I’m Leaving My Husband And His Sweetheart After a Painful Fall

At our company's anniversary gala, my husband’s secretary’s dog bit me. In my panic, I threw the dog off me. But my husband, Ethan, yelled at me in front of everyone. "Buster has been with Chloe for two years! How could you be so cruel to him? Do you have any compassion at all?" Chloe held the dog, which was still snarling at me, and sobbed softly. Ethan completely ignored my bleeding arm. He put his arm around Chloe, guided her and the dog, and walked away. That night, Chloe updated her Snapchat Story. It was a picture of a luxury downtown penthouse. [I said I wanted shelter from the storm, so he gave me a home.] The attached photo showed Ethan and her playing with the dog together. If this were the past, I would have caused a massive scene. But this time, I decided to let go. ... Ethan and I arrived home one after the other. The moment he walked in, he scolded me. "You scared Buster so badly he won’t stop barking, and Chloe can't sleep. You're coming with me to apologize to her." I held my freshly bandaged arm and said calmly, "Chloe put something on my clothes. That’s why the dog wouldn't let go of me." "If anyone is apologizing, it should be her." Ethan glanced at my clean sleeve, his face darkening. "Stella, are you even trying to make your lies believable anymore?" "Chloe didn't even talk to you face-to-face during the entire gala. How could she have put anything on you?" On the surface, we hadn't interacted. But Chloe had followed me into the restroom. Inside, she bragged about the car and penthouse Ethan bought her. When I ignored her, she rushed forward to grab me. During the struggle, she spilled something wet onto my sleeve. I didn't think much of it at the time. It wasn't until the dog lunged at me like crazy that I realized what she had done. But even if I explained this a thousand times, Ethan would never believe me. Whatever. I turned around, exhausted, too tired to say another word. Seeing my attitude, Ethan grabbed my wrist. "You must give Chloe an explanation for this!" He was determined to make me apologize. Annoyed, I swung my arm to push him away. Ethan froze. "Stella, you’ve got some attitude now, don't you?" In the past, I was completely submissive to him. I would never have resisted like this. If he even looked slightly displeased, I would immediately search for my own faults, apologize even when I did nothing wrong, and beg for his forgiveness. Ethan grabbed me again. "Apologize first. We'll settle our issues when we get back." He was so strong he was practically dragging me out the door. I struggled with all my might. But as I turned, I accidentally knocked over the heavy wine cabinet. The wine bottles came crashing down. Instantly, my back and left arm were covered in blood. Ethan panicked. "You... you knocked it over yourself." I was in too much pain to speak. Only then did he gently pull me into his arms. "I'll take you to the hospital." I grit my teeth and nodded. When he unlocked the car, a sign in front of the passenger seat caught my eye: [Reserved for Princess Chloe.] It was an acrylic standee featuring a cartoon version of Chloe's face. Ethan's expression changed slightly. "Chloe put that there for fun. I forgot to take it off. Just throw it away." I let out a cold laugh and climbed into the back seat instead. Ethan looked at me with confusion. I knew what he was thinking. Before, I cared so much about Chloe. I couldn't stand her leaving any trace of herself around Ethan. Whenever I found something, I would start a huge fight. But now, I didn't even care about Ethan anymore. What did Chloe have to do with me? Ethan opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped. Sweating from the pain, I urged him, "Just drive." The car merged onto the highway. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, Ethan’s phone rang. It was Chloe. Ethan's eyes softened instantly as he answered. I could hear Chloe crying on the other end. "Ethan, Buster is sick again. I'm so scared of losing him. Can you please come and be with me?" Ethan looked at me. I was pale from the blood loss. "We're already at the hospital. Go get bandaged up yourself, and wait for me here when you're done. Chloe needs me, I have to go." He didn't stay for even a single second. Watching his retreating back, I let out a self-deprecating laugh. The blood was drying on my fingertips. A nurse at the front desk noticed me and quickly led me to get the deep cuts cleaned. Going to the hospital twice in one day left me completely drained. I had just fallen asleep after getting home when Ethan burst in, furious. He ripped the blanket off me, his eyes blazing. "Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the hospital? Do you know how long I looked for you there?" "I was running around like an idiot while everyone stared. And you didn't even answer your phone. Do you think you can just do whatever you want now?" ###2 I looked at him coldly. He was always like this. No matter what happened, he would always blame me first. Back when I loved him, I always felt that I wasn't doing enough. But what did I do wrong? I had waited for him at the hospital for five whole hours. I only took a cab back when I couldn't bear the pain anymore. During that time, he was the one who didn't pick up my calls. Besides, it takes twenty minutes to get from the hospital to our house, and twenty minutes from Chloe's apartment to our house. He hadn't gone back to the hospital to pick me up at all. Staring into his angry eyes, I felt nothing but a cold stranger's presence. He used to cherish me so much. When did he start to change? Thinking back, it probably started when Chloe joined the company. A stagnant marriage could never compete with the thrill of someone young and fresh. I lowered my eyes and reminded him, "During our last fight, you blocked me. I'm still on your block list." Ethan froze. His anger slowly faded. Yet, he didn't show any embarrassment at having his lie exposed. He calmly handed me a half-opened box of organic tea bags. "You lost a lot of blood. This is raspberry leaf tea. Drink some; it's good for recovery." Looking at the opened box, I recalled Chloe’s Snapchat story from earlier. [Who else gets their partner to hand-brew organic tea for them during their period?] The picture showed Ethan busy in the kitchen. But Ethan was a wealthy heir who had never touched a kettle in his life. My periods were always incredibly painful. I once begged him to make me a cup of warm tea. He had scoffed, "How old are you? Still whining about period cramps like a teenager? Grow up." He had left me writhing in pain to spend the night with Chloe. And only when Chloe didn't need him anymore did he reluctantly return to my side. I was always left with Chloe’s scraps. Just like this half-opened box of tea. I pulled the blanket back over myself. "I don't want it. Throw it away." Ethan flew into a rage. "Chloe was nice enough to let me bring this back for you, and you're just throwing it away? Stella, stop throwing tantrums!" "Aren't you just bitter because I'm nice to Chloe? But am I not good to you?" "I took you to the hospital. I brought you tea. Even though you terrified Chloe and Buster, I didn't even hold you accountable. Why are you never satisfied?" I wanted to laugh. I hadn't even touched Chloe's dog. In fact, my arm had been bitten straight through. But he couldn't see my bleeding wounds; his mind was entirely occupied by Chloe's tears. Too exhausted to argue, I closed my eyes. Ethan got even angrier. "Chloe was right. You're just a greedy, foolish woman!" "You throw tantrums over nothing and have zero tolerance. If I really wanted to bring another woman into this house, do you think you'd still be sitting in the position of Mrs. Miller?" "I must have been blind to marry a paranoid, ungrateful psycho like you." "You can't even compare to one of Chloe's fingernails!" His words grew harsher. If this had been the past, even if I only had one breath left, I would have dragged myself up to argue with him, desperate to salvage my image in his eyes. But now, I didn't take a single word of his to heart. I reached out, put on my AirPods, turned over, and peacefully went to sleep. Ethan let out a few heavy breaths before slamming the door and storming out. The bang shook the house. In the past, every time we fought, he would run straight to Chloe. The moment he left, anxiety would keep me awake all night. I would constantly reflect on myself, looking for any mistake I might have made, then humbly apologize and cry, begging for his forgiveness. But that night, I slept incredibly well. So well that even though Ethan disappeared for five consecutive days, I didn't feel anything was wrong. For those five days, we had no contact. The next time I saw him was on a mutual friend’s social media. The friend had posted a photo. Both Ethan and Chloe were in it. They were standing close together. Chloe’s head was resting on Ethan’s shoulder, and Ethan’s arm was wrapped around her waist. They looked incredibly intimate. I tapped the "like" button. ###3 Almost the next second, a text from Ethan popped up on Snapchat. [Mark is getting married this Thanksgiving. We're having a pre-wedding celebration. I'll pick you up in a bit.] A few seconds later, he sent another one. [It's mostly a guys' hangout, and I shouldn't really bring you, but it's good for you to get out and socialize. Stop being so shut-in all the time.] A guys' hangout? Then what was Chloe doing there? I sneered and didn't reply. A few minutes later, Ethan called. I wanted to decline, but Mark took the phone and begged me to join. Since Mark worked at Ethan's company and had helped me a lot in the past, I couldn't say no. I drove myself there. The location was a mountain peak where a group of people was planning to go bungee jumping. Seeing me, Mark called out, "Hey, Stella!" He always called Ethan "boss," but this warm greeting gave me plenty of respect in front of everyone. Chloe’s face turned sour. She forced a fake smile. "I'm so glad you could make it, Stella." "You can help Ethan and me take some photos later. These guys have terrible camera skills." I glanced at her. "My camera skills are great, but I don't shoot trash." In the past, our dynamic was always her throwing passive-aggressive jabs, and me taking it out on Ethan. Because I felt Ethan was the one truly responsible. But she wasn't innocent either. This was the first time I confronted her directly in front of everyone, humiliating her without mercy. Chloe's face flushed red. Ethan's eyes darkened with anger. The silence was deafening as everyone stared at each other. Seeing the tension, Mark quickly tried to smooth things over. "Well, taking photos is a small task. We don't need to waste Stella’s talent on that." "Everyone knows Stella is our company's chief designer, right? We can't waste her skills." The others immediately chimed in. "I heard that 'Etoile' in Paris has reached out to Stella several times. That's the holy grail for designers, right, Stella?" I nodded. "Yes, we are in talks. If it's a good fit, I'll move there." Mark smiled. "That's amazing!" He wanted to say more. But Ethan snapped first. He marched over to me and demanded, "Why didn't I know about this?" "Are you planning to leave my company? Don't forget, you still work for me. Did I give you permission to resign?" I looked at his angry face with cold detachment. "My career has nothing to do with you." Ethan’s chest heaved with rage. Fearing Ethan would cause a scene, Mark quickly dragged him away, saying the bungee jumping gear was ready. Chloe followed them, purring, "Don't be mad, Ethan. Let's do a tandem jump together." Ethan looked at me, then at her, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Chloe threw a provocative smirk my way. "Stella, you'll have to jump alone later. Don't be too scared!" Mark intervened. "Stella is afraid of heights. She can just wait for us up here." Chloe smirked. "But the best way to conquer fear is to face it." "Fear of heights can really limit your life. Why doesn't Stella go first? Once you jump, your phobia will probably disappear." I took a step back. "No." Chloe immediately pouted. "Oh... but Stella, I'm only saying this for your own good." She looked at Ethan with puppy-dog eyes. She might as well have said out loud that I was spitting on her good intentions. Ethan's displeasure was written all over his face. "Chloe is trying to help you. Just jump once. It’s not going to kill you." Forcing someone with a severe phobia of heights to bungee jump—how was that any different from trying to kill them? I shook my head firmly. "I said no. If she wants to be helpful, you guys can enjoy it yourselves." Tears welled up in Chloe’s eyes. "Stella, do you still hate me? But about Buster..." She stopped halfway, easily fueling Ethan's anger. Thinking about my "rebellion," Ethan’s face went completely black. "You terrified Chloe and her dog, yet she holds no grudges and still tries to help you. How dare you act so high and mighty?" "Afraid of heights? You didn't seem afraid when you took flights. Today, I'm going to see if a single jump can actually kill you!" He grabbed my hair, dragged me over, and coldly ordered the instructor to buckle us both into the safety harness. The cold wind blew up from the canyon. My legs immediately turned to jelly. I trembled and begged, "No... Ethan, please, I really can't..." He ignored my pleas completely and pushed me off the ledge. Suddenly airborne, the terrifying sensation of freefall hit me like a tidal wave. I was too terrified to even scream. Instinctively, I tried to hold onto Ethan for safety, but his face remained cold as he repeatedly pushed my hands away. I felt like the air was tearing me apart. Tears and sweat covered my face. It was only a one-minute jump, but to me, it felt like an eternity. When we finally got back to the platform, I collapsed on the ground like a dying animal, shaking violently, my face whiter than paper. I was soaked in cold sweat, my stomach cramping so hard I wanted to die. I could feel a warm fluid starting to flow between my legs. But Chloe acted as if she was the one who was terrified, crying loudly in Ethan's arms. Ethan comforted her gently. "Don't cry. This is what she deserves." "If we don't teach her a lesson, she'll just keep bullying you." "Don't worry. If she doesn't learn, I'll punish her again." Then, he walked over to me, looking down at me coldly. "Do you know your place now? Apologize to Chloe immediately, or I'll push you off again to build your courage." I didn't even have the strength to stand up. I could only raise my head slowly, staring at him with bloodshot eyes, and squeezed out a sentence with all my remaining strength. "Ethan... I want a divorce!" In an instant, the surrounding area went dead silent. Ethan looked at me in disbelief. "What did you say?" I wanted to laugh, but my head was spinning violently, as if I were being dragged into a deep abyss. I struggled to crawl up from the ground, but after only a few steps, darkness consumed me, and I fainted. Before I lost consciousness completely, I heard Mark and the others screaming. "Stella fainted!" "Oh my god, there's so much blood on the ground." "Don't just stand there! Call 911!"