Belated Love Is Just a Lie

I married Ethan Blackwood, the playboy heir to a billionaire fortune.

Every time he cheated, I divorced him.

Three times in total.

And I fell for his apologies all three times.

Until he personally destroyed my mother's tombstone for his old flame, Serena Hayes, forcing me to apologize to her in public.

Ethan even abandoned me while I was pregnant with his child to save Serena, causing me to hemorrhage and miscarry.

After he crushed all my pride and love, he still had the audacity to say.

"It's not normal for a man not to cheat. Is this your first day knowing me?"

My heart turned to ice, and I left.

Three years later, I married Ryder Collins, who genuinely cared for me, at the foot of a snowy mountain.

Yet, Ethan knelt in public, begging me to come back. I simply said, coldly.

"I stopped loving you a long time ago. Your belated affection is just too fake."

Anya POV

I was a spoiled, headstrong heiress who married Ethan Blackwood, the city's infamous billionaire's son and a notorious playboy.

The first year of our marriage, I caught Ethan deeply kissing a young model at a club. It caused a massive uproar, and we divorced.

Three months later, due to the need to push forward a joint project between our two families, we were forced to remarry.

The second year of our remarriage, I publicly slapped Ethan three times on the street for having an affair with an aspiring actress. It went viral on Ins, and we divorced again.

However, this time, less than three days after the divorce, our families pressured us into reconciling.

By then, our two companies were deeply intertwined and couldn't function without each other.

After getting our marriage certificate for the third time, the playboy Ethan finally relented.

He held a cigarette between his fingers, his expression veiled and indifferent.

"Can we just live a good life together? You cool your bad temper, and I won't see other women outside."

I smirked, sitting in the driver's seat and rolling up the window.

"Fine, but don't let me catch you cheating again."

"Fine, but don't let me catch you cheating again. If you cheat one more time, I will never marry you again. Over my dead body!"

What I hated most in life was a cheating scumbag!

My father's infidelity caused my mother's mental breakdown and eventual suicide.

From that moment on, I hated this world.

That's why I'd stop at nothing to hurt the cheating Ethan.

I'd rather hurt myself if it meant hurting him worse.

The second year after this third remarriage, I went to a snowy mountain to find inspiration for my painting. I was caught in an avalanche and nearly died there.

When Ethan heard, he defied the mountain closure and danger warnings, entering the mountain alone with rescue equipment to save me.

Using our tracking watches, Ethan found me, barely clinging to life.

The snow that day was heavy.

Ethan must have searched for me for ages; his face was red from the cold, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Anya, let's go home."

I stared at him blankly, a strange surge of emotion stirring in my chest.

To meet the person who would risk everything to save you, right before death's door.

Perhaps, I had truly found the right person.

After the mountain rescue, our marriage entered a honeymoon phase.

Ethan reined in his wild ways.

For an entire year, he had no rumors with any women; he kept himself clean.

He stopped going to all the entertainment venues.

When his friends tried to tease him into trouble at dinners, he would just smile and say he listened to his wife, coming home for dinner before ten o'clock.

We were getting better and better, and Ethan poured all his efforts into loving me.

He proposed on a yacht at sunset bay in Miami.

He played the piano for me beneath the Swiss Alps, holding white moon flowers.

He swore eternal love under a hot air balloon in Turkey.

We passionately loved each other all over the world.

Until a phone call shattered the silence of the night.

Ethan's face changed after he took the call.

He quickly booked a flight back home.

"Something urgent came up at work. I have to leave. Anya, you can take your time enjoying yourself here."

He left a deep kiss and turned to leave.

I touched my reddened lips, watching his retreating figure.

A creeping sense of dread spread through my chest.

"Ethan, you'd better not be lying to me."

I calmly checked out of the hotel and bought a flight ticket.

Following him all the way.

His methods weren't subtle.

But Ethan, too flustered and anxious, didn't notice my tail.

The next afternoon, Ethan drove to a simple apartment complex.

Soon, a scarred little girl ran out and threw herself into his arms.

Behind her, a stooped, tired, and aged woman followed.

Ethan's usual good temper vanished.

He gripped a baseball bat and stormed inside.

I got out of my car.

I could only stare as Ethan, like a madman, fiercely and wildly beat an old man with the bat, blow after blow.

"You married Serena and treated her so badly, and you dared to abuse Lily? I'll kill you right now!"

Anya POV

My body trembled. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Ethan had never been so out of control.

For an older woman and a girl?

What was their relationship?

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit me, and I clutched my mouth, dry-heaving for what felt like an eternity.

It was then that I realized.

During our honeymoon, I'd forgotten to use protection.

Could I be pregnant?

A surge of joy rose in my heart. I looked up, just about to tell Ethan the good news.

My eyes snapped open in shock as I saw the scene before me!

It felt like a sour, bitter wad of cotton was stuck in my throat, choking off any words.

The woman stood on tiptoe and kissed Ethan's lips.

"Thank you, Ethan."

Ethan turned his head, letting her kiss his cheek.

"Serena, I'll always have your back."

I looked at Ethan, deeply embracing the woman, and a chill ran through me.

It was a mix of absurdity and a sickening feeling that I should have known.

"Ethan, you've cheated again."

I should have known.

I couldn't keep a playboy.

He was too affectionate.

He loved too many people.

I forced myself to ignore my physical discomfort, about to turn and leave for the hospital for a check-up, when a warm gush suddenly flowed between my legs.

Looking down, fresh blood stained the snow through my dress.

A violent cramp instantly swept through my entire body. My vision went black, and I collapsed helplessly into the roadside grass.

When I woke up again, I was in a cold hospital bed.

The doctor regretfully told me that I had lost the baby due to a natural miscarriage, attributing it to cold exposure and emotional distress.

I stayed in the hospital for three days. During those three days, Ethan didn't call once.

After losing the baby, my heart turned to ashes. I found a lawyer, drafted the divorce papers, and brought them home.

The house was eerily silent.

Suddenly, the door opened.

A drunk Ethan was helped inside by Serena Hayes, who was dressed in a professional women's suit.

She saw me, her gaze slightly startled.

"Are you Ethan's wife? He's had too much to drink; I just brought him home."

I looked at her coldly.

Just as I had looked at countless other mistresses who had challenged me.

"Who are you? When did you get involved with him?"

Serena gently set Ethan down and told me a poignant story.

In college, Ethan had fallen in love with his lecturer, Serena.

But due to practical reasons, they broke up not long after they started dating.

Later, they both married and went their separate ways.

Recently, Serena had been abused by her husband, who even nearly beat their eight-year-old child to death.

Serena was forced to call Ethan for help.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten involved with Ethan."

"He saw I had no job and a child to raise, so he made me his administrative assistant."

She knelt, her face full of shame.

Her obvious gray hairs made her look different from all the young, beautiful models and actresses Ethan had cheated with in the past.

Serena appeared simple and pitiful.

I watched her coldly, feeling the hollow ache in my abdomen where my child used to be, my heart clenching into a tight knot.

Ethan opened his eyes and saw the scene. He immediately stood up and rushed over.

"Enough!"

He tenderly picked up Serena, looking at me with cold eyes.

"What are you trying to do? I haven't cheated with Serena, and you're not allowed to slander her!"

A furious blaze ignited within me.

Slap!

I slapped Ethan hard.

I was about to hit him again when Serena, rushing over, stopped me.

She pushed me fiercely.

"I won't let you hurt Ethan!"

She was like a protective lioness, shielding him firmly.

Ethan's gaze softened, becoming complex, as he looked at her.

"Serena, why are you still protecting me like you used to?"

Caught off guard by her push, I stumbled and fell to the floor, my back hitting a sharp corner of the table with a piercing pain.

Clutching my aching back, I struggled to stand.

I maintained my composure and threw the divorce papers at him.

"Ethan, we're getting a divorce!"

Ethan picked up the agreement, signed it without even looking, and tossed it back.

"So, has your family, the Reeds, thought about how they're going to get me to remarry you again?"

He simply didn't believe I could truly divorce him.

The previous two reconciliations had proven one thing:

The Blackwood and Reed families were inseparable.

Anya POV

I picked up the divorce papers, my gaze fixed on their intertwined hands.

After a long moment, I took a deep breath.

"This time, I won't remarry you. Never."

I turned and went upstairs, grabbed my passport, and left.

Ethan, drinking the black coffee Serena poured for him, watched my retreating figure with an indifferent expression.

"The divorce will be finalized in a month. You won't back out, will you?"

"I'll be there."

"Has the Reed family thought about how they'll apologize to me? This time, the divorce isn't my fault."

His attitude remained arrogant.

My face was pale, and I clutched my stomach, leaving without a word.

Indeed, a leopard never changes its spots.

If it happens once, it will happen countless times.

Tears streamed down my face as I walked.

I cried for my own momentary weakness.

And I cried for the child who never got to see this world.

A month after submitting the divorce application.

I completed the asset division and made a call.

That afternoon, I was working at the office when Ethan suddenly burst in and grabbed my wrist.

"What did you do to Lily? She came home crying and wanted to drop out of school, saying you spread rumors at school that her mother broke up a family!"

Ethan's eyes were fierce as he stared at me, enunciating every word.

"She's only an eight-year-old child. Do you really need to pressure her like this?"

"What?"

I was about to speak, but Serena, with red-rimmed eyes, interrupted me from behind.

"Ethan and I have no relationship whatsoever."

"He just took pity on me, handled my divorce case, and let me temporarily be his administrative assistant."

"Why would you slander me like this and make my child suffer!"

She cried, looking disheveled and frail. Given her age, many people thought I was being unreasonable this time.

"I heard Mr. Blackwood has finally settled down. Why is the Reed heiress still so relentless?"

"Exactly, she even went to the school. How can that child live with this?"

"Rich heiresses really do love these public humiliation games."

The overwhelming accusations made me laugh bitterly.

"What evidence do you have that I did this?"

"Who else would it be but you?"

Ethan's cold gaze fixed on me.

"You've ruined that actress before, spreading rumors about her being a mistress. This time is no different."

I was speechless.

"Before, I did that because I wanted to divorce you..."

"Go apologize to the school immediately!"

Ethan didn't want to hear it.

I was practically dragged to the school's parent committee office.

Ethan said coldly.

"Now, admit in front of everyone that you spread rumors, and apologize."

I shook my head indifferently.

"Impossible. I won't apologize for something I didn't do."

I would never back down.

Serena immediately broke down.

She rushed forward and slapped me twice.

My cheeks stung fiercely. I was completely stunned.

It had always been me, the Reed heiress, doing the slapping. No one had ever dared to hit me like this!

Especially not my husband's old flame!

"You!"

I, furious and humiliated, raised my hand for a slap.

But Ethan gripped my hand tightly!

I looked at him in shock.

"You watched me get hit?! Ethan, are you out of your mind?!"

Perhaps the anger and pain in my eyes pierced Ethan, because his grip loosened.

Once free, without thinking, I rushed forward and kicked Serena in the stomach.

Sending her sprawling to the floor!

Thud!

Coincidentally, there was a stair step right there.

"Save me!"

Serena helplessly tumbled down the stairs.

Her cries faded into the air.

I froze.

Ethan, even more frantic, rushed down.

"Serena!"

Anya POV

"It hurts so much!"

Serena, having rolled twice, was bleeding from her head and looked utterly pathetic.

She trembled in Ethan's arms, tears streaming down her face.

"Ethan, I just want a normal life. Please, I beg you."

"Please make Anya Reed clear my name, please don't let her hurt me anymore."

Her tears poured down, making her seem tragic and pitiable.

I stood above them, looking down coldly.

In that moment, Ethan's internal balance completely tilted.

He picked her up, holding her steadily in his arms.

He stared at me with icy eyes.

"Anya Reed, you and I are not done with this."

After saying that, he turned and left.

But behind his back, where he couldn't see, Serena flashed a triumphant smile at me.

She mouthed a single sentence. "You lost."

Watching his ruthless retreating figure, my heart ached as if it had been ripped out.

After a long moment, I collapsed, feeling weak all over.

A searing pain shot through my abdomen.

I knew I had indeed lost.

Ethan would completely sever ties with me, no longer caring about my status.

The last time he did something like this, a large company went bankrupt, and its executives knelt at his feet begging for mercy.

And that time, it was just because that executive had tried to touch my waist.

It wasn't until dusk that I stumbled to my feet and called my father, Richard Reed.

After a long wait, the call connected.

"Ethan is going to target our family business..."

Richard immediately cut off my words.

"Why would he do that? Did you go and annoy him again?!"

"It's normal for a successful man to have other women, especially him. Can't you be more understanding?"

"You go and apologize to him right now, beg him! Otherwise, I'll kick you out of the house and won't give you a single penny!"

After saying that, Richard hung up fiercely.

I put away my phone, standing in the cold wind, shivering slightly.

"So cold."

There was a time when I thought Ethan, after seemingly changing, would give me a home.

But it was just an illusion.

My heart would never beat for him again.

I walked out of the school, step by step.

My vision went black.

Someone knocked me out from behind.

When I woke up again, my eyes were blindfolded. I smelled the damp, foul odor of an abandoned warehouse.

"Was that kick earlier really satisfying?"

Serena walked up and slapped me several times.

"Strip her clothes off, take a few photos, and let everyone enjoy the show."

"Oh, and I want something extra spicy."

"Also, don't do anything else!"

After saying that, Serena waved to a few tattooed thugs behind her.

The men grinned and walked closer.

Thinking about what fate awaited me, I managed to croak out a trembling warning.

"Get lost!"

"I'm the Reed heiress; you'll be dead if you touch me!"

"Get lost, no, I'll give you money, whatever you want!"

"Let me go!"

"Hehehe, we love playing with rich heiresses like you!"

Amidst the men's jeering and their foul stench.

I went from crying for help, struggling, to despair and numbness.

I never imagined I would fall to such a state.

I thought about my past days, always high and mighty.

Before, I would never have thought that my pride and confidence would be brutally crushed in this small, abandoned warehouse!

The men brutally ripped off my clothes.

They pinched and squeezed my pale body, posing me in various ways.

Taking one humiliating photo after another.

One of the men couldn't help but swallow, muttering,

"Why don't we just go for it? Buddy, I can't hold back!"

"No! If this woman reports us, our crime will be too severe. Photos are enough!"

But their hands moved all over me, back and forth, and their desires flared.

Soon, I heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down.

Anya POV

"No! Don't!"

In desperation, I bit the inside of my mouth, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

I shrieked, struggling like a trapped beast.

"If you dare touch me, I'll kill myself right here!!"

The men froze, scared.

They didn't want a murder on their hands either.

"Forget it, just finish the photos and leave. We've got our money anyway."

"Such a shame, such a beautiful woman, only allowed to touch, not to taste."

...

I don't know how long it was until I heard the door open outside.

I moved my wrists and found I wasn't tied.

I staggered to my feet, stiffly putting my torn clothes back on, piece by piece.

I didn't call the police. Instead, I went to the cemetery.

I lay weakly on my mother's tombstone, crying as if to shed all the tears of my life.

"Mom, they're all bullying me because you're not here."

The next day, with a pale face, I brought fresh flowers to my mother's grave.

I stayed there for three days, oblivious to everything.

Without food or water.

Just sitting with my knees hugged, staring blankly at my mother's photo.

Until I collapsed from exhaustion and was taken to the hospital by a passerby.

During this time, Ethan began openly flaunting his affair in the media, taking Serena to various events only wives could attend.

He also punished the parents and students who had bullied Lily at school, then announced that Lily was his child.

Finally, he arranged Serena's divorce, ensuring her ex-husband left with nothing and was even sent to prison.

Serena was constantly by his side.

Countless times, Serena posted on Ins, thanking him profusely.

"I thought I had entered hell, but I never expected him to bring me back to heaven."

The accompanying picture showed their hands clasped together.

"He said we are the happiest family of three."

A happy photo of the three of them in front of an amusement park. Ethan holding Serena and Lily, smiling brightly.

"Turns out, you don't mind my past, and you're even willing to..."

This photo was the most explicit.

It showed a white five-star hotel bedsheet, with the familiar bare shoulder of a man.

Seeing this picture, I only felt disgust and ridicule.

I still remembered Ethan's solemn promises that he would never cheat again.

But in just one year.

He was dirty once more.

So disgusting.

I turned off my phone, unwilling to look anymore.

A week later, at my mother's grave, I saw the person I least wanted to see.

Ethan, with a group of bodyguards, was destroying my mother's tombstone.

I instantly lost control, rushing forward and firmly blocking their way.

"Stop! Who gave you permission to touch my mother's grave?!"

Ethan looked at me coldly.

"It's been a week. You disappeared for an entire week. I looked everywhere and finally found you here."

"Aren't you going to explain?"

I just felt absurd.

"You didn't ask why I disappeared, but you were having an affair with Serena."

"What explanation do you want?"

Ethan's gaze darkened.

"Serena and I aren't what you think; I just feel grateful to her."

I was so angry I laughed. "Grateful? Does gratitude involve kissing, sleeping together? Does gratitude involve destroying my mother's tombstone for her?!"

"Well, that's quite remarkable gratitude. I want that kind of gratitude from you too!"

Ethan's suppressed emotions instantly erupted. He rushed forward and gripped my wrist tightly.

"If I hadn't cleaned up your mess last time, you'd be in jail for assault and slander!"

"I'm only destroying your mother's tombstone to force you out, to make you apologize to Serena!"

I struggled desperately. "Get lost! Never!"

His gaze grew even more sinister, and he motioned to the bodyguards beside him.

"Keep smashing. Dig up the ashes and dump them in the sewer."

Anya POV

The sound of the bodyguards' destructive work continued.

I stared at Ethan, feeling my heart tremble with pain.

Finally, I closed my eyes in a daze.

"Fine, I'll apologize."

Here, the only thing I cherished was my mother, who had always held me gently.

I didn't want my mother's resting place to be disturbed, even in death.

Ethan, seeing me finally relent, let out a sigh of relief.

"Let's go, come home with me to apologize."

I paused, slightly stunned.

"She's already moved into our marital home?"

Ethan also realized his words were inappropriate, his gaze flickering as he explained.

"No, it's because your actions caused her mental breakdown, so I brought her home to calm her down."

"Let's go."

I didn't want to hear any more.

Now, all I could do was to maintain my proud facade.

Pretend I hadn't been crushed.

Stepping back into this house, which I hadn't seen in a week, felt incredibly strange.

White jasmine flowers in a vase, children's toys, books scattered around...

Facing me was Serena, holding an eight-year-old girl.

"Ethan, you're back."

Her smile froze when she saw me.

She lowered her head, looking meek and timid.

"Anya, you're back too."

My eyes, full of resentment and coldness, stared fixedly at her.

"If I didn't come back, this house would be taken over by a cuckoo. Were you hoping I wouldn't return?"

Serena's body trembled; she looked at Ethan with a pitiful expression.

Ethan's brows furrowed when he heard my words.

"Enough. I brought you back to apologize!"

Eight-year-old Lily Hayes immediately understood what was happening and rushed out like a small cannonball.

She pushed me hard.

"Bad woman, you're bullying my mother!"

Caught off guard, I was pushed to the floor, my head hitting the stair railing sharply, sending a piercing pain through me.

"Hiss, you damn kid!"

I scrambled to my feet, ready to teach her a lesson, but Ethan gripped my arm.

"I told you, apologize!"

"Why do you have to argue with a child who doesn't know any better?"

Ethan's voice grew increasingly dark.

I bit my molars in pain, glaring at Ethan.

"Don't forget about your mother's ashes."

Ethan warned.

In the end, I only felt utterly disheartened.

I shook off his hand and looked at Serena.

"I'm sorry."

"Is that enough?"

I dropped those words lightly and turned to leave.

When you no longer cared about anything, an apology didn't sting as much.

Ethan looked at my decisive attitude, paused, and felt an inexplicable sense of panic.

"Where are you going?"

I said nothing, continuing to walk out.

"Ethan, Lily says her stomach hurts!"

Serena, holding the child, looked at Ethan helplessly.

Two women.

One needed him.

One was indifferent to him.

Ethan didn't hesitate. He turned, picked up Lily, and took Serena to the hospital.

Days passed by.

Later, I called Ethan.

"See you tomorrow. You're not going to back out, are you?"

Ethan hadn't seen me for over two weeks, and his temper was getting worse by the day.

"I'll be there tomorrow, but will Richard Reed let you go through with it?"

He hinted at something.

But I had already hung up.

The next day, I was preparing to sign the final documents.

Suddenly, a trending topic erupted online.

"Reed Heiress Plays Performance Art in Abandoned Warehouse! Racy Photos Grab Attention!"

One by one, they were the scandalous photos of me from that day.

Anya POV

Richard slapped me hard.

I hung my head, covering my face with one hand, my expression blank.

Richard looked at me with disgust, his face full of heartache.

"Tomorrow, go beg Ethan. Beg him not to divorce you."

"Your body has been exposed online. Who would ever marry you now?!"

As I listened, I laughed.

My body trembled uncontrollably, and a single crystalline tear fell.

"How ridiculous."

"You don't ask me how those photos came to be, nor do you ask if I willingly divorced. All the blame is just dumped on me."

"Are you truly my father?"

Richard's face grew even uglier.

"Shut up. Tomorrow, no matter what, you cannot sign the divorce papers."

"Otherwise, don't blame me for disowning you!"

I looked up, my eyes brimming with tears, and nodded.

"Fine, I'll make sure you get what you want."

The third day, Ethan arrived as scheduled.

He looked at my swollen cheek and indifferent expression and said coldly, "It's not too late to regret it now."

"Your photos are all over the internet. Do you think anyone would still marry you?"

"Why did you take those explicit photos with those men?"

"Give me a reason."

His arm seemed to tremble slightly, betraying his unstable inner state.

I said nothing, simply lowered my head and signed.

Then I pushed it towards Ethan.

"Sign."

Ethan was momentarily speechless.

He stood up, exasperated, and signed his name without hesitation.

Then he grabbed his suit jacket and turned to leave.

"This time, we won't remarry so easily. You'll have to pay the price for your mistakes!"

He got into his car without looking back. Serena, in the passenger seat, gently fastened his seatbelt.

She looked towards the door, smiled at me holding the divorce certificate.

And mouthed once more.

"Thank you."

I put the divorce certificate in my pocket, my gaze icy as I watched the car speed away.

"Heh, no need to thank me."

"Ethan, that cheating scumbag, he's all yours."

I lowered my head, pulled out my phone, and made a call.

The call connected.

"Mark, take me out of the country now."

My uncle, Mark Miller, smiled, relieved, on the other end of the line.

"I wanted to take you abroad when your mother died, but you insisted on staying in the country to guard her grave."

"Now you've finally seen sense."

I looked at the swirling fallen leaves in the sky, my voice faint.

"I didn't understand before, but now I do."

Actually, I always had a way out.

I remarried Ethan twice because I truly loved him. But I kept that feeling so well hidden that my father and Ethan both thought our marriage was purely for a business alliance.

But Ethan, in the end, wasn't the boy I had fallen for at eighteen.

He destroyed my true feelings again and again with countless infidelities.

And this time, it was the last straw.

We would never meet again.

That evening, I threw away my phone card, blocked Ethan and all contact numbers from the Reed family, and boarded Mark's private jet.

I was leaving the country that had nearly destroyed me.