Chapter 6

Chapter 6

But what I hadn't expected was that Ethan Carter—this despicable man—would go behind my back and visit my parents.

Over the years, I'd always told my parents I was doing well, afraid they'd worry about me. So they had no idea what my actual life was like.

To make matters worse, Ethan had played the victim and lied to my parents, saying that I'd been unfaithful to him and had a lover outside. My parents had panicked and hadn't bothered to check the truth of his claims.

Not only had Ethan made up this story—he'd even brought "evidence" with him: a stack of photos that had clearly been photoshopped.

When my parents saw the photos, their faces turned pale. My mom was so overwhelmed that she clutched her chest and struggled to breathe.

Thankfully, my dad had seen more of the world. He forced himself to stay calm and retorted, "Ethan Carter, we know what kind of person our daughter is.

What do you really want? Spit it out."

"I told Nora before—whoever files for divorce first has to leave with nothing," Ethan said, seeing that my parents weren't easy to fool.

He then had the nerve to badmouth me to them. "Nora asked for a divorce yesterday, but not only does she refuse to leave with nothing—she even threatened to sue me and make me lose everything.

Do you think that's fair? She's the one who cheated, and yet she's kicking me out of the house?

I know that apartment is in your names. I'm not that kind of 'gold-digging man' who needs to rely on your family to survive. I've never even thought about taking that house from you.

But let me be clear: if you don't want Nora's reputation ruined—if you don't want everyone to know about her cheating—let's settle this privately. We'll sign the agreement, and she'll pay me compensation for emotional damages.

Over the years, the three of us—me, my mom, and my sister—have done our best to take care of your precious daughter. Even if we don't get credit for our hard work, we at least deserve to be paid. Let's forget about everything else—just pay us the market rate for seven years of nanny services.

And that BMW—even though you bought it as Nora's dowry, we've been paying for the gas all these years. We won't ask you to reimburse us for the gas money—just give us the used car. It's not worth much anyway," Ethan said all this without batting an eye, making one ridiculous demand after another.

After hearing his words, my parents' faces turned as dark as night. But they were worried about saving face—afraid that Ethan would really go to extremes and spread the lie about me cheating, which would ruin my reputation. So they decided to agree to Ethan's demands and settle privately.

In the end, Ethan left satisfied, having taken a large sum of money from my parents.

This was just the first step in his scheme. His next move would be to confront me head-on, trying to make me lose everything and ruin my name.

But what he'd never calculated was just how "tough" I could be once I got rid of my love-addled delusions.

When I'd loved him, I'd been willing to be that naive fool, ready to give up everything for this so-called "love." But now that I'd woken up, it would be impossible for him to manipulate me anymore.