Twelve Chances to Betray

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My husband, Ethan Pierce, wants me to sign an infidelity agreement.

Article Three of the agreement: twelve opportunities to cheat per year, unused chances can be converted to cash.

I smiled and signed it.

From then on, I purchased various contraceptives and sex toys for him.

I took excellent care of my husband and his lovers.

Those lovers humiliated me: "That old hag is so pathetic. Does she really think she can keep Ethan's heart by acting like a dog?"

I still didn't cry, didn't make a scene, and didn't file for divorce.

Instead, every year, I collected a payout of thirty-six million dollars.

Every second, I waited for that bastard husband to die.

After all, Ethan Pierce had no idea.

His HIV test had already come back positive long ago.

The sixty-eighth time.

When the nauseating moans from the master bedroom finally stopped, I swallowed the PEP pill in my mouth and put on protective gloves before daring to push the door open.

Bit by bit, I cleaned up the disheveled, obscene mess of the room.

The next second, the frosted bathroom door was yanked open.

Ethan Pierce walked out bare-chested, supporting a young woman who could barely stand.

"Ouch, I told you it was my first time. Did you have to be so rough?"

It was Sophie West, the new intern at the company fresh, beautiful, like a rose with thorns.

The two of them flirted and laughed, but when they saw me, the warmth in Ethan's eyes plummeted.

"Fast work."

He pulled out a black card and casually tossed it onto the messy sheets stained with spots of blood.

"Get the most expensive bedding set. Keep whatever's left and buy yourself some handbags."

His voice sounded like he was dismissing a beggar.

I numbly walked over, bent down, and picked up the card.

I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene.

Because Ethan Pierce had no idea.

Six months ago, I'd found the medical report of his previous lover. Positive.

And not only had I quietly concealed it, I'd also prayed to every god I could think of and received confirmation that Ethan Pierce had tested positive too.

Childhood sweethearts. A power couple.

Seven years of marriage. I never imagined that one day, I'd be hoping for Ethan Pierce to die.

Seven years ago, when Ethan used half of the Lynn family assets as startup capital and became the leading business tycoon in Crestwood, he knelt before me and said I was the only true love of his life.

When he knew I was overseas on a business trip missing home-style cooking, he'd fly over ten hours just to cook me a table full of dishes himself.

But after my family went bankrupt and Ethan handed me an agreement allowing him to "cheat twelve times a year," I went from being the pampered elite wife he held in the palm of his hand to the maid who cleaned up after his hookups.

If love could be performed, then I'd perform until he lost everything...

After all, with one month left until his onset period, I was only one step away from completely destroying Ethan Pierce.

"You clean up. I need to take this call."

The ringtone interrupted my thoughts.

Ethan kissed Sophie for a few seconds, answered the phone, then turned and headed to the study.

In the enormous bedroom, only Sophie and I remained.

I watched Sophie who had just kissed Ethan and been infected again sit brazenly at my vanity without the slightest hesitation, picking up my bottles and jars and smearing them recklessly on her neck.

I smiled. "If you like them, I'll give them all to you later."

Through the mirror, Sophie looked at me with contempt, a provocative smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

"Smart of you to know your place. So what if you're childhood sweethearts? You're still just a washed-up old woman."

"Ethan said that because I gave him my first time, I'm his only true love. And without me, he'd rather die."

"So, Lydia Lynn, do you really think a marriage certificate can hold onto Ethan?"

True love... I laughed.

Didn't she know? She was already Ethan Pierce's sixty-eighth true love.

Looking at Sophie's young, ignorant face, remembering how she'd just bragged about her first time, out of what little pity I had left, I looked at her with a hoarse voice.

"Ethan Pierce has too many women around him. He's not clean. If you're smart, you should leave him as soon as possible."

But that sentence seemed to step on her tail.

Sophie shot up, her pretty face instantly twisting. She raised her hand and slapped me.

The crisp sound echoed in the empty bedroom.

My cheek burned with pain, and the metallic taste of blood exploded in my mouth.

"Leave? You bitch! You're just jealous of me! You just can't stand seeing Ethan treat me well!"

She screamed, her eyes reddening, then turned and ran toward the study, crying and shouting as she ran: "Ethan! Your wife is bullying me! She said I'm dirty! She's forcing me to leave you!"

The study door burst open.

Ethan Pierce strode out, his face showing the impatience and fury of being disturbed.

Without asking any questions, seeing Sophie crying like a pear blossom in the rain, then seeing me covering my face, he delivered another slap, viciously striking my other cheek.

"Lydia Lynn, no matter how jealous you are, you'd better fulfill the agreement! I give you money, you do your job as the maid!"

I fell to the ground, my ears ringing.

Through blurred vision, I watched Sophie coyly throw herself into Ethan Pierce's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, her face full of smug satisfaction.

"Ethan, don't be angry. Let's do it again, okay? I really want to give you a baby."

"Okay, whatever you want."

Ethan Pierce lowered his head and kissed Sophie's forehead.

Before entering the room, he glanced at me like I was trash and coldly ordered: "When we're done, wash those sheets clean."

"Okay."

I nodded silently, watching their backs disappear.

Since Sophie wouldn't listen to my warning, getting infected was no one's fault but her own.

That evening, after professional disinfection personnel finished sanitizing the villa, I had just changed into my pajamas when the villa's door lock suddenly turned.

Ethan Pierce had come back.

He carried a strong scent of perfume and alcohol, his steps unsteady.

I instinctively tried to dodge, but he suddenly grabbed me from behind, his scorching breath spraying on the back of my ear, his voice hoarse and suggestive.

"Seeing me with others, you must be missing me too, right? Tonight, I'll pamper you, okay?"

With that, his kiss came crashing down.

In that instant, my stomach churned.

I was not only disgusted by his touch, but terrified of infection.

"My period... just started."

I firmly held back his chest.

Ethan's movements froze.

I took the opportunity to turn aside, my voice extremely low: "Don't touch me."

The man released his grip, stepped back, and the lust on his face was quickly replaced by disgust.

"Playing high and mighty? Your period isn't today."

He tugged at his shirt collar, his gaze sweeping over me from top to bottom, as if examining an expired product.

"You won't let me touch you, right? There are countless women outside waiting in line for me. Lydia Lynn, you'll regret this someday."

He sneered, grabbed his car keys, and slammed the door without looking back.

As the engine roared, I made one phone call, and a complete disinfection and cleaning crew rushed in.

Smelling the gradually spreading scent of disinfectant, I clutched the folded blank equity transfer agreement in my pocket.

Tomorrow, as long as he signed this document, his three most core holding companies would be transferred, without his knowledge, to the shell companies I'd set up in advance.

This was the entire meaning of my endurance through sixty-eight times.

The next morning, at Pierce Group headquarters.

As the CFO, I had just exited the elevator when I saw the CEO's office door standing open.

Sophie West was wearing a barely-there camisole dress, half-sitting on Ethan Pierce's desk, legs crossed, bossing around the head of administration.

"This month's team-building budget is too low. Ethan said to let me choose the restaurant. The one I picked averages three hundred eighty dollars per person. Go change it."

The admin manager looked troubled, glancing at me as if seeking help.

Sophie noticed me too, and smiled.

That kind of smile, like a cat catching a mouse.

She hopped down from the desk, waving a stack of receipts as she walked up to me.

"Ms. Lynn, help me sign off on this reimbursement, will you? Last month's personal expenses Ethan said to expense them through the company."

I took it and scanned it... eighty-six thousand dollars.

Luxury goods receipts, medical aesthetics treatments, an invoice for a couples' hot spring hotel.

"Exceeds approval authority. Against regulations. Can't sign it."

I handed the documents back.

Sophie's smile froze for a second, then she turned and ran into the inner office.

Less than ten seconds later, Ethan Pierce stormed out with a livid face.

Three executives who'd just finished a meeting were still standing in the hallway.

In front of everyone, he threw the stack of reimbursement forms viciously in my face.

Papers scattered across the floor, one slicing past my eye, bringing a faint sting.

"Lydia Lynn, is your brain rusted?"

"Sophie is my woman. Over a little money, you're pulling the legitimate wife act?"

The hallway was so quiet you could hear the air conditioning hum. The three executives kept their heads down; no one dared look at me.

Seven years ago, I had injected all of the Lynn family assets into this company.

This building, this floor of offices, even the land beneath our feet all of it was bought with my dowry.

And now, in front of the executive team I'd built with my own hands, he was making me reimburse expenses for his mistress.

I bent down and picked up the receipts one by one.

"Fine. I'll sign."

After all, once you're dead, I can take it all back.

After everyone dispersed, Sophie slowly sauntered over to my side.

She deliberately circled behind me, leaning close to my ear, her voice as light as a honey-coated needle.

"Ms. Lynn, last night when you wouldn't let Mr. Pierce touch you, he came to me again."

She stroked her lower abdomen, her eyes full of smugness.

"Mr. Pierce is really something. What if I get pregnant... shouldn't the position of Mrs. Pierce be handed over?"

Pregnant?

Perfect.

Looking at her young, arrogant face, endless excitement surged in my heart.

I didn't speak, only showed a submissive, almost humble bitter smile.

"Ms. West is right. Mr. Pierce... really does love you most."

With that, I pulled out the blank agreement from my bag, along with the reimbursement forms that had just been thrown in my face, and respectfully handed them to Sophie.

"Ms. West, please also have Mr. Pierce sign these financial reports."

Sophie paused, then quickly took them, her face filled with satisfaction.

"Should've been this sensible from the start. I'll be the boss's wife of this company sooner or later anyway."

Perhaps my submissiveness pleased Sophie greatly. Before long, Ethan Pierce, with one arm around Sophie, tossed the stack of documents mixed with the contract onto the desk in front of me.

On top were three characters... Ethan Pierce.

Written with flourishing strokes.

Signed right on the agreement worth thirty-four percent equity.

Got it.

"Oh, by the way..."

Ethan Pierce finally looked up, as if remembering something, and said casually: "The company scheduled annual executive physicals tomorrow. Family members included. I registered Sophie too."

He turned to look at Sophie, gently pinching her chin with affection: "Maybe you're already pregnant, babe. Might as well get checked."

Physical examination. Full panel.

My mind buzzed instantly.

If Ethan Pierce had blood drawn tomorrow, the positive results would come back within forty-eight hours at the earliest.

Given his personality, his first reaction wouldn't be fear it would be rage. A full investigation.

Investigate the source of infection, investigate everyone around him, investigate finances, investigate the company...

Then the last equity swap funds I hadn't finished transferring would be frozen overnight.

Sixty-eight times of endurance, five years of planning all reduced to zero.

I couldn't let him get blood drawn tomorrow.

Absolutely not.

At six o'clock the next morning, I stood in the kitchen, a packet of brown powder in my palm.

prune juice concentrate colorless, tasteless. Mixed into warm milk, it would only cause several hours of severe diarrhea. Completely untraceable.

I placed the milk on Ethan Pierce's designated black coaster.

Seven years. I knew his habits better than he knew them himself.

At exactly seven o'clock, Ethan Pierce came downstairs in his crisp suit and sat down punctually.

But just as his hand touched the cup...

"Ethan!"

Sophie came running in fuzzy slippers, plopping herself into Ethan Pierce's lap, coquettishly snatching the glass of milk.

"I want some too. I'm the lady of this house everything should go to me first."

She deliberately glanced at me, then tilted her head back and drained the entire glass in one go.

My hand holding the fruit plate froze in mid-air.

Sure enough, by the time they left, Sophie's face had turned pale.

And just as the car got onto the elevated highway, she suddenly clutched her stomach, instantly breaking into a cold sweat.

"Ethan... my stomach hurts so much..."

Ethan Pierce's expression changed immediately. He grabbed her and shouted at the driver: "Turn around! To the nearest hospital!"

Sophie vomited three times. The last time, she was practically semi-conscious, collapsing in Ethan Pierce's arms.

When he carried her rushing into the emergency room, his eyes were red.

And I was summoned by his furious phone call.

"Lydia Lynn, you can't even make a fucking breakfast right? Did you deliberately give her diarrhea!"

The roar on the other end was so loud even the taxi driver glanced over.

When I arrived at the VIP hospital room, I saw Ethan Pierce crouching by Sophie's bedside, carefully tucking in her blanket, his gaze as tender as a different person.

He heard footsteps and shot to his feet.

A glass of cold water came crashing down.

I was knocked to the ground in an instant.

Ice-cold water ran down my hair, face, and neck, soaking the collar of my blouse.

A cut opened on my forehead, blood seeping out.

In front of three nurses and an attending physician, he pointed his finger almost at my forehead: "If it weren't for your dead father's sake, I would've kicked you out long ago!"

My dead father.

He had the nerve to mention my dad?

He'd had the chance to save my father with just three million dollars, but didn't my dad still jump to his death?

I lowered my eyes. Water droplets slid from my lashes, like tears, but they weren't.

"If anything happens to Sophie..." Ethan Pierce gripped my jaw, the force nearly dislocating it: "I'll make you pay with your life."

"I'm sorry... it was my fault. But the medical center... are we still going?"

Wiping the water from my face, I asked timidly.

"Go? Go where!" He waved his hand irritably. "We'll go after Sophie recovers. Reschedule for next week!"

Ethan Pierce turned away from me and sat back on the edge of the bed, intertwining his fingers to hold Sophie's hand again.

That image was so tender, it reminded me of three years ago.

I'd hemorrhaged from a miscarriage in the ER, called him seventeen times, and every single call went unanswered.

I found out later that he'd been celebrating girlfriend number thirty-four's birthday that night.

I was lost in thought when...

Buzz.

Ethan Pierce's phone suddenly exploded with sound.

He frowned and answered, but less than five seconds in, his face turned from iron-blue to deathly pale.

"What did you say?!"

On the other end, I heard it the finance department's voice trembling: "Mr. Pierce, there's an abnormal flow of three hundred million dollars from the company accounts!"

"The system shows the approver is... Mrs. Pierce."

The air in the hospital room instantly froze.

Ethan Pierce slowly turned his head, those bloodshot eyes nailing themselves onto me.

"Lydia Lynn, give me an explanation."

Ethan Pierce's Adam's apple rolled. The room was so quiet you could hear the monitor beeping.

I panicked.

After all, panic was exactly the reaction I should have.

Lowering my head, I clumsily pulled a document from my bag, hands trembling slightly as I handed it over.

"This... I discovered it last week. I checked someone hacked my authorization in the approval system. The funds flowed to... the account for that villa in Heron Bay."

Ethan Pierce's pupils shrank violently.

That was the residence of his sixty-seventh mistress, Yvonne Zoe, whom he'd dumped just a month ago.

The breakup had been ugly. Yvonne had even threatened to expose him, but Ethan had silenced her with a lawyer's letter.

Ethan Pierce snatched the report, his eyes flying over every line of data.

Then, gritting his teeth, he threw the report down.

"That bitch!"

After cursing, he didn't look at me again.

After all, in Ethan Pierce's world, Lydia Lynn was just a dog.

Would a dog bite?

No.

That night, I sat in the darkness of the study, the blue screen light reflecting on my face.

When I pressed Enter for the last time, my finger was steady.

Over the past thirty days, the old Lynn family guard had completed the final round of capital swaps.

The core assets and underlying equity structure of Pierce Group had been hollowed out by me, thread by thread, over seven years.

From the outside, Pierce Group still looked glamorous.

But the bones were gone.

I closed the laptop, walked to the window, and looked out at the city's night view.

A month later, at Pierce Group's year-end gala.

Under crystal chandeliers, Ethan Pierce appeared on the red carpet with Sophie on his arm, camera flashes crackling.

I was seated at the most remote table in the corner, without even a nameplate, sitting with three drivers from supplier companies.

Ethan Pierce stood on stage holding a wine glass, confidently describing his business empire.

He looked much worse than a month ago.

Sunken eyes, night sweats, and then swollen lymph nodes appearing on the side of his neck.

Ethan Pierce thought it was just too much socializing and not enough rest. A few days ago, he'd gone for a checkup, gotten an IV drip at a private hospital, and taken a few fever reducers.

This time I didn't stop the checkup. I didn't need to anymore.

After all, what's coming will come.

At the gala's climax, Ethan Pierce suddenly called my name.

The entire ballroom went silent.

He threw a document in front of me, his tone like ordering a servant to pour water: "Sign it. Just a formality. Sophie likes the garden at the old Lynn estate. I've already transferred the deed to her name. You don't mind, do you?"

I looked down and made out the line: Lynn Family estate Property Transfer Agreement.

That was my father's last possession before he jumped.

That was the courtyard where my mother had grown magnolia flowers for twenty years.

That was the only place I could still call home in these seven years of hellish existence.

One mistake in a hundred calculations. My hands began to tremble.

This time, they were really shaking.

I finally looked up at him with reddened eyes: "Ethan Pierce, do you have to be this ruthless?"

He looked down at me like an ant blocking his path.

"Lydia Lynn, don't be ungrateful. Without me, you wouldn't even have the right to stand here. Sign it, and you're still Mrs. Pierce."

"If you don't sign..." He didn't finish, but of course he didn't need to.

Sophie walked over with a wine glass and high heels, deliberately thrusting out her waist, smiling broadly: "Ms. Lynn, Mr. Pierce dotes on me now. If you still want to be Mrs. Pierce, be smart about it, won't you?"

I bit my lip, my hand holding the pen still trembling.

Over three hundred pairs of eyes in the room watched me some sympathetic, some indifferent, most just watching the show.

And just as I was about to sign...

Bang!

The side door of the ballroom was violently pushed open.

The private doctor I'd bribed, pale-faced and sweating, clutching an urgent report in trembling hands, stumbled in.

His voice exploded across the entire hall, uncontrollably shaking: "Mr. Pierce! Something terrible has happened... Your physical examination report..."