Independent Enough to Leave

My husband Ethan's new mistress is an independent career woman.

One night, Ethan came home drunk and grabbed my calloused hand.

You're both women, but Lucia just got promoted to CFO. Look at you. You're like a housekeeper.

I ignored him and kept being a housewife.

Lucia turned down eight sugar daddies and posted a manifesto online about female independence.

Ethan liked it and smirked at me.

"Look how independent Lucia is! And you? Stripped naked and climbed into my bed for a few thousand bucks back then."

He thought I'd take it, the way I always did.

Instead, I took off my wedding ring and said calmly.

"If she's better than me in every way, why don't you just marry her?"

I paused. "I'm serious. Let's get divorced."

When I said those words clearly, the smile on Ethan's face froze completely.

Then he laughed. That knowing laugh.

"There's one more thing you can't compete with her on."

"Lucia has ambition. She has assets. You? You'll depend on me for the rest of your life. You don't even have the guts to say the word divorce."

My fingers trembled violently.

I ?still remember the night my father drugged me and sent me to Ethan's bed to cover a business debt.

Ethan and I were in a vague relationship back then. He'd even bought an engagement ring.

But the morning I woke up, my father burst into the room, forced Ethan to "take responsibility," and walked out satisfied with five thousand dollars in hand.

That was the moment my long, passionate youth romance with Ethan died.

On the day he was forced to marry me, Ethan announced to everyone that I was a gold digger. Worth exactly five thousand three hundred dollars.

Later, when my mother was seriously ill, he had people bring over three safes full of coupons.

"You should learn to be self-reliant. My wife isn't supposed to be useless trash who only knows how to ask for money."

That's when I finally understood. Everything I'd given him, sincerely, was worth nothing.

My expression was unusually different. As Ethan hesitated to come forward, the doorbell suddenly rang.

When Lucia appeared at the door, Ethan visibly panicked for a moment.

Because he had promised me he would never bring his affairs in front of me, no matter who he was with.

Clearly, Lucia was the exception.

The girl held a thick stack of receipts and spoke helplessly.

"Mrs. Shaw, your recent spending through the company has been excessive. Much of it is completely unnecessary."

"Mr. Shaw works so hard running this company. You should at least be considerate of him, don't you think?"

My face turned grim, my chest felt stuffed with cotton.

Ever since Lucia joined the company, all my expenses had to go through her approval.

The medical and nursing costs for my in-laws often went unanswered for half a month.

When I went to Ethan to complain, I was only compared to her and told I wasn't as frugal as Lucia.

He said I only knew how to ask for money.

But I spent almost nothing on myself. The dress I was wearing was from three years ago.

Ethan flipped through the pile of receipts with obvious disgust.

"Lucia's right. Go to the company tomorrow and return the expensive items. You really don't need such nice things."

My fingertips dug into my palms. "These receipts aren't mine."

As soon as I spoke, Lucia assumed I was giving her attitude and ran off crying pitifully.

Ethan stared in the direction the woman left, not noticing he'd knocked over the kettle, spilling water on my leg.

"From now on, Lucia will be our household manager. You should learn from her!"

With that, Ethan slammed the door and left.

I lifted the fabric stuck to my leg. The skin was alarmingly swollen.

But he couldn't see it at all.

I simply treated the wound, then called a lawyer.

"Prepare divorce papers for me."

At the hospital getting bandaged, I stared in distress at the bill for two hundred sixty-three dollars.

I said apologetically, "I'll borrow it right away."

The window clerk's jaw dropped.

Ethan's wife could easily buy the entire hospital, yet she needed to borrow money for medical bills.

I contacted old friends before paying the fee.

As soon as I left the hospital, Ethan texted me. Demanding I return everything.

When I brought the "valuables" I'd bought over the years to the company, the employees whispered around me.

"They say money follows love. Who knew Mrs. Shaw would be so cheap?"

"If she had even half of Miss Lucia's ambition, she wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Her first night was only worth five thousand. This pile of junk is worth more than she is."

...

I forced myself to stay calm and not lose control.

Lucia arrived with a group of department employees.

She glanced at the bag in my hands and fanned herself in disgust.

"Mrs. Shaw, you spent so much money on just these things? I don't believe it."

The black plastic bag contained a few pieces of jewelry worth less than a thousand dollars, bought to match Ethan for banquets.

The rest were clothes washed until faded and high heels with broken heels.

Besides that, there were adult diapers for my in-laws and empty medicine bottles.

This was what my years were worth.

I handed over the house keys as well.

"If you don't believe me, you can search."

Lucia eagerly took the keys and treasured them in her bag.

Then she examined the clothes I was wearing.

"You bought these with Mr. Shaw's money too, right? They're designer brands. Mrs. Shaw, please take them off too."

Instantly, employees burst into laughter.

I tried to calm my emotions. "I can't possibly-"

"If Lucia tells you to strip, strip. It's not like you haven't done it before."

I looked up in shock.

When I realized the voice came from Ethan, all the blood in my body seemed to flow backward.

In college, I'd stumbled into a nightclub where three or four drunk men threatened me with knives to strip or they wouldn't let me go.

I'd only exposed half my shoulder when Ethan arrived with a bottle, smashing them blind on the spot.

"Look at her one more time and you won't see tomorrow's sunrise!"

Now, he was telling me to strip in front of all the employees.

I laughed with my eyes closed, then bit my teeth and removed my scarf.

Then I unbuttoned my shirt. My bra was faintly visible underneath.

Everyone gasped.

But my movements didn't stop.

Until only one piece remained on my body.

"Enough!" Ethan frowned with a complex expression and roughly threw his jacket over.

"If you're not ashamed, I am!"

Ignoring the mocking gazes around me, I handed over the divorce papers I'd prepared.

"I've returned everything I should. Let's get divorced."

Ethan's form froze, then he signed his name with a grand flourish.

"Don't think this trick will scare me. I'm giving you three days-I'll wait for you to crawl back begging me!"

Leaving those words, the man turned and went back to his office, slamming the door shut.

Lucia used the tip of her heel to hook all the clothes I'd taken off and flick them into the trash.

I grabbed the agreement papers, half-naked, and walked into the elevator under a hallway full of stares.

As I left the building, my mother called, her voice shaking.

"Aurora! Ethan auctioned off my only house!"

Immediately after, my mother's crying stopped abruptly, as if struck by something heavy.

When I rushed over, my mother was already pinned under a solid wood cabinet, barely alive.

"Aurora, don't beg him anymore."

Tears covered my numb face. I held the gold bracelet Ethan gave me on our wedding day and begged them to stop.

The bracelet was ruthlessly knocked away.

"You think we're fools? This is gold-plated junk! You think I collect scrap metal?"

My brain buzzed.

The crisp sound of the bracelet hitting the ground struck my heart.

So in Ethan's heart, I was only worth gold-plated metal.

After sending my mother to the emergency room, I called Ethan in despair.

"What right do you have to touch my mother's ancestral home? Your people put her in the hospital!"

Ethan's leisurely tone carried self-righteousness.

"Who told your mother to slander Lucia online as a mistress? Lucia works so hard for the company-why should someone who sold her daughter slander her?"

"Besides, you're cursing your own mother to scare me. I'm not buying it."

"If you really want the ancestral home back, come get it at the auction yourself."

With that, he hung up.

The doctor came over to notify me. "Due to massive pressure on her internal organs, the elderly woman just passed away."

I collapsed powerlessly to the floor. I had no more tears to cry.

When I arrived at the auction, Lucia was dripping in gold and jewelry, holding Ethan's arm like the legitimate Mrs. Shaw.

Any random gemstone necklace would have been enough to cover my mother's surgery costs.

Disdainful gazes fell on me.

"She's actually Mrs. Shaw? I never expected her to be so shabby!"

"Those hands are rougher than my housekeeper's. If you didn't know better, you'd think a housekeeper wandered in by mistake."

"Mr. Shaw obviously knows she's too embarrassing, so he brought Miss Lucia to the auction instead. He just bought Miss Lucia three million dollars' worth of jewelry!"

...

These mockeries meant nothing compared to my mother's only remaining possession.

I found Ethan in a daze and said numbly.

"My mother died. Give me back the ancestral home."

The man slowly extinguished his cigarette, his face full of disgust.

"You really do talk nonsense."

"Too bad I can't return it, because Lucia just sold it to a homeless man."

I looked up in shock.

He knew my mother had protected that ancestral home with her life to prevent my father from selling it.

Lucia walked over with a magnanimous expression.

"The homeless man at the entrance was so pitiful. I was just doing charity in Mrs. Shaw's name. Otherwise..."

Then she leaned close to my ear and whispered.

"Otherwise your mother wouldn't have been crushed to death."

The woman's hideous face kept magnifying before my eyes.

I suddenly remembered the earring I'd found at the house earlier-it was the one missing from her ear!

In an instant, rage completely burned away my rationality.

I gritted my teeth and swung my hand, slapping her down the stairs.

As Lucia screamed and tumbled down, everyone gasped.

"Aurora Lambert, are you a shrew?!"

Ethan quickened his pace down the stairs to help the woman up, his gaze ice-cold.

Lucia collapsed weakly in the man's arms, coughing continuously.

"I don't know how I offended Mrs. Shaw. Usually when Mrs. Shaw scolds me, I never tell anyone, but at least don't embarrass Mr. Shaw, sob sob sob..."

As she spoke, she inadvertently revealed bruises on her arms and thighs, looking pitiful.

Onlookers cast strange glances.

Ethan stood up and suddenly slapped me, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.

"Where are the manners the Shaw family taught you? Get down there and apologize now!"

My eyes turned blood red.

"Impossible! She killed my mother. Are you blind?!"

Ethan acted as if he hadn't heard me and called the demolition crew in front of me.

Gritting his teeth hard, he threatened, "Apologize!"

I shook my head in horror, imagining the ancestral home reduced to rubble.

"No, don't!"

Under Ethan's threatening gaze, I staggered up and walked before Lucia.

"I'm sorry!"

The woman smugly assumed a victor's posture.

Ethan put his arm around her waist and looked down at me.

"Here's five dollars. Go get the deed from the homeless man."

After saying this, Ethan carefully carried the woman to the medical office.

I picked up the crumpled five-dollar bill in disgrace.

The guests laughed uproariously.

"She climbed into bed for five thousand back then, and now she's looking for a homeless man for five dollars. How cheap."

I staggered to my feet, listening to these insults.

Ethan, I no longer care about the fake love you gave me.

Just as I turned to leave, a message appeared on Lucia's deliberately dropped phone.

"Received. We'll begin demolition immediately!"

My heart sank sharply.

I pushed everyone aside recklessly and rushed out of the auction.

Ethan looked deeply at my retreating back, about to call out when Lucia interrupted him.

"My ankle hurts so much."

The man withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace into the medical office.

When I reached the ancestral home, workers were pushing down the surrounding walls with excavators.

"Stop! I'm telling you to stop!"

The rumbling machinery completely drowned out my pleas.

Just then, a pair of greasy, filthy hands grabbed me and threw me aside.

"This is the house I paid for. Who told you to demolish it? Give me back my money!"

The homeless man threw rocks at my head crazily, each one heavier than the last.

My screams faded as blood covered my eyes.

One last blow, and I collapsed to the ground, spent.

Ethan turned down Lucia's dinner invitation and drove to the family estate instead.

As he stepped out of the car, a homeless man nearby was fiddling with a blood-stained five-dollar bill, muttering to himself.

"That woman? Tough as nails. Maybe she'll give me a fat son!"

Ethan froze mid-step. He grabbed the man by the collar, his eyes wild.

"Who the hell are you talking about?!"