He Gave My Wedding Ring to His Mistress

I'd been married to Ethan for five years when he took my wedding ring right off my finger to please his mistress.

That ring was the only thing my parents left me.

I knelt on the floor and begged him to give it back. He didn't even look at me. He placed it in another woman's palm and said, If you like it, it's yours.

From that day on, I stopped waiting for him to come home, stopped leaving a light on in the dead of night.

He brought his mistress home to spend the night and ordered me to buy condoms. I went.

He was intimate with her in the master bedroom and made me listen from the room next door. I listened all night long.

He had people search me in public, strip my clothes off, and threw me out of the house covered in injuries.

I said nothing.

Because I still wore the scarf he'd wrapped around my neck when I was eighteen.

I'd always thought that was the beginning of love. Later I learned he'd just casually saved someone, and I spent my whole life repaying that debt.

Everyone thought I would endure it.

But they didn't know I'd been carrying the divorce agreement he signed on our wedding day with me all along.

Five years. I'd finally gathered the courage to take it out and sign my own name.

Sophia's POV

Ever since Ethan took my wedding ring to please his mistress Isabella, I became a different person.

I stopped taking meticulous care of Ethan's life.

I stopped sitting at my desk after work every day, waiting for Ethan to finish so we could go home together.

I even stopped keeping track of any news about Ethan.

Today was Ethan's birthday.

We'd been giving each other the cold shoulder for a week.

Last week, Isabella made me a cup of coffee. Not only did I not drink it, I threw the coffee all over her.

He thought I was too rude, that it didn't befit my position.

So Ethan took my wedding ring as a way to punish me.

I did treasure that ring.

In the past, every year on his birthday, I would cook dinner and wait for him at home.

But this year I wasn't planning to celebrate his birthday.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of the front door opening.

It must be Ethan coming home.

I paid no attention.

The master bedroom door was slightly ajar. I leaned against the headboard, looking down at a book.

He quickly came upstairs and pushed open my door.

Hearing the noise, I looked up with a calm expression and just nodded slightly.

"You didn't cook?" Ethan's face showed some displeasure.

I closed the book and explained gently, "I didn't know you were coming home for dinner tonight. I'll have Grace do it now."

Grace was the housekeeper.

Ethan stared at my face, his brow furrowed.

"No need." He spat out the words coldly and turned to leave.

At the doorway, he stopped. "You forgot what day it is."

With that, he strode away.

I was stunned for a moment. Then I remembered that today was Ethan's birthday.

From his expression just now, he seemed angry?

Impossible.

I'd celebrated Ethan's birthday four times.

Every time, I prepared gifts, dinner, and cake with meticulous care.

And the result?

The gifts were casually set aside without even unwrapping.

He didn't touch the food, and it was thrown in the trash the next day.

How could someone like Ethan be angry that I didn't celebrate his birthday?

He should be happy.

I took a breath and opened my book again.

I guessed Ethan was probably going to find Isabella right now.

After all, in five years of marriage, the days he'd actually stayed in this house added up to less than a month.

But not long after, the door was pushed open again.

Ethan had returned, his expression considerably softer than before.

He stood by the bed, his tone gentler. "I'll stay home tonight. Keep you company."

Before I could speak, his phone rang in his pocket.

Isabella's name appeared on the screen.

Ethan hesitated, but still answered.

The woman's sweet, coquettish voice drifted out and into my ears.

I watched as Ethan turned his back, lowering his voice to comfort his mistress.

When he hung up, I spoke. "You don't need to stay with me. Miss Hart is young and afraid of the dark. She can't sleep alone. I'm fine. You should go."

Ethan froze. These were the very words he'd said to me in the past when he was about to go find Isabella.

I'd given them right back to him, word for word.

Ethan didn't love me.

His grandfather Richard had forced him to marry me.

"Fine. Isabella needs me." His tone was somewhat stiff. "Don't bully her again."

"I won't." I shook my head repeatedly. "Last time was my fault. I shouldn't have lost my temper with her. Go on, don't keep her waiting."

His face turned ashen as he turned and strode away.

The next day, at the Carter estate.

I knelt before Richard. "Grandfather, five years are up. I want to leave."

His hair was white, but his eyes were still bright.

"Are you sure? You really want to go? You don't love him anymore?"

"Yes, I'm sure." My expression was serious. "Ethan doesn't love me. Why should we keep tormenting each other?"

Richard sighed. "I was wrong back then."

"He does have feelings for you in his heart. He just hasn't realized it himself."

He waved his hand. "Ah, he's not worthy of being your husband."

He called over the butler and gave a few quiet instructions.

After a while, the butler came over with a document envelope and handed it to me.

"This is what you wanted. Also, I've prepared a new identity for you and some money." He looked at me, his expression full of reluctance. "You'll leave in a week."

"Remember, leave quietly. Don't let Ethan know."

"Otherwise, you won't be able to leave."

My eyes grew hot, and I nodded emphatically.

Back in the car, I opened the envelope.

The words "Divorce Agreement" at the top stung my eyes until they felt sore.

I flipped to the last page. Ethan's signature was right there.

He'd signed this divorce agreement on the very day we got our marriage certificate.

I stared at his signature for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

Ethan, in a week, I won't stand in your way anymore.

From now on, you can love whoever you want.

I'll never be your obstacle again.

Sophia's POV

I returned home and started packing.

Over these five years, Ethan had given me many things.

But they were all bought by his assistant, given to Mrs. Carter, not to me as a person.

Whoever was Mrs. Carter would receive these gifts.

So my luggage was simple. A small twenty-inch suitcase held everything I owned.

After packing, I started disposing of the old things in the house.

The cufflinks I'd bought him with my own salary. The scarf I'd knit by hand. The throw pillows I'd purchased.

Among these things, some Ethan had glanced at once, but more had never been looked at, just casually discarded.

I had to quietly put them away myself, storing them in the closet.

At the very top of the closet was a scarf.

It was the only scarf I'd ever knit in my life. I'd followed a tutorial for three full months.

I unraveled it when I made mistakes, unraveled it when the stitches were uneven.

By the end, my fingers had swollen twice their normal size.

But when I gave it to Ethan, he didn't even unwrap it. He said a bland "thank you" and never wore the scarf.

I held the scarf in my arms and gave a bitter laugh.

I retrieved another scarf from the very back of the closet.

That one was from Ethan.

In the winter of my freshman year, my parents were on their way to visit me at school when they encountered a multi-car pileup. They died at the scene.

That year, I was eighteen.

The night after the funeral, I sat alone by the campus lake, from dusk until deep into the night.

The lake water was pitch black, lapping at the shore in waves.

I thought, if I jumped in, would I stop being cold? Would I be able to see Mom and Dad?

I was inching little by little toward the lake when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Hey."

I looked up into a stern face. I recognized him.

Finance department senior, Ethan Carter. The whole school knew him.

Heir to Carter Corporation. His grades were excellent. After graduation, he was going to work on Wall Street.

He and I were from two different worlds.

Ethan looked at my red-rimmed eyes, unwrapped his own scarf and wrapped it around my neck, then wiped the tears from my face.

"Staying alive is what matters most."

Those words pulled me back from the lake's edge.

After that day, the name Ethan Carter was etched into my heart.

I began quietly paying attention to everything about him.

Where he had classes each day, what time he went to the library to study. I knew it all.

I never thought I'd have any real connection with him.

One was the heir to Carter Corporation, the other an orphan who'd lost both parents. I knew I wasn't good enough for him.

I just wanted to see him from afar. That was enough.

The year of graduation, I submitted my resume to Carter Corporation.

On the day of the interview, at the entrance to the Carter Building, I saw an elderly man clutch his chest and collapse.

I immediately rushed over to perform CPR and call an ambulance.

That old man was Richard.

When he woke up, he saw the scarf around my neck.

"Ah," Richard said, "Isn't that scarf Ethan's?"

I instinctively nodded.

He asked again, "You know him?"

My face instantly flushed red. I couldn't help lowering my head.

Richard looked at me and smiled kindly, patting the back of my hand. "I'll have Ethan marry you. Are you willing?"

I thought I'd misheard. "He doesn't know me."

"I can see you're very kind. Ethan has a terrible personality. He might never meet someone who truly loves him in his entire life."

"I can tell you're a good girl."

"I believe you'll be a good wife."

In the end, I didn't refuse him.

I hadn't expected Ethan to strongly oppose marrying me.

Sophia's POV

Richard was so angry he fell ill and was admitted to the ICU.

He said, "Just consider it marrying her for my sake. Live with her for five years. After five years, if you still don't love her, you can divorce."

Ethan loved Richard dearly. He agreed.

But to make his position clear, on the first day of marriage, Ethan had a lawyer draft divorce papers, signed them, and handed them to his grandfather.

At the wedding, when I heard him say "I do," I actually felt hope.

I thought five years would be enough.

If I tried my best to love him and treat him well, one day he would see me.

For five years after the wedding, I did everything I could for him.

When he traveled for business, I packed his suitcase with clothes.

When he had business dinners, no matter how late, I waited for him on the sofa at home.

But I hadn't expected Ethan to be ice that could never be melted.

We only saw each other at the office.

He never ate the food I cooked.

He never accepted the water I offered.

A year ago, Isabella appeared.

At first, Ethan still considered my position and didn't let Isabella appear in public.

Later, one phone call from Isabella could summon him away.

Isabella could freely enter and exit his CEO office.

He started bringing Isabella to public events while I, Mrs. Carter, became a joke.

Last week, I went to Ethan's office to deliver documents and ran right into Isabella coming out.

She was holding a cup of hot coffee, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Long time no see, Mrs. Carter." Isabella laughed softly. "I heard Ethan hasn't been home in over a month? Why haven't you figured out your situation yet?"

Before I could respond, Isabella flicked her wrist and splashed the scalding coffee on herself.

She fell backward, clutching the doorframe and crying.

"I just wanted to bring you coffee. Why did you push me?"

Ethan heard the commotion and rushed out, pulling Isabella into his arms.

He looked up at me, his eyes ice-cold. "Sophia, apologize to her."

It was the first time he'd casually punished me.

"I didn't push her." I shook my head.

"Still making excuses." Ethan's face darkened. "Do you think being my wife gives you the right to bully people?"

Isabella clutched his sleeve, crying. "Ethan, don't blame her. I shouldn't have appeared by your side. She's your wife. She's still wearing your wedding ring..."

Ethan looked at the tears in Isabella's eyes, then turned to glare at me furiously. "If you won't apologize, you don't need to wear the ring either."

He raised his hand and a bodyguard stepped forward, forcibly removing my wedding ring.

My finger was scraped, blood flowing freely.

Ethan didn't even glance at me. He placed the ring in Isabella's palm.

"If you like it, it's yours."

He carried Isabella out of the office without looking back at me.

That day, I finally understood. Five years, over eighteen hundred days and nights. I was nothing but trash to him.

I looked at the two scarves.

One he gave me, which I treasured.

One I gave him, which he treated as garbage.

Just like our positions in this relationship.

I reached up to touch my empty ring finger. A tear dropped onto the scarf.

Thank goodness, the five years were over.

Thank goodness, I got that agreement he'd signed.

Next week I could leave.

From then on, Ethan and I would have no connection.

I took everything from the closet, including both scarves, and threw them in the trash.

Sophia's POV

The next day was Richard's eightieth birthday banquet.

He was the person in the Carter family who treated me best.

For five years, I'd been in charge of Richard's birthday, and this year was no exception.

Guest list, menu, seating arrangements, decoration process. I handled each item.

That day, I arrived very early.

When the banquet began and guests started arriving, Ethan appeared.

I hadn't expected him to come with someone.

Holding his arm was Isabella in a wine-red low-cut gown.

Her hair was pinned up high, her makeup exquisite. Her bright eyes gazed at Ethan as if she were his wife.

The two walked into the hall side by side. They looked like the married couple.

Isabella glanced at me, the arrogance and pride in her eyes unconcealed.

Murmurs from the surrounding guests immediately rose up.

"Isn't that Miss Hart? Ethan actually brought her back. Mrs. Carter..."

"With so many people here today, isn't this humiliating his actual wife?"

My expression remained calm as I continued chatting warmly with each guest.

Richard sat in the seat of honor, seeing everything clearly.

Ethan approached, wanting to offer some birthday wishes to Richard.

Richard leaned on his cane, his eyes landing on Isabella. "Who is this?" he asked coldly.

Ethan glanced at me. "This is my secretary. I just came from the office and brought her along."

Richard looked at him coldly. "Today is my birthday. Did you get my permission to bring your secretary? You're incredibly rude!"

Ethan's brow furrowed, but he said nothing.

I saw his chest rising and falling violently and quickly stepped forward to soothe Richard. "Please don't be angry. Today is your birthday. Don't let these small matters upset you."

His expression finally eased a bit. He patted my hand and sighed. "Sophia still cares about me."

Ethan stood nearby, watching this scene, his eyes darkening.

Ethan coldly averted his gaze and led Isabella away to mingle with guests.

When some guests saw Isabella, they politely looked her over and said with a smile, "Mr. Carter, this young lady at your side is quite elegant."

Ethan didn't deny it, just tugged his lips slightly.

Isabella was delighted, leaning into his arm and looking up at him with a smile.

He didn't dodge or stop her.

His gaze kept involuntarily looking in my direction.

I pretended not to see his eyes, continuing to greet guests with a smile, my manner composed.

If this were before, seeing this scene would have made my eyes turn red.

But this time, I did nothing.

Halfway through the banquet, Ethan left to take a call.

Isabella took the opportunity to walk over to me, her tone light.

"Mrs. Carter, let me tell you something." She pointed at my hand. "That ring of yours? I put it on my dog's collar. My dog really likes that ring."

I looked at her and laughed softly. "As long as you like it."

Isabella's smile froze.

She wanted to see me angry, but didn't, and a hint of gloom flashed in her eyes.

Isabella slowly backed away, quietly approaching the long table behind her with its champagne tower, and grabbed a corner of the tablecloth.

The next second, the champagne tower collapsed with a crash. Dozens of glasses with liquid rushed toward Isabella and me.

Guests shrieked.

Not far away, Ethan's face changed dramatically as he rushed over. "Isabella!"

He rushed toward Isabella, pulling her into his arms to protect her.

Glass shards and champagne crashed toward me. I couldn't dodge in time and could only raise my arms to protect my head and face. The massive impact knocked me to the ground.

Glass fragments pierced my arms and shoulders. Blood quickly soaked through my dress.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, I saw Ethan holding Isabella tightly in his arms, anxiously calling her name.

That embrace had no place for me, and never had.

Sophia's POV

When I woke again, I was in my bedroom at home.

I opened my eyes, not fully conscious yet.

Ethan sat by the bed, looking somewhat tired.

I was startled, not expecting him to be there.

Seeing me wake, Ethan's expression softened slightly. "You're awake? You have superficial injuries. The doctor has already bandaged them."

In my mind, I kept seeing how Ethan had rushed toward Isabella without hesitation before I fainted.

I lowered my eyes and said softly, "Sorry for worrying you. I'm fine."

My tone was polite.

Ethan's face froze again.

He continued, "You're my wife. Such a major incident at the banquet. Not only did you hurt yourself, you nearly hurt other guests. Do you understand what you did wrong?"

My heart ached dully. The guest he meant was Isabella. He was blaming me for hurting Isabella.

I'd seen clearly that Isabella had deliberately pulled the tablecloth.

If this were before, I definitely would have defended myself and explained what happened.

But I remembered how he'd rushed toward Isabella, how he'd protected her in his arms.

Even if I said something, would he believe me?

He wouldn't believe me.

The one who isn't favored, whatever they say is just excuses.

The more I said, the more unreasonable I would seem, and I'd only cause myself more trouble.

I lowered my head. "Yes, I was wrong. Tomorrow I'll accept my punishment."

Ethan paused.

Before, I would act cute to avoid punishment.

So in five years, he'd never actually punished me.

This time I didn't want to act cute. I wanted to completely sever ties with him.

Ethan's face also grew cold.

"Good. You ruined Richard's banquet. You should be punished. Don't come to the office tomorrow. Stay home under house arrest."

After speaking, he stood up in anger and strode out.

I watched his departing back and closed my eyes.

The next day, Ethan really did send someone.

I didn't recognize the man who came. I'd never seen him. His face looked somewhat fierce. As soon as he entered, he told me to kneel.

So the punishment he mentioned also involved being beaten.

I knelt quietly on the living room floor without a word.

The man with the rod raised his hand and struck me hard.

My injuries from yesterday hadn't healed yet. After the first strike, my whole body swayed.

After the third strike, I had no strength left to support myself and collapsed on the floor.

Grace couldn't help stepping forward. "Sir, Mrs. Carter still has injuries. Could you be gentler? At this rate, she'll die!"

The man glanced at Grace and sneered coldly. "Who do you think you are? Mrs. Carter is accepting punishment. Is it your place to speak? Say one more word and you'll be punished too!"

Afraid Grace would be implicated, I forced myself to raise my hand. "Grace, go."

Grace wiped her tears and backed out, turning back with every step.

The rod continued to fall.

I bit my lip to keep from making a sound.

I thought, so Ethan really could actually go through with this.

I remembered the lakeside eight years ago, the scarf he'd handed me.

So from that moment until now, he'd never truly seen me.

The man I'd loved for over eight years wouldn't even let me walk through these last few days in peace.

My vision darkened inch by inch.

When the last blow fell, I heard something inside me shatter and something else fall into place.

I finally closed my eyes and lost consciousness.