Chapter 4

The next morning at breakfast, Ethan said, “There’s a business event. I’ll be out of town for three days.”

“That came up suddenly.”

“Yeah. My manager texted me as soon as I woke up.”

“Listen to the doctor and stay in bed. Don’t move around too much. If you want anything, ask Mrs. Wilson to make it for you.”

I touched my stomach.

Could the baby already be there?

Before yesterday, I had desperately wanted a child that belonged to Ethan and me. I had been willing to endure all those injections and medications.

But now, I hesitated.

After Ethan left, I couldn’t stop myself from opening Chloe’s Instagram again.

【He promised he would never sing that song again, but he broke his promise.】

Attached was a screenshot of a chat. The messages had been blurred, but Ethan’s profile picture was still visible in the shadows.

Ethan had apologized to Chloe, called her “Baby Girl,” and transferred her $52,100.

Chloe had saved Ethan in her contacts as “Big Baby.”

I suddenly realized that Ethan hadn’t called me that in a very long time.

His Baby Girl was still there.

She just wasn’t me anymore.

On the third day after Ethan left, I saw a video about him while scrolling through short clips.

The headline read:

【Ethan Cole spotted shoulder to shoulder with a woman at an upscale restaurant, where they met with director Daniel Carter.】

I downloaded the video and sent it to Ethan.

【New assistant?】

Four hours later, he finally replied.

【Not an assistant. She’s a friend. She wants to enter the entertainment industry, and Director Carter happens to be preparing a new project. I introduced them.】

Of course I knew she wasn’t his assistant.

I had asked the question because I wanted to see what he would say.

【She has a great look and really loves acting.】

A great look? Loved acting?

Those words stabbed straight through my heart.

I challenged him.

【Ethan, aren’t you being a little hypocritical? You used to say the entertainment industry was complicated and dangerous. You called it a pit of fire. Why are you pushing your friend into it now?】

Before Ethan and I got together, I had already starred in several hit productions and successfully become an A-list actress.

But after we married, he told me the entertainment industry was too complicated and that someone as innocent as me didn’t belong there.

He told me to stay home and be a full-time wife. He would take care of me.

At first, I didn’t want to.

I had loved acting since I was a child. Starting at age eight, I had begged my parents to take me to film sets during summer vacation so I could play small roles.

At eighteen, I was accepted into one of the country’s top film schools.

Ethan knew how much I loved acting, yet he still asked me to give up my dream.