Tear Up The Vows My Husband Gave Everything To His Ex

Six years of marriage. I gave up my career to focus entirely on taking care of our home. Then came the text and photo from his so-called unforgettable ex. "Thanks for the gift, Chase! I love it so much. Elena is truly the luckiest woman alive to have a husband like you." I zoomed in on the attached image. Chase had transferred the shares of the company I built with my own hands directly to her. My fingers trembled with rage. I immediately called Chase to confront him. He sounded completely irritated on the other end. "It's just a damn company. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" "Chloe is dead broke right now. How is she supposed to survive without any financial cushion?" Ten minutes later, a notification popped up on my phone. My credit card was charged. Chase had used my money to buy her a luxury beauty salon. Chloe texted me again, dripping with smug superiority. "Chase is the sweetest. He bought me a whole salon just to cheer me up!" I let out a bitter, cold laugh and didn't bother calling him back. Because this time, I was done. I was filing for divorce. Today was our sixth wedding anniversary. I had spent hours cooking a lavish dinner. I sat on the couch, watching the clock tick past one in the morning, but Chase still hadn't come home. I couldn't stop thinking about the text Chloe Bailey had sent me that morning. Without my knowledge or consent, Chase had transferred the shares of the business I slaved over for years into Chloe's name. Seven years ago, we were dead broke, crammed into a filthy, rundown rental. Chase used to hold me tight and swear he would marry me in the most glamorous wedding imaginable. Back then, he worked late into the night, networking and returning home reeking of alcohol. Every time he collapsed drunk onto the mattress, he would mumble the same words: "Elena, I'm going to marry you soon. I promise." I would sit by his side with a bowl of warm broth, watching him with tears in my eyes, my heart aching for his struggle. To ease his burden, I dove headfirst into entrepreneurship. Maybe it was luck, but an angel investor recognized my talent. With her backing, I quickly built my own company from the ground up. The business soared, catapulting us into a whole new tax bracket. We finally got married and moved into a multimillion-dollar villa. To take care of the household and prepare for having a baby, I stepped back from the front lines and handed full control of the company over to Chase. All because I trusted him completely. Riding on my coattails, Chase became the big boss. Yet slowly, he lost himself in the intoxicating world of wealth and power. He started staying out late again. The difference was, he wasn't grinding for our family anymore. He was simply basking in the shallow flattery of sycophants. He surrounded himself with gorgeous women and rekindled his flame with Chloe, his ex from college. It all started subtly, yet it was impossible to ignore. "Welcome home," the smart lock chimed. Chase walked in, his shirt wrinkled and half-unbuttoned, with a glaring smudge of red lipstick on his collar. He looked up and paused when he saw me, then glanced casually at the dinner table. "Is it your birthday today?" My chest tightened. "Today is our anniversary," I said softly. Chase didn't even look at the food. He turned around to boil some instant ramen. "Oh. Elena, you know I don't care about these silly holidays." I clenched my fists, biting my lip to hold back the storm inside me. Did he really hate celebrating anniversaries? Yet the anniversary of the day he and Chloe started dating was still marked on his calendar. Every year on that day, he would wire huge sums of money to Chloe. He claimed that because he was poor back then, he wanted to make it up to her now that he had money. He conveniently forgot that Chloe had dumped him precisely because he was broke. I was the one who stood by him and built everything from scratch.I couldn't hold it in anymore. "Chase, why did you transfer my company shares to Chloe? Because you used to love her? Or are you still in love with her right now?" Chase froze with the bowl of ramen in his hands, then slammed it violently onto the counter. The scalding soup splashed onto my bare arm, making me gasp in pain. Chase sneered. "Playing the victim now?" "Elena, I run the company now. What I say goes! I can give shares to whoever the hell I want, and you don't have the right to interrogate me!" I placed my hand on his arm, desperately trying to keep my voice steady. "That company was my life's work. You know how much it meant to me." He let out a dry laugh and shoved my hand away, noticing the band-aids covering my fingers. "What, into self-harm now?" I stared at him, numb. "I cut myself while chopping vegetables." He glanced dismissively at the table, his brow furrowing with disgust. "Don't bother cooking anymore. The food looks hideous and completely ruins my appetite." With that, he slammed the front door and walked out. Leaving me alone in the dead silence of the empty house. A sudden wave of intense nausea hit me. I bolted to the bathroom, dry-heaving over the toilet. It suddenly dawned on me: I was a month late on my period. I rushed to the 24-hour pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test. When two distinct pink lines appeared, my heart skipped a beat. I was pregnant. My chest fluttered with anxiety and fear. I grabbed my phone and dialed Chase repeatedly, but the line rang endlessly without an answer. Just as I was about to give up, the call finally connected. The voice on the other end didn't belong to Chase. It was Chloe. "Hello? Elena? Is everything okay? It's pretty late. Chase is in the shower, so he can't come to the phone." Her breathy, artificial voice made my stomach churn all over again. Before I could speak, she continued purring into the mic. "Elena, Chase just bought me the newest Hermès bag. It's way too extravagant. I told him to take it back, but he insisted on giving it to me." "I can ship it over to you once I'm free. It feels wrong keeping something so expensive." I lowered my head, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. I had been longing for that exact bag for a month. Chase had told me it was an overpriced waste of money and forbade me from buying it. Yet he didn't hesitate for a second to drop thousands on his ex. Did I really mean that little to him compared to her? I played along, keeping my tone crisp. "Sounds wonderful. How considerate of you! I'll call an Uber courier to pick it up from your place right now, so you don't have to bother going to the post office." Chloe clearly didn't expect me to actually call her bluff. She choked on her words. "You..." The sound of a door opening came through the receiver. Chase was out of the shower. Chloe instantly switched to a tearful, delicate tone. "Elena, I had no idea you wanted this bag so badly... It's just that Chase gave it to me, so it feels special. But if you really want it, I'll give it to you. I'm so sorry." Chase's voice boomed in the background, thick with irritation. "Is that Elena? Give me the phone." The second he took the call, a barrage of furious shouts came down on me. "Elena, are you out of your mind?!" "It's just a damn purse! Do you have to be so petty? Chloe has never owned luxury bags in her life. What's wrong with me buying her one?" "And you have the nerve to demand it back? Unbelievable!" "Apologize to her right now!" I burst out laughing, furious. "Why should I apologize? My husband buys another woman a designer bag, and I'm the one who has to say sorry?" Chase roared into the mic. "Elena! I'm telling you one last time—apologize!" I refused to back down. "Hell no!" Chase lost all patience. "You're unbelievable. Just you wait!" He hung up violently. I never got the chance to tell him about the pregnancy. Deep down, I knew that if this baby were born into this mess, they would never know happiness. At five in the morning, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. It was a photo from Chloe. She was cuddled up against Chase's chest, her lips swollen, both of their bare shoulders dotted with vivid red marks. Then came a short video. Chloe's voice was soft and teasing as she asked, "Chase, who do you love the most?" Even in his half-asleep daze, Chase murmured back tenderly, "I love you the most, Chloe. Always you." He reserved all his cruelty and terrible temper for me, while giving every ounce of his gentleness to Chloe. In that exact second, I realized that everything between us had shattered long ago. It was time to let go. After that night, Chase disappeared for three weeks. He blocked my number and all my social media accounts. Through Chloe's Instagram stories, I tracked their entire three-week luxury vacation. Chase took her to so many places. Many of them were destinations he had promised to take me to, only to push them aside indefinitely. Looking at their smiling couple photos, it looked like a dream honeymoon. My mind drifted back to our own honeymoon years ago. Chase had held my hand, gazing into my eyes with utter devotion. "Elena, I'm going to take you all over the world. I'm going to make you the happiest woman alive." He had kissed my forehead, so sincere, so romantic. Snapping back to reality, a sharp ache pierced my chest. How terrifyingly fast a heart can change. Promises only hold value when love still exists. Once I collected myself, I hired a divorce lawyer to draft the separation agreement. I was going to claw back every single dime Chase had spent on Chloe. One morning, I was suddenly yanked awake from my bed. Chase threw a folder containing the house deed directly into my face, his voice dripping with malice. "This house belongs to Chloe now. Pack your crap and get the hell out!"I stared at Chase in utter disbelief. It wasn't until I saw Chloe's name printed on the property title that my heart finally turned to ash. This villa was our marital home. Years ago, because Chase had no money, my parents fiercely opposed our marriage. So, I handed the very first profits I earned from my startup directly to Chase. He used my money to purchase this house as our marital sanctuary. And now, to please his ex, he had signed over our home to her and was kicking me to the curb. My breath caught in my throat. My eyes burned as I screamed at him. "Chase! This is our home! It was bought with my money! Who the hell gave you the right to give it to her?!" He smirked, looking like he finally held all the cards. "Regretting it now? If you hadn't refused to apologize to Chloe, it wouldn't have come to this." "Tell you what: apologize to Chloe right now, and maybe I'll let you stay a little longer." The fury boiling inside me reached its breaking point. SLAP! I swung my arm and struck him hard across the face. His head whipped to the side, a bright red handprint rising instantly on his cheek. Chloe rushed forward in panic, cradling his face with tears in her eyes. "Chase! Oh my god, are you okay? Does it hurt?" Then she spun around, glaring at me with theatrical outrage. "Elena! You've gone way too far! I can give the house back to you! Why did you have to hit him?!" Watching them play Romeo and Juliet made my mind flash back to three years ago. Back then, Chase and I were sitting at a late-night outdoor patio bar. A group of drunk, burly men had walked over and started harassing me with crude remarks. Chase had thrown himself in front of me without hesitation, yelling at the top of his lungs: "Back off! Leave her alone!" The men sneered and tried to grab my arm. Chase threw a punch straight into one guy's jaw. Enraged, the man called over his buddies. Four huge guys tackled Chase to the ground. It wasn't a fight; it was a brutal beatdown. Thankfully, a bystander called 911, and the police arrived quickly to arrest them. Back home, as I dabbed ointment on his bruised face and split lip, I choked back tears. "Does it hurt? It's all my fault. I'm so sorry." He had forced a grin, ruffling my hair softly to comfort me. "I'm your man. Protecting you is my job." That was the exact moment I had decided he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Snapping back to the present, Chase was now gently stroking Chloe's hair with that exact same tenderness. "I'm fine. She's crazy. Don't waste your breath on her." In that instant, I knew with brutal clarity that the man I loved was completely dead. Chase stepped toward me, his face cold and ruthless. "Since you want to be stubborn, pack your bags. This place belongs to Chloe now." He grabbed my wrist with a iron grip, violently dragging me toward the exit. When we reached the top of the stairs, I wrenched my arm free and glared at him. "I'm not leaving! I paid for this house, and you know it!" Chloe walked up, clinging sweetly to Chase's arm, looking innocent. "Elena, since Chase already made his decision, why make a scene? Just leave." "Don't worry, I know this was your marital home. I'll take wonderful care of it." A victorious smirk flashed across her face. Blinded by rage, I screamed at her, "You home-wrecking bitch, shut your mouth!" I lunged forward, raising my hand to slap her smug face. Chase caught my wrist in mid-air. With a brutal shove, he threw me backward, shouting, "Elena, you're an absolute psycho!" I stumbled backward, completely forgetting that behind me was a steep flight of stairs. My foot caught the edge, and I tumbled down the staircase. Chloe froze at the top of the stairs, letting out a blood-curdling scream. "Chase... look! She's... she's bleeding everywhere!"