A Decade Down the Drain

On Valentine’s Day, my husband, Aiden Lambert’s assistant, Eve Scanford, made a new post on her social media feed.

“Ugh, all the hotel rooms are totally booked out while I’m on a business trip during the holiday! Now I’m forced to share a room with my handsome CEO!”

The photo attached to the post was a selfie Eve had taken in the luxurious hotel room. The man behind her was depicted only as a blurry silhouette, wearing nothing but a bath towel. One could easily tell he had an amazing figure, his muscles on full display.

Someone commented, “That man is so sexy!”

Eve replied with a cheeky emoji, “Hehe! I’m definitely not losing out if I get to sleep with him!”

I left a “like” on her comment.

A few minutes later, Eve called me. She cried the whole time, claiming she was just doing it for work and that she wasn’t hinting at anything else.

Aiden grabbed the phone from Eve and began mocking me cruelly. “What, did you lose your temper because we’re sharing a hotel room? You should really do something to enrich your life. Stop spying on the people around me.”

Then, he turned to comfort Eve. “Ignore her. She’s going through menopause right now.”

As I listened to Eve’s amused giggles, I ended the call quietly.

I spent four years secretly crushing on Aiden, another four years dating him, and the last two years being married to him. Now, on the tenth year of loving him, I decided it was time to stop simping over my own husband.

When Aiden got home, I was in the middle of savoring a chocolate cake. Ever since he mocked me for being fat enough to outlast two Eves in public, I had stayed away from desserts for half a year.

Aiden walked over and snatched my cake away rudely. Then, he tossed it into the trash can.

“You’re still gorging on cake even though you’re already this fat!”

He placed a box of Alforian coffee in front of me after that. “This is a gift from Eve. She was so terrified she almost deactivated her social media account. She even insisted on apologizing to you in person.”

As I gazed at the slogan, “Rich and bitter, this coffee is your savior,” printed on the box, I remarked languidly, “This is some great coffee.”

Aiden glanced at me before passing his phone to me.

“Call her right now and thank her. Make sure to apologize to her as well. I’ll consider this water under the bridge once you’ve done all that.

“Look at you; you’re not as well-mannered as a young woman in her early 20s, even though you’re a hag.”

But I remained seated without budging.

Aiden shoved me right away. “Eve has already offered you a token of apology! What are you putting on airs for?”

Since he was furious at me, he used a lot of strength in shoving me. Coincidentally, he had shoved me in my shoulder’s injury.

It was an old injury left behind by the accident where I had rescued Aiden.

I clutched my shoulder while trembling from the pain. It hurt so much that my lips lost their color.

Aiden was starting to panic. “I’ll go grab some painkillers!”

I glanced at him with mixed feelings. At first, I wanted to stop him, but I managed to curb that thought.

My pregnancy report had been stashed in my bag for the past two days. The doctor had specifically reminded me to be very careful whenever I took medicine during my pregnancy.

At first, I planned on surprising Aiden with the news once he got back from his business trip. Now, it seemed that I no longer had to do that.

Aiden quickly fetched the medical kit. He rummaged through it for a few moments before halting in his actions.

“Why can’t I find—”

That was when he stopped speaking. I didn’t miss the flash of realization mixed with guilt crossing his face.

Suddenly, I remembered one of Eve’s comments, which had responded to a particular comment in the comment section.

“My CEO is super caring! He knows that I’m on period, so he brought me ibuprofen!”

If this had happened in the past, I’d have pelted Aiden with endless questions just to find out if he had given my last pack of ibuprofen to Eve.

But this time, I didn’t expose him. I merely said, “I’ll go buy some painkillers.”

Aiden stopped me immediately. “Stop moving around! I’ll—”

His phone began ringing before he could finish his sentence. After glancing at the caller ID, he quickly answered it.

“What’s wrong, Eve?”

Eve’s choked-up voice drifted from the other end of the line.

“Aiden, save me! I attended the Beerstival so that I could have a good time, but a few guys ganged up on me and tried to molest me! I managed to shake them off, but…”

“Damn it! Those bastards!” Aiden shot up to his feet instantly. “Send me your coordinates! I’m heading over right now!”

Eve just kept crying. “I’m so sorry for troubling you at this hour. I bet Mrs. Lambert is going to get angry at me again…”

“As if she’ll do that to you!” Aiden shot me a warning glare upon hearing Eve’s cries.

After ending the call, he rushed to the front door and began changing into his loafers.

“Aiden,” I called out to him.

He turned back to glare at me, his tone dripping with impatience. “Noelle, can you be sensible for once? You heard what happened just now, right? Eve’s in danger right now—”

“You didn’t grab your keys,” I cut him off.

“What?” Aiden looked stunned for a moment.

“You forgot to grab your car keys.” I pointed at the coffee table.

After Aiden obtained the car keys, he looked like he wanted to say something. In the end, he just spat out, “I’m going to check on Eve. I’ll get you your meds on the way home.”

Then, he left the house hurriedly.

Aiden left for a very long time. He never came back.

Time slowly ticked by. The pain had increased so much that I could no longer endure it, so I ordered some painkillers through a delivery app.

I was about to put down my phone when a private message meant for my social media account popped up on the screen. It was from a smurf account with a default profile picture and an auto-generated username. This was the same account that had previously shared the link to Eve’s “staying in the same room as the CEO” post with me.

I just sighed, already knowing what Eve was up to.

After tapping on the link in the private message, a new page popped up, showing the latest post Eve had made an hour ago. She had posted a video titled, “My Prince Charming is my knight in shining armor. He’ll come to my aid on his majestic steed.”

Eve claimed that those drunk hooligans had refused to give up on her, pestering her once again. She said they even drew blades and threatened her.

Aiden had arrived just in time to save her. He ended up blocking a slash for her during the chaos. Thankfully, the injury wasn’t severe, so he didn’t have to go to the hospital.

At the end of the video, Eve recorded herself applying medicine to Aiden’s wound. For a moment, Aiden’s handsome side profile flashed across the phone camera.

One of the comments said, “He’s so hot! Why are you still applying medicine to his wound? Just pin him down and fuck him already!”

Eve replied, “Hahaha! You sound even more anxious than me. Give me some time, and I promise I’ll get it done!”

Another user posted a photo in the comment section. “The algorithm really is powerful! I was at the scene earlier and took photos of the whole fight! OP, is this you and the CEO?”

The disheveled and alarmed Eve was captured in the photo. Aiden could be seen protecting her gallantly. He looked down at Eve, who was bundled in his arms, while enduring the pain from his wound. His gaze was both determined and tender.

That was when I felt my heart throb with pain.

One month ago, Aiden had invited a huge group of his friends to a karaoke bar. When I arrived, no one else had shown up yet. Later on, I received word from Aiden that he and his subordinates would be late.

A short while later, a man entered the private room. It was Dylan Barner, a friend Aiden had met through work.

Aiden had mentioned Dylan to me before, but I had never met him.

As I chatted with Dylan, he kept eyeing me up and down unabashedly. In fact, he kept scooting closer to me.

When I was backed into a corner with nowhere to go, Dylan suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“You’re so pretty. In fact, you’re prettier than how Aiden described you.”

Stunned, I tried to scream for help, only to feel Dylan’s hand cover my mouth.

“Aiden said you’re not a looker, but you’re very obedient. Apparently, he can do whatever he wants to you.”

Dylan gripped me by the nape, forcing me to scoot closer to him. He leaned into my ear, his tone flippant. “I’d like to give it a try too.”

I began fighting back violently out of fear and shock.

Angered by my actions, Dylan revealed a vicious expression. He pressed the lit cigarette against my collarbone right away.

I was in so much pain that I could barely breathe. Finally, I used all of my strength to escape from the private room. That was when I heard noises coming from the bend around the corner ahead of me.

Aiden and Eve, who were surrounded by a bunch of people, could be seen walking in my direction.

“Aiden!” I yelled at my husband.

But he acted as though he never heard me. Instead, he led Eve into the same private room, his hand laced with hers.

When everyone walked past me, Eve merely shot me a half-smile. A sparkling diamond necklace could be seen adorning her slender neck.

That necklace looked very familiar.

Aiden had taken a picture of that necklace during his business trip to Fairgardia. He told me that he’d buy it for me. Some time later, he said that customs were having trouble processing the necklace. After that, I didn’t hear anything about it anymore.

That night, Aiden returned home at a late hour, smelling of alcohol.

“Noelle, what’s with the tantrum, huh? Why did you leave on your own?”

Upon hearing his dissatisfied question, I undid my first button and revealed the blister left behind by the cigarette.

Shocked, Aiden looked pained. “What happened to you?”

I told him what had happened in the private room. Aiden’s brows were tangled in a deep frown, his expression turning stony.

“That’s enough, Noelle! I can’t believe this! You actually harmed yourself just to get my attention!”

Aiden yanked me by the hair and dragged me to the mirror. In the mirror, I could see my messy hair and red-rimmed, puffy eyes.

“Are you delusional, Noelle? Do you really think you’re as radiant as a fairy? Look at you, all disheveled and ragged! You look like an absolute hag! Dylan has his fair share of beautiful women—why would he be interested in you?”

After that, Aiden went to bed, still massively drunk. I spent the night sitting in the living room, crying my heart out.

Aiden ended up organizing a candlelit dinner as his way of apologizing to me for running his mouth during his drunken state.

I thought that incident was over. But when I saw the photo in Eve’s comment section, I vividly recalled the disdain in Aiden’s eyes back when he had gazed at me.

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Soon, I texted my best friend, Sylvia Rogers.

“Do you know any attorneys? I’d like to inquire about getting a divorce.”

The next morning, I was woken up by my phone’s ringtone. Aiden’s voice was clear and crisp on the other end of the line.

“Come downstairs. I’m taking you out for a meal.”

He ended the call before I could say anything.

Well, Aiden had always been that selfish from the start. I didn’t want to cause any trouble before our impending divorce, so I decided to head downstairs.

The moment Aiden saw me, he finally remembered that he forgot to buy painkillers for me.

“The pharmacy is along the way to the restaurant. We can stop by there first.”

“There’s no need for that. My injury doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Aiden heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good, then. You got injured a few years ago anyway, so your injury shouldn’t hurt that much now.”

My breath hitched momentarily in my throat. Then, I smiled faintly. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Back then, I had pushed Aiden away, only to be sent flying after getting hit by a car. I ended up suffering multiple fractures and ligament injuries. Even now, I still endured frequent episodes of intense pain and agony.

I was worried that Aiden might feel bad about what had happened to me, so I never told him the extent of the pain I had to endure. If he truly cared, he would’ve found out about my episodes a long time ago.

As Aiden drove, he told me what happened last night.

“I had intended to go home, but Eve was still shaken up from what happened. That’s why I stayed a little longer to accompany her. Surely you don’t mind, right?”

I just gazed ahead. “Of course. Eve’s very skittish by nature. You should spend more time with her.”

Aiden suddenly stopped the car. I wasn’t expecting the sudden halt, so I dropped my phone onto the floor by my seat.

I knew Aiden was looking at me. This time, I ignored him while bending over to pick up my phone. All I got was a handful of a lace bra that seemed to be made of a few cloth strips.

If this were to happen in the past, my expression would have crumbled as though the bra were my greatest enemy. With red-rimmed eyes, I’d have demanded to know why this lingerie existed in Aiden’s car in the first place.

But now, I didn’t say anything. Instead, I opened the compartment and stuffed the bra inside.

A rare trace of embarrassment crossed Aiden’s face. “Um, sometimes Eve asks me to drop her off at the yoga gym after work. Maybe she accidentally forgot her bra when she was changing inside the car.”

I just nodded, still looking nonchalant as usual.

When we were having breakfast, there was a couple—seemingly college students—sitting at the table next to us. They were about to finish their meals and kept shooting glances at us.

The female student couldn’t resist approaching Aiden in the end. “May I ask if you’re the CEO in Evie the Magical Girl’s posts?”

Aiden asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

The student looked a little excited. “Oh my gosh! You’re even more handsome in person! May I ask if you’re currently in a relationship with Evie?”

Aiden fell silent for a few seconds while gazing at me. Then, he replied, “Yeah.”

I lowered my head with a small smile tracing my lips. At the same time, I could feel a pinprick of pain in my belly.

The student followed Aiden’s gaze and looked at me in confusion. “Then, who is she?”

“That’s my older sister,” Aiden quickly answered.

Before the student left, she exclaimed, “Your relationship with Evie is super sweet! I hope you two stay together forever!”

After the couple left, Aiden grabbed my hand and began comforting me. “Noelle, don’t be angry. Eve’s CEO series has gained a lot of popularity on her social media. I’m just acting in her videos because she asked me to.

“Eve has worked hard to gain this many fans, and she’s very happy with the outcome. If I denied being in a relationship with her, how could she face her fans in the future?”

I wasn’t interested in Aiden’s explanation at all, so I replied perfunctorily, “Yeah. I get it.”

The discomfort in my belly was starting to worsen. I clutched it with one hand, my face turning pale with every second.

I managed to endure the pain until breakfast was over. Aiden chose to drive me home.

On the way home, Eve called him. “Help me, Aiden! I bought a ticket to the amusement park, but I couldn’t flag down any cabs because of the morning rush! I’ve been waiting for half an hour, and my makeup is melting off my face! Can you drive me to the amusement park?”

She sounded like an alarmed pet. A hint of affection appeared in Aiden’s eyes.

“Alright. I’ll head toward your place now.”

After ending the call, Aiden looked at me. “Let’s go pick Eve up together.”

“No way, Aiden!” Cold sweat began forming on my forehead. “My stomach hurts very badly right now. Take me to the nearest hospital first!”

“What did you just say?”

Aiden’s expression crumbled instantly. Rage was evident in his eyes.

“I was worried you might misunderstand my relationship with Eve, so I decided to bring you along out of the kindness of my heart. And yet, you’re giving me attitude!

“I should’ve known women like you are bitches by nature! The moment I treat you nicely, you decide to take advantage of me!”

Aiden then stopped the car.

“If you don’t want to pick Eve up with me, then get out of the car right now!”

“Aiden, take me to the hospital! I’m bleeding!”

The pain radiating from my belly was getting unbearable. I could feel warm liquid gushing out between my thighs.

“Where are you bleeding from, huh? Is your heart bleeding after hearing Eve’s phone call?” Aiden snapped.

I gazed at Aiden for a moment before taking a deep breath. Now, I had no choice but to explain my current condition to him.

“Listen carefully, Aiden. I’m pregnant. Since I’m bleeding, there’s a chance I might be having an ectopic pregnancy. That’s why I need to go for a check-up at the hospital right now.”

Aiden was initially stunned by what he heard. Fury soon coursed through his veins.

“Noelle Osmond, how shameless are you to lie about such things? You never got pregnant after all these years of marriage! How could you be pregnant as soon as Eve called me?

“Before, you claimed Dylan tried to molest you! Now, you say you’re pregnant! You really like fabricating lewd rumors about yourself, huh?”

Aiden pointed at the car door and ordered, “Get the fuck out! You said you’re bleeding, right? Then get the fuck out of my car right now! Don’t taint my car with your blood!

“Eve’s hitching a ride later! She’s used to sitting in the front passenger seat because she’s not used to sitting anywhere else!”

“Fine.” I closed my eyes before reaching for the door handle.

But Aiden grabbed my arm again. He gritted out through clenched teeth, “Noelle Osmond, if you dare get out of this car right now, I’ll divorce you!”

“A divorce?” I turned to look at him. “Since you plan on divorcing me, that makes things a lot easier. I’ve already had my attorney draft a divorce agreement. Remember to sign it later.”

Aiden’s grip went slack. He stared at me in disbelief.

“Are you for real? You’d better not regret your words, Noelle!”

Once he was done speaking, he started the car abruptly.

I was caught off guard by his actions and was dragged across the road for over 30 feet. Passersby all gasped and screamed in shock at the sight.

Soon, I collapsed on the road. As my vision went hazy, the last thing I saw was the exhaust fumes churning from the back of Aiden’s car.

Blood seeped everywhere from beneath me, like a flower slowly blooming.

The moment I woke up at the hospital, I saw Sylvia as well as Aiden’s parents crowding around me. But Aiden was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t gone missing, yet he refused to pick up anyone’s calls.

His father, Charles Lambert, was so furious that he was trembling all over. “That disrespectful punk! How dare he hang up on me!”

His mother, Fiona Strode, was already tearing up due to her anxiety. “Where on earth did Aiden go? Arguing is one thing, but how could he just ditch Elle on the road like that?”

Sylvia suggested coldly, “Elle, you might as well file a police report. What Aiden did is considered hit-and-run.”

“No! Don’t call the police! You mustn’t do that!” Panicking, Fiona quickly grabbed my hands and begged, “Elle, please don’t be rash about this! If Aiden receives a heavy sentence, it’ll affect everyone’s reputation!”

Sylvia merely sneered at Fiona. She was about to speak up when a nurse summoned her out of the ward to give her medical instructions. That left only Charles, Fiona, and me in the ward.

I gently pulled my hand away from Fiona’s.

“Mom, I’m sorry, but this is the last time I’ll ever call you my mother-in-law. The truth is, Aiden and I are about to get a divorce.”

Shocked, Fiona quickly exchanged glances with Charles, who was equally flabbergasted.

“How could things come to this point, Elle? I thought you and Aiden had always been close! I know that Aiden can be willful at times and doesn’t care about your feelings, but he’s still a good guy at heart! You’ve known each other for almost a decade—you should know him the best!”

She said Aiden was a good guy at heart.

Charles and Fiona all thought Aiden was merely being willful and that he was still good in nature. That was why they expected me to tolerate him and wait for him to change his ways. But in the end, I was the only one left bruised and battered.

“You don’t know where Aiden is, right? I know where he is.”

I pulled out my phone and tapped on Eve’s social media feed. Then, I showed it to Charles and Fiona.

Eve’s latest post featured nine aesthetically pleasant photos of her and Aiden. The caption read, “We look like a lovey-dovey couple on an outing in these photos!”

Eve was a cute and petite young woman. In the photos, she could be seen smiling sweetly at the camera. Meanwhile, Aiden easily towered over her, looking at her with love and affection in his eyes.

Both of them were standing very closely and intimately with each other before the amusement park’s decorative castle. The photos made them look like the stars of a romantic fairy tale.

Fiona went pale instantly.

As for Charles, he called the family’s driver, George White, and ordered him to head over to Eve’s place and bring Aiden back.

The atmosphere in the ward turned silent and tense.

Fiona tried to advise me, “Elle, we’ve treated you like our own daughter ever since you married Aiden. When he comes here, we’ll teach him a lesson for you. We promise he won’t ever bully you again.

“Please give him another chance, Elle. It’s our fault for spoiling him since he was a kid. Even now, he still acts like one!”

I lowered my gaze in response.

“Mrs. Lambert, if your own daughter were in my shoes, would you also advise her to forgive her husband? I’m still my parents’ daughter, you know. They might be dead, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t love me.”

Flabbergasted, Fiona couldn’t say anything else. She turned to look at Charles pleadingly, only to see him shake his head and sigh heavily.

At that moment, the ward door was kicked open from the outside. Aiden stomped into the room angrily a second later.

“Noelle Osmond, you really are something! To think that you even got my parents to put on an act with you! Didn’t you sound tough when you demanded the divorce earlier? Are you regretting your decision now? Is that why you’ve been looking for me everywhere?

“Well, it’s already far too late! Where’s your divorce agreement? Give it to me right now so that I can sign it!”

After that, Aiden threw a bouquet of white lilies in my face.

“Aiden Lambert!” both Charles and Fiona shouted.

Aiden turned to them and said, “Mom, Dad, stop acting already! How dare that Noelle bitch—”

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence when he was rendered shell-shocked by my condition.

I kept coughing violently as sweat rolled down my forehead. At the same time, I clutched my chest, looking as though I was drowning with no hope in sight.

Thankfully, Sylvia happened to return to the ward and saw me in danger. She cursed out loud before bolting over to open the window.

As she pulled me into her arms, she yelled at Aiden angrily, “Don’t you know Noelle’s allergic to pollen? Will you only be happy once she dies in your hands?”

Aiden could only remain rooted to the spot with shock written all over his face. As he stared at the red rashes sprouting on my face from the allergy, all he could feel was panic.

He mumbled, “I… I didn’t mean to do it… I didn’t know…”

He didn’t know I was allergic to pollen, yet he knew Eve’s period cycle very well.

My condition slowly improved. Only then did Sylvia release me. She walked over to Aiden before slapping him twice in the face.

Fiona tried to stop Sylvia, but she hesitated upon noticing the latter’s emotional breakdown.

That was when Sylvia threw a stack of reports at Aiden’ face. “Take a good look at these! Noelle suffered major blood loss because of her ectopic pregnancy! She just had her Fallopian tubes removed in surgery!

“You were the one who dragged her across the road for a long distance! Do you even have any conscience left? What you did is no different from murder!”

Aiden picked up the reports. He began trembling violently as he read them.