My Toxic Ex Traded Me Away, Now I'm Marrying His Rival

Five years together, and my boyfriend had never spent a single anniversary with me. Every year, on our anniversary, he would "lend" me to one of his single friends.

Whenever I tried to refuse, he would guilttrip me, calling it "the brotherhood bond." But when one of his friends crossed the line and tried to force himself on me, my boyfriend only frowned. "That's impossible.

He's my friend.

He would never do that." Even when I was kicked out of his friend's mansion in the middle of the night, he only offered a fake, hollow comfort: "Just one last time." "After this is over, we'll get married." And so, for five years, "one last time" turned into countless times.

On this year's anniversary, I was slapped in public yet again.

Sobbing, I ran to find Ethan, only to hear someone asking him through the cracked door: "Ethan, aren't you afraid Elena will actually end up marrying one of those guys?" Ethan was holding Sienna in his arms, his tone casual and indifferent. "Please.

A charity case like her?

How could she ever marry into old money?" "Besides, if she didn't play fake girlfriend for my friends, how else would I get to spend our anniversary alone with Sienna?" Sienna blushed and kissed him on the cheek.

Others laughed and chimed in. "Man, you're brilliant.

If things ever leak out, you can just turn it around and blame her for being a gold digger." Standing outside the door, I felt completely frozen.

Five years of endurance, and all I got in return was his cruel calculation. In that moment, I made a silent vow.

I would make Ethan watch with his own eyes as he pushed me right into someone else's arms. Soon, the opportunity came.

I accompanied his close friend, Julian Sterling, to his family home. In front of everyone, Julian's mother placed their ancestral family heirloom ring into my palm.

I didn't reject it. Instead, I smiled and slipped it onto my finger. I was going to be Julian's fiancée. On the way back, I kept looking down at the ring on my finger.

I could almost feel a flicker of anticipation, wondering what Ethan's face would look like when he saw me wearing another man's ring.

As soon as I pushed the door open, Ethan smiled at me, looking as if he had been waiting for a long time. "You're back. Thank you." But I didn't feel even a spark of warmth.

Behind him, his group of wealthy friends were staring at me, their eyes gleaming with malicious amusement. "Wow, she didn't get kicked out or beaten up this time?

I thought Julian was a notorious clean freak who hated poor girls." "Ethan, looks like you lost the bet. My money was on her coming back in tears tonight." Ethan didn't defend me.

He just glanced over me with a hint of surprise. "Fine, I lose." His casual words made my blood run cold.

So they had gathered here just to bet on whether I would be humiliated or physically thrown out by Julian.

There was no guilt on Ethan's face for pushing his own girlfriend onto another man. There was no worry about whether I had been hurt. Only the slight boredom of losing a petty bet.

I turned away, numb, ready to leave the room. But suddenly, Sienna grabbed my wrist. "What is that on your finger?" Her voice screeched to a halt.

The others stared at my hand, their expressions instantly turning into looks of shock and caution. "Is that... the Sterling family heirloom ring?" "The one only passed down to their future daughterinlaw?

What is going on?" Ethan stared dead at the ring on my finger, his face darkening inch by inch. I looked down at the band, a cold, subtle smile playing on my lips.

Sienna suddenly shrieked, "Elena!

How could you steal the Sterling family's ring?" Hearing this, Ethan's tense expression slowly relaxed. "Elena, I told you I'll marry you eventually," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "You shouldn't resort to such cheap, desperate tricks just to prove a point." The others laughed, realizing what "must" have happened. "Ah, that makes sense.

How could the Sterlings ever accept a charity case like her?" "They probably just let her hold it for a second, and she actually thought she was worthy of it." These jeers and insults had never stopped since the day I became Ethan's girlfriend.

Ethan didn't outright mock my background. But he never stopped his friends from stepping on me either.

In fact, he was the one who actively pushed me to go home with his friends as a fake date.

Every humiliation, every slap, every time I was used as a punching bag or an outlet for someone's rage. It all happened with his quiet permission.

I used to think he had no choice, that he couldn't protect me because of family pressure.

But today, at the Sterling mansion, Julian's father had casually mentioned seeing Ethan taking Sienna to the Vance estate a few days ago.

Ethan had openly introduced Sienna as his fiancée. Julian's father had even praised Ethan: "That Vance boy is a real man.

He shut down all the rumors and stood up for his girl." At that exact moment, the truth hit me like a slap to the face. When a man truly loves a woman, he paves the way for her.

All those excuses about "different social classes" and "family opposition" were just lies. It was all about his attitude.

And I was never part of his future. "Alright, that's enough," Ethan said, stubbing out his cigarette.

It was the first time he had ever cut them off. "Elena, the Sterlings are out of your league.

I'll return the ring for you." The moment he reached for my hand, I pulled back and covered the ring. A flash of irritation crossed Ethan's eyes. "What?

You don't want to?" "I don't feel well," I muttered. "I think I ate something bad." My stomach was churning with intense nausea. Ethan looked at me intently.

For a brief second, memories flashed back. Years ago, if I so much as mentioned feeling slightly unwell, Ethan would drop everything to take care of me.

But now, he only let out a mocking laugh, shattering the last of my illusions. "What?

Is your cheap stomach not used to the fine dining at the Sterling estate?" The warmth in my cheeks drained completely.

Ethan forcefully pulled the ring off my finger and patted my shoulder. "Go upstairs and rest."

I don't even remember how I made it back to the bedroom. The nausea soon intensified into sharp, stabbing pains in my stomach.

I was so weak I couldn't even stand up to get medicine. I don't know how much time passed before my phone buzzed. It was Julian.

His voice was low and calm. "Ethan returned the ring to me.

You didn't want it?" I could barely breathe, and he immediately noticed. "What's wrong?" "Stomach ache..." The line went quiet for a few seconds.

Then Julian spoke again. "Go downstairs in twenty minutes to get some medicine. We'll talk when you're feeling better." My heart clenched, and tears silently soaked into my pillow.

Twenty minutes later, I dragged myself downstairs. The house was dead silent. But Ethan was sitting in the living room. He held up a prescription box with a sticky note on it.

The handwriting was masculine: "Take care of yourself." Ethan's eyes were darker than I'd ever seen them. "What is this?" "Elena, who is the bastard you're screwing behind my back?

He's delivering medicine right under my nose." He threw the box straight into the trash can. "Can't you live a single minute without a man?

You can't even buy your own damn medicine?" "It's just medicine," I said, exhausted. He could be so sweet and attentive to Sienna, coaxing her to take her pills with candy.

But when someone else bought medicine for me, it was a crime. My lack of explanation only infuriated him more.

He grabbed the heavy glass ash tray from the table and hurled it straight at me. "And here I was, planning our wedding for next month!

You don't deserve any of it!" The ash tray struck my forehead, splitting the skin. I didn't duck. First, because I didn't have the strength.

Second, because his words reminded me of the four other weddings Ethan had "planned" over the last five years. The first time, there was a venue issue.

Everyone said it was just bad luck. The second time, his grandfather passed away. The family whispered behind my back, calling me a curse.

The third and fourth times were also canceled due to various "accidents." Eventually, everyone saw through the Vance family.

I became the ultimate joke, the poor girl who failed to climb her way into high society.

When I accompanied his friends, they would ask me disgusting questions like, "Is it because you're bad in bed that he won't marry you?" I had even been cornered in bathrooms by his friends trying to grope me.

So, how could there be a wedding this time? Ethan seemed stunned that I hadn't dodged. His tone softened slightly. "Why didn't you move?

Come here, let me clean that up." Every time I got hurt, Ethan was the one to bandage me up. I used to think it was out of love.

Later, I realized he was just terrified of the bad press if anyone saw my bruises. I pushed his hand away, knelt down, and retrieved the medicine from the trash.

Ethan stared at me, his mouth opening and closing. Suddenly, his phone, lying on the table, speakerphone on, let out a woman's voice. "Ethan, don't waste your breath on her.

We're still waiting for you." My breath hitched.

My hands shook as I opened the medicine box. "You've been on a call this whole time?" Ethan frowned. "Yes." So that was why he was awake and waiting downstairs in the middle of the night.

He was on his way out to meet Sienna. Sienna's whiny voice came through the speaker again, urging him to hurry.

Ethan looked at me with a momentary flicker of hesitation, but ultimately turned and walked out the door. I leaned against the wall for a long time before opening the fridge.

There wasn't even a single bottle of plain water. The shelves were stuffed with Sienna's favorite gourmet desserts and soda.

I turned on the tap and swallowed the pills with cold tap water. My throat burned. The taste was bitter and sickening.

I wondered how many of his friends had just listened to my humiliation over the phone. But the first call I received wasn't from a mocker.

It was my brother, Mark. "Did you cheat on Ethan? Do you have any idea how many people are laughing at me right now?!"

"Have you forgotten who bailed me out of jail?! Who paid for Mom's medical bills?! Go apologize to Mr. Vance right now!" "Mark, I didn't cheat.

He's the one who betrayed me." "Be grateful for what you have, Elena! Mr. Vance has been more than generous to us. So what if there's a Sienna..." He suddenly stopped himself.

I began to tremble, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Mark... you knew about them? You knew this whole time?" I desperately wanted him to say no.

I wanted to believe at least one person in my life hadn't lied to me.

But my own brother, the only family I had left, just sighed impatiently. "Since you already know, why aren't you trying harder to keep Mr.

Vance happy?" "Everyone out there is calling you a whore! Who else is going to marry you if Mr. Vance dumps you?

Cheating now is just stupid!" I never thought I would hear such cruel words from him. Just like Ethan's friends, he blamed me for everything. "Just listen to me, Elena. Mr.

Vance just hooked me up with a new job, and Mom's medical bills went up again this month. Just endure it." I couldn't say a word.

After a long silence, I canceled the train ticket I had bought the night before. In the beginning, Ethan was my savior.

He funded my college education, took care of my family, and gave me a love I had never known. But later, those favors came with a heavy price tag.

The first time he "lent" me out to his friend was right after he bailed Mark out of trouble.

The day he paid off my mother's massive hospital bill was the same day he brought Sienna into our home. In Ethan's eyes, we were never equals. My phone buzzed again.

I picked it up. "Did Mark talk to you? Stop throwing tantrums." Ethan's voice was cold.

I let out a mocking laugh. "What do I have to pay with this time in exchange for Mark's new job?" Ethan was silent for a second, his voice dropping a few degrees. "You need to play plusone for my friends for the next seven days.

This afternoon, you're going with Connor. Don't embarrass me." My face went pale. This was my "anniversary week" punishment.

That afternoon, Connor picked me up and took me to a highend restaurant. He and his family clearly looked down on me, but at least the dinner passed without anyone throwing things.

After the dinner, I was about to get into Connor's car to go home. Suddenly, someone grabbed my hair and yanked me backward onto the asphalt. "You bitch!

I'm Connor's actual girlfriend!" Before I could even speak, a hard slap landed squarely on my cheek. My vision went black.

Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Connor's panicked voice. "Chloe!

What are you doing here?" "You're having dinner with this cheap side piece and you expect me to sit out?" Connor didn't even attempt to explain or defend me.

He stood by and watched as his girlfriend slapped me over and over. She kicked me in the ribs, and I collapsed onto the pavement.

The wound on my forehead tore open, and blood began to trickle into my eyes, blurring my vision. Through the crimson haze, I thought I saw a familiar figure standing not far away.

It looked like Ethan. The shock and worry on his face were things I hadn't seen in years. But as he took a step toward me, Sienna grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.

Ethan froze, looking at me with a complicated, conflicted expression. I guess it wasn't a hallucination. A hallucination of Ethan wouldn't just stand there and watch me get beaten.

Once Chloe had taken her anger out on me, Connor dragged her away. Only then did Ethan walk over. He picked me up in silence. He didn't explain anything.

Even though I was covered in bruises and bleeding, he only called a private doctor to patch me up. I slept to escape the agonizing pain. But my sleep was restless.

At one point, I heard Connor's voice from the hallway. "Ethan, my girlfriend didn't mean it.

Just tell me how much I owe you for the damages." But Ethan only consoled him. "Don't worry about it. I was the one who asked you to take her out.

If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have been able to take Sienna back to the Vance estate without my parents noticing." "That's true.

Well, for the sake of your happiness with Sienna, we're happy to help." I covered my ears, crying silently in the dark.

When I woke up again, Ethan was sitting by my bed, his face full of gentle concern. "Don't worry.

I won't let you go out again until your injuries are healed." He leaned close to my ear, whispering with a strange, hidden excitement. "Once you're healed, we'll get married." I didn't ask who he was marrying.

Me? Or Sienna? But before the wedding could even happen, Julian arrived.