EHTM | Chapter 1 – If He Doesn’t Want Her, I Do

“Shen Donghuan, you’re not paying attention.”

Xie Shu, standing behind her, pulled the drunk Shen Donghuan closer, causing her to let out a muffled moan as she gripped the bedsheets tightly.

“G-Gentle… ah…”

Xie Shu’s deep eyes burned with desire. He lowered his head, deliberately biting her fair shoulder.

Shen Donghuan’s mind was foggy, her body burning. She turned her head with difficulty, meeting Xie Shu’s sharp, alluring gaze, so different from his older brother, Xie Yuming, who was always cold and composed.

How did she end up in her brother-in-law’s bed tonight?

It all started a week ago. She had seen her husband of three years, Xie Yuming, at the hospital entrance, accompanying another woman to a prenatal checkup.

That was when she found out: Xie Yuming had been cheating on her with the famous actress Fu Ling. The woman was already five months pregnant!

Shen Donghuan was furious.

Three years ago, right after their wedding, Xie Yuming had been in a car accident that left him infertile. To protect his reputation and the Xie family’s image, Shen Donghuan had lied to the public, claiming she was the one with fertility issues. For three years, she had endured the cold stares and whispers of others, all while pretending to be the perfect Mrs. Xie.

She had suffered in silence, trying to be the ideal wife. But now, it turned out Xie Yuming’s condition had improved at some point. Instead of reconciling with her, he had chosen to cheat, and hadn’t even touched her in three years!

For the past week, Shen Donghuan had begged, argued, and cried, but Xie Yuming ignored her, using work as an excuse. Eventually, he stopped coming home altogether.

Heartbroken, one night, she went to a bar…

The Midnight Bar was the most popular spot in City A. The lights were dazzling, the music loud, and the dance floor packed with people lost in the rhythm.

Shen Donghuan sat at the bar, sipping her drink slowly. She stared at her phone, at Xie Yuming’s number. The last call between them had been a week ago, the day she discovered his affair.

She and Xie Yuming had had a huge fight that day. Afterward, he blocked her number. Now, all communication went through his assistant. He refused to speak to her at all.

Drunk and acting on instinct, she tapped the screen and dialed his number.

Ring… ring… ring…

“The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable.”

She tried again. And again. And again.

She lost count of how many times she called. The result was always the same.

Just then, a sweet, melodic voice spoke behind her.

“Yuming, I’m at the Midnight Bar with friends. Come pick me up~”

The voice was sickeningly cutesy.

Shen Donghuan froze, then slowly turned her head. Just a step away stood Fu Ling, the woman Xie Yuming was cheating with. She was rubbing her pregnant belly, her beautiful face smirking.

Fu Ling had clearly been standing there for a while, watching Shen Donghuan fail to reach Xie Yuming.

Fu Ling raised her eyebrows, her eyes flashing with mockery. “Oh, isn’t this sister? Having trouble reaching Yuming? I just talked to him. Want me to call him for you?”

Shen Donghuan unconsciously tightened her grip on her phone, straightening her back. She refused to back down. “Fu Ling, you’re just a mistress who got pregnant by a man playing you. Don’t flatter yourself by calling me sister!”

Fu Ling caressed her five-month belly, smiling triumphantly. “You’re his wife, and I’m his lover. Of course I should call you sister. And speaking of pregnancy…” She deliberately glanced at Shen Donghuan’s flat stomach, her smile widening. “I should thank you, sister. If you weren’t barren, I never would’ve had the chance to climb into Yuming’s bed and get pregnant with his child.”

SLAP!

Fu Ling’s face instantly swelled with a red handprint.

She gasped, her voice shrill. “How dare you hit me?!”

Shen Donghuan’s cold eyes burned with fury. “Fu Ling, I meant to hit you! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning.”

“We’re still married, and you’re nothing but a shameless mistress! That child in your belly is a bastard, and I won’t let you or it step a single foot into the Xie family!”

Fu Ling’s face stung, but her eyes darkened with malice. She was about to retort when she caught sight of a cold figure in the distance.

A plan formed in her mind.

In a flash, Fu Ling collapsed to the ground, clutching her belly. She lifted her swollen face, her fox-like eyes brimming with fake tears. “Sister, even if you hate me, how could you hurt an innocent child?”

Shen Donghuan frowned. What kind of act is this?

The next second, a chilling voice came from behind her.

“Donghuan, what did you do to Fu Ling?”

Shen Donghuan’s body stiffened. She turned slowly, meeting Xie Yuming’s deep, dangerous gaze.

She had tried to contact him for a week, but he wouldn’t even see her.

Yet here he was, rushing over at Fu Ling’s call.

Did Xie Yuming even see her as his wife anymore?

Shen Donghuan took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. “Why don’t you ask her what she said to me?”

But her trembling fingers betrayed her pain.

Xie Yuming’s cold gaze shifted to Fu Ling. A dangerous aura radiated from him, making Fu Ling shiver. She clutched her belly tighter, whimpering, “Yuming, my stomach… it hurts so much!”

The crowd around them began to whisper.

“I saw Mrs. Xie hit her really hard. What if she hurt the baby?”

“Look at Fu Ling, she’s in so much pain! They need to take her to the hospital fast, or the baby might, ”

At the word “baby,” Xie Yuming’s expression changed completely.

He rushed to Fu Ling’s side, scooping her up. His eyes were filled with concern as he looked at her belly. He even gently kissed her forehead. “Lingling, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the hospital now.”

Fu Ling clutched his sleeve, nodding with teary eyes. “Mmm~”

Xie Yuming then turned to Shen Donghuan. His eyes turned icy, his voice laced with suppressed rage. “Shen Donghuan, you’d better pray Fu Ling’s child is fine. Otherwise, I won’t let you off the hook.”

Shen Donghuan’s blood ran cold. A sharp pain stabbed at her heart. Without thinking, she reached out toward Xie Yuming. “Yuming, I, ”

But her hand grabbed nothing. All she saw was the man who had once loved her with all his heart now looking at her with nothing but disgust. Carefully cradling another woman, he disappeared from her sight.

A cold tear slid down her cheek. Shen Donghuan’s eyes were filled with despair.

Not far away, a pair of dark eyes watched the scene like a predator locking onto its prey.

On the second floor of the bar, the lights were dim. Xie Shu, who had just returned to the country a week ago, sat with friends, his devilishly handsome face adorned with diamond earrings. He swirled the whiskey in his glass, his greedy gaze fixed on the helpless Shen Donghuan.

His friend, Ren Zhou, leaned in. “Xie Shu, isn’t that your sister-in-law? Abandoned by your brother again?”

“She’s so beautiful, and the favorite daughter of the Shen family. Your brother has a perfect wife like her, yet he cheats with some actress. Is he crazy?”

Ren Zhou had always liked Shen Donghuan. Before her marriage, she had been the most beloved and beautiful heiress in City A. After marrying Xie Yuming, she became the envy of every elite circle, the perfect partner.

So when news broke a week ago that Xie Yuming was cheating, and had even gotten the other woman pregnant, everyone thought he had lost his mind. How could he throw away such a good wife for a mistress?

Xie Shu glanced at Ren Zhou, then back at Shen Donghuan below. He finished his drink, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

A smirk played on his lips. “If he doesn’t want her… I do.”