My husband texted me that he had to work late. Bored and alone, I was scrolling through TikTok when I stumbled upon a video posted ten minutes ago by a girl I went to college with. "My dream guy wants to take me to Hawaii, but he's afraid his wife and family will get suspicious." "Any ideas, guys?" I opened the comments. The internet was full of helpful souls. The top comment suggested: "Have him fake cancer, file for divorce so he 'doesn't drag her down,' and then claim he's going abroad for treatment. The wife stays home to take care of his parents, and he can come back whenever he's done having fun." I chuckled at the absurdity and scrolled past. At 3 AM, my husband came home, looking exhausted and devastated. He slumped onto the sofa and whispered, "Honey, we had mandatory health screenings at work today. They found liver cancer. Stage 4." "I don't want to be a burden to you. Let's get a divorce." I stared at Ethan for a long time. His words... why did they sound exactly like that top comment on TikTok? Could it be...? Was he the "dream guy" that college girl, Chloe, was talking about? I immediately dismissed the thought. Since we got married, Ethan had been the perfect husband—handsome, responsible, and kind. How could he cheat on me? I must be overthinking it. I took a deep breath and walked into his arms. "Ethan, we're husband and wife. We took vows. For richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. I'm not going anywhere." "I don't care what you have. I will never leave you!" Ethan suddenly pushed me away. "Ava, please accept reality!" "I have cancer! It's terminal!" "I only have days to live." "Just... consider this my dying wish." "Please?" Tears streamed down his face. My heart broke seeing him like this. In this situation, I obviously wasn't going to argue. I hugged him tight again and choked out, "Ethan, tell me. What do you want me to do?" "Whatever you want, I'll do it." Ethan wiped his tears, looked up, cupped my face, and said softly with red eyes, "Honey, I wasn't actually working late tonight." "Then why are you back so late?" "I went to see a friend's sister. She went to the same college as us, remember Chloe? She told me there's a new experimental laser therapy in Switzerland that can clear 99.99% of cancer cells." "I didn't know if it was true, so I went to ask her in person." Hearing the name "Chloe" made my heart skip a beat. It was getting harder to deny my suspicion. It was almost certainly him. But I didn't expose him. I didn't question him. Instead, I played along. "And? What did she say?" "She said it's real. But it's expensive. I want to use our savings for the treatment. Even if there's only a tiny hope, I don't want to give up." "Honey, you support me, right?" "Of course I support you!" I nodded and kissed his lips gently. "I can drop everything and go with you." "If it's about money, I'll sell the house, I'll sell my kidney if I have to!" Ethan immediately took two steps back. "You don't know the language there. Besides, Chloe is going with me to help translate. You should stay here and take care of my parents." "This therapy has risks. I might die on the table. So, I need you to lie to my parents for me." "Tell them I died of cancer. If I'm cured, I'll come back and surprise them." I frowned. "You think they'll believe that?" "Don't worry, my parents are gullible. If they ask to see the body, just say I didn't want them to be sad seeing me like that, so you had me cremated and scattered the ashes in the ocean." "You've really thought this through." "Tomorrow, we'll go to the courthouse and divorce. Then I'll fly out." "You're just going for treatment. Why do we have to divorce?" "Chloe said there's a policy there. Single men get a huge discount on the therapy." "Honey, I'm trying to save money for you. Can you understand? It's a fake divorce anyway. When I'm cured, we'll remarry immediately." "As long as it's for your good, I have no objections." "Thank you, honey. I love you so much." Ethan kissed me again, relieved. The next morning, we signed the divorce papers. He said he had to go meet Chloe to finalize the travel plans. Then he left. Less than thirty minutes later. Chloe posted a new TikTok. "Thanks for the advice, guys! My dream guy successfully played the sick card and escaped his controlling wife! We bought tickets to Hawaii!" "I've waited so long for this day. Once we land, I'll update you guys on our happiness!" "Witness our love!" The video included a few photos. No faces, but interlocked hands. I clearly saw the watch on the man's wrist. I bought that for Ethan's birthday last month. If yesterday was suspicion, today was confirmation. The "dream guy" was my husband, Ethan. I felt like a boulder was crushing my chest. I couldn't breathe. We had been so happy for years. I never thought he would betray me for a younger woman. That night, Ethan didn't come home. He texted me saying he was prepping for the trip and they were flying out early. I asked if he wanted me to see him off. He said no. I sent another message, but it went unanswered. I put down my phone and took a deep breath. He was probably wrapped up in Chloe right now. Texting him would just be rude. I tossed and turned all night. The next day, I went to the airport. I saw Ethan and Chloe. They were intimate, laughing, sharing a cookie. They looked more like a married couple than we ever did. Ethan walked right past me without even noticing. I calmly recorded everything on my phone. Only after they boarded did I go home. Meanwhile, Chloe updated again. A photo of their boarding passes. "Hawaii, here we come!" "I think I'm the happiest woman in the world right now." The comments were full of envy and blessings. Chloe replied to them one by one. Someone asked: "What about his wife?" Chloe replied: "Who cares about her? She's a middle-aged hag, sloppy and smells bad." "My guy suffered every day lying next to her." "Now he's free. He belongs only to me." Because Chloe posted videos of herself, everyone knew she was young and hot. No one called her a homewrecker. They all cheered for her "true love." I seethed with anger. I created a burner account and commented: "Don't you care that he abandoned his wife and unborn children?" Two minutes later, she replied. "Haha, that just proves my guy is amazing. Those women were desperate to trap him. They deserved it!" "Aren't you afraid he has kids?" "I don't care. Kids or not, he's mine. Besides, his wife got pregnant before, but I made him convince her to abort it." My blood boiled. Years ago, I was pregnant. Ethan gave me a million reasons to abort it, saying we weren't ready financially. Turns out, someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes. I never dreamed Ethan was this kind of monster. He killed our child. I suppressed the urge to murder someone and typed: "Aren't you afraid of karma for killing a baby?" Chloe replied: "Karma? Haha, don't be funny. There's no such thing." "As long as he belongs to me forever, I'd take a lightning strike." "Gotta go, honeymoon time! Byeee!" She didn't reply again. And I made a decision. A few days later. At dinner, my in-laws asked where Ethan was. I hesitated. "Mom, Dad, Ethan is busy with work." They were suspicious but accepted it. A week later. They got into a car accident. My mother-in-law died on the spot. My father-in-law was critically injured but survived. When he woke up and learned his wife was gone, he broke down. I took care of him in the hospital for two weeks. His most frequent question was: "Where is my son?" I avoided answering. Until one day. I was emptying his bedpan. He suddenly grabbed my hand, tears in his eyes. "Ava, you've been like a daughter to us." "Please, tell me the truth. What happened to Ethan?" "Why can't I reach him? His office said he quit weeks ago." I helped him sit up. I couldn't hide it anymore. I sighed deeply. "Dad... Ethan... he died of cancer. His body was cremated, and his ashes scattered in the sea, just like he wanted." "W-what?" My father-in-law's eyes widened in horror. I wiped my tears and explained the lie Ethan concocted. Stage 4 liver cancer. Didn't want to burden the family. Suffered alone. "Why didn't he tell us?!" "He wanted to protect you." "My son... my wife..." Overwhelmed by the double tragedy, he fainted. When he woke up, he wailed until his voice gave out. Later, I got a text from Ethan from a strange number. "How are my parents? You didn't tell them the truth, right?" I smiled and replied: "I did exactly as you said." "Good girl. Keep covering for me." "Something happened at home. Are you coming back?" "I'm busy. Don't bother me unless the house is burning down." "Handle it yourself." I didn't reply. Ethan. You enjoy your time with Chloe. I sneered at the screen. After that, Ethan cut off all contact. I only saw him in the background of Chloe's TikToks. Back home, my father-in-law fell into a deep depression. He started talking to himself. One day, he called me into his room. He handed me a sealed document bag, his eyes red. "Ava, I can't hold on much longer. Before I lose my mind completely, take this. It's the entire family fortune." I was stunned. "Besides this house, there are two office buildings and a portfolio of stocks." "Two... office buildings?" I stood up in shock. He nodded. He explained that the buildings were actually from Ethan's grandfather. But since his wife's side of the family died out, the grandfather left everything to Ethan. They planned to give it to Ethan once he matured. But now, Ethan was "dead." Hearing this, I almost laughed out loud. God was helping me. Ethan wasn't dead. He was sipping Mai Tais in Hawaii. But looking at my father-in-law's broken face, my conscience pricked me. The son was the monster, not the father. I couldn't do it. After a few days of agonizing, I told him the truth. I told him Ethan wasn't dead. I told him about the fake cancer, the mistress, the Hawaii trip. He listened, then tried to call Ethan like a madman. No answer. He smashed his phone on the floor. "Ava, does Ethan know about the accident?" "I told him." "What did he say?" "He said he was busy and couldn't come back." "Animal!" "I have no son!" He roared in rage. The next day, he took me to see the buildings. I thought they were small commercial lots. They were two 20-story skyscrapers in the business district. My jaw dropped. He told me the total assets were worth over $150 million. I stared at him. Ethan and I scraped by on salaries, saving a few hundred thousand after years of work. And my in-laws were sitting on $150 million? "Ava, that animal doesn't care if we live or die. He's dead to me." "Even if he's alive, I'm giving this to you." "He doesn't deserve a cent!"
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