He Risked His Life for His First Love, So I Handed Him Divorce Papers

When I was choosing a husband, my criteria were simple. Aside from being decent and gentle, there were two nonnegotiable rules: he couldn't smoke, and he couldn't drink.

So, I married Ethan Miller, a guy I met on a blind date who claimed to be severely allergic to alcohol. We had been married for three years.

While we were trying for a baby, I accompanied him to his high school reunion.

At the dinner table, everyone was rowdy, pressuring Chloe Carter, the former high school prom queen, to drink. Only Ethan and I sat quietly, keeping out of the drama.

But then, she looked at us, her eyes pleading for help. I hesitated for a second, about to say something, when Ethan’s voice rang out beside me.

He, a man who had never touched a drop of alcohol since I met him, suddenly spoke up. "Alright, guys, stop making things hard for Chloe.

I'll drink it for her." My face froze, and my fork hovered in midair. But within a second, I forced my expression back to normal.

I tried to tell myself he was just being a gentleman, stepping in to save Chloe from an awkward situation.

Even though I didn't want him to drink, I didn't think there was anything wrong with being polite.

But knowing his allergy, I was just about to warn him when a sly laugh erupted from the crowd. "Wow, ten years have passed, and Ethan still can't stand seeing anyone pick on Chloe." "Right?

I still remember graduation night. After Chloe rejected his confession, Ethan got so wasted!" "Now that you mention it, I remember too! He ended up in the ER and almost died.

He scared the hell out of us!" Listening to their nostalgic chatter, my mind drifted back. When I first met Ethan on that blind date, he told me he was allergic to alcohol.

I had casually asked him how he found out. What had Ethan said back then? He said that when he was a kid, he accidentally mistook his dad’s straight whiskey for water.

He was rushed to the hospital immediately. Since then, he had never touched alcohol again. I had laughed at the story back then, thinking it was kind of cute.

I didn't realize that from the very beginning, he had lied to me. When I snapped back to reality, someone finally noticed my existence.

One of his classmates smiled apologetically at me. "Hey, Valerie, don't be mad. We haven't seen each other in forever. We're just joking around to liven up the mood." "Right, Ethan?

Chloe?" Hearing this, I turned my head to look at Ethan. He didn't dare to look me in the eye. He just quickly chimed in. "Yeah, guys, don't take it too far.

Let's forget about the drink." But before he could put the glass down, Chloe stood up and raised hers. "Stop talking nonsense, guys. Ethan is married now.

I'll drink this myself." "Consider this a toast to Ethan.

I couldn't make it to your wedding, and I've always regretted that." "To be honest, I only came to this reunion because of Ethan.

I didn't know he was already married." "I was thinking... if you were still single, Ethan, this time, I would be the one pursuing you." The room fell dead silent.

I gripped my fork tightly, meeting Chloe's eyes. I instantly caught the fleeting flash of provocation in her gaze.

Right then, Ethan’s awkward voice sounded next to me. "I’ve been married for three years. Stop joking around!" He didn't sound like he was explaining.

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself. I was sensitive enough to catch the slight tremor of emotion in his tone. So, Chloe's words had actually touched his heart?

The others also picked up on Chloe’s obvious hint. Yet, not a single person in that room cared about my feelings.

Seeing my cold face, they tried to smooth things over. "Valerie, Chloe is just talking. Don't take it seriously." "You and Ethan have such a great relationship.

You won't get mad over a little joke, right?" Those words felt like a trap. It was as if if I got angry, I would be the bad guy. But why on earth should I tolerate this?

Before I could speak, Ethan, nudged by his classmates, finally realized I was upset. He turned to face me.

In a gentle, pleading voice, he said, "Valerie, I know you don't like drinking, but could you please help me drink this glass? You sometimes drink for work anyway.

One glass is nothing to you." I didn't like alcohol, but indeed, my job sometimes required me to have a drink or two. He was right. One glass was nothing to me.

In fact, I had briefly thought about stepping in to help him. But the moment he tried to push his selfproclaimed heroism onto me, I wanted to laugh.

He wanted to play the hero, but when he got scared, he tried to throw me under the bus. There was no way in hell I was going to let him have it both ways. I smiled and stood up.

At the exact same time, one of his classmates spoke up. The classmate said, "I knew Valerie was cool!" But I said, "How is one glass enough?

Ethan, since you want to drink for her so badly, why don't you drink ten?" The room fell dead silent again.

The smile on Ethan’s face froze. He looked at me in disbelief. "What did you say?" "You know I'm..." I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say he was allergic, right?

But since he was the one who opened his mouth to play savior, he should bear the consequences. So, I didn't give him a chance to finish. I smiled at his classmates. "He's a man.

Ten glasses shouldn't be a problem, right?" I didn't know if these classmates truly didn't know about his allergy, or if they had simply forgotten. No one brought it up.

Hearing my words, though they looked a bit awkward, they quickly chimed in. "Yeah! Yeah, Valerie is right!" "Ethan, if you're going to drink for Chloe, you gotta make it count.

Drink up!" Soon, the others started cheering. They chanted, "Chug! Chug! Chug!" Ethan was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't drink, but he couldn't back down either.

I sat back down, a mocking smile on my face. I wanted to see how he was going to get out of this mess.

Before Ethan could figure out an excuse, Chloe started defending him. "Aren't you being way too cruel?" Realizing she was talking to me, I raised an eyebrow. How amusing.

The people who pressured her to drink weren't cruel, but I, the wife of the man trying to save her, was suddenly the cruel one.

Seeing that I remained silent, she grew even more selfrighteous. "As Ethan's wife, you don't even care about his health. Instead, you're joining them to peer pressure him.

How can you be so malicious?" "Ethan is such a good guy.

How did he end up marrying someone like you?" Then, she turned to Ethan with a look of pure pity. "Ethan, if I were your wife, I would never treat you like this." "Your taste in women is really terrible!" Her tone sounded like she was lecturing him, but her face was filled with heartbreaking sympathy.

I remembered how, in the past, whenever my relatives criticized me, Ethan would always stand up and defend me instantly. But today, he didn't say a single word to defend me.

I didn't know what he was thinking, but I knew his heart was wavering. We had been married for three years. Saying I wasn't hurt would be a lie.

But the thing I hated most was trying to fix a man.

Making him admit he was wrong, apologize, promise never to do it again, and then fall into a endless cycle of disappointment—that was not my style.

Dating or marriage, if it works, it works. If it doesn't, we move on. Marriage has conflicts, yes. But I always believed that arguing was a waste of time and energy.

If communication failed, I would simply stop communicating. Besides, in my eyes, a man who still pined over his "first love" was pathetic.

So, the moment I realized Ethan was wavering, I had already given up on him.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I said calmly, "Since you think I'm so malicious, Chloe, why don't you drink it yourself?" "Fine!

I will!" She walked over to Ethan, trying to grab the glass from his hand. I curled my lips in amusement.

There was a glass right in front of her, yet she insisted on taking the one from Ethan's hand. Her intentions were glaringly obvious. Sure enough, Ethan stopped her.

He looked at me and said, "Valerie, you're a woman too.

How can you force another woman to drink?" "I said I'd drink it for her, and I will." With that, he threw his head back and downed the glass.

The moment he set it down, I thoughtfully poured him a second glass. Ethan's face was incredibly pale, but he kept drinking, glass after glass.

When he finished the tenth glass, I finally stopped. "Alright, now that the drinks are finished, I'll head out first. Enjoy your reunion."

Leaving those words behind, I stood up and left the table. They didn't seem to expect me to leave so suddenly. No one spoke.

The moment the door of the private room clicked shut behind me, Chloe's scream echoed from inside. "Ethan!

What's wrong with you?" "Oh my god, why did he pass out?" Chaos erupted inside, but my footsteps didn't halt for a single second.

By the fifth glass, Ethan had already started to stagger. Before leaving, I had glanced at him and noticed his neck was already flushing red.

If this had happened in the past, I would have been worried sick. But now, I only felt he got exactly what he deserved.

When I got back to our apartment, my mind was still stuck on the scene in that restaurant. To be honest, I was a bit numb.

I couldn't understand how we were perfectly fine when we left the house, but in less than an hour, everything had shattered.

But one thing was crystal clear: in that one hour, our marriage had officially ended in my mind. However, I didn't have much time to dwell on it.

My phone rang, and my manager called me back to the office for an emergency. Our latest project was in its final stages.

Without a word of complaint, I headed straight to the office. By the time I finished work, it was almost midnight.

As I walked into our apartment complex, I habitually looked up at our window. Ethan had a stable job with regular hours and rarely worked overtime.

In my memory, every time I came home late, the lights would always be on. This was the first time the windows were completely dark. I let out a soft laugh and walked inside.

Once home, I took a quick shower and went straight to bed. The exhausting work had drained all my energy, leaving me no time to think about the daytime drama.

The next day was Sunday. Not long after I got out of bed, a loud knocking came from the front door. I hesitated for a second, then walked over to open it.

Ethan's mother, Linda, was standing at the door. With a cold, furious face, she pushed past me and barged into the apartment. I frowned.

Before I could ask what she was doing here, she pointed a finger at me and started screaming. "Is this how you act as a wife? Do you even have a shred of decency?"

Hearing Linda's words, I was stunned for a second. Then it clicked. She probably found out about Ethan's alcohol allergy and was here to put the blame on me.

Sure enough, she began to interrogate me in a harsh tone. "You knew Ethan is severely allergic to alcohol! Why did you join those people to force him to drink?

What are you trying to pull?" "Are you trying to kill him so you can take his money and find another man?" The explanation died in my throat.

I completely lost interest in arguing with her. I just let out a cold laugh. "Did Ethan tell you that?" Linda didn't answer, but her expression gave it away.

Right then, my phone rang. I looked at the screen. It was my mother, Sarah. Why was she calling me now? With a heavy heart, I answered the phone.

The moment it connected, my mother's worried voice came through. "Valerie, what's going on?" "Even if you're mad at Ethan, you shouldn't have forced him to drink!

If something had happened to him, you would have regretted it for the rest of your life." The exact same topic.

But unlike Linda, my mother's tone wasn't accusatory; she was just deeply concerned and slightly disapproving of my alleged behavior.

So, Ethan had run to both of our families to play the victim? I curled my lips, feeling a deep sense of disgust. But then again, this was classic Ethan.

In the past, whenever we had a disagreement, he would never argue with me directly. Instead, he would complain to our parents. Then, they would come and pressure me to compromise.

But those were minor things in the past. This time, he didn't just complain—he twisted the truth to make me look like a monster.

It was sickening. "Mom, I'll go over to your place later and explain everything," I said, then hung up.

I turned back to Linda. "What do you want?" My priority right now was to get rid of my motherinlaw. It was finally my day off, and I didn't want to waste it on her.

Hearing my question, Linda immediately snapped, "Get dressed right now and come to the hospital with me!

You are going to apologize to Ethan and bring him home to take care of him!" There was no way in hell I was going to the hospital to take care of him. I was furious.

Let alone a simple allergy—even if he were dying in that hospital, I wouldn't shed a single tear for him right now. "He's a grown man. Can't he walk home by himself?

It was just a few drinks. It's not going to kill him!" I said, my voice dripping with impatience. This was the first time I had ever shown my real temper in front of Linda.

Naturally, she got even angrier. "What do you know?" "Do you know he almost died from drinking years ago?

If that worthless girl hadn't run away back then, I would have made her pay!" Seeing the venomous expression on her face, I froze.

The "worthless girl" she was referring to... had to be Chloe, right? So, Linda only knew Ethan had an allergy, but she had no idea he drank this time to save Chloe?

Now, this was getting interesting. Realizing she had said too much, Linda quickly avoided my gaze and nervously changed the subject. "I don't care!

You must come to the hospital with me, or I'll make Ethan divorce you!" She was obviously terrified that I would press her on what she just let slip.

To be honest, I didn't care about the threat of divorce. I was planning on leaving Ethan anyway. But now, I had changed my mind. I wanted to go to the hospital.

I really wanted to see what kind of face Linda would make when she ran into Chloe there.