The Game That Ended My Marriage In One Sentence Chapter 05

The Game That Ended My Marriage In One Sentence Chapter 05

The last thing I heard was Ethan muttering on the other end of the line.

“Impossible, Nat, you…

I hung up before he could finish

The final sound from the call was Ollie breaking down from the pain.

I leaned against the white wall of the hospital hallway.

I felt nothing.

Only a deep, bone-heavy exhaustion remained.

Half an hour later, Ethan’s guys’ group chat blew up.

Someone posted a video just to watch the drama unfold.

In the video, Ethan stood at a restroom sink in his tailored suit.

His expression was grim as he washed Ollie’s soiled pants by hand.

Madison stood ten feet away, pinching her nose.

“Ethan, that smell is unbearable. I’m going downstairs for coffee and some air.

The veins on the back of Ethan’s hand bulged.

He held back his anger.

“Maddie, Ollie still has a fever. Get me a cup of warm water.’

Madison rolled her eyes.

“I just got my nails done. Water will ruin them. Besides, I’m not his mom. Call Natalie back already. Dirty

work like this is exactly what women like her are for.”

Ethan’s hands froze.

The soiled pants slipped into the sink.

Filthy water splashed across his face.

A few of the guys sent voice messages, openly enjoying the drama.

“Ethan really screwed this one up. Is Natalie actually serious this time?”

“Please. Natalie won’t really leave. I bet she comes crawling back in three days to wait on Ollie hand and

foot.”

For once, Ethan didn’t reply in the group chat.

Not long after, my phone bowed a transfer notification.

Ethan had sent me $1,000.

The note attached to it had only one sentence.

[Nat, stop throwing a fit. Buy yourself a bag and come to the hospital once you calm down.]

I looked at that transfer and found it absurd.

Back then, I had pulled several all-nighters to make time for Ollie’s birthday.

My stomach had hurt so badly I could barely stand.

Ethan hadn’t given me one cent’s worth of concern.

Now that Ollie was sick, he finally remembered I existed.

I didn’t accept the money.

I blocked Ethan on everything.

Then I left that disgusting group chat I had endured for five years.

From that moment on, their joys and disasters had nothing to do with me.

Early the next morning, my attorney sent me a few messages.

[Ms. Warren, the divorce settlement agreement and the formal notice withdrawing your financial backing have been finalized. Mr. Hayes’s company is now facing a full cash-flow collapse.]

[If he doesn’t cover the shortfall immediately, creditors may move to freeze his accounts next week.]

I calmly replied with one word.

[Good.]

At noon, I sat beside my mom’s hospital bed and fed her the meal I had brought.

The door to the hospital room was suddenly shoved open.

Ethan stood in the doorway, out of breath.

His eyes were bloodshot.

His usually immaculate hair was now messy.

His once-crisp designer suit was full of wrinkles.

A faint sour smell of disinfectant and sweat clung to him.

The moment he saw me, his tense shoulders eased.

“Natalie, why did you block me?”

He strode toward me.

For once, his voice carried panic beneath the irritation.

“Do you know what’s happening to the company? Why did you drain the accounts without even telling me? And the house. You actually sold it? I couldn’t get in last night. I had to take Ollie to a hotel for the night.”

I set down the bowl.

Then I wiped the corner of my mom’s mouth with a tissue.

I didn’t even give him a real glance.

“Ethan, watch your tone. We’re about to be exes. I withdrew the money because it was mine. I’m not obligated to leave my money with you. Especially not so you can keep buying Porsches for your best buddy.”

Back then, Madison complained that taking the subway was too much of a hassle.

Ethan bought her a Porsche with our savings without even blinking.

He said he was only lending it to her.

That “loan” lasted six months.

Ethan choked on his words.

His face went pale, then flushed red.

He took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

“Nat, you’re still mad about the allergy thing, aren’t you? I admit I had a bad attitude at the hotel. But I didn’t know it was really that serious.”

His voice softened.

“Stop this. Put the money back into the company. If the house is gone, we’ll buy another one. I’ll put it in

your name. Ollie is still crying for you at the hospital. Come back with me. From now on, I won’t bring Maddie home. Okay?”

I stepped away from the hand he tried to reach toward me.

It was almost laughable.

“You didn’t know it was serious?”

I stood and looked at him coldly

“Five years ago, right after we got married, I ate one bite of something with peanut in it. I was on an IV all day. Do you remember what you swore to me then? And now who was the one calling my acting ridiculous?”

I watched his face stiffen.

Then I exposed his excuse, word by word.

“Ethan, it’s not that you didn’t know. You just stopped caring.”

Ethan’s hand froze in midair.

His lips trembled.

“L… I’d had a little to drink that day. I wasn’t thinking clearly. I thought you were just arguing with Ollie…”

“You weren’t thinking clearly, but you still let Madison pour a peanut-butter shake down my throat?”

I cut off his excuse without mercy.

“Ethan, don’t stand here pretending you still care. You came to me because your company is about to go bankrupt and Madison doesn’t want to take care of Ollie. You need an obedient nanny to come back and

clean up your mess.”

Ethan’s face turned red.

His chest rose and fell sharply.

“Natalie! Do you have to make it sound that ugly? No matter what, Ollie is your own child. You carried him for nine months. You’re really going to abandon your own flesh and blood?”

At the mention of Ollie, the last bit of warmth in my heart died.

“That was before. Before he pointed at me and called me a bad woman to win your stupid game. Before he helped Madison force my allergen down my throat.”

“From that moment on, he stopped being my son.”

“He became your Oliver Hayes. Sign the divorce settlement agreement as soon as possible. If you don’t, I’ll file for divorce in family court next week.”

Ethan stared at me in disbelief.

It was as if he were seeing me for the first time.

He stood there for a long time.

His mouth opened, but no words came out.

In the end, his eyes reddened.

Then he turned and left, humiliated and defeated.