The Rise of Betrayed Husband
Copyright© 2026 by Laxu
Chapter 2: I Want a Divorce
Claire Lowell had once been known as the most beautiful woman in Easton. She was forty now, but between careful upkeep and a life of luxury, her looks hadn’t faded a bit. She still looked twenty-eight. If anything, forty had only given her the allure of a mature woman.
She was also the richest woman in the city, worth more than ten billion dollars, so naturally she never lacked for suitors.
But there was a world of difference between an admirer and a lover who shared her bed.
Paternity tests were science, and science didn’t lie. The daughters Claire had borne weren’t Ethan’s, which meant she had definitely cheated.
He didn’t expect her to confess to her sordid private life, but he trusted the science. That was what gave him the backbone to confront her.
Just as he’d expected, she admitted nothing.
She gave him a bright little smile. “What, no confidence? You’re selling yourself short—and selling me short, too.”
“Maybe. But I’m more and more sure you’ve been sleeping around behind my back. You’ve made a fool of me over and over.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? A joke only goes so far. Don’t throw words like that around, or I really will get angry.”
“There it is. You won’t admit anything until it’s staring you in the face. Claire, explain this.”
Ethan couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled out the crumpled paternity report and handed it to her.
She read the conclusion, and the smile on her face slowly froze. In an instant, her eyes turned sharp as they swept over him.
Still outwardly composed, she tore the report in half, folded the pieces, and tore them again. “Honey, the joke ends here. I’ve had enough. Let’s go home.”
What’s that supposed to mean?
Ethan didn’t budge. He had expected this reaction, and he had no interest in going around in circles. “Do you know how many rounds of testing I did? I went to court-accredited DNA labs—Easton Genomics, for one. I also sent multiple samples anonymously to professional labs in New York, Boston, and Chicago. Every single result says the same thing. Natalie isn’t my daughter. She’s the result of you fooling around with some other man!”
“Ethan, you—”
Claire’s expression turned deadly serious, and she studied him even more harshly. “You went behind my back and pulled a stunt like this?”
A familiar pressure settled over him, the pressure of a wife who had always stood above him for more than a decade. In the old days he would have folded, flattered her, and swallowed his pride. Not today. He was done indulging her.
He didn’t flinch. He met her stare head-on. “Natalie is fifteen. Add the pregnancy, and that’s a full sixteen years. You’ve lied to me for sixteen whole years!”
“Ethan, I think the alcohol has fried your brain. Something this stupid is actually coming out of your mouth. You’re going home right now, and you’re not setting one foot outside that door again without my permission!”
“What do you take me for? I’m not going back. Not now, not ever. In fact—I want a divorce!”
Ethan gritted his teeth and forced the word out. Divorce.
“Divorce? You’re actually asking me for a divorce? You’ve completely lost your mind. Unbelievable!”
Claire’s overwhelming presence bore down on him. When she saw that he wasn’t budging, as if he had nothing left to lose, fury rose in her chest. She stormed out and slammed the door behind her.
Ethan took a deep breath and wiped his forehead. It was cold, soaked with sweat. This was the first time he had ever gone head-to-head with his formidable wife. He was an ordinary attending physician with no power and no connections. She came from a family at the very top of society, and she was the richest woman in Easton, with a reach that had no limits. In a world this unequal, demanding a divorce was practically an act of rebellion. If she truly decided to come after him, he wouldn’t be able to take a single step in this city.
But being made a fool of, being the chump left raising another man’s children—that humiliation was more than he could quietly swallow. He had already seen the ugly face behind her mask, and he refused to stay married to her. He would get a divorce, and then he would live his own life.
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