Throw Away the Ring and Build My Own Empire

At the proposal ceremony, my husband, Ethan Carrington's so-called true love, Chloe Langley, showed up uninvited, her pregnant belly on full display as she crashed the event.

I, Nora Whitmore, didn't argue. I didn't make a scene. I simply took off the engagement ring and returned it in silence.

In my previous life, I had desperately forced him to drive Chloe away, which led to her getting into a car accident and losing the baby.

Five years into our marriage, I finally became pregnant. But when I was about to give birth, Ethan personally pulled the life-support equipment from my bedside.

With a cold laugh, he told me the child in my womb was nothing more than a bastard he had arranged with some street thug, just to get revenge on me.

"You owe her this. Today you'll pay it back, along with that bastard child."

I fought back with the last strength I had left and drove a shard of broken glass straight into his throat.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the proposal ceremony.

To hell with love. This time, I would take control of the company myself and make sure they lost everything.

......

I tore the engagement ring from my finger and shoved it straight into Chloe's hand.

The sharp edge of the ring scraped across her palm.

Without even sparing her a glance, I turned and stepped down from the stage.

The guests below had already begun whispering among themselves.

Ethan stood there, stunned.

He took a long stride forward and grabbed my wrist.

"Nora, how long are you going to keep this nonsense up?"

His grip was strong enough to make my bones ache.

He lowered his voice. "Chloe came all this way to congratulate us even while she's pregnant. What kind of tantrum are you throwing? Put the ring back on right now. Don't make a spectacle of yourself."

I shook his hand off with force.

"Let go."

I turned toward the hundreds of guests in the hall and lifted my chin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this engagement is officially canceled."

The entire hall erupted in shock.

"Ah! It hurts!" Chloe suddenly clutched her stomach and screamed.

Her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the carpet.

A large stain of blood quickly spread down the inside of her thighs.

Ethan's face went ashen.

He rushed over and pulled Chloe into his arms.

Chloe clutched his collar, sobbing. "Ethan, my baby... my stomach hurts so much."

Ethan lifted his head and glared at me, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Nora, you're disgusting. Chloe is pregnant, and you actually attacked her out of jealousy. If anything happens to her, I swear I won't let you get away with it."

Holding Chloe in his arms, he staggered toward the exit and rushed out of the hall.

I watched their retreating figures, then took out my phone and dialed Stella Quinn.

"Stella, it's Nora. Start the procedure immediately and audit every account in the company. Yes. Right now."

As soon as I ended the call, someone stormed down from the stage.

A sharp slap landed across my left cheek.

The blow knocked me half a step backward, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

My father, Graham Whitmore, jabbed a finger at my face and erupted in fury. "You ungrateful brat! Do you even know who was invited here today? You've completely humiliated the Carrington family!"

He panted heavily, still seething. "How did I end up with a daughter like you? Throwing away a family alliance over some irrelevant woman! Do you have any idea that the Whitmore family is relying on Carrington money to stay afloat right now? Go to the hospital immediately and kneel down to beg Ethan for forgiveness!"

I lifted my hand and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth with my thumb.

I stared at my father's face, twisted with rage.

"Stay out of my business. If you're so embarrassed about it, go kneel to him yourself."

"You disgraceful daughter!" My father raised his hand again, ready to strike.

I dodged to the side and strode out of the hall without looking back.

My phone screen lit up with a new message.

It was from Ethan.

"Get your ass to the hospital right now and apologize to Chloe! Hand over the NovaCore Renewables Project to make it up to her, or I'll shut down every one of your bank cards."

I switched my phone to silent mode and slipped it into my bag.

I headed straight for the underground parking garage.

The core patent documents my mother left me were still locked in the company safe. I had to retrieve them immediately.

Just as I reached my car, five men in black suits stepped forward and blocked my path.

Leading them was Ethan's special assistant, Miles Porter.

Miles stood there with his hands folded in front of him, wearing a stiff, insincere smile.

"Ms. Whitmore, Mr. Carrington asked me to escort you to the hospital."

I stopped walking. "Move."

Miles stepped closer.

"Mr. Carrington said that if you refuse to cooperate, he'll freeze every bank account and credit card under your name." He curled his lip slightly. "Ms. Whitmore, you'd be wise to cooperate. Mr. Carrington is furious right now. If you go to the hospital and sincerely beg for forgiveness, maybe this whole thing will blow over. But if you insist on resisting, one word from him and you won't even make it out of this garage today."

The four bodyguards closed in, cutting off every possible escape.

They clenched their fists, their knuckles cracking loudly.

My hand brushed the zipper of my bag.

Inside were several extremely important transfer agreements. If I fought them now, those documents could easily be taken.

I withdrew my hand, walked to the black business van Miles had arrived in, and pulled the door open before getting inside.

The door slammed shut behind me, followed by the sharp click of the lock.

Miles sat in the passenger seat and glanced back at me. "Ms. Whitmore really is a smart woman."

The car started and drove toward the city hospital in downtown Dawnford.

I leaned against the window, watching the city streets blur past outside.

My fingers quietly slipped into the cuff of my right sleeve.

I pressed the switch on the miniature voice recorder.

One of the bodyguards shoved me hard between the shoulder blades.

I stumbled forward, bumping the hospital room door open as I staggered inside.

Ethan was sitting beside the hospital bed, holding a glass of water. With a look of deep concern, he dabbed Chloe's dry lips with a cotton swab dipped in warm water.

Hearing the noise, he turned his head.

When he saw the swelling on my face and my disheveled hair, his hand paused for a moment.

He set the glass down and stood, walking over to me.

He pulled out a chair. "Sit down and have some water first."

He poured another glass of warm water and held it out to me, his voice deliberately gentle. "Nora, what you did today really went too far. If you're willing to apologize to Chloe, I'll book the entire island again next month and give you an even grander wedding. That way everyone can save face."

I looked at the steaming glass of water in his hand.

I raised my hand and swung it sharply.

The glass shattered on the floor. Warm water splashed across his leather shoes as shards scattered everywhere.

Ethan's expression darkened instantly.

He pointed a finger at my face and shouted. "Nora, have you lost your mind? I'm already giving you a way out. How long are you going to keep this up? Do you have any empathy at all?"

The veins on his forehead throbbed. "You humiliated me in front of hundreds of people today and I didn't even hold it against you! Chloe almost lost her baby because of you, and you can't even say you're sorry?"

I stared at him coldly, taking in that hypocritical face.

In my previous life, Ethan's company had suffered a massive break in its cash flow and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

I had run from pawnshop to pawnshop, selling every piece of jewelry and antique my mother left me just to fill the financial hole for him.

But after I became pregnant, he brought Chloe-who was also pregnant-into our home.

Whenever Chloe shed a single tear, he would lock me in the basement and leave me without food.

On the day I went into labor, I was lying on the delivery bed, hemorrhaging badly.

Ethan walked in without even sparing me a glance.

To vent Chloe's anger, he reached over and pulled out my life-support equipment.

I would never forget the suffocating pain and despair of that moment.

The cold beeping of the machines echoed in my ears as my breathing grew weaker until I finally suffocated on that hospital bed.

The memory of that pain surged through every limb of my body again.

Looking at the man in front of me, my stomach churned violently with disgust.

I took a step back, my eyes filled with pure hatred.

Ethan seemed unsettled by my gaze and awkwardly pulled his hand back.

He stepped forward again, reaching toward my cheek.

"Nora, don't look at me like that."

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

Chloe suddenly writhed on the hospital bed, clutching her stomach with both hands as she cried out miserably.

Cold sweat covered her forehead. Her face was ashen as she gripped the bedsheet tightly, tears streaming down her face.

Ethan immediately withdrew his hand and rushed back to the bed.

"Chloe, how are you? I'll call the doctor right away!"

Chloe grabbed his sleeve and shook her head weakly. "Ethan, I'm fine. As long as Ms. Whitmore can forgive me, it doesn't matter if my baby suffers a little."

Ethan turned around, pulled a document from his briefcase, and slammed it onto the table.

"Nora, sign this project transfer agreement."

I walked over and looked down at the title on the document, "NovaCore Renewables Project - Gratuitous Transfer Agreement."

The pages were filled with dense clauses, all designed to strip the project away and transfer it unconditionally to a subsidiary company under Chloe's name.

I demanded sharply. "Ethan, did you plan this from the beginning? That project is my mother's life's work. Are you trying to squeeze the last bit of value out of me?"

Ethan avoided my gaze, his voice slightly unsteady. "It's just compensation for the baby Chloe is carrying. She was frightened today and deserves something to make up for it. I'll compensate you twice as much later."

The hospital room door was suddenly thrown open.

Donna Langley, Chloe's mother, stormed inside and immediately began shouting, her finger pointed straight at my face.

"You vicious woman! Just because you can't have a child, you want to harm the baby in my daughter's belly. Why don't you just die already? You're useless as a wife. You can't even give the Carrington family a child, yet you're still clinging to the title of Mrs. Carrington! Hand over the money. That'll cover my grandson's formula."

Donna's spit sprayed across my face as she shouted.

Ethan stood beside her without saying a word.

He grabbed the pen from the table and forced it into my hand.

"Sign it and end this peacefully. If you keep stalling, I'll call my people right now and have the mansion your mother used to live in sold off. Don't push me to handle this the hard way."

I looked down at the black pen in my hand.

With both hands, I snapped the pen cleanly in half.

One half of the pen clattered onto the tiled floor with a sharp sound.

I lifted my head and met Ethan's eyes.

"This agreement has multiple legal flaws. My attorney, Stella, needs to review it personally. I'm not signing it today."

Donna shrieked and lunged forward, grabbing for my collar.

"You little bitch, still trying to play tricks? You really don't know what's good for you! If you don't sign that paper today, I'll tear your face apart!"

Her long nails slashed toward my neck.

I twisted sideways, caught her arm, and shoved her away with force.

Donna stumbled and crashed down onto the floor.

She slapped her thigh and burst into exaggerated wails. "Help! She's assaulting me! The Whitmore family's precious daughter is beating people! There's no justice in this world. She's bullying a helpless mother and daughter!"

The veins on Ethan's forehead bulged.

He lunged forward, grabbed my throat, and slammed me against the wall.

My back hit the hard wall, the impact making me wince.

His grip tightened as his voice turned vicious. "Nora, you really won't give up until you hit the wall, will you? Do you still think you're that untouchable rich girl you used to be?"

My airway was compressed, and the lack of oxygen made my face flush red.

I didn't struggle. I simply stared straight into his eyes.

Through clenched teeth, I forced out the words. "Besides using violence to hide your guilt, what else can you do?"

Ethan glanced at the red marks forming on my neck and suddenly released his grip.

He stepped back, staring at his own hands as a flicker of regret crossed his face.

He took a few deep breaths, clearly trying to soften his tone.

"Nora, fine. I was wrong. How about this. That three-hundred-square-meter penthouse downtown. I'll transfer it to your name tomorrow as compensation. Just sign the agreement and we can part on good terms. Stop making things difficult between us."

I straightened my wrinkled collar and coldly brushed away his hand when he tried to touch me again.

I turned, walked to the door, and stepped out of the room.

The hospital corridor smelled strongly of disinfectant.

I took out my phone and quickly called Stella.

"Stella, have you gathered the full evidence chain for the financial irregularities on Ethan's side?"

Stella's voice came through the phone. "Everything is ready. But to launch the final liquidation procedure, we must obtain the personal seal from the safe in Ethan's desk. Without it, everything we've done so far will be useless. Can you get it?"

"Alright. I understand. I'll find a way."

I ended the call.

I left the hospital and took a taxi straight to Carrington Tower.

At two in the afternoon, I pushed open the door to my private office.

The room was completely empty. My office supplies, documents, even the sofa, were all gone.

Miles was directing a few workers as they carried several potted plants.

He turned around and looked at me with smug satisfaction.

"Oh? Ms. Whitmore, what brings you back? Mr. Carrington has already ordered this office to be fully renovated with non-toxic materials. It's being prepared for Ms. Langley while she waits to give birth."

He stepped in front of me, blocking the way. "Ms. Whitmore, all that useless stuff of yours has already been thrown into the trash. There's no place for you here anymore. You'd better go home and pack up."

Looking at his smug face, I lifted my foot.

The pointed tip of my high heel slammed straight into his shin.

Miles cried out in pain and crouched down, clutching his leg.

"Move."

I walked past him and headed straight for the CEO's office at the end of the corridor.

I pushed the door open. Ethan was leaning back in his leather office chair.

When he saw me walk in, a smug glint flashed in his eyes.

He held a jade personal seal in his hand, casually rolling it between his fingers.

"What is it? Changed your mind? Come back to beg me?"

I stared at the seal in his hand. "Lend me that seal for half an hour. I need to stamp a few documents."

Ethan stood up and walked to the desk, bracing both hands against the surface.

"You can borrow it. There's a charity gala tonight. You'll attend with me and play the part of a loving couple. Behave properly in front of those executives and clean up the embarrassment you caused today. If you make me look good tonight, you can take it for half an hour."