After He Ruined My Unborn Baby, I Left Him For Good

I had just walked out of the hospital with my positive pregnancy test in hand when a car plowed into me. The driver was Victoria, my husband Ethan's exgirlfriend.

To avenge my unborn baby who died in that crash, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine.

But as I floored the gas and aimed my car at Victoria, Ethan threw himself in front of her.

Even as the paramedics lifted him onto the stretcher, Ethan was still protecting her. "Whatever she owes you, I've paid it back for her," he wheezed, clutching his chest. "Please... don't hurt her anymore." For three years, every time Victoria hurt me, Ethan would atone for her sins.

The first time, Victoria slashed my face with a key. Ethan cut his own cheek in response. The second time, Victoria hired thugs to ruin my hand.

Ethan slit his own wrist to make amends. This was the third time. And this time, my heart was completely dead. I let go of his hand. "Okay," I whispered.

I'll let her go, and I'll let you go too. Ethan was in the ICU in a coma for a week. The moment he opened his eyes, Victoria shoved me aside and rushed to his bedside.

She grabbed his hand, her voice trembling. "Ethan, are you stupid?" "You almost died for me!" Ethan slowly opened his heavy eyelids.

He reached out with great effort to wipe the tears from her face. "Don't cry.

Your life is more important than mine." Standing nearby, even though I had already decided to divorce him, my chest still throbbed with a dull, stabbing pain. Ethan turned his head.

His gaze bypassed Victoria and landed on my face.

His lips parted. "Chloe..." Before he could finish, two police officers walked into the room. "Who called the police?" Victoria snapped her head up, wiping her tears. "Me!

I did!" "I want to press charges for attempted murder! She tried to run me over with her car!

Look at what she did to Ethan!" The officer turned to look at me. "If this is true, ma'am, you'll need to come with us to the station." I didn't answer.

I just looked at Ethan. "Is that what you want?" I asked him quietly. A pathetic spark of hope still flickered in my chest. He was willing to risk his life to protect Victoria.

But what about me? Would he protect me?

Would he stop the police from taking me away? "What are you waiting for, Ethan?" Victoria urged, squeezing his hand tightly as she saw his hesitation. "She almost killed you!" "Do you know how terrified I was?

I thought I was going to lose you..." Ethan looked at her tearstained face. His heart softened. Finally, he closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes.

That is what happened." I let out a selfdeprecating laugh and let the officers put the handcuffs on me.

Inside the interrogation room, the detective flipped through the security footage and sighed. "How many times have you been here this month, Chloe?" I kept my head down, silent.

The first time was when Victoria came to the hospital where I worked, covered in hickeys, making a scene in front of my patients and colleagues.

She shouted that the one who wasn't loved was the real interloper, telling me to pack my bags and leave Ethan. Because of the scene she caused, the hospital suspended me.

That afternoon, I dragged her to an empty alley and slapped her three times to teach her a lesson. The second time was on my way home from a late shift.

Victoria and a group of thugs cornered me. She tried to let those men assault me to ruin my life. I pulled out a small pocketknife from my bag and swung it wildly in selfdefense.

In the chaos, I ended up scratching her face. I spent the entire night at the police station. And today was the third time.

The detective tapped the desk, starting the official questioning. "Tell me about today. Why did you try to run her over?" "He jumped in front of my car.

I didn't have time to brake," I said, my voice flat and devoid of emotion.

Another officer walked in and placed a file on the desk. "The victim's boyfriend says he just wants to teach her a lesson.

He doesn't want to press formal charges." "Then why the hell did they call the cops in the first place?" the detective muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. "Do you have any family members who can bail you out?" I shook my head.

My parents were both gone. In the past, Ethan was always the one who came to pick me up.

Every time Victoria and I had a showdown and ended up at the precinct, he would look at me with utter exhaustion when he signed the bail paperwork. "Chloe, when are you going to stop making a scene?" "Can you just give me one day of peace?" I had screamed at him, completely breaking down in public. "I'm the one being targeted!

Why am I always the villain in your eyes?!" But he never believed me. "Since there's no one to bail you out, we'll have to keep you in holding for now," the officer said, closing the folder.

I was detained for seven days. The food was cold, and the cot was hard, making my back ache constantly. On the day of my release, the bright sunlight made my eyes sting.

The moment I stepped out of the facility, I saw Ethan standing not far away. He still looked pale, but he was able to stand on his own.

He walked over to me slowly and reached out. "Chloe, I'm here to take you home."

I let out a dry laugh. It was incredibly ironic. "Ethan, you personally put me in there, and now you're here to take me home? Are you insane?" I stepped around him.

But he grabbed my wrist. "Chloe, I know I made you suffer. It's my fault." "But please, come home with me first.

Take a shower, change into clean clothes, okay?" After seven days in custody, my phone was dead. I had no money on me, and I had been wearing the same clothes for a week.

I looked like a total mess. After a moment of hesitation, I pulled open the passenger door and climbed in. The entire ride, I stared out the window in absolute silence.

After a long, suffocating quiet, Ethan finally spoke. "Are you still angry with me?" Hearing the familiar sigh of helplessness in his voice, the anger inside me suddenly flared up. "Am I not supposed to be angry, Ethan?" "She killed my baby, ruined my hand, and destroyed my marriage.

Yet she gets to live her life completely fine." "And I'm the one who got thrown into a holding cell by my own husband." By the end of it, my voice shook.

I didn't even know if I was angry or just incredibly sad. Tears welled up in my eyes, burning hot. "Ethan, you are my husband.

Why are you always, always protecting someone else?" His hands tightened on the steering wheel. Finally, he spoke in a raspy voice. "I'm sorry. But I owe her." That same old excuse.

Years ago, our families had a joint business venture. A massive accounting fraud occurred, and someone had to take the fall to save Carter Enterprises from bankruptcy.

Victoria's parents took all the blame and went to prison. Since then, Victoria was left alone, and the Carter family took on the responsibility of caring for her.

But after all these years, whatever debt he owed should have been paid off.

Now that Victoria's parents were out of prison, Ethan had even funded their new business to help them get back on their feet.

Was he really doing this out of guilt, or was it because of his own selfish feelings for her? I didn't care to expose him anymore. I didn't even want to bring it up.

The car pulled into the underground garage of our apartment building. I got out, walked to the elevator, and went upstairs.

The moment I unlocked the front door, Victoria's voice drifted over from the living room. "Ethan, you're back." She froze when she saw me, the smile instantly vanishing from her face. "Wow, they let you out fast.

Lucky you." I didn't say a word. Ethan walked in behind me, changing his shoes, and quickly explained. "I just got discharged from the hospital the day before yesterday.

The doctor said I need someone to look after me, so I asked Victoria to move in temporarily." I nodded and walked toward the master bedroom.

But the moment I pushed the door open, I froze. My skincare products on the vanity were gone. The closet doors were wide open, packed with Victoria's colorful dresses.

Not a single piece of my clothing was left.

Victoria leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms. "The doctor said Ethan is in his recovery phase and needs intimate, roundtheclock care." "So, I moved into the master bedroom." She emphasized the word "intimate" with a smug grin. "I threw your stuff into the storage closet down the hall.

No need to thank me." I turned around, looked her dead in the eye, and smiled. "Victoria, do you know what I admire most about you after all these years?" She raised an eyebrow. "What?" "How utterly, shamelessly trashy you are." Her face went pale, and she opened her mouth to scream at me.

But Ethan quickly walked over and grabbed her arm. "Let it go, Victoria. Don't argue with her." "She just got released.

She's not in a good place." Victoria pouted, huffed, and walked away. I didn't spare either of them another glance.

I walked to the storage closet, dragged out my suitcase, and took it into the guest bedroom. They had slept in the master bed. It felt too dirty for me to touch.

At dinner, Ethan sat across from me, constantly putting food onto my plate. "These are your favorites. Eat up.

You've lost weight this past week." Without saying a word, I picked up the steak he had placed on my plate and tossed it directly into the trash can. Ethan's brow furrowed.

But before he could speak, Victoria suddenly gasped. Her face went pale, and she pushed her chair back, rushing into the bathroom. The sound of dry heaving echoed from inside.

Ethan froze, then immediately ran after her. "Victoria? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?" He banged on the door, panic in his voice. Five minutes later, the door opened.

Victoria walked out, holding a plastic stick in her hand. "Ethan, I'm pregnant."

Victoria grabbed Ethan's hand, her voice shaking with excitement. "Ethan, did you hear me?!" "You're going to be a father! We're having a baby!" Ethan didn't say anything.

His eyes were glued to me. He was waiting. Waiting for me to lose my mind. Waiting for me to scream, slap Victoria, and call her a homewrecking whore. But I did absolutely nothing.

I quietly finished my dinner, stood up, and went back to my room. I was so calm I seemed like a completely different person.

Ethan rushed over and knocked on my door, his voice urgent. "Chloe, the baby is an accident.

I'll make her get an abortion, I swear..." "No need," I interrupted him from inside the room. "Since you said you owe her your entire life, you should take responsibility." He went silent.

He tried to say something else, but I shut him down. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." That night, the physical aftermath of my miscarriage kept me tossing and turning.

My lower abdomen throbbed with a dull, agonizing ache.

Through the thin wall, I could hear Ethan's soft, gentle voice from the next room. "What should we name the baby?" He had claimed he would make her get an abortion, yet here he was, discussing names with sheer excitement. "How about Hope?" "It means we always have hope for the future.

Isn't that beautiful?" His voice was light, filled with pure joy. I clutched my blanket tightly, my knuckles turning white. Hope. That was the name I had chosen for my baby.

On the day my pregnancy was confirmed, Ethan had been just as excited. He had held me in his arms, grinning like a fool. "Let's name our baby Hope, okay?

She will be the hope of our lives." I had looked up at him, smiling. "Just like our love." Back then, leaning against his chest, I thought that kind of happiness would last forever.

But now, they had killed my baby. And now, they were stealing my baby's name. Under the double blow, the pain in my abdomen intensified. I bit down on the blanket to stifle my sobs.

Tears silently soaked my pillow. When I woke up the next morning, the apartment was empty. I dragged my aching body out of bed. My phone buzzed with a text notification.

It was from my supervisor at the hospital. "Chloe, the Royal College of Surgeons in the UK has offered us two fellowship slots again." "I know you can't perform surgeries anymore because of your hand, but going there to focus on research would be a great move for your career.

Are you still refusing to go?" In the past, I was terrified that a longdistance relationship would ruin our marriage.

So, I sacrificed my career again and again to keep this family together. But now, there was no point. "I'll take it. I can leave tomorrow," I replied.

Right after I sent the text, my phone rang. It was the property manager of my late mother's house. "Ms. Vance, there are two people trying to move into your mother's townhouse.

They claim they are family." "They don't have the passcode, so they're trying to force the door open.

Do you know about this?" In the background, I could hear Victoria's voice. "Oh, this balcony is huge! The sun comes right in.

It'll be perfect for me to sunbathe during my pregnancy." My grip on the phone tightened until my fingers turned white. "Don't let them in.

I'm coming over right now." By the time I arrived, Ethan was arguing with the property manager at the front gate.

When Victoria saw me, she rolled her eyes. "You took your sweet time.

If I get exhausted and it hurts my baby, can you even take responsibility?" Ethan turned around and quickly walked over to me. "Chloe, tell the manager to let us in." "Victoria is pregnant.

She can't stand for too long." I stared at him. "This is my mother's house." "I know, but we..." "Not 'we.' It's mine." I cut him off. "My mother transferred this deed to me before she passed.

It has nothing to do with you." Ethan's face darkened with frustration. "We are married. What's yours is mine." "Besides, you don't even live here.

It's just sitting empty." "Victoria is pregnant. The doctor said she needs a quiet environment with fresh air to rest.

The woods around here are perfect." "I will never let her set foot in this house." My eyes were red, but I refused to back down even an inch. "This is the only thing my mother left me.

No one is touching it." Ethan let out an impatient sigh. "It's just a damn house, Chloe! Why are you treating it like some sacred relic?" I froze, completely stunned.

I couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth.

On the day my mother passed, she had pulled me close to her hospital bed. "Chloe, I'm leaving this house to you." "Even if you end up alone in the future, you'll always have a backup plan.

You won't have to settle." "But I hope you never have to use it." Back then, I had held her hand, crying, promising her that Ethan would protect me and that I would never need a backup plan.

And now, Ethan was trying to strip away the only security my mother had left me.

Just to give his pregnant mistress a place to rest. "Ethan, over my dead body will you touch this house!" Victoria's eyes immediately filled with tears, and her voice dripped with fake grievance. "See, Ethan?

I told you she would never tolerate me! I'll just leave!" With that, she covered her face and ran off. Ethan's expression hardened.

Before chasing after her, he threw a glare at me and spat out a bitter sentence. "Chloe, look at what a monster you've become!"