He Covered for His Mistress Until I Died

Ethan's mistress killed my brother.

But he pushed a settlement agreement in front of me. Stella has depression. She can't handle prison.

Sign it. Your grandmother's heart surgery will proceed as planned. Don't sign, and that heart goes to someone else immediately.

We loved each other for ten years, and now he's using my grandmother's life to buy his mistress's freedom.

I signed.

Later, Grandma died anyway.

Because Stella went to the hospital and told her personally. "I'm the one who ran over your grandson. Oh, and your granddaughter's husband? He's mine now too."

Grandma couldn't catch her breath. Resuscitation failed.

I rushed into the Sinclair mansion with a knife. Before I could even reach Stella, Ethan slapped me across the face. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

That night, I jumped from a yacht into the deep sea.

Cold seawater flooded my lungs. I didn't struggle.

I thought that was the end.

Then Adrian Yale saved me.

"Some fools will regret losing you." He knelt on one knee.

"And I've waited three years for you. Give me a chance, will you?"

Vivian POV

My brother Derek's body was still cold in the morgue, while his killer laughed openly in court.

"Vivian, sign this settlement agreement and this case ends here."

A deep, cold male voice sounded in my ear.

I stared at the man before me.

He was the all-powerful tycoon of this city, and also my husband of three years in a secret marriage. Ethan Sinclair.

At this moment, he stood beside the defendant's seat, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting cold light as he pushed a document toward me.

"Ethan, have you lost your mind?"

I trembled all over.

"Stella was street racing and ran a red light. The surveillance caught everything! Derek was only nineteen. He was thrown over thirty feet! And now you want me to sign a settlement?"

Ethan frowned slightly, his tone impatient.

"The surveillance has been destroyed. No one can prove Stella was driving. Vivian, stop making a scene. Stella has depression. She can't handle imprisonment."

"She has depression, so my brother deserved to die?!"

I stood up, my nails digging deep into my palms.

I couldn't understand.

Three years ago, Ethan loved me to the bone.

If I casually mentioned wanting to see snow, he'd cancel a billion-dollar merger and charter a private jet to take me to Switzerland.

When I injured my wrist while painting, this powerful CEO would humbly apply warm compresses and massage it for me every day.

To marry me, an orphan with no background, he convinced all his relatives and even took a beating for it.

But ever since six months ago, when his childhood friend Stella returned from abroad, everything changed.

He said Stella once saved his life, and he owed her an enormous debt.

So he could indulge Stella's arrogance, and now, he was even using my brother's life to cover for Stella!

"Vivian, my patience has limits."

Ethan looked at me coldly, his eyes devoid of warmth.

"Your grandmother is still lying in the ICU. Her heart transplant surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. As long as you sign, the surgery proceeds as planned. But if you refuse..."

He paused, his voice cruel.

"That heart will immediately go to someone else."

I felt like I'd been struck by lightning, my mind going blank.

"You're threatening me with Grandma's life?"

I cried.

"Ethan, are you even human!"

"I only care about results."

Ethan remained unmoved.

"You have one minute. Sign or don't sign?"

The courtroom fell deathly silent.

Stella sat in the defendant's seat, provocatively curling her lips at me.

Looking at Ethan's familiar yet strange face, my heart felt like it was being ground in a meat grinder.

I had no way out.

My brother was already dead. I couldn't lose Grandma too.

With trembling hands, I picked up the pen and signed my name on the settlement agreement.

Every stroke felt like it was cutting my flesh.

"Satisfied now?"

I slammed the pen onto the table.

Ethan collected the documents, handed them to his lawyer, and said indifferently.

"That's better. Go see your grandmother at the hospital. I've already paid for the surgery."

Then he turned and walked toward Stella, removing his designer suit jacket and draping it over her shoulders, his voice sickeningly gentle.

"It's over. I'm taking you home."

I collapsed powerlessly into the chair, watching their intertwined figures leave, tears falling silently onto my hands.

Ethan, you've personally killed the last trace of my love for you.

Vivian POV

After visiting Grandma at the hospital, I pushed open the door to the villa.

In the foyer, there was an extra pair of women's high heels.

In the living room, Stella was lounging on the sofa in my silk pajamas, casually drinking coffee.

"What are you doing here? Get out!"

My voice was cold.

Stella put down her coffee cup, smiling cheerfully.

"Ethan said I was traumatized and needed someone to take care of me, so he told me to move in. What's wrong, Vivian? Don't you understand yet? It's time for you to give up your position as Mrs. Sinclair."

"As long as I don't sign divorce papers, you're nothing but a homewrecker who can't show her face."

I walked over and snatched the cup from her hand.

It was a mug Ethan had handmade for me, with our initials carved on the bottom.

Stella's eyes flashed. She suddenly cried out, falling backward and sweeping the nearby floor vase down with her.

A loud crash. Shards flew everywhere.

"What happened?"

The door burst open and Ethan strode in.

"Ethan..."

Stella sat on the floor, pale-faced, clutching her wrist with tears barely contained.

"I just wanted some water. Vivian might be in a bad mood and pushed me... I don't blame her. After all, with Derek's situation..."

"Vivian!"

Ethan cut her off sharply, striding over to scoop Stella into his arms. He turned to glare at me.

"What's wrong with you? Haven't you caused enough trouble in court?"

I looked at his anxious expression and found it absurd.

"I pushed her? Ethan, there are cameras here. Check them yourself!"

"Enough!"

Ethan wouldn't listen.

"Stella's health is already fragile. Do you have to push her to death before you're satisfied?"

Just then, Stella clutched her chest, her face turning deathly pale as she fainted.

"Stella!"

Ethan's expression changed dramatically. He immediately carried her out to the car.

Half an hour later, at the private hospital.

The doctor came out holding a report, his expression urgent.

"Mr. Sinclair, Stella fainted from severe anemia. Combined with her blood clotting disorder, she urgently needs a transfusion. But she has RH negative blood, and our blood bank is critically low. Getting blood from other hospitals will take at least two hours. She can't wait that long!"

Ethan's head snapped around, his gaze piercing straight at me.

I instinctively took a step back.

My blood type was compatible.

Ethan knew.

"Take hers."

Ethan pointed at me, his tone utterly flat, as if discussing an object.

"Ethan, have you lost your mind? I haven't rested properly in days. Drawing blood could kill me!"

I looked at him in disbelief.

"It won't kill you."

Ethan grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the blood draw room.

"Stella got sick saving my life. You owe her. Today you must repay it!"

"I don't owe her anything! Who's going to repay my brother's life?!"

I struggled desperately, but couldn't match a man's strength.

I was forcibly strapped to the blood draw chair. The cold needle pierced my vein.

Bright red blood flowed through the tube. I looked at Ethan's cold profile, a chill spreading from my heart through my entire body.

They drew a full 400cc. My vision darkened repeatedly, cold sweat covering me.

When the nurse removed the needle, I didn't even have the strength to stand. I slumped to the floor.

Ethan didn't even glance at me. He took the blood bag and strode toward the emergency room.

I leaned against the cold wall, watching his anxious retreating figure, and laughed.

Ethan, what is your heart made of?

Vivian POV

I recovered on the hospital corridor bench for a full two hours before I could barely stand.

I didn't return to the villa. Instead, I took a cab to my art studio.

In three days, my solo exhibition, which I'd been preparing for three years, would open.

This was my dream as an illustrator, the result of countless sleepless nights.

Pushing open the studio door, the scene before me left me frozen.

The floor was covered with torn sketches, paint splattered everywhere.

Several large-scale oil paintings, my main pieces, had been slashed to ribbons with a knife.

Stella stood there with several socialite friends, holding box cutters, smiling at me.

"Oh my, Vivian's here."

Stella tossed aside her knife and dusted off her hands.

"Sorry about that. My hand slipped earlier and I damaged a few of your paintings. But don't worry, Ethan will compensate you."

"Stella!"

I rushed forward and grabbed her collar.

"You psycho! Can you even afford to compensate?!"

These were three years of my heart and soul! Every brushstroke contained my spirit!

"Let go! You're hurting me!"

Stella struggled, then her eyes flashed. She suddenly jerked backward, her back slamming hard into an easel.

The easel collapsed. Sharp wooden splinters tore through Stella's arm. Blood gushed out instantly.

Stella screamed.

The studio door burst open at that exact moment.

Ethan strode in. Seeing the scene, his pupils contracted sharply.

"Stella!"

He rushed over and shoved me aside.

Already weakened, I slammed into the wall from his push. Pain exploded in the back of my head. My vision went black.

"Ethan, it hurts..."

Stella leaned against Ethan, crying with tears streaming down her face.

"I just wanted to see Vivian's paintings, but she suddenly went crazy..."

Ethan looked at the blood on Stella's arm, his expression terrifyingly dark.

He turned to look at me, his eyes like poisoned daggers.

"Vivian, do you think I've been too lenient with you?"

I steadied myself against the wall, pointing at the destruction everywhere, my voice shaking.

"Ethan, are you blind? She destroyed my exhibition! Destroyed my life's work!"

"They're just some worthless paintings!"

Ethan cut me off coldly.

"If Stella's hand scars, you couldn't repay it with your life!"

Just some worthless paintings.

My heart convulsed violently.

Once, even my casual sketches, he would carefully frame and hang in his study.

He said my paintings were priceless treasures.

Now he said they were just worthless paintings.

"Someone get in here."

Ethan ordered the bodyguards outside.

"Burn everything left here. Since she can't control herself, she shouldn't paint anymore."

"Ethan, don't you dare!"

I lunged forward but was held down firmly by the bodyguards.

I could only watch helplessly as the bodyguards lit a fire barrel and threw my remaining sketches in one by one.

The flames reflected in my eyes, burning away my last tears.

I didn't cry. I didn't struggle anymore. I just stared at Ethan.

Ethan carried Stella and left without looking back.

"Vivian, you brought this on yourself."

Only the crackling sound of burning flames remained in the studio. I knelt before the ashes and laughed.

Laughed until my heart broke, laughed with tears streaming down my face.

The exhibition was completely ruined.

I locked myself in my apartment for three days.

On the fourth day, Ethan's assistant knocked on my door and handed me a gilded invitation.

"Mr. Sinclair is holding an engagement party for Stella next month. Mr. Sinclair said she really admires your artistic style. He hopes you can hand-paint a ten-foot-tall portrait backdrop for their engagement party."

Vivian POV

I looked at that invitation, finding it utterly absurd.

"He wants me to paint an engagement portrait for him and his mistress?"

I laughed coldly.

"Is his brain damaged, or does he think I have no dignity?"

The assistant lowered his head, his tone businesslike.

"Mr. Sinclair said if you refuse, your grandmother's private care room might need to be reassigned."

Grandma again.

Ethan always knew how to exploit my weakness.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll paint it."

For the next two weeks, I stood before the canvas day and night.

A ten-foot oil painting required enormous physical strength and wrist endurance.

My wrist already had severe tendonitis, and after being forced to give blood, my body was at its limit.

Every brushstroke felt like needles stabbing my wrist.

Halfway through, Ethan brought Stella to "inspect" the work.

Stella looked at the canvas showing the two of them embracing and smiled with satisfaction.

"Vivian paints so well. You made Ethan look so handsome. But the color of my dress train here, isn't it too dark? Could you change it?"

My hand holding the brush trembled uncontrollably. Cold sweat soaked my back.

I ignored Stella and mechanically mixed colors.

The brush slipped from my shaking hand and fell to the floor.

Ethan frowned, looking at my trembling hand, annoyance flashing in his eyes.

"Vivian, what are you pretending now? It's just painting. Are you that aggrieved?"

I bent down to pick up the brush, my voice eerily calm.

"Not aggrieved. Mr. Sinclair pays, I deliver. As it should be."

Ethan snorted coldly.

"Better be. The painting must be finished before the engagement party. If you delay Stella's event, I'll hold you accountable."

After they left, I collapsed on the floor, clutching my spasming wrist, gasping for breath.

I looked at Ethan's affectionate face on the canvas and suddenly felt nauseous.

I grabbed the palette knife nearby, wanting desperately to slash the painting to shreds.

But I held back.

Grandma was still in the hospital. I couldn't be impulsive.

Two weeks later, the painting was finally complete.

My wrist was swollen like a dumpling. I couldn't even hold utensils.

I delivered the painting to Ethan's assistant, then went to visit Grandma at the hospital.

Grandma's condition had stabilized considerably. She held my hand and asked.

"Vivian, why hasn't Ethan come to see me in so long?"

I forced back the bitterness and smiled.

"He's been busy with the company lately. He'll visit you in a few days."

Walking out of the room, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes wearily.

Soon. Once Grandma finished her final checkup, I'd take her and leave this city. Leave Ethan forever.

On the day of the engagement party, Ethan rented out the city's largest seven-star hotel.

I didn't go. Instead, I stayed in my apartment packing.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated frantically. It was the hospital calling.

"Vivian, your grandmother's condition suddenly deteriorated. She's having acute heart failure. She's being resuscitated now. We need family members here immediately to sign consent forms!"

My mind went blank with a buzz. I nearly dropped my phone.

"I'm coming right now! Please, you must save her!"

I rushed out of the apartment, only to find it was pouring rain outside. I couldn't get a cab.

Ethan had confiscated my car keys days ago, saying I was emotionally unstable and shouldn't drive.

I bit my lip and ran through the rain toward the engagement party hotel.

It was the closest place where I could find Ethan.

When I burst into the banquet hall, soaking wet, everyone's eyes turned to me.

Ethan wore a white designer suit, gently placing an engagement ring on Stella's finger.

"Ethan!"

I rushed over and grabbed his arm, my voice desperate.

"Give me the car keys! Grandma's being resuscitated. I need to get to the hospital!"

Ethan looked at my bedraggled appearance, frowning deeply, and shook off my hand.

"Vivian, haven't you made enough of a scene? Do you not realize what day this is?"

"I'm begging you, give me the car keys!"

I was crying desperately.

"Grandma's dying. I need to see her one last time!"

Seeing this, Stella immediately put on a frightened expression and hid in Ethan's arms.

"Ethan, Vivian is so scary..."

Ethan's eyes went completely cold.

"Vivian, you'd make up this kind of lie just to ruin my engagement party? Your grandmother was fine yesterday!"

"I'm not lying! The hospital just called!"

I sobbed desperately.

I tried to grab the keys from Ethan's pocket, but Stella deliberately blocked my way.

As we struggled, Stella screamed and fell to the ground.

"Stella!"

Ethan flew into a rage and kicked me in the shoulder.

I was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a champagne tower.

Glass shattered everywhere, shards piercing my palms and back. Blood mixed with rainwater flowed.

"Someone!"

Ethan looked down at me, his eyes ice-cold.

"Lock her in the upstairs storage room! No one lets her out without my permission!"

"Ethan! You can't do this to me! Grandma's waiting for me!"

I struggled desperately, but two bodyguards dragged me away.

The storage room door slammed shut.

Inside, there were no lights. Complete darkness.

I had severe claustrophobia. The darkness swallowed me like a tide.

I pounded on the door, crying until my voice was hoarse.

"Let me out... please let me out..."

Outside came the cheerful music from the banquet hall and guests' congratulations.

I don't know how long passed before my phone rang.

I answered with trembling hands.

"Vivian, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. Your grandmother... didn't make it."

The phone slipped from my hand.

I sat paralyzed in the darkness. I didn't cry. I didn't shout.

My world had completely collapsed.

Vivian POV

The storage room door didn't open until the next morning.

I was curled in the corner.

The bodyguard looked at my condition with some sympathy.

"Mrs. Sinclair, Mr. Sinclair says you can go now."

I said nothing. I stood up shakily and walked out of the hotel step by step.

When I reached the hospital, I only saw a body on a gurney covered with a white sheet.

I didn't cry. I just stood there quietly, looking at Grandma's peaceful face.

The attending physician approached, his expression complicated, hesitant to speak.

"Vivian, actually... your grandmother's condition was very stable. But yesterday afternoon, a woman came to her room. We don't know what she said to her, but her emotions became agitated, which triggered the heart failure..."

I raised my head. In my deadened heart, a towering hatred instantly ignited.

Stella!

It was her! She killed Grandma!

I turned and rushed out of the hospital. At a hardware store on the roadside, I bought a fruit knife and went straight to the Sinclair mansion.

At the villa, Ethan was having breakfast with Stella.

"Stella, go to hell!"

I lunged at Stella with the knife.

Stella screamed and dodged.

Ethan reacted lightning-fast, pulling Stella behind him and catching the blade with his bare hand.

Blood instantly flowed between his fingers.

"Vivian, have you completely lost your mind?!"

Ethan wrenched away the knife and backhanded me with a vicious slap.

He used his full strength. I was knocked to the floor, blood trickling from my mouth, half my face instantly swelling.

"She killed Grandma!"

I pointed at Stella, screaming hoarsely.

"She went to the hospital yesterday and provoked Grandma! Ethan, she's a murderer!"

Stella hid behind Ethan, crying and trembling.

"I didn't... Ethan, I was trying on my dress all day yesterday. I never went to the hospital. Is Vivian hallucinating from too much stress?"

"You're still lying!"

I struggled to get up.

"Enough!"

Ethan cut me off sharply, looking at me with disgust and disappointment.

"Vivian, I'm grieved about your grandmother's death too, but you can't attack people like a rabid dog! Stella was with me all yesterday. How could she go to the hospital?"

I froze.

Looking at Ethan's certain expression, I suddenly understood.

He was covering for her.

To protect Stella, he could even erase Grandma's death.

"Ethan, you disgust me."

I looked at him and said nothing more.

"Since you're clearly unhinged, go cool off in the basement for a few days!"

Ethan ordered the bodyguards coldly.

"Lock her in the basement. Without my orders, no one feeds her!"

The basement.

No windows. No light.

It was the place I feared most.

Ethan knew perfectly well that I was kidnapped and locked in a dark room as a child, leaving me with severe psychological trauma.

The bodyguards dragged me into the basement. The iron door slammed shut with a bang.

Darkness instantly consumed me.

I huddled in the corner, clutching myself tightly.

Ethan, I've repaid everything I owed you.

The darkness of the basement was like an invisible giant hand, strangling my throat.

On the first day, I trembled with fear, sweat soaking my clothes. My mind kept flashing back to being kidnapped as a child, and Grandma's face under the white sheet.

On the second day, I developed a high fever. My wounds became infected. I fell into a semi-conscious state.

Vivian POV

In extreme pain, I dreamed of Ethan from three years ago.

Back then, because I was afraid of the dark, I had to leave a light on when sleeping.

Once during a power outage, Ethan ran through the pouring rain across three streets to buy candles to fill the room. He held me in his arms, kissing my forehead over and over.

"Don't be afraid, Vivian. I'm here. I'll never let you stay in the dark again."

How ridiculous.

The person who said he'd never let me stay in the dark personally pushed me into the deepest abyss.

On the third day, my fever broke.

Fear and despair were exhausted. What remained was only the calm of stagnant water.

I felt around in the dark for a sharp stone and carved marks on the wall.

Each mark was a piece of my dying love for Ethan.

When the iron door opened again, the blinding light made me instinctively close my eyes.

Ethan stood in the doorway, looking down at me.

I slowly stood up, brushed the dust off myself. My heart was as calm as a pool of dead water. No hate, no love.

"Have you calmed down?"

Ethan frowned.

"I've calmed down."

My voice was hoarse but unusually steady.

"Ethan, let's get divorced."

Ethan paused, then sneered.

"Divorce? Vivian, what game are you playing now to get my attention? You think threatening me with divorce will make me forgive you for attacking someone with a knife?"

I didn't argue. I simply walked past him and went upstairs.

I returned to the master bedroom, took out a divorce agreement I'd drafted long ago, signed my name, and handed it to Ethan who had followed.

"I'll leave with nothing. Just sign it."

Ethan looked at the agreement, his expression instantly darkening.

He snatched it away, tore it to shreds, and threw the pieces in my face.

"Vivian, get this straight. When this marriage begins and ends is my decision! You want a divorce? Dream on!"

I looked at the scattered paper on the floor. I wasn't angry. I just said calmly.

"Whatever you say."

I turned and walked into the bathroom, washing away the blood and grime.

When I came out, I picked up my phone and dialed an encrypted number.

"Mr. Yale, it's me."

"The 'fake death rescue' service I booked, can we move it up? I don't want to stay another day."

On the other end, Adrian Yale's deep voice came through.

"Yes. In a month, at Stella's yacht party. That's a good opportunity. I'll arrange everything."

"Thank you."

I hung up and looked at myself in the mirror.

Ethan, since you don't want a divorce, I'll just have to become a widow.

For the following days, I was abnormally quiet.

I no longer argued with Stella, no longer questioned Ethan. Like nothing had happened, I ate and slept on schedule every day.

"Ethan, Vivian's been so strange lately."

I heard Stella lean against Ethan, saying coquettishly.

"Is she plotting something? Why don't you make her move out of the master bedroom? I'm scared looking at her."

Ethan frowned. Looking at Stella's aggrieved expression, he still nodded.

That night, Ethan entered the master bedroom and told me coldly.

"Move to the guest room. Stella hasn't been sleeping well lately. The master bedroom mattress suits her better."

I nodded calmly.

"Okay."

I opened the closet and only took a few changes of clothes. I didn't even glance at the expensive jewelry and designer dresses Ethan once gave me.

At the door, I stopped, removed my wedding ring, and casually tossed it in the nearby trash can.

"What are you doing?!"

Ethan rushed over and looked at the diamond ring in the trash, furious.

"It's dirty. Don't want it anymore."

My tone was flat.

Not just the wedding ring. The trash also contained love letters he once wrote me, dried flowers he gave me, even all our photos together.

I threw away everything about him.

"Vivian!"

Ethan grabbed my wrist, his eyes churning with anger and panic.

"What tantrum are you throwing now? I already compensated you for your grandmother. What more do you want?!"

"Compensation?"

I laughed until tears came.

"Ethan, can human life be compensated? Let go of me. You disgust me."

I shook off his hand and walked into the guest room without looking back.

Final countdown. Three days.

To celebrate her engagement, Stella rented a luxury yacht for a party.

She specifically had someone send me an invitation, saying the reason was "the family should be together."

I looked at the invitation and smiled.

I'd been waiting for this day for a long time.

The night of the yacht party, the sea breeze was cool.

I wore a simple black dress, standing in the shadows on the deck.

I watched Stella, the center of attention in the banquet hall, with Ethan beside her, looking distracted.

I touched the mini voice recorder and camera hidden in my dress.

Tonight, I'd make Stella admit she killed Derek and caused Grandma's death.

Then I would jump from this yacht and completely disappear from Ethan's world.

Ethan, get ready for your personal hell.