this hospital too? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You got here just in time. Serena is an ungrateful snake! She's been cheating on me behind our backs—"

Before he could finish his sentence, my father-in-law's hand swung through the air, cracking across his face with a furious slap. "You monster! Are you trying to put us in an early grave?!"