Love's Ashes Depart the Harbor

My wife, Vivian Moon, was pregnant with her lover’s child.

At our daughter’s funeral, she leaned against him and looked down at me, saying, “Jason is kind-hearted. Despite the bad luck, he still came to pay his respects in person. If your daughter’s spirit is watching from heaven, she’ll surely bless the child in my womb to be safe and healthy.”

I said nothing, quietly removed the wedding ring I had worn for six years and walked calmly out of the mourning hall.

The elders tried to mediate, but Vivian sneered with disdain. “Don’t bother with him. After all that fuss, he’ll still end up bowing his head and apologizing to me.”

Upon hearing that, her family burst into laughter.

They shamelessly used me as the subject of a billion-dollar bet, betting on when I’d finally break down and grovel at Vivian’s feet, begging her to give me another child.

But what they didn’t know was that the private jet arranged by that person was about to land.

In three hours, I would be leaving Harbor City and I would never return.

——

As I packed my things at the villa, Vivian unexpectedly came home.

Ignoring what I was doing, she calmly took off her coat and said, “Ethan, Jason wants to have deer antler soup.”

I thought of the last time I refused to pour coffee for Jason at the company and was forced by her to kneel all night in front of everyone.

I zipped up my suitcase and obediently walked to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, upon hearing Jason praised the dish as delicious, the coldness on Vivian’s face eased slightly. “Ethan, as long as you treat the child in my belly as your own, I can agree not to divorce you.”

In the past, whenever Vivian mentioned the word “divorce,” I would start breathing heavily, filled with fear and anxiety.

But now, I calmly took out the divorce papers I had long since prepared.

I softly said to her, “Sign it.”

Without even glancing at the document, Vivian raised an eyebrow and sneered. “Ethan, do you really think such a petty tactic of retreating to advance will work on me?”

"On the day we got married, I made it clear to you. The only reason I agreed to marry you was because you resembled Jason a little. If you're still planning to cause trouble now, I'll just send you abroad and let you fend for yourself out there."

Before I could even respond, Jason suddenly let out a sharp cry.

Vivian immediately rushed to his side, her face filled with concern. "Jason, what’s wrong?"

"Vivian, I feel really itchy all over..."

Even though Jason’s acting was laughably poor, Vivian still flew into a rage and stormed over to me, demanding to know in a harsh voice what harmful thing I had put in the deer antler soup.

Before I could explain, her expression turned cold as she forced the remaining soup into my mouth.

Allergic to deer antler, I soon collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

When Vivian saw the disgusting red rashes spreading across my body, she frowned in disgust and kicked me away from Jason.

Half an hour later, after returning from the emergency room, I heard heated sounds of passion coming from the master bedroom.

“Vivian, don’t twist around so much, be careful of our baby...”

“Don’t worry, Jason. I’m exactly three months along today. It’ll be fine.”

Three months ago was my wedding anniversary with Vivian.

So her so-called overtime that night had just been an excuse to secretly meet Jason.

I walked into the study and shredded the family portrait Vivian had placed on the desk, then threw the pieces away.

I found the safe, entered Jason’s birthday and smoothly retrieved my identification documents.

Without looking back, I walked out the front gates of the villa.

At the security booth, the guard dutifully asked, “Sir, where are you headed? I’ll arrange a driver to take you.”

I shook my head. “No need. The car I called is already wait…”

Before I could finish my sentence, the phone inside the security booth suddenly rang, sharp and unexpected.