Chapter 3

Less than ten minutes after the photo was posted, Scarlett called me. "Ethan, don't misunderstand. My mom arranged this. She’s family, and I couldn't just ruin her mood, so..."

I cut her off. "Yeah, I know. Anything else?"

"You're... not mad?"

I laughed softly. "Why would I be?"

Scarlett went silent.

After a moment, she said, "This Saturday is Mom's birthday party. I'll pick you up."

She hung up immediately, as if terrified I would refuse.

On Saturday, Scarlett arrived early at Zach's place.

As the car pulled up, Christian poked his head out of the passenger seat. "Hey, Ethan! Hop in. We’ve been waiting for you for ages."

His tone and posture screamed that he was the man of the house.

If this were before, I would have dragged him out of the car and hysterically forced Scarlett to choose who got to sit in the front.

But this time, I merely gave a polite nod, opened the back door, and slid in.

Scarlett’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. She stared at me through the rearview mirror.

I offered her a polite, empty smile, then immediately looked down to text Zach.

When we arrived at the Evans house, I handed over the gift I prepared. "Happy birthday, Helen."

Then, I sat down and ate quietly.

Scarlett and Christian sat on either side of me, leaning across me to laugh and chat.

I stood up. "Let's swap seats. It'll be easier for you two to talk."

The entire table froze.

After all, just a few months ago, I had thrown a massive fit because Christian insisted on sitting next to Scarlett. I had pointed at his face and called him a shameless home-wrecker.

No one expected me to be this calm now.

Christian was thrilled and eagerly slid into my seat. Scarlett, however, stared at me, her eyes darkening.

I excused myself to the restroom.

When I returned, the atmosphere at the table was warm and joyful.

I heard Christian say, "Helen, it's your birthday! Why are you giving me a gift instead?"

Looking closer, I saw Helen holding a diamond-encrusted vintage watch, sliding it onto Christian's wrist.

Scarlett didn't stop her.

The other relatives had mixed expressions.

Everyone knew that watch was the Evans family heirloom, meant to be passed down to the son-in-law.

When I married Scarlett, Helen was furious. She thought I wasn't good enough.

Over the years, since I hadn't made any massive corporate breakthroughs, she disliked me even more. Naturally, she would never give me the watch.

At her birthday last year, she had tried to give it to Christian.

I had refused to let it happen. When Christian reached for it, I snatched it.

During the scuffle, we both fell into the garden pond. Scarlett had saved Christian without hesitation, screaming at me.

"It's just a damn watch! Haven't you gotten enough from this family? Why do you have to fight Christian for everything? I've spoiled you too much! I'll just buy you another one!"

I had caught a severe fever from the cold water, suffering in pain for two days and nights.

Scarlett had mocked me: "Serves you right. This is the price for being an immature brat."

But now, I was done fighting.

I walked over, picked up my coat, and politely said my goodbyes.

I went home.

Scarlett walked through the front door right behind me, her face incredibly tense.

"Ethan Crawford, do you have any boundaries? Staying out for days is one thing, but today all our family members were there. Who were you throwing a tantrum for?"

Seeing my silence, she scoffed.

"What? Still acting up? Fine. Let's just get a divorce then."

This was the third time Scarlett had threatened me with divorce.

The first time was because I refused to drink with her boss, which bruised her ego.

To make up for it, I arranged another dinner with her boss, drank until my stomach bled, and begged for his forgiveness while hooked up to an IV.

The second time was when I accidentally broke a puzzle Christian had gifted her.

She flew into a rage, and I knelt before her, crying and begging, promising there would never be a next time.

But now, looking at her, I simply said, "Okay."