After being framed for kidnapping a child, my own husband sent me to prison.

The day after I went in, he started spending every night screwing his old flame in my bed.

Three years of hell turned me numb.

When I got out, I was forced to live with a dog and give up my parents' inheritance.

Finally, I signed the divorce papers, just begging him to leave me alone.

But then he went crazy, regretting everything, kneeling at my feet, pleading:

"I was wrong, I sent that woman to prison, please forgive me, okay?"

1

"Inmate 1556, you're clear for release."

The guard's loud voice snapped me out of my daze.

Three years behind bars had drained the life out of me, leaving me numb to almost everything.

Even seeing Ethan Hayes, my husband, waiting for me—the first time in three years—didn't stir the intense emotions I used to feel.

Seeing me just standing there, dazedly, Ethan frowned impatiently, then rolled down the window and barked.

"What? Didn't three years in prison teach you anything? Do I have to get out and open the door for you?"

That familiar tone sent a pang through my long-dormant heart.

I quickly reached for the passenger door handle, but he snapped again.

"Get in the back."

Stumbling, I opened the rear door, only then noticing the cute little charms hanging from the rearview mirror and dashboard.

Ethan always hated childish things like that; anything I ever put up got thrown out.

But these were carefully placed. I didn't even need to guess who they belonged to.

Sure enough, a familiar face turned around from the passenger seat, greeting me brightly.

"Ava, long time no see!"

It was Chloe Vance, Ethan's old flame.

I didn't answer, just gave her a blank nod.

The next second, Ethan suddenly turned, reaching towards me.

Instinctively, I covered my head and curled up. "I'm sorry!"

Ethan paused. "What the hell are you doing?"

I looked up and saw he was just grabbing a water bottle from the back seat.

It hit me then—I might be out of that hellhole, but my mind was still trapped there.

Ethan scoffed. "Looks like Chloe was right. Trash like you who kidnaps kids really does learn to obey in prison, hahaha."

"Look at you, like a kicked dog. Did they make you bark in there? Did you go 'woof woof'?"

I didn't argue.

Prison is a concentration of malice.

I was nearly beaten to death on my first day.

Initially, I tried asking the guards for help, but all I got were disgusted looks.

Sometimes, they even deliberately covered for the inmates.

Before I was arrested, I knew my alleged crime would make me a target inside.

But I never expected the prison system itself seemed designed to destroy me.

Daily beatings, moved to a new cell block every other week to be tormented by fresh faces.

Once, when I was seriously injured and sent to the infirmary, the doctor pressed down hard on my wounds while sneering and pouring alcohol.

So, survival meant adopting the most subservient attitude possible.

It wasn't learning to be like a dog; it was being less than a dog.

Seeing my lack of response, the contempt in Ethan's eyes deepened. Chloe quickly tried to soothe him in a soft voice.

"Ethan, honey, don't be mad. Ava's been cut off from society for three years, she's learned her lesson. You'll just have to guide her back to being a decent person."

"Don't worry, I'll help you guide her too. After all, she did genuinely love you and take care of you once. I'll definitely look out for her, for your sake."

Chloe's eyes seemed sincere.

But Ethan just grabbed the water bottle and threw it, hitting my forehead.

"Everything that happened to Ava, she brought on herself! She's just good at playing the victim to fool soft-hearted people like you!"

"Disgusting!"

Ethan looked like he wanted to kill me.

If I hadn't supposedly kidnapped Chloe's cousin at the mall, Chloe wouldn't have rushed and fallen, injuring her leg.

Chloe placated Ethan with a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't be angry, Ethan darling. I'll always be here with you, facing whatever comes!"

"Chloe, it's so good to have you."

2

It happened on my birthday.

I received a rare text from Ethan, asking me to meet him at a restaurant to celebrate.

I was overjoyed.

I thought maybe this marriage, which only I seemed committed to, finally had a glimmer of hope.

I always knew Ethan didn't love me. He wouldn't have married me if it wasn't to save his family's struggling business.

But that night, he said he had prepared many gifts for me at the restaurant.

Yet, as wave after wave of customers left, he still hadn't shown up.

Just then, a little girl came up to me and took my hand.

"Miss, I'll take you to him."

Thinking it was part of Ethan's surprise, I followed the girl to the mall next door.

Soon, sirens wailed.

The girl suddenly fell, crying. Before I could even help her up, several police officers tackled me to the ground.

When I saw Ethan arrive, I desperately pleaded for him to save me.

But my frantic explanations were no match for Chloe's choked words.

"Ava, I know you're jealous of my relationship with Ethan and always wanted revenge on me."

"But if you have a problem, take it out on me! My cousin is just a child!"

Coupled with the girl's terrified crying, I was suddenly accused of child abduction, completely bewildered.

The hand I reached out to Ethan was flung away with disgust.

"Ava, she's only six! Can she lie? You are truly vicious!"

And then, Ethan personally handed me over to the police.

Later, when even the judge handling the case expressed doubts, it was Ethan who hired the best lawyer in the country to convince the judge to convict me.

All of it, just to please his old flame.

The car gradually entered the city limits and stopped at the old family house.

This mansion, originally mine, had been transferred to Ethan's name the day before I went to prison.

The butler hesitated as he walked ahead of me.

As much as he wanted to talk to me, he had to watch Ethan's expression; Ethan was the master of the house now.

Not long ago, a maid was fired just because she couldn't style Chloe's hair exactly the way she liked. Ethan not only fired her but also ruined her career, blacklisting her in the industry.

"Miss Ava, you've suffered terribly."

While Ethan and Chloe went upstairs to change, the old butler quickly pulled me aside and pressed an envelope into my hand.

I looked up, surprised.

"Miss Ava, if it weren't for you back then, my grandson might not be here today. He's doing well now. Please take this money."

It was the bank card I had given him before.

I clutched it tightly, ultimately pocketing it due to my current desperate situation.

Indeed, as long as I was breathing, Ethan would only ever feel disgust towards me.

My old room in the house had been converted into a room for Chloe's pet dog.

But he insisted I stay in that room, sharing it with Chloe's dog.

He was humiliating me.

What he didn't know was that even sharing a room with a dog was far better than the conditions I'd endured for the past three years.

He wrapped his arm around Chloe's waist, his eyes full of disdain for me.

"Chloe's and my room is right next door. You'll stay here tonight. Behave yourself. Don't you dare disturb our rest."

"And if you hear anything, don't get any funny ideas, understand?"

"Ava, you need to recognize your place now. You have absolutely no right to say no."

He looked at me like I was a dangerous criminal.

But when he looked at Chloe, his eyes were always overflowing with affection.

Watching him hold Chloe tight, for the first time, my heart felt no trace of bitterness.

After all, I had already decided to divorce him.

My love for him had died during those three years.

3

That night, I couldn't sleep.

Besides the dog whining, there were the low moans of Ethan and Chloe making love next door.

They sounded like wild animals, unleashing buried desires in the dead of night.

"Ethan honey, now that Ava's back, does that mean I can't stay here anymore?"

"But I want to be with you forever. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up every day!"

Her words, practically a confession of love, hit Ethan hard.

He had waited so long to hear this.

"Chloe, I feel the exact same way."

"Thank god, thank god I finally have your answer."

This was a message for me.

A reminder that they were the perfectly matched pair in this world.

And I was just an intruder, an invader.

"But Ethan darling, what if Ava forces you to kick me out?"

"Her? Dare she? She barely dares to speak loudly to me. You know how she kisses my ass."

"In Ava's mind, I'm more important than her own life."

The next morning, I knocked on their bedroom door.

Thanks to my old phone still working, I had prepared the divorce agreement overnight.

As if deliberately trying to provoke me, Ethan opened the door shirtless.

His body was covered in love bites and scratches.

He held his head high, eyes dripping with scorn.

"What do you want?"

I silently averted my gaze and handed him the papers.

"To divorce you."

Ethan laughed out loud, absurdly, as if he'd heard the world's biggest joke.

"You?"

"Divorcing me?"

He looked down on me, his tone full of disbelief.

"Ava, don't you know that divorce is something only I get to initiate?"

Chloe emerged from behind him, throwing herself into Ethan's arms.

They ignored me, getting intimate right in front of me, leaving me standing there.

The sounds of heavy breathing started again, like two animals constantly in heat.

After a long while, Ethan finally spared me a sliver of his attention.

"Fine, if you want a divorce, it's not impossible."

"Ava, kneel and beg me."

I froze.

I didn't understand. He had the woman he loved by his side now, why deliberately make things difficult?

Shouldn't he, like me, want to end this marriage as soon as possible?

Seeing my prolonged silence, Ethan sneered.

"I knew it. This is just another one of your manipulative little dramas."

"Hearing me with another woman every night got to you, didn't it? If you can't stand it, move out! Don't put on an act in front of me."

"Let's see where you can possibly go once you leave me."

His overwhelming confidence crushed my self-esteem into dust.

"Do you really... hate me that much?" I subconsciously voiced the question that had haunted me for three years.

Ethan nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Just looking at you makes me sick."

I took a deep breath and pulled the divorce papers back.

Pulling back the last shred of illusion I had about him.

4

The company my parents left me before they died... I had already transferred most of the shares to Ethan when we got married.

Later, because of my sudden imprisonment, only one of the original senior executives remained.

I didn't know if the others quit on their own or if Ethan forced them out one by one.

It wasn't until he heard me personally say the word "divorce" that the remaining executive finally laughed with relief.

"Ava, I stayed at the company all this time just waiting for you to come back! Thank goodness you've finally come to your senses. Don't worry, this time I'll do whatever it takes to get back what's yours."

"Including your reputation."

Three years ago, when they framed me, I still clung to the fantasy that Ethan would save me.

If I had used every means possible back then to prove my innocence, maybe I wouldn't have ended up in such a wretched state.

But that kind of clarity...

Only dawned on me after three years of being emotionally stripped bare by love.

Thanks to the butler's bank card, I rented a small apartment outside the estate.

When Ethan realized I wasn't just putting on an act, a rare hint of panic flickered across his face.

"Ava, what do you mean by this?"

"Why are you still so manipulative? You have a home, why run off like this? Just to make sure everyone knows I drove you out?"

I quietly finished packing my things before turning to address him.

"Having a child kidnapper in the house... don't you find it unlucky?"

"After all, I'm the criminal you so righteously handed over yourself."

The moment the words left my mouth, Ethan slammed his fist against the wall, radiating a terrifying aura.

Seeing this, Chloe rushed over, tenderly rubbing Ethan's reddened knuckles.

"Ethan, honey, don't be angry with Ava."

"Maybe Ava just realizes the terrible things she did before, so she doesn't dare stay near you anymore."

"Why don't you just agree to the divorce? Out of sight, out of mind, for your own peace."

Chloe whispered softly in Ethan's ear.

One sentence after another, like brainwashing.

Persuaded by the woman he adored, Ethan finally relented.

He suppressed whatever fleeting unease or anger he felt, reverting to his usual look of disgust towards me.

"Chloe's right. Ava, I agree to divorce you."

"Hurry up and give me the papers. I'll generously give you some assets, then disappear from this city. Saves me the nausea of looking at you."

His tone was as arrogant as ever.

He seemed to assume I would obey him like I always used to, holding out his hand, waiting for me to place the divorce agreement in it.

I stared at him for a moment.