When Love Turns to Ashes Chapter 10

One day, Victoria brought Luke directly to the mansion.

"Ethan, what's past is past. Luke still needs medical care, and I'm worried about him living alone. From today on, he's staying here. I hope you... can coexist peacefully with him."

From that day forward, their "home"—once his and Victoria's—became completely hers and Luke's love nest.

Ethan was forced to hear their shameless laughter.

They kissed on the living room couch, tangled on the dining room table, even made love on his piano.

The staff kept their heads down, hurrying past, not daring to look or listen.

Until late one night, Ethan was awakened by urgent footsteps and panicked shouts.

He opened his door just in time to see Luke, disheveled and frightened, carrying an equally undressed Victoria who was bleeding heavily from below. He raced downstairs like a madman, heading outside.

Later, the butler came upstairs, his expression complex: "Sir, Mrs. Hayes has instructed that you be taken to the hospital."

Ethan asked no questions, silently following the butler to the car.

At the hospital, he learned what had happened.

Overly aggressive sexual activity had caused Victoria to suffer an ovarian rupture. When she was rushed to emergency care, they discovered she was pregnant, triggering severe hemorrhaging. The situation was critical.

The emergency required massive blood transfusions, but Victoria had rare Rh-negative blood. The blood bank was running low.

And Ethan also had Rh-negative blood.

Despite Ethan's refusal, Luke had him forcibly strapped to a chair in the donation room.

"Draw it!" Luke shouted at the doctor. "Keep drawing until Victoria's out of danger!"

The doctor hesitated: "Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Brooks is very weak. Drawing blood now might—"

"Draw it! Victoria said before going into surgery that it doesn't matter if he dies!" Luke cut her off. "We have to save our baby!"

Whether he died... didn't matter...

Ethan lay there, hearing those bone-chillingly cold words, suddenly remembering long ago when he'd just had a bad cold. She'd stayed by his bed for three days and nights, dark circles under her eyes, holding his hand and repeating: "Ethan, please get better. If something happens to you, what will I do?"

Now, she said "it doesn't matter if he dies."

Massive grief and absurdity crashed over him like a tsunami. His vision went black. He lost consciousness again.

When he woke, he was alone.

His phone rang. The courthouse: "Mr. Brooks, your divorce cooling-off period is complete. You can come collect your divorce certificate."

Ethan staggered upright and left the hospital room.

Passing Victoria's room, he saw Luke bent over her belly, his face full of paternal joy.

They cuddled together—a sight that stabbed Ethan's eyes. But his heart had gone numb.

He said nothing and walked away.

After collecting the divorce certificate, Ethan returned to the mansion to pack.

His belongings were surprisingly few. Most of the watches, jewelry, and suits Victoria had given him—he took none of it.

Sorting through the bottom desk drawer, he found a hard box.

Opening it revealed a thick stack of love letters.

All written by young Victoria to him.

"Ethan, I saw you talking to a girl from another class today. I'm so jealous I could scream. You're mine. Only mine."

"Ethan, after graduation, we'll get married. We'll have the grandest wedding ever, and the whole world will know that Ethan Brooks is Victoria Hayes's husband."

"Babe, today marks 999 days together. Loving you is the best, happiest decision I ever made. We'll be together forever, until we're old and gray."

He read through each one. No tears fell, but his fingers trembled slightly.

He stood, surveying this carefully designed home.

They'd cooked here together, watched movies together, planned their future together. She'd sat on that living room couch and called him her whole world. They'd slept in each other's arms in that bedroom, promising to grow old together.

Now, it was all mockery.

Ethan stood in the doorway with his suitcase. Finally, he lit a lighter and tossed it at the curtains.

Flames spread rapidly, consuming the couch, the letters, the piano...

In the roaring fire, Ethan seemed to see sixteen-year-old Victoria and sixteen-year-old Ethan.

Hand in hand under the cherry blossoms, her tugging his sleeve playfully, him laughing as he chased her.

Then both of them gradually faded in the flames, disappearing bit by bit.

He smiled slightly, turned, and left without looking back.

Before his flight took off, he logged into Twitter and posted one final update:

"At sixteen, you said you'd love me forever. At twenty, we married and you swore before God to be faithful always. At twenty-five, you fell for someone else. Today, we divorced. You can take back your vows. I'll take back my devotion. From now on, I'm no longer Mr. Brooks who got fooled into your trap—just Ethan. @VictoriaHayes"

Send.

He turned off his phone, removed the SIM card, and casually dropped it in the trash bag.

Ethan's brief post was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating massive waves!

"At sixteen, you said you'd love me forever. At twenty, we married and you swore before God to be faithful always. At twenty-five, you fell for someone else. Today, we divorced. You can take back your vows. I'll take back my devotion. From now on, I'm no longer Mr. Brooks who got fooled into your trap—just Ethan. @VictoriaHayes"

No accusations, no blame—just a calm statement of how nine years had changed. Yet every word bled with infinite disappointment and finality.

#VictoriaHayesEthanBrooksDivorce became the top trending topic within minutes, marked "EXPLOSIVE"!

The internet exploded! Public opinion erupted!

"Oh my God! Victoria and Ethan divorced?! How is that possible? Weren't they the most solid couple in Manhattan society?!"

"Sixteen to twenty-five... nine years! From high school sweethearts to marriage—how can they just split?"

"'Fell for someone else'? Victoria cheated?! Wasn't she famous for being faithful?!"

"Ethan Brooks is like a god among men! Talented pianist, great family, gorgeous—who could Victoria possibly prefer?"

"@VictoriaHayes Give us an explanation!"

"'You take back your vows, I'll take back my devotion'—God, that hurts so much!"

Media reporters' phones practically exploded trying to reach Hayes Corporation and Victoria's personal numbers.

Business partners and mutual friends sent messages or called directly, voices filled with shock and disbelief:

"Ms. Hayes, is this... is this true? How could you and Ethan..."

"Victoria, what happened? You two always seemed so perfect."

"Victoria, is what they're saying online some kind of misunderstanding? We watched Ethan grow up. After all these years together..."

At that moment, Victoria was chairing a critical international video conference.

Her assistant burst through the door in a panic, ignoring her furrowed brow to urgently thrust a tablet toward her, showing that viral post.

Victoria's eyes landed on those words, her pupils contracting sharply! Her first reaction was furious disbelief!

How dare he?! How dare he unilaterally announce their divorce?!

Who gave him that audacity?!

And besides, without her signature, how could divorce proceedings even be completed?!

She shot to her feet, abandoning the bewildered executives on the video call, and snapped at her assistant: "Meeting suspended!"

Then she strode from the conference room, already pulling out her phone with slightly trembling fingers to dial that number burned into her memory.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service..."

The cold, electronic voice was like ice water, chilling her to the bone.

Out of service? He'd canceled his number?!

A powerful sense of panic and loss of control seized her!

She immediately got in her car and drove frantically toward the mansion.

But what greeted her wasn't their warm, familiar home—it was a scorched wasteland! Ruins and rubble, the air still reeking of smoke.

The remaining staff came crying to her: "Ma'am! Thank God you're back! Sir... he came back this afternoon, packed his things, and then... then set everything on fire... We couldn't stop him!"

Victoria's brain went white with shock!

Looking at the ruins, she seemed to see Ethan's heart—completely incinerated.

He'd been that decisive! Even their home of five years had to be burned to ash, leaving no trace behind!

"Where is he?!" She grabbed the staff member's arm, her grip nearly crushing bone.

"Sir... sir took his suitcase to the airport... He said... he said he's never coming back..." The woman sobbed.