The Other Woman in My Husbands Life

"Ethan, this is unethical. It's criminal. She hasn't consented."

Those chilling words, whispered in the sterile hum of an operating room, were the first thing I heard as consciousness flickered back.

My heart pounded, cold dread snaking through my veins. Dr. Ben Carter, Ethan's old friend, was arguing with him.

"She's my girlfriend, Ben. Practically my wife," Ethan scoffed, his voice laced with a terrifying casualness. "Chloe needs this kidney. Ava is a perfect match."

Kidney. Chloe. My blood ran cold. The beautiful, fragile Chloe Vahn, who had always haunted our relationship, was now taking a piece of me, quite literally.

I tried to scream, to move, but my body felt like lead, my throat raw. I felt a sharp tug, a searing line of fire on my side-the scalpel. Ten years of love, of sacrifice, building Ethan Reed and his company back from nothing, all for this. To be carved up like an animal for the woman he truly loved.

When I finally regained full awareness, Ethan was by my bedside, a practiced look of concern on his face, spinning a lie about a ruptured ovarian cyst. But then, the overheard nurse's whispered conversation confirmed my nightmare: "Chloe's kidney transplant... he barely left her side."

The pieces slammed into place. My despair solidified into a cold, hard resolve. No more. I grabbed my phone, scrolling to one contact I hadn't dared to call. Noah Hayes, Ethan's rival, a man of integrity. My finger trembled as I typed. "Noah," I managed, my voice raspy. "Are you still looking for a COO who knows Reed Innovate's strategies... and perhaps, a wife?"

The silence stretched, then his voice, calm and serious, cut through the noise of my crumbling world. "My jet, seven days. LaGuardia."

Chapter 1

The "special recovery drink" Ethan handed me tasted faintly metallic, but he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

"For your fatigue, Ava. Drink up."

I trusted him. For ten years, I had.

My eyes grew heavy almost immediately.

Consciousness slowly withdrew, pulling me under into a thick, syrupy darkness.

I woke up confused.

Not in our bed, not in any room I knew.

The air smelled sharp, like antiseptic.

My head throbbed.

A bright light glared above me.

Panic, cold and swift, tightened my chest.

This wasn't right.

Then I heard voices.

Muffled at first, then clearer.

Ethan's voice, sharp with impatience.

And another, deeper, calmer, but strained.

"Ethan, this is unethical. It's criminal. She hasn't consented."

That was Ben Carter's voice.

Dr. Ben Carter. Ethan's old friend from Yale. A surgeon.

My blood ran cold.

"Consent?" Ethan scoffed, his voice dripping with a chilling pragmatism I knew too well when it came to his desires.

"She's my girlfriend, Ben. Practically my wife."

"Chloe needs this kidney. Ava is a perfect match."

"It's a gift, really. A small price for everything."

Chloe.

Of course.

Chloe Vahn, the beautiful, hollow woman who had always held a piece of Ethan's soul, the piece Ava could never reach.

Chloe, who had abandoned him when he was broken after that Aspen skiing accident, only to reappear when he was powerful again.

"A small price?" Ben's voice was incredulous, laced with a fury I'd rarely heard from him.

"Her kidney, Ethan? After everything she's done for you?"

"She put her entire career on hold."

"She used experimental treatments on herself to get you walking again when Chloe wouldn't even answer your calls!"

Ethan's reply was flat, devoid of emotion.

"Chloe was scared. She's delicate."

"Ava is strong."

"Besides, I'll marry Ava. She's always wanted that."

"Consider it compensation."

"Chloe needs this more. Her life is at stake."

Delicate? Chloe, whose recklessness had led her to this point, acute renal failure.

Strong? Was that my reward for years of unwavering devotion?

For the miscarriage I still mourned, the one I blamed on my own stress, never suspecting the "herbal supplements" Ethan had encouraged me to take, supplements Chloe had provided?

Tears pricked my eyes, hot and furious.

Betrayal, so profound it stole my breath, flooded through me.

My body felt like lead.

I tried to move, to scream, but only a faint groan escaped my lips.

"She's waking up," Ben said, his voice urgent.

"Then be quick about it," Ethan snapped.

"I want this done."

A cold dread, sharper than any physical pain, washed over me.

I felt a pressure, a tugging sensation on my side.

Then, a searing line of fire.

The scalpel.

My mind reeled.

Ten years. A decade of love, of sacrifice.

Pouring my intellect, my biotech research-research that had once promised a brilliant future for me-into his recovery, into his company, Reed Innovate.

Building him back up, piece by piece.

For this.

To be carved up like an animal, a resource to be plundered for the woman he truly desired.

The darkness swirled again, beckoning.

This time, I welcomed it.

The physical agony was a dull echo of the torment ripping through my soul.