My Bestie's Fiancé Is My Husband of Five Years

My best friend, Chloe Carter, had been kept as a secret mistress by a mysterious billionaire. In just two years, she had undergone three abortions.

This time, she asked me to accompany her to the clinic again. The moment I saw her, I couldn't help but snap: "You were never a golddigger, Chloe.

Why are you willing to be some rich guy's dirty little secret?" "If he really loved you, he would have married you by now.

Why does he keep letting you get hurt?" She stared at me, shaking her head with a bittersweet smile. "You don't understand, Elena. He loves me.

He just has a very dangerous identity... he has his reasons." I let out a cold laugh.

She actually believed the lies of a man like that? "If you can't bring yourself to break up with him, I'll do it for you." I snatched her phone, intending to send him a breakup text.

But my finger froze over her pinned chat. The profile picture was someone I knew all too well. It was my husband, the notorious mafia boss, Ethan Vance.

Looking at Chloe's face, which was practically glowing with love, my mind went completely blank. I didn't even know how to tell her the truth. "Chloe... you're being played.

He's already married." Chloe blinked, looking confused as she took her phone back. "That's impossible. Look at his Instagram. It's full of photos of me.

And I've already met his family and friends." My blood ran cold. I tapped on his profile picture and scrolled through his followers.

Sure enough, there were Ethan's closest associates and relatives. The list was even more complete than mine. So... I had been added to his burner account this whole time?

Chloe kept babbling happily. "Oh, and by the way, I'm not actually getting an abortion today.

Promise me you won't tell anyone!" Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks flushing as she leaned in to whisper in my ear: "Honestly, he's just too clingy.

He's a beast in bed, and my body literally couldn't take it anymore. So I lied and said I was pregnant and needed an abortion just to get a month of rest.

Otherwise, I'd seriously die in his bed." "Yesterday, I didn't let him touch me, and he got so angry." Her words blurred into static. A loud ringing filled my ears. Yesterday.

Ethan had finally come home after three long months of absence. All night, he had taken me with a raw, savage fury, over and over again.

I had endured the pain and submitted to his every whim, naively thinking he was just under too much pressure from his gang wars and needed comfort from his wife.

It turned out his mistress had rejected him, so he used me as a mere substitute to vent his frustration. I had been married to Ethan Vance for five years, but no one knew.

All because he once told me: "The family turf wars are too dangerous right now, Elena. Keeping you as a hidden mistress in the shadows is the only way to keep you safe.

Our marriage certificate must never be leaked." And I, like a fool, believed him.

I obediently hid our marriage certificate in the deepest corner of my safe, telling everyone I only had a boyfriend.

Staring at Chloe's radiant, happy face, my voice trembled as I asked: "What exactly are his 'reasons' for not marrying you?" Chloe's face fell slightly. "His identity is complicated.

He's a mafia boss.

For the past two years, his rivals have been trying to assassinate him." But she quickly cheered up again. "But last month, he told me he finally took care of his main rival.

He already proposed to me. We're getting married in a month!" My world spun. I dug my fingernails deep into my palms, the sharp pain barely keeping me grounded.

A month from now... was the anniversary of my daughter's death. Yet he was going to hold a grand wedding for another woman on that exact day.

When Chloe's name was called by the nurse, her phone rang. It was Ethan. His voice was gentler than I had ever heard it. "Stop throwing a tantrum.

I bought you a present." Chloe let out a playful, haughty hum. "I don't believe you, you grumpy older guy. I'm not marrying you!" Suddenly, a loud boom echoed from outside.

Countless colorful ribbons and confetti rained down from the sky. A helicopter hovered above the hospital plaza, trailing a massive banner: Chloe, will you marry me?

Nurses, doctors, and random patients walked up to Chloe with smiles on their faces, each handing her a fresh, blooming red rose. Within moments, she was buried in a sea of roses.

She was so moved she couldn't speak. Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded frantically into her phone. "Yes!

Yes, I will!" I don't even remember how I walked out of that hospital. I was still holding the "rose of true love" Chloe had shoved into my hands. "See, Elena?

He truly loves me," she had said with a sweet smile. "I hope you find a man who loves you like this one day.

As for your current boyfriend... you've been with him for years and he still hasn't proposed. Just dump him." I closed my eyes, my throat tight with unshed tears.

I remembered our wedding. Because the Vance family had just survived an internal coup, everything was kept simple and quiet.

I had playfully begged for a single rose, but Ethan told me it wasn't the right time.

He promised that once all his enemies in the shadows were eliminated, he would buy me an entire field of flowers.

And now, the very first flower I ever received from him was a leftover prop from the romance he staged for another woman.

When I pushed open the front door of our house, Ethan was sitting on the sofa, reviewing some gang ledgers.

Seeing me walk in, he opened his arms as he always did, expecting me to throw myself into his embrace.

But his face darkened the moment he saw the rose in my hand. "What is that?" I instinctively tried to hide it behind my back, but he grabbed my wrist with bruising force. "Our daughter's anniversary is next month, and you're out buying bright, celebratory flowers?

Elena, do you even have a heart?!" A hollow laugh escaped my lips. When our daughter, Lily, was just a baby, she and I were kidnapped by Ethan's enemies.

On the edge of a cliff, blindfolded, I could only hear my baby's desperate cries. The kidnappers demanded Ethan take his own life.

To prevent him from being held hostage to their demands, I grabbed Lily and jumped off the cliff.

Even though I fought the waves and held her above the freezing water with all my might, she caught a severe infection and died shortly after we were rescued.

Since then, our child had become a taboo subject in this house. But now, while he was pretending to mourn our daughter, he was actively planning a wedding with another woman.

I gently placed the rose on the table. "A friend of mine got proposed to.

She gave this to me." I looked up at him, a tiny, pathetic shred of hope still lingering in my chest. "After Lily's anniversary... let's go on a trip. Just the two of us.

Let's travel the world for her." Without even thinking, Ethan snapped, "No." Perhaps realizing he sounded too cold, his tone softened slightly. "I just took full control of the Vance syndicate.

It's not a good time for me to be away.

Once things settle down, I'll take you." "Then the day after, can you accompany me to—" "Enough!" Ethan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, looking at me with pure disappointment. "Why are you so selfish, Elena?

Do you only think about yourself? Are you not even grieving for our daughter as her mother?" He stood up and walked away, leaving me collapsed on the floor. My phone buzzed.

It was a text from Chloe with the date of her wedding: [May 13th, babe! You absolutely have to be there!] And Lily's anniversary was May 12th. He couldn't even wait a single day.

One day he would play the grieving father, and the very next, he would play the happy groom marrying his soulmate. Ethan, the only selfish one here is you.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered a stack of syndicate documents and knocked on his study door. "Come in." When Ethan saw it was me, he sighed and pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my neck.

His voice was muffled. "I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. It's just... Lily's anniversary is coming up, and I'm a mess.

You understand me best, right?" I closed my eyes, a single tear slipping down my cheek and landing on his neck.

I quickly wiped my eyes and handed him the documents. "These were just delivered.

They said you bought some new properties and need to sign off on them." Without even looking, Ethan scribbled his signature on the bottom line.

I stared intently at the tip of his pen. As he finished the stroke, my heart felt like it was being sliced into pieces by a thousand razor blades.

Ethan had no idea that mixed within those gang ledgers was our divorce agreement.

The moment I stepped out of the study, I sent the signed divorce papers and our marriage certificate straight to my lawyer.

Then, I went to a local boutique to pick up a black dress for my daughter's anniversary.

While I was waiting for my order, a familiar voice echoed from the fitting rooms: "Ugh, why did you buy me so many red dresses?

I told you, I want a pure white gown for the ceremony!" It was Chloe. I turned around. Ethan was spinning her around by her waist, laughing.

The moment his eyes met mine, his footsteps faltered.

"Oh!" Chloe gasped, startled by his sudden stop, and playfully pouted. But when she saw me, her eyes lit up. "Elena! You're here too!" I didn't say a word.

I just stared quietly at Ethan. I expected to see panic, or at least a flicker of guilt in his eyes. But there was nothing.

His gaze was as cold and indifferent as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

His voice didn't hold a single tremor of emotion: "Hello." Chloe clapped her hands together. "Oh my god, I totally forgot! I haven't officially introduced you two yet!

This is my absolute best friend in the entire world, Elena. You better treat her well!" Then she winked at me, gesturing to Ethan. "And this is my guy.

He's thirty, so only five years older than me. Since we ran into each other, let's grab lunch together!

Consider it an official introduction." A faint smile touched my lips. "Sure, why not." Ethan's icy glare immediately locked onto me, filled with a silent, dangerous warning.

I pretended not to notice, letting Chloe hook her arm through mine as we walked out. At the restaurant, Chloe looked at me with deep concern. "Elena, you barely smile these days.

I told you, your boyfriend is a loser. You need to dump him." She nudged Ethan. "Don't you have a bunch of hot, single friends? Introduce one to Elena.

Let's make her boyfriend jealous." Ethan's voice turned freezing cold. "She doesn't need one." I raised my eyes, meeting his frosty gaze. "Actually, I think I do." Ethan's face darkened instantly.

Chloe excitedly grabbed his phone. "Julian Pierce is a great guy.

Let me call him right now." Before Ethan could snatch the phone away, Julian answered. "Hey Chloe, did Ethan piss you off again?" Chloe giggled, covering her mouth. "Actually, I want to set you up on a blind date." Ethan's hand clenched into a tight fist, the veins bulging on his forearm.

I took the phone from Chloe and spoke directly into the receiver. "Hi Julian. I'm Elena, the girl Chloe wanted to introduce to you.

It's really nice to meet you." On the other end of the line, Julian went completely silent, stunned. After a long pause, he abruptly hung up.

Chloe laughed awkwardly, reclaiming her phone. "Well, that was rude of him.

Don't worry, I'll find you someone way better." Ethan let out a subtle sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject.

After lunch, Chloe wanted to drive me home, but Ethan suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply right in front of me. Chloe was left dazed and blushing furiously.

Meeting Ethan's warning glare, I simply turned around and drove home.

The moment I unlocked the front door, I was grabbed by a pair of furious hands and slammed hard against the wall.

Ethan's voice vibrated with suppressed rage: "Why did you agree to that? Are you really that desperate to throw yourself at another man? Don't forget, we are married.

What you did today was cheating!" I froze for a second, and then, a low chuckle escaped my throat. The laugh grew louder, turning into a desperate, hysterical sob.

My sudden breakdown made Ethan's chest tighten.

An unfamiliar, suffocating anxiety gripped his heart. "Ethan Vance... you actually know what cheating is?" "You knew she was my best friend. Why her?

Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be her?!" "How could you do this to me?!" The agony I had bottled up for weeks finally erupted.

I sank to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why are you treating me like this? Ethan, he who betrays a true heart will swallow a thousand needles. I hate you!

I hate you!" Ethan tugged violently at his tie, looking incredibly annoyed. "She doesn't know anything about us. Besides, you and I are already married.

I'm just giving her a wedding. You are still my legal wife." "We already owe her so much. Do you really have to hold onto this?" "You have the marriage certificate.

You have the honor of being Mrs. Vance. She only has my affection and a temporary wedding. It's fair." I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

Facing a man like this, words were entirely useless. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a Snapchat from Chloe: "Elena, I think he's cheating on me."