Love's Ashes Depart the Harbor

My wife, Vivian Moon, was pregnant with her lover’s child.

At our daughter’s funeral, she leaned against him and looked down at me, saying, “Jason is kindhearted. Despite the bad luck, he still came to pay his respects in person. If your daughter’s spirit is watching from heaven, she’ll surely bless the child in my womb to be safe and healthy.”

I said nothing, quietly removed the wedding ring I had worn for six years and walked calmly out of the mourning hall.

The elders tried to mediate, but Vivian sneered with disdain. “Don’t bother with him. After all that fuss, he’ll still end up bowing his head and apologizing to me.”

Upon hearing that, her family burst into laughter.

They shamelessly used me as the subject of a billiondollar bet, betting on when I’d finally break down and grovel at Vivian’s feet, begging her to give me another child.

But what they didn’t know was that the private jet arranged by that person was about to land.

In three hours, I would be leaving Harbor City and I would never return.

——

As I packed my things at the villa, Vivian unexpectedly came home.

Ignoring what I was doing, she calmly took off her coat and said, “Ethan, Jason wants to have deer antler soup.”

I thought of the last time I refused to pour coffee for Jason at the company and was forced by her to kneel all night in front of everyone.

I zipped up my suitcase and obediently walked to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, upon hearing Jason praised the dish as delicious, the coldness on Vivian’s face eased slightly. “Ethan, as long as you treat the child in my belly as your own, I can agree not to divorce you.”

In the past, whenever Vivian mentioned the word “divorce,” I would start breathing heavily, filled with fear and anxiety.

But now, I calmly took out the divorce papers I had long since prepared.

I softly said to her, “Sign it.”

Without even glancing at the document, Vivian raised an eyebrow and sneered. “Ethan, do you really think such a petty tactic of retreating to advance will work on me?”

"On the day we got married, I made it clear to you. The only reason I agreed to marry you was because you resembled Jason a little. If you're still planning to cause trouble now, I'll just send you abroad and let you fend for yourself out there."

Before I could even respond, Jason suddenly let out a sharp cry.

Vivian immediately rushed to his side, her face filled with concern. "Jason, what’s wrong?"

"Vivian, I feel really itchy all over..."

Even though Jason’s acting was laughably poor, Vivian still flew into a rage and stormed over to me, demanding to know in a harsh voice what harmful thing I had put in the deer antler soup.

Before I could explain, her expression turned cold as she forced the remaining soup into my mouth.

Allergic to deer antler, I soon collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

When Vivian saw the disgusting red rashes spreading across my body, she frowned in disgust and kicked me away from Jason.

Half an hour later, after returning from the emergency room, I heard heated sounds of passion coming from the master bedroom.

“Vivian, don’t twist around so much, be careful of our baby...”

“Don’t worry, Jason. I’m exactly three months along today. It’ll be fine.”

Three months ago was my wedding anniversary with Vivian.

So her socalled overtime that night had just been an excuse to secretly meet Jason.

I walked into the study and shredded the family portrait Vivian had placed on the desk, then threw the pieces away.

I found the safe, entered Jason’s birthday and smoothly retrieved my identification documents.

Without looking back, I walked out the front gates of the villa.

At the security booth, the guard dutifully asked, “Sir, where are you headed? I’ll arrange a driver to take you.”

I shook my head. “No need. The car I called is already wait…”

Before I could finish my sentence, the phone inside the security booth suddenly rang, sharp and unexpected.

Half an hour later.

Bound to a hospital bed with restraint straps, I heard Vivian arguing outside the door with her doctor friend, Jenna Deale.

"Wouldn't it be perfect if he lost the ability to have children?" Vivian said coolly and indifferently. "The death of our daughter proves Ethan is unfit to be a father. Removing his kidney will also kill any delusion he has about me ever bearing him another child. A shallow, useless husband like him was clinging to power and willing to do anything he's told, as long as he's guaranteed a lifetime of food and comfort."

Hearing the door open, I quietly closed my eyes.

My cheek felt a slight tickle. It was Vivian brushing the messy hair from my forehead.

"Ethan, as long as you obediently cooperate and get this little surgery done, I can give whatever you want."

After all these years of marriage, it was the first time she had ever spoken to me so gently. But I completely ignored her and calmly looked straight at Jenna:

"Dr. Deale, please proceed with the surgery as soon as possible. I have things to take care of later."

"Something to take care? What could a married man possibly have to do this late at night?"

With her red lips slightly parted and her expression cold, Vivian seemed like she had more to say, but her phone rang at that very moment.

It was Jason’s custom ringtone.

“Jason, don’t be scared. I’m coming to be with you right now.”

Watching her hurry away, Jenna’s eyes filled with even deeper sympathy for me.

“Ethan, if you regret it now, it’s still not too late to stop.”

I thought of how Vivian had covered my father’s cancer treatment expenses for ten years. With a faint smile, I shook my head at Jenna and simply said, “Dr. Deale, I’d like to ask you for a favor...”

Two hours later…

As I slowly woke from anesthesia, the first thing I saw was Vivian sitting by the bed.

Seeing the bright satisfaction on her face, it was obvious that Jason's transplant surgery had gone smoothly.

“Ethan, you still haven’t told me what reward you want?”

I lazily blinked once and replied, “Then I’ll trouble you to peel me an apple.”

My polite and courteous tone made Vivian pause in slight confusion.

After a few seconds of thought, assuming I must be starving, she ordered takeout from several of my favorite restaurants.

But even faced with a table full of my favorite dishes, I didn’t so much as lift a spoon.

Seeing this, Vivian, who rarely sat down to eat with me, frowned and quietly set down her plate and spoon.

"Ethan, if the food on the table doesn't suit your taste, you can tell me what you want. I'll have someone...”

“It’s fine, I’m not hungry at all.”

As soon as I finished speaking, my phone rang. The caller ID was 10086.

I picked up the phone and walked into the bathroom. As soon as I answered, I heard that person's voice, filled with a pitiful tone, asking, “Ethan, I’ve already arrived at the airport in Haventon, but I didn’t see you. Are you... still unable to let go of her?”

“No, I just ran into some unexpected issues on the road. It caused a delay.”

“What happened? Are you hurt? Send me your location, I’ll come right over...”

Interrupting their overthinking, I simply said…

“I can handle it myself. So, can you wait for me?”

Upon receiving an unhesitating affirmative reply from the other side, I lowered my head, barely touching my lips, when Vivian suddenly barged in without a sound.

“Ethan, who are you hiding in here talking to on the phone?”

I swiftly ended the call, then calmly met her gaze. “A friend.”

A friend? What kind of friend would need to hide from their wife to make a phone call?

Vivian sneered, about to speak and question me, but at that moment, a sudden, thunderous sound rang out from outside the window.

At the sound, Vivian immediately strode toward the VIP ward.

Ever since we got married, whenever she would leave me behind to comfort Jason, who was scared of the thunder, I would throw a fit and refuse to let him go.

But now, halfway down the hall, the woman suddenly realized I hadn’t chased after her. A strange, sour feeling surged in her chest, causing her to instinctively furrow her brows.

However, she didn’t think much of it and simply assumed I was being unexpectedly wellbehaved.

As a reward, when I was discharged from the hospital the next day, she wasted no time in dragging me to the shopping mall, allowing me to follow behind her and Jason like a lapdog, accompanying them as they went shopping.

Even though all the sales girls in the mall knew I was Vivian’s legal husband, when they saw her clinging intimately to Jason, they still obsequiously handed the shopping bags to me, thanking me for “honoring” their store with my presence.

As I staggered from the weight of the bags and fell down the escalator, Vivian was in the baby store with Jason, picking out children’s items.

When Jason hesitated between pink or blue, she fondly pulled out her black card and bought out the entire store.

Just as I, battered and disheveled, walked into the store, I heard the shop assistant say to Jason with heartfelt admiration.

“Mr. Woods, you’re so lucky to have such a wonderful wife. The baby’s not even born yet and it already has the most loving mother in the world.”

Staring at the little starpatterned hair tie around my wrist, I suddenly recalled that day when our daughter, Yura, was rushed into the ER with acute meningitis.

I had called Vivian 199 times. Her phone was on, yet she didn’t answer even once.

Inside the emergency room, our daughter whispered to me, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s, “Daddy, I won’t sneak milk candies anymore.”

I cried as I gently stroked her face. “Why would you say that, baby?”

“Because… Mommy must be mad if I wasn’t obedient… That’s why she doesn’t want to come see me. Dad… I’m sorry… I'm such a useless child. I couldn’t help you get Mommy’s love.”

As my daughter lay dying, I knelt with no dignity at the doorstep of Jason’s apartment, begging him to let Vivian come with me to the hospital just for a moment.

What I got instead was Jason summoning bodyguards to pin me to the ground and slap me over and over.

By the time the doctor called to say my daughter had passed, Vivian had just woken up and slowly opened the door.

She looked at my swollen face, too bruised to form words and said indifferently, "I told you not to bother Jason. This is the price you pay for not behaving yourself."

Snapping out of my thoughts, I dropped all the shopping bags and turned to leave. But Vivian coldly grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the luxury watch store on the top floor.

"Ethan, haven’t you always been whining about wanting a watch?"

Watching her grip my wrist and casually start picking out watches for me, Jason quietly clenched his jaw.

He squeezed in between Vivian and me, wrapped his arm around her waist and gave me a mocking smile.

"Ethan, if it weren't for your selfless kidney donation, my body might’ve already collapsed. Vivian, how about we treat Ethan to a nice dinner tonight to show our thanks?"

Vivian gently helped Jason smooth out his bangs with a tender look in her eyes. "My precious Jason, whatever you say goes. I’ll listen to everything you want."

Thinking about the documents I’d left near the villa, I didn’t turn down Jason’s invitation.

On the way home, sitting in the front passenger seat, I clearly heard Vivian and Jason in the back, indulging in their passions.

While stoking the flames of lust, Jason chuckled mischievously and teased Vivian’s growing appetite. "Vivian, could you be a little more mindful of the situation? What if Ethan up front finds out?"

Vivian bit Jason’s ear with a low laugh, all while sneaking glances at me several times through the rearview mirror.

When she noticed that I was completely ignoring them and just playing on my phone, the same sense of irritation that had gripped her last night outside the bathroom door returned, when she overheard me whispering to someone else.

"Ethan, get me a tissue."

She stopped what she was doing and deliberately held her wet hands in front of me.

Without changing expression, I handed her a tissue and was about to go back to my mobile game to pass the time when I heard Vivian’s displeased voice ask me what I was looking at.

Before I could respond, she suddenly snatched my phone.

"Ethan, why did your lock screen change?"

She noticed the family photo of the three of us, which had been there for years, had inexplicably been replaced by a random system image.

For some reason, her face darkened.

Seeing that I had no intention of answering, Vivian coldly threw the phone back at me.

When the car reached halfway up the mountain, Jason suddenly said he wanted to return to the office.

In response, Vivian directly shoved me out of the car and coldly ordered me to go back to the villa first and prepare dinner for Jason.

Two hours later, with my heels rubbed raw, I finally retrieved my documents at the villa entrance.

Just as I was about to leave, a battered delivery truck suddenly appeared.

Two burly men jumped out and, without giving me a chance to resist, forcibly abducted me.

Inside a desolate mining site, barely clinging to life, I saw Jason, his eyes full of mockery.

He viciously ground my hand beneath his expensive leather shoe, but failed to get a single cry of pain out of me.

Jason curled his lips in hatred and sneered. “Ethan, why are you so damned pathetic?”

“We already have a child together and yet you cling to Vivian like a damn fly, acting pitiful, fishing for sympathy, as if she’d really take care of a useless wreck like you for the rest of your life.”

“What a joke. No matter how hard you try to seduce her, the only man she truly loves… is me. You pathetic bastard! What the hell are you smirking about?”

“I’m laughing at how you’re looking for trouble for no reason. All that effort is for nothing.”

Infuriated by my cold, disdainful attitude, Jason slapped me hard across the face twice. Then, smiling with a twisted glint in his eyes, he said, “Ethan, I bet you still don’t know why your daughter suddenly fell ill and died, do you? On her birthday, I joked with her. I told her: if she was brave enough to eat an entire snot worm, her beloved mommy would come home right away and blow out the birthday candles with her.”

"I really didn’t expect your daughter to be dumb enough to actually do it. While she was in agony from the stomach pain, she secretly called Vivian behind your back. But Vivian, just to enjoy a movie with me, didn’t even care. She told the girl to behave and go to sleep, then hung up.”

In a sudden burst of fury, I grabbed Jason by the neck, using every ounce of strength I had to drag him toward the depths of the mine, toward the area rigged with explosives.

As Jason screamed for help, his two thugs rushed over and began to beat me savagely, raining punches and kicks on me.

In the chaos, someone accidentally stepped on the detonator and the decaying mine exploded with a thunderous roar, shaking like an earthquake.

Amid the rumbling collapse, I heard a voice pierce through the dust and debris.

“Ethan!”

It was Vivian.

The next thing I heard was the sound of police officers trying to stop her.

"Miss Moon! You can't go in! This mine is about to collapse!"

"I don't care! Let go of me! I need to find Ethan!"

Ignoring their warnings, she dashed into the mine and before long, she found me.

Before she could even show any signs of relief, she heard Jason's desperate cry.

"Vivian, my leg..."

The moment she saw Jason, all her attention shifted to him. Her eyes filled with concern as she rushed to his side. "Jason! How did you end up here?"

With tears in her eyes, she gently helped him up, not even sparing a glance in my direction and without hesitation, she left me behind.

Two hours later...

After confirming that Jason was not seriously injured, she returned to the collapsed mine. She asked everyone, but no one knew where I had gone.

At the private VIP lounge at the No. 1 helipad.

I had just finished my shower when Vivian's call came in. I was busy drying my hair and didn't have the time to answer.

Then, she sent a message.

[Don't throw a childish tantrum. No one is going to pamper you. By the way, Jason's sunglasses were left on my bedside table. You must bring them to the airport by 4 PM this afternoon.]

I didn’t reply and directly blocked her.

From now on, there would be no place for Vivian in my world.

The next day, at the airport boarding gate.

"Vivian, do you not want to go with me to relax and watch the game anymore?"

Seeing Jason's eyes filled with hidden grievance, Vivian curled her lips into a smile and gently squeezed his hand, soothing him. "How could that be, Jason? Aren't we already waiting for the boarding?"

"But you've been looking around restlessly and you seem really upset. Vivian, if you really don't want to go, I can go by myself."

Jason took a step back, pouting.

He had expected the woman to reassure him again, promising that she would go with him. But this time, Vivian pursed her lips, thought for a few seconds and then softly said, "Alright, you fly ahead first. Once I'm done with some work at the company, I'll come join you."

In fact, the recent company matters didn’t require her to stay behind at all.

Vivian couldn't explain why she suddenly didn't want to go on vacation.

Was it because I was sulking with her?

No, that couldn't be it.

In her heart, I had always been just a standin for Jason. How could she neglect the true love of her life for someone so insignificant like me?

Seeing Jason staring at her in surprise, Vivian gave him a perfunctory kiss on the forehead, repeatedly assuring him that once she finished her work, she would immediately fly over to accompany him to the game.

After watching Jason board the plane, she coldly dialed the home landline, asking the servant, "Is Jason still asleep? It's already this late, you need to wake him up and tell him to come to the company to meet me."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before the servant nervously answered, “Mr. Chow didn't come back at all last night."

Upon hearing this, Vivian was first stunned, then let out a cold laugh. "Very well, since he doesn't want to come back, delete his fingerprints from the password lock. Remember to notify everyone. Without my permission, no one is allowed to let him in."

After hanging up the phone, Vivian returned to the company, her expression unchanged as she threw herself into work.

Five days later, late at night.

After finishing a key project, the woman hurriedly returned home, only to see a man sleeping on the large bed in the bedroom.

"You like to act so high and mighty, throwing tantrums at me, right? Just a few days and you can't resist..." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him up. But before Vivian could finish her sentence, she was stunned by the man's face.

"Jason... why are youhere?"

"I was feeling really bored alone, so I thought I'd fly back to surprise you." Jason, with reddened eyes, asked her, “Vivian, did you just mistake me for Ethan?"

"Sorry, Jason, I drank too much tonight, that's why I acted like that."

Vivian, who had never touched alcohol, was irritated after trying to console Jason for a while. Only when the man fell asleep did she take off her dress and walk into the bathroom.

When she saw my toiletries, Vivian furrowed her brow and pinched the bridge of her nose.

How many days had it been already? Could it be that I really have no intention of returning during this time? But this weekend was her birthday. Every year around this time, I, who was particularly attentive to rituals, always prepare a cake and a birthday surprise for her with my own hands. This year would certainly be no exception.

Thinking of this, Vivian, who had been about to send me a message just a moment ago, snorted coldly and turned off her phone screen.

On Vivian's birthday night, as she walked into the party suite holding Jason's hand, she immediately heard her group of girlfriends teasing and joking.

"Oh my, why are the bride and groom so late?"

"Do we even need to ask? Look at Vivian's lips, we all know she's probably been secretly feeding Jason lipstick again."

Amid the lively atmosphere, Vivian lightly smiled as she scanned the room.

When she realized I wasn’t there, the curve of her lips gradually faded.

After a few rounds of drinks, someone, with a loose tongue, casually mentioned, "What time is it and our male pet still hasn’t made an appearance?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly chilled.

Taking a small sip of whiskey, Vivian, with a smile that was neither here nor there, asked the person, "Oh? You seem to care quite a bit about Ethan?"

"No, no, I just remembered last year when you made us force Ethan to drink, all the way until he vomited bile... It was, uh, pretty funny..."

Upon hearing this, Jason called over the waiter, instructing them to play last year’s video of me drunkenly making a fool of myself on the big screen, the footage rolling in the background.

As laughter echoed from the group of friends, Vivian expressionlessly sent a message. [Ethan, where are you?]

The sudden appearance of a red dot made the woman instinctively blink twice, doubting whether she had seen it correctly.

Jason asked her what was wrong.

Vivian chuckled lightly, muttered something about feeling a bit suffocated from drinking too much, then quickly exited the suite. Finding a quiet corner, she dialed my number.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service..."

No matter how many times she redialed, she received the same result.

Before Vivian could figure out what was happening, Jason suddenly hugged her from behind and laughingly led her back to the suite.

"Vivian, your birthday cake is here. Come in and make a wish."

The ninetiered cake was extravagant and luxurious, clearly not something I would have made.

Yet Vivian, unwilling to give up, asked the waiter, "Who ordered this cake?"

"Miss Moon, the cake was personally ordered by Mr. Woods for you."

Upon hearing this, Vivian secretly gripped her phone tighter.

After she and Jason blew out the candles, the others began to present their expensive gifts.

A milliondollar necklace, a sports car key, shares in a new enterprise...

But what Jason gave was a baby gender test report.

"Vivian, I secretly had the doctor do the test without telling you. We're having a son."

"That's great, Ethan, we..."

Before she could finish, Vivian suddenly realized she had called the wrong name.

The room fell into sudden silence.

Time seemed to freeze as every second passed.

Just as Jason, with red eyes, could no longer hold back and was about to storm out, Vivian suddenly heard Jenna, sitting in the corner, speak to her.

"Vivian, Ethan asked me to give you a gift."