Chapter 4
Ethan's POV:
"Noah, who were you just talking to?"
I heard noise from the hallway and stepped out of my study. I caught Noah pulling his smartwatch away from his ear, hastily pressing the screen dark.
Our eyes met for a split second before he looked away.
"Spam call. So annoying," he muttered.
He puffed out his cheeks and bolted to his room. The door slammed shut behind him.
I frowned slightly but didn't dwell on it.
Back in the study, I returned to my documents. A few minutes later, the housekeeper knocked and came in to clean.
"Sir, I found this under your desk. It looks like a letter from Mrs. Miller."
I took the envelope from her. My name was written on it, but the paper was creased and smudged with dirty footprints.
I ran through Chloe's recent behavior in my head. Not picking Noah up from school. Not coming home. No phone calls. A grown woman playing at running away like some kind of childish game.
Irritation flared in my chest. I tossed the letter back at the housekeeper.
"Throw it out. I don't have time for this."
She stood there, clutching the envelope awkwardly. "Sir, should I leave it on your desk just in case—"
"I said throw it out." I didn't look up from my papers.
She didn't argue. She left quietly, letter in hand.
I tried to focus on the documents in front of me, but the words blurred together. They jumped around on the page, impossible to absorb.
Usually around this time, Chloe would bring in a cup of hot tea. Her voice would be soft as she asked when I planned to rest.
Tonight, the only sound was the rustle of paper. The silence echoed.
I picked up my phone, thinking I'd send her a message. My finger hovered over the screen. I typed a few words, then deleted them one by one.
Why should I be the one to reach out first?
She was the one who disappeared without a word, taking Anna with her. She was the one who stopped picking Noah up from school. She was the one who broke the rules of this household.
I set my phone face-down on the desk and forced my attention back to work.
Chloe's POV:
Early the next morning, I dressed Anna and made up my mind. Today, I'd handle her school transfer.
"Mommy, are we really going to Grandma and Grandpa's house?" Anna looked up at me, blinking.
"Yes, sweetheart. We'll see them very soon." I crouched down and smoothed out her little collar. "But Mommy has some things to take care of today, so I'm going to drop you off at Lydia's house first, okay?"
Lydia Davis was my best friend from college. In this entire city, she was the only person who knew I was married and had kids.
"Yay! Ms. Davis said she'd teach me how to paint!" Anna beamed.
When I dropped Anna off, Lydia opened the door and immediately frowned.
"Chloe, what's going on? You wouldn't tell me anything over the phone."
I stayed quiet for a moment, then gave her the short version of what had happened over the past few days.
When I finished, her eyes went wide. She pulled me over to the sofa.
"When you told me you were marrying him, what did I say? I told you this would happen. That man was never worth it."
I watched the indignation flash across Lydia's face. I stayed silent.
What I didn't tell her was that after Vivian came back, Ethan had been coming home less and less. At first, he'd make excuses about working late. Then he stopped bothering with excuses at all. He'd stay out all night.
I'd had my suspicions. But every time I was about to confront him, I'd remember the fight I'd had with my family when I insisted on marrying him. Looking back now, my stubbornness felt like a cruel joke.
Lydia's voice rose. "And that Vivian—claiming she's sick and doesn't want to leave things unfinished? Please. If Ethan was still the broke guy he used to be, you think she'd come crawling back?"
Broke. Right. When Ethan was fighting his older brother for control of the company, he'd run into serious financial trouble. I'd secretly funneled my mother's trust fund through a third-party company to bail him out.
Later, when his brother paid the media to smear him, I used my connections in the design world to turn the tide.
Even that business plan he'd presented at his first board meeting—the one that made him look brilliant—I'd spent seven nights helping him revise it.
But all Ethan remembered was that his mother had told him to marry a woman named Chloe Reed. That was it.
"What about Ethan's mom? Does she know you're getting divorced?"
I shook my head. "I haven't told her yet."
Ethan's mother was the only person who knew the full story.
That's why she'd always been kind to me.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about this anymore." I stood up from the sofa. "I still need to handle Anna's school transfer."
"Transfer? Where to?"
"Reed Group's private kindergarten. Anna's still a Reed, after all."
Lydia let out a long breath. "You're too soft-hearted."
I smiled faintly but didn't say anything. Under her concerned gaze, I left.
At the kindergarten, I filled out the transfer paperwork and carefully explained Noah's situation to the teacher. His immune system was weak. He needed to be careful about what he ate. He was sensitive and needed encouragement.
The teacher took notes patiently. Once I'd finished, I turned to leave.
Just as I reached the gate, a black Maybach pulled up silently.
Ethan stepped out of the driver's seat. Noah hopped out of the back, backpack slung over his shoulder.
Father and son both turned their eyes on me.
Noah froze for a second. Then his expression shifted into that familiar look—like the whole world owed him something. He shuffled over slowly.
"Mom, you came to see me, right? I knew it. You just weren't picking me up these past few days to make me worry, didn't you?"
I stared at this smug little boy in front of me. My heart clenched painfully, so tight I could barely breathe.
"I'm here to handle Anna's school transfer."
"Transfer?" Noah's brow furrowed. "Why is Anna transferring?"
"Because we're moving."
Noah's face flushed red. I couldn't tell if it was anger or something else. "You're lying! You're just trying to scare me!"
I didn't look at him. I turned to leave.
Suddenly, Ethan was standing in front of me. He looked down at me, his brow furrowed, impatience practically spilling out of his eyes.
"Chloe, what the hell are you trying to pull?"
"I'm not pulling anything."
A cold smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Not pulling anything? You disappear with Anna, stop picking Noah up from school, and now you're transferring her without asking me?"
"Ask you?" I looked up at him—this face I'd loved for seven years. "I need your permission to transfer Anna?"
"Of course you do. I'm her father."
"Father?" I let out a quiet laugh. "Ethan, when was the last time you spent time with Anna? Do you even know her favorite color? Do you know what she's allergic to?"
Ethan's lips parted, but no words came out.
"You don't deserve to be called a father."
The moment I said it, I realized I didn't hesitate at all. I just felt lighter—like I'd finally set down a burden I'd been carrying for too long.
Ethan's expression went ice-cold.
We stood there, locked in a standoff. The air felt tight, suffocating.
Then the teacher who'd helped me earlier came hurrying out.
"Ms. Reed, please wait a moment."
She jogged over and handed me a document. "You still need to sign one more line on the transfer form."
I took the pen and signed quickly. As she took the papers back, she asked casually, "By the way, Anna's official transfer is next Friday, correct? She won't be coming back after that?"
I nodded. "That's right. Thank you for taking care of her."
