She could mock me for my age—I had to swallow it.
Two years of marriage, and I’d lost count of how many times I’d tolerated her.
Not anymore.
I said coldly, “Ethan Brooks, we’re done.”
He froze, unable to react. Robert and Margaret panicked too.
Chloe quickly hurried over, grabbing my arm with feigned sweetness.
“Lily, I know you don’t mean it. You’ve only been married two years, still in the honeymoon stage. Why talk about divorce?”
“It’s my fault. I know I was wrong. I won’t say those things again, okay?”
“It’s just that after so many years, I can’t stop leaning on my brother. I lost my sense of boundaries.”
She tugged me with one hand and pulled Ethan closer with the other.
“Ethan, go comfort Lily! Don’t let her really divorce you. What if she’s pregnant for real one day? You’ll regret it!”
“What, do you really want me to be a child bride? I don’t even want to get married!”
She kept shooting looks at Ethan.
And the next moment, Ethan gave in.
“Fine, Lily, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken harshly or doubted you.”
“Don’t make a scene. Do it for me, okay?”
“My parents are watching.”
I stared at his anxious, perfunctory face—and laughed.
Even when apologizing, he needed Chloe to prompt him.
“See? That’s why I want a divorce.”
“Ethan, I’ve had enough.”
I shook him off and got into the car, not looking back.
He didn’t chase me. Instead, he posted photos on social media of the family dinner—without me.
The four of them, all smiles. After I left, Chloe slipped right into my seat beside Ethan.
When they clinked glasses, she deliberately brushed his hand. Their eyes met, the flirtatious tension stabbing at my heart.
The only comments came from Robert and Margaret:
“We’ll always be one family, never apart.”
At 1 a.m., Ethan came home.
I was lying in bed, awake but unwilling to open my eyes.
I’d given him countless chances.
Even I found it pathetic.
Maybe that’s just how women are—harsh words on the lips, but always giving the man another step down.
I even thought, if only in that moment he had left Chloe and come after me.
If he promised to keep his distance from his sister, maybe we could have gone on.
But it didn’t happen.
Ethan braced his hands on the edge of the bed, leaning closer to my ear.
“Lily? I know you’re awake. You didn’t eat much at dinner. Mom and Dad asked me to bring you some food. Get up and eat?”
When I didn’t answer, he sighed deeply.