A Promise Paid in His Sin

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After my foster younger sister Vivian passed her university entrance exams, our whole family gathered for a celebration dinner.

My mother said gratefully to my husband Ethan: Thank you for helping Vivian get into such a good university.

Ethan smiled: It was my pleasure.

After dinner ended, Ethan suddenly spoke in the car: "Do you know why I agreed to help Vivian? On her eighteenth birthday, she came to me herself and said that as long as I helped her, she'd be willing to repay me with her body."

My mind went blank.

He exhaled a puff of smoke, as if savoring a memory: "Vivian is very obedient in bed. She sounds different from you."

My heart seized. I raised my hand sharply and slapped him across the face.

"Ethan, you're scum!"

My voice trembled, tears welling in my eyes.

"She's my sister! How could you do this?"

The smile on his face faded slightly, but he didn't get angry. "Back then, I could still touch you after those thugs had their hands on you. Isn't she cleaner than you?"

"Besides, after your dad died, who's been paying for everything to keep this family afloat? Don't I deserve a little compensation?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

In that moment, the blood in my veins seemed to freeze.

Eight years ago, I was assaulted. My father, trying to get justice for me, killed the perpetrators' entire family in a moment of rage.

Back then, Ethan was a newly practicing lawyer. Despite all the pressure, he found evidence, questioned inconsistencies, and managed to clear my father of murder charges, allowing him a dignified burial.

He was the one person who knew the full truth of what happened, who understood how deeply I'd been hurt...

Ethan's expression remained unchanged as he reached into the back seat, grabbed a plastic bag, and tossed it onto my lap.

Inside was a pair of light-colored cotton underwear stained with dark red blood so glaring I could barely look at it.

Ethan's voice held no warmth: "That day she'd just turned eighteen. It was her first time too. When she went home, she was in so much pain she could barely stand straight. You thought she was having period cramps and even made her hot milk. Remember to wash these clean before returning them to her."

Tears finally spilled down my cheeks.

Through gritted teeth, I said word by word: "Ethan, I want a divorce."

He laughed as if he'd heard a joke, then reached out to grip my chin.

"Divorce? So the baby in your belly can become a fatherless bastard like you?"

My whole body shook. I instinctively touched my stomach.

Overwhelmed by emotion, I'd forgotten I was pregnant. Six weeks...

Ethan released me, his tone returning to its usual casual indifference.

"If there's nothing else, go upstairs. Wash up and get some sleep. You have a prenatal checkup tomorrow."

I pushed open the car door and practically fled into the building.

In the elevator, I stared at those bloodstained underwear for a long time, nausea churning in my stomach.

When I opened the door, Vivian was sitting on the living room sofa.

She wore the white dress I'd bought her last year, clutching her phone, her eyes red and swollen.

Apparently, Ethan had told her.

When she saw the plastic bag in my hand, tears streamed down her face.

The next second, she dropped to her knees before me.

"I'm sorry, Mia. I was confused..."

She collapsed on the floor, shoulders shaking, crying her heart out.

I stood frozen, my heart feeling like it was being sliced with knives.

"Vivian, haven't I been good to you?"

My voice cracked with tears. "When you were being bullied at the orphanage, I brought you home, bought you new clothes, paid for your education. Why would you steal my husband? Why would you destroy my family?"

Vivian finally looked up, her face streaked with tears.

"Mia, I know Ethan is your husband. I know this was wrong. But Ethan helped me so much, and I had nothing to repay him with.

He said he just wanted to experience something pure once. I was already an adult then, and in a moment of weakness I..."

I seemed to have gone numb to the pain in my heart. I simply threw the underwear on the floor.

"Pack your things and get out of my house. I never want to see you again."

Vivian froze, murmured an apology, then suddenly rushed to the side.

A dull thud her abdomen slammed hard into the solid wood coffee table.

After a piercing scream, Vivian collapsed on the floor clutching her stomach, breaking out in cold sweat.

Dark red blood gradually seeped through the hem of her dress.

"Vivian!"

Terrified, I rushed over to help her.

"Mia, I'm sorry. This baby... it's Ethan's. It shouldn't exist..."

She spoke weakly, tears still falling.

Behind me came the sound of breaking glass.

I turned in shock to see my mother's face, pale with horror.

My heart sank my mother had a heart condition. She couldn't handle shocks like this.

But she'd heard everything...

The next second, my mother clutched her chest, her breathing growing more labored.

Before I could say anything, her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

"Mom!" I screamed, rushing to her.

In the chaos, I dialed 91

The ambulance sirens wailed as they took Vivian and my mother to the hospital.

Sitting in the emergency vehicle, I felt like I was falling into a bottomless abyss.

At the hospital, after emergency treatment, the doctor informed me that my mother had suffered an acute myocardial infarction and needed to be hospitalized for observation.

Vivian had a threatened miscarriage and needed bed rest.

I'd barely caught my breath when Ethan rushed in.

He didn't even glance at me, heading straight to Vivian's bedside. "Vivian, how are you? Are you okay?"

Vivian opened her eyes. Seeing him, tears fell again.

"Ethan, I'm fine. Don't blame Mia. This is all my fault."

Ethan turned to look at me, his eyes frighteningly cold. "This has nothing to do with her. If anyone's to blame, it's certain people for being so petty."

I couldn't hold back anymore. "Ethan, can you be reasonable? She ran into the coffee table herself. It has nothing to do with me."

He laughed coldly. "If you hadn't come home and mocked her, would she be like this? Mia, I never thought you were such a vicious woman. You can't even tolerate your own sister."

"I didn't!"

I protested loudly, but my voice sounded so weak and powerless.

Nurses and patients around us turned to look curiously.

Those stares pierced me like needles, making me wish I could disappear.

Ethan stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. "I don't care whether you did or not. Right now, you need to apologize."

I struggled to shake off his hand.

"Why should I apologize?"

This was absurd he was the one sleeping with Vivian behind my back.

Yet I was supposed to apologize to Vivian because their child got hurt.

Vivian's tears fell again as she begged us to stop.

Seeing Ethan and I continue to argue, she suddenly grabbed a fruit knife from the table and slashed it toward her wrist without hesitation.

"Vivian!"

Ethan and I both cried out at once.

Blood immediately seeped from her wrist, staining the white sheets red.

A nurse rushed over, quickly taking the knife from her hand and administering first aid.

"Stop forcing Mia, Ethan," Vivian said weakly.

The fury in Ethan's eyes intensified. "Mia, are you satisfied now?"

Watching this scene unfold, I felt dizzy and disoriented.

Swallowing my humiliation, I pulled out my phone to contact the divorce lawyer I'd just hired.

But the moment I unlocked the screen, Ethan snatched it from me.

He glanced at the screen and laughed coldly.

"Mia, you think you're still in a position to talk about divorce?"

He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the far end of the hospital corridor.

"That old house your father left behind, plus the company shares transfer them to Vivian's name immediately."

I froze, staring at him in disbelief. "Ethan, those are the assets my father left me. They have nothing to do with you or Vivian."

"Why should I?"

He scoffed, pulling out his phone and opening a video. He held it in front of my face. "Because of this."

The video was blurry, the lighting dim, but my face was clearly recognizable.

In the footage, my clothes were disheveled, my face filled with terror and despair.

This was from the assault eight years ago.

Suffocating dread washed over me instantly.

I never imagined he'd been keeping something like this all along.

He toyed with the phone, his tone casual.

"Back then, I could find the key evidence to get your father acquitted. Now I can anonymously upload this video online."

"Then I'll get some people to add their own spin saying you were willing, that you even seduced them. What do you think people will say about you then?"

I felt frozen to my core, tears streaming uncontrollably.

He continued pressing. "Mia, just be good and hand over the inheritance as compensation for Vivian.

Then we'll pretend none of this ever happened. I can have Vivian give you the baby after she gives birth, and she'll go back to college."

He paused, mockery filling his eyes. "Otherwise, you know what happens."

I looked at him, my vision blurred with tears.

"Ethan, if you hate me this much, why did you marry me in the first place?"

He smiled slightly, reaching out to gently caress my cheek.

"I don't hate you, Mia. But you know, what happened back then any man would care about that. There's always been a thorn in my heart."

His fingertips lightly traced my jawline, his tone coaxing.

"Once this baby is born, we'll go back to how things were. I'll never have any contact with Vivian again. We'll have a good life together, okay?"

"I'm giving you three days to think about it."

Looking at this familiar face, all I felt was endless disgust and despair.

After leaving the corridor, I returned to the hospital room.

My mother was still unconscious. Vivian lay in bed with her eyes closed, her face still pale.

Ethan sat by Vivian's bedside, speaking softly to comfort her.

I stood in the doorway, the last thread of hope in my heart finally severed completely.

I knew that Ethan and I could never go back to what we were.

But instead of making any decision, I went to the hospital for a routine checkup the next day. I didn't tell anyone.

Sitting outside the examination room, my emotions were in turmoil.

This was my child. I'd been so excited about his arrival.

But now everything had changed.

Just as the nurse called my name, the door burst open.

Ethan rushed in and yanked me up from the chair.

His eyes were bloodshot as he dragged me outside.

I struggled. "Ethan, let go of me! I want a divorce!"

He ignored my struggles, dragging me all the way out of the hospital and shoving me into the car.

"Mia, I warned you not to try leaving me. You didn't listen, so now you'll pay the price."

With that, he started the car and drove toward the hospital where my mother was staying.

The moment he pushed open the hospital room door, I saw Vivian sitting by my mother's bed, peeling an apple.

Seeing us enter, Vivian froze, then gave a gentle smile.

"Ethan, you're back."

Ethan didn't speak. He simply pulled Vivian to him and kissed her fiercely.

Vivian's eyes widened in shock, her face filled with surprise.

Then she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around Ethan's neck.

"Mmm..."

My mother's pupils dilated suddenly on the hospital bed. Her mouth twitched continuously, her face filled with shock and disbelief.

Ethan kissed Vivian for a long time before releasing her.

He turned to look at me. "Mia, you wanted to cut ties? I'll let you cut them completely."

His gaze shifted to my mother on the bed, his voice clear and venomous.

"Mom, let me tell you a secret. Vivian isn't the child Mia brought back from the orphanage.

She's Mia's father's illegitimate daughter from an affair. The foster daughter you've been caring for all these years is actually proof of your husband's betrayal."

"No... that's impossible..."

My mother trembled all over, her lips quivering as she spoke weakly.

Vivian suddenly spoke up, her tone no longer weak or remorseful.

"It's true, Mom. Before my mother died, she told me about it and told me to find my father. He wouldn't acknowledge me, so Mia kindly took me into the family and gave me a place to stay."

I stood frozen, my mind going completely blank.

My mother opened her mouth to speak but could only let out a piercing scream.

The next second, her body stiffened and she lost consciousness completely.

"Mom!"

I screamed and rushed to her.

Doctors and nurses came running at the commotion and began emergency resuscitation.

Over half an hour later, the doctor emerged from the emergency room.

He shook his head, his tone heavy.

"The patient suffered severe brain hemorrhaging from extreme stress. She's now in a vegetative state."

I murmured to myself, wanting to cry but unable to shed a single tear...

Looking at my mother lying lifeless on the hospital bed, thinking of the child growing inside me.

In that moment, all my emotions collapsed.

I numbly stood up and ran like a madwoman toward the fifth-floor window.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, I threw myself out and jumped.

Ethan's face went deathly pale. "Mia!"