My Ex-Husband's Regrets, My Empire

Today was Olivia Ross and Ethan Wood's seventh wedding anniversary.

When she got home to prepare dinner, Ethan and their son Martin Wood had not returned yet.

The phone on the table vibrated. It was a call from Ethan's assistant.

As soon as the call connected, an urgent voice came through. "Ms. Ross, something's happened."

Assistant Pax was always calm, so hearing him this flustered made Olivia tense up immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Ms. Ross, Mr. Wood took a strange woman and Martin to the amusement park today. Paparazzi got photos, and they're already trending online. The company can't contain it."

Her heart sank; she already knew what it meant. Her elbow hit the table, the wine bottle tipped over, and red wine spilled onto the floor.

Pax paused, then continued awkwardly. "You know, Mr. Wood has always had this perfect family man image in the entertainment industry. If this keeps spreading, I'm afraid..."

"I understand."

Olivia looked out the window, where fireworks from the nearby amusement park bloomed.

But she knew everything had changed.

"Ms. Ross, could you post a photo with Mr. Wood on Twitter to help clear this up?"

"Okay."

After hanging up, a trending topic notification popped up on her phone screen.

#Breaking News! Oscar-winning actor Ethan Wood holding hands with rising actress! Is wife Olivia Ross becoming a public laughing stock?

She scrolled with her fingertip, feeling no strong emotions inside.

She knew that today was the second day since Ethan's first love Hestia had returned to the country, and also her twenty-eighth birthday.

The photo was slightly blurry. Light fell across Ethan’s profile,his sharp nose casting a shadow. He smiled at Hestia with unmistakable affection—so clear it could be felt even through the screen.

Hestia showed only her back, dark hair hanging to her waist, slim waist and long legs, holding Martin who was smiling brightly. The two looked like a perfect match.

The comments section had already exploded, with most netizens and fans taking Ethan and Hestia's side.

"I'm shipping this couple! Way better than that manager who climbed her way up!"

“Never liked Olivia anyway. This woman looks gorgeous—even from behind. Much better than the wife.”

Some defended Olivia, maybe one comment out of a hundred. "Seven years together ending like this? The entertainment industry really is complicated."

Olivia let out a long breath, put down her phone, and accepted it calmly.

In everyone's eyes, she was just the clown who had stolen seven years of happiness from Hestia.

She and Ethan had been college classmates, same club, same class. Everyone knew she had pursued him for three years.

But he had never given her a kind look.

Hestia had been his childhood sweetheart, the perfect match who almost made it from campus to the wedding dress.

Unfortunately, things went off track.

At a dinner party, Ethan drank heavily after arguing with Hestia.

Someone had slipped something into his drink.

Worried about him, Olivia rushed to his room… only to spend the night with him.

They had been caught at the Wood mansion.

Ethan's grandmother Mira Collins insisted on sending someone to propose marriage, forcing Ethan to marry her.

At the time, Olivia cried desperately, trying to explain. But Ethan believed it was all her scheme and despised her ever since.

It had been wrong from the very beginning.

The next day, Hestia slapped Olivia hard in front of him, crying and calling her a homewrecker.

Ethan stood aside watching coldly, his eyes full of contempt and anger.

He grabbed her chin furiously. "Olivia, you're really low. Don't dream about marrying into the Wood family. I'll never marry you."

Actually, Olivia did not care whether he married her or not. She had never wanted to marry him anyway.

The man she had truly wanted to marry had died on a snowy night five years ago.

She simply could not bear hearing such cruel words spoken in that cold tone—especially from a face so similar to his.

But in the end, she still became his wife.

Because she got pregnant.

The doctor said her uterine wall was too thin. If she had an abortion, she would lose the chance to be a mother.

When Hestia learned the news, she left the country in anger. Ethan tried everything to make her stay, but failed. Finally, on the day Hestia left, he took Olivia to register their marriage and announced it online.

Only later did Olivia realize she had been nothing more than a pawn in their game. Ethan had merely wanted to provoke Hestia—hoping she would regret leaving and return.

It was time for her to exit.

She just needed to complete one last thing.

Messages continued flooding her phone. Pax urged her again, and the butler from the old residence called, asking where Ethan was.

Olivia rubbed her forehead and opened her photo album to look for pictures with Ethan.

There were pitifully few. In most, Ethan either covered his face or turned away, showing only his profile.

She could not help but open her private album, her heart aching again.

It was her secret, a photo taken beside a gravestone.

The first time she had noticed Ethan’s resemblance was during a grave visit. His features had reminded her so strongly of that person.

But upon closer inspection, they were not truly alike.

After searching for a long time, Olivia finally found a complete photo, though she was not in it.

In the image, Ethan held Martin by the window on a snowy night, both gazing outside. The scene felt warm and peaceful.

She opened her social media account, wrote a caption, and attached a photo of the father and son.

"Between the night sky and the winter snow, you are the most unique view in my eyes."

Public opinion finally started to shift.

"I knew it was paparazzi deliberately using a similar-looking actress to stir things up."

"What's really going on? Mr. Wood, did you cheat or not?"

"Looks like we got excited over nothing. Even the wife cleared it up, everyone move along."

People flooded Ethan’s account with tags and questions, but he did not respond.

No response meant confirmation.

Things temporarily calmed down. Pax sent a thank you message.

Olivia replied briefly, then called Ethan, hoping he could keep a lower profile.

If the rumors spiraled out of control, several brand endorsements could be at risk.

Unexpectedly, it was not Ethan who answered the phone.

The woman's voice on the other end was clear and sweet. It was Hestia.