My Husband Forced Me to Eat My Deadly Allergen, Now I’m Gone for Good

Everyone in Manhattans high society used to say that Ethan, the billionaire heir of the prestigious Vance family, broke ties with his own empire just to marry me. They said he kept every other woman at a distance just to keep me safe.

But on my twenty-fourth birthday, he showed up with another woman.

Throughout the night, Ethan attended to me with his usual gentleness. That was until Chloe placed a bowl of blueberries right in front of my face.

"I imported these specifically from France for your birthday, Stella," Chloe said, her voice dripping with sweet innocence. "Have a taste."

When I didn't move, Ethans brows furrowed. "Eat them, Stella. Dont ruin Chloes sweet gesture."

I still didn't move. Ethans patience snapped instantly. "Don't act like I don't know your allergy cured years ago. Do you really have to humiliate Chloe on your own birthday?"

In that moment, Ethan looked like a complete stranger. He seemed to have completely forgotten that I once almost died in an ICU because of a single blueberry.

Before I could even speak, Ethans best friend, Mason, grabbed my jaw. Along with a few others, they pried my mouth open and forced the blueberries down my throat.

"Don't think you can act like a spoiled brat just because Ethan loves you," Mason sneered in my ear. "If Chloe tells you to eat, you eat."

Chloe instantly put on a victimized face, tears welling in her eyes. "I just wanted to bring her something nice. How could she..."

She ran out of the venue sobbing. Ethans face darkened instantly. "Stella, you are so incredibly toxic. You ruined your own birthday. Are you happy now?"

Without even looking at my distress, Ethan turned on his heel and chased after Chloe.

His friends stayed behind, throwing every disgusting insult they could think of at me.

By the next morning, I was trending all over Snapchat and TikTok.

The headline read: *#GoldDiggerExposed: Did Stella Drug Manhattans Golden Boy to Force a Marriage?*

When reporters caught up with Ethan at his office, he simply looked at the camera and said, "It is exactly what it looks like."

With those words, my reputation as a scheming, manipulative gold digger was sealed.

And as my eyes slowly closed from the agonizing pain in my chest, I couldn't understand. He used to love me so much. How did we get here?

When I woke up, I was already in a hospital bed. Ethan was sitting by my side, looking like he hadnt slept a wink.

"Sweetheart, you're awake! How are you feeling?" He grabbed my hand eagerly. "Youre pregnant, Stella. Why didn't you tell me? Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Looking into his eyes, he seemed like the old Ethan again.

My heart softened just a tiny bit. But before I could speak, his phone buzzed.

Ethan glanced at the screen, and his expression shifted subtly. "I need to take this."

Without waiting for my reply, he walked out of the room.

The hospital door wasn't fully closed. His warm, gentle tone drifted inside, striking a cold chord in my heart. "Yeah, don't worry, she's fine. It was all her own doing. She passed out because she was pregnant and didn't tell anyone, not because of the blueberries. Don't blame yourself, Chloe."

"Alright, get some rest. I'll come over to see you later."

Ethan hung up and turned around, only to meet my tear-stained eyes.

Panic flashed across his face, and he rushed to explain, "Chloe just wanted to apologize to you. But honestly, Stella, this is on you. You're not even allergic to blueberries anymore, yet you had to make a scene. You fainted because of pregnancy hormones, but you wanted to blame it on Chloe just to make her feel guilty, didn't you?"

I didn't say a single word. I just let him ramble.

When he finally ran out of excuses, I looked at him with dead eyes. "Ethan, who is Chloe? And who am I to you?"

"Chloe is my childhood friend. You are my wife. Those two things don't clash, Stella."

*They don't clash?*

I let out a bitter laugh.

Years ago, when Ethan's assistant looked at him with a bit too much admiration, he fired her on the spot. He had told me: *I wont allow any woman with hidden intentions to stay near me. My wife is a jealous little kitten, and I intend to keep her happy.*

And now?

Seeing my silence, Ethan's face hardened. "Stella, enough. I already apologized, didn't I? You can't keep acting this toxic just because you're pregnant."

Toxic. That was all I was to him now.

Oh, Ethan. When exactly did you change?

You used to hold me like I was your entire world. Now, you throw me to the ground and trample over me.

I took a deep breath. "Ethan, do you still love me?"

"Of course I do. If I didn't love you, why would I have married you? Haven't I sacrificed enough for you over the last ten years?"

He began listing every single sacrifice he had ever made for me, one by one.

He remembered them so clearly.

It was only at this moment that I realized being with me had made him feel so incredibly suffocated and resentful.

"Okay," I whispered. "I get it. I'm fine now. You should go check on Chloe. She must have been really shaken up."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded.

I had nothing left to say. When love is dead, what is the point of dragging things out?

Ethan looked pleased with my "maturity." He kissed my forehead and left me with one last sentence: "Chloe just got back to the city. I can't let her lose face. Once she calms down, I'll have my team take down those trending articles about you."

"Okay."

I watched him leave, and then I signed my own discharge papers.

The doctor warned me that my pregnancy was highly unstable and that I needed to stay bedridden. But deep down, I knew this baby had come at the worst possible time.

When I finally dragged myself back to my apartment, my keycard wouldn't work.

Just as I was wondering if I had entered the wrong code, the door swung open from the inside.

It was Chloe.

She was wearing my silk nightstand robe, leaning against the doorframe provocatively. "Oh, aren't you supposed to be hospitalized? Why are you back? Couldn't trust Ethan alone with me for even a second?"

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You wives are always so insecure. The bond between Ethan and me isn't something a girl like you could ever understand."

Before Chloe could finish her sentence, Ethan's voice echoed from behind her. "Who is it, babe?"

"Who else? Your dear wife. Looks like she's here to interrogate us."

Ethan walked up to the door.

Seeing me, there was no concern in his eyesonly pure annoyance. "What are you doing here?"

His question left me completely stunned.

This was *my* apartment. Why shouldn't I be here?

Ethan seemed to realize his slip of tongue under my icy stare. He quickly tried to patch it up. "I mean... shouldn't you be at the hospital?"

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Stella! Are you seriously doing this again? Chloes apartment had a plumbing emergency, so she just came over to use my shower. Is your mind always filled with such disgusting thoughts?"

Honestly, if I hadn't received a video five minutes ago, I might have actually started questioning my own sanity.

On my way back from the hospital, I was thinking about whether my marriage was truly over. Then, a random account requested to add me on Snapchat. Instinct told me it was Chloe.

The moment I accepted, she sent a video.

In the video, Ethan was desperately pulling Chloe into his arms, kissing her passionately. *Chloe, youre finally back. I missed you so much,* his voice murmured in the clip.

I didn't need to watch what happened next. I knew Ethan too well. I knew exactly what that look in his eyes meant.

Even though I knew we were over, seeing it still felt like a physical blow to my chest.

And now, watching him lie straight to my face while turning me into the villain made me want to laugh out loud.

"Just get inside," Ethan grumbled, trying to pull me in. "Don't embarrass us in the hallway."

"Why did you change the door code, Ethan?" I asked, staying rooted to the spot.

"Oh, that. I couldn't remember the old one. Im going to be staying here for a few days."

"No. This is my apartment." I glared at him.

Seeing me refuse to back down, his patience wore thin. "Stella, have you forgotten? Everything in your life belongs to me. I pay for your lifestyle."

"Yes, you do. But not this apartment."

This apartment was located right next to Ethans corporate office. My parents had spent their entire life savings to buy it for me before they passed.

They had told me, *Sweetheart, our family isn't as wealthy as the Vance family. We can't give you a grand dowry, but we can give you this little sanctuary. It's yours, forever.*

When Ethan found out back then, he was incredibly moved. He had hugged me and said, *Your parents are amazing. They knew I was struggling with my start-up and didn't have money for a house. I will cherish them and you for the rest of my life.*

Back then, the Vance family had cut Ethan off, and his company was barely surviving. We lived in this tiny apartment for years.

It was only in the last few years, when his business took off, that we moved into a mansion in the suburbs. But I still came back here whenever I needed peace.

"Wow, Stella," Chloe chimed in, a nasty smirk on her face. "You live off Ethan's money, and now youre claiming this place isn't his?"

"This is between my husband and me. Get the hell out of my apartment," I snapped, showing her no mercy.

Ethans face darkened, but he didn't say anything to defend Chloe. He probably remembered the deed was indeed in my name.

"Fine," Ethan said, grabbing Chloes hand. "We're going to the mansion. You stay here and think about what you've done, Stella."

But Chloe yanked her hand back. "Why should I leave? Is this tiny place really not his?"

"Yes, it's mine," I answered for him.

Before Chloe could spit out another insult, I walked past them, grabbed the deed from my safe, and shoved it in her face. "See this? My name. Now, get the fuck out of my house."

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

A mistress parading around my home, trying to claim the only thing my deceased parents left me? I would have to be brain-dead to tolerate this.

I shoved Chloe toward the door.

Ethans eyes flared with rage. He violently pushed me away to protect her.

I wasn't prepared for the force of it. I stumbled backward and crashed hard onto the hardwood floor. Instantly, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through my lower abdomen.

When I looked down and saw the pool of blood blooming through my pants, panic seized me.

"Ethan... please... help me," I whimpered, reaching out to him.

"Stella, you've gone too far!" Ethan barked, completely ignoring my pale face. "So what if this apartment is in your name? We bought it during our marriage. Its marital property!"

He glared at me with pure disgust, then scooped Chloe into his arms. "If anything happens to Chloe because of your temper, I will make you pay."

He walked out, slamming the door behind him. He didn't even glance back to see the blood pooling beneath me.

With the last of my strength, I dragged myself to my phone and dialed 91

By the time I woke up, the sterile smell of the hospital greeted me once again.

The young nurse standing by my bed sighed softly, pity in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, sweetie. The baby is gone."

I saw the sadness in her eyes, but strangely, I felt nothing. My heart had gone completely numb.

Shortly after the nurse left, my phone rang. It was Ethans assistant, Luke.

When I answered, Luke's cold, professional voice came through. "Mrs. Vance, regarding your downtown apartment... Mr. Vance has instructed me to begin the property division process. According to the law"

He went on and on with legal jargon, but the message was clear: *Ethan was going to sue me for my parents' apartment.*

I never thought the man who once swore to protect me would go to court against me for a mistress.

I didn't argue. "Come to my ward, Luke."

When Luke arrived, he looked extremely uncomfortable. I didn't waste time and handed him a document. "I know you're just doing your job, Luke. Tell Ethan I agree to everything. He just needs to sign this."

Luke looked down at the paper, his eyes widening in shock. "Mrs. Vance... this is... a divorce petition?"

"You've seen the news, Luke. Everyone online thinks I'm the villain who ruined Ethan and Chloe's true love. He wants to take my parents' apartment. If he really loved me, would he do this?"

Luke remained silent.

"Tell him if he signs this, he can have whatever he wants. Even the apartment."

Luke stared at me for a long time before taking the papers.

Before he left, I whispered, "If you're worried he won't sign it, give it to Chloe. She will find a way to make him put his pen to paper."

Luke looked at me, a complicated expression on his face. "Are you really letting him go, Stella?"

I didn't answer.

Did I still love him? I didn't even know anymore.

But too much had happened. Long before Chloe returned, Ethan had already changed. He stayed out all night. He forgot our anniversary.

He used to tell me, *I hate perfume. I only want to smell your natural scent.* But lately, he always came home smelling of heavy jasmineChloes favorite scent.

When I questioned him, he just said I was being paranoid.

The signs were always there. My heart had just died in slow motion.

An hour later, Luke returned with the divorce papers. Ethans signature was sharp and clear at the bottom.

I checked myself out of the hospital immediately.