Chapter 4

Chloe was furious; if the officers hadn't held her back, she would have lunged at him.

"Ethan Vance! Do you have any conscience?! If it wasn't for Aria back then, you'd be behind bars by now..."

"Chloe!" I cut her off, walking in and looking at the police officer.

"I'm taking her."

Before the officer could speak, Ethan Vance said in a deep voice: "Are they just going to leave after hitting my person?"

I looked at the woman next to him, eyes red, covering her face and leaning into him, then finally at Ethan.

"What do you want?"

Ethan Vance's eyes were cold and narrowed.

"Your friend slapped Megan, now I want her to return it."

Chloe looked like she'd heard a joke.

"Let her hit me, you think..."

"Who said I want you to return it?"

Ethan Vance cut Chloe off, his gaze fixed on my face.

"Aria, your friend made a mistake for you, so you should be the one to pay the price."

"You son of a bi—"

Chloe trembled with rage, rushing forward to tear apart those two scumbags.

The next second, I spoke.

"Okay."

Chloe whipped her head around: "Aria, are you crazy? He cheated! He wronged you!"

I ignored her and walked up to Ethan Vance and Megan.

"Do it."

Megan's eyes were red, and she said softly: "Mr. Vance, please don't make your wife uncomfortable, I..."

*Slap!*

Before she could finish, Ethan Vance grabbed her hand and harshly swung it across my face.

A burning, stinging pain instantly spread.

After the slap, I turned to leave.

"Did I say you could leave?"

Ethan Vance's tone was icy cold: "She slapped Megan once. I want you to return it ten times over."

He pulled Megan forward.

Before I could react, slaps rained down, one after another.

*Slap! Slap! Slap...*

Nine slaps, each one heavier, each one crueler than the last.

With each blow, what little love remained in my heart dissipated a little more.

After the final slap, I felt nothing at all.

A warm liquid flowed from the corner of my mouth, and my mouth was filled with the taste of rust.

None of the nearby officers dared to interfere.

Because the one doing the hitting was Ethan Vance, who practically ran the city.

After hitting me, Ethan Vance rubbed Megan's hand.

He warned me coldly:

"Keep your friend in check. Next time, don't let her bark like a mad dog and scare my person."

With that, he pulled Megan, ready to leave.

"Ethan."

I called out to him, taking out the divorce papers: "Let's get a divorce."

Ethan Vance looked incredulous: "You want to divorce me?"

I nodded: "Yes."

He stared at me for a full ten seconds, then laughed.

"Aria, I haven't even settled the score with you for aborting our baby behind my back. Now you're coming at me with divorce, playing hard to get?"

I forced a smile: "You're overthinking it."

Ethan Vance's face instantly darkened. He snatched the divorce papers, quickly signed his name, and then harshly slapped them back onto my face.

"Aria, a friendly reminder: without me, you're nothing."

"And when you come crawling back to me crying for forgiveness, I won't even spare you a glance."

At the hospital, Chloe cried while applying medicine to my face.

"How dare he hit you? What right does he have to hit you? If it wasn't for you back then, that Ethan Vance would be behind bars, and he wouldn't be here throwing his weight around and bullying you!"

"That asshole! I'm definitely going to find a way to get revenge! I want him dead, I want to avenge you!"

I chuckled a little, "I've already told Marcus to pull the funding."