Trading My Cheating Husband For His Younger Upgrade

I was three years older than Ethan. Five years into our marriage, right as I hit thirty, he started looking at me with distaste. "Natalie just turned thirty. Once a woman turns thirty, her face starts to sag. I really don't want to wake up every morning staring at her crow's feet." Yet years ago, he’d held my face and promised: "Natalie, true beauty never fades. I’ll grow old with you, hand in hand." Five short years, and our age-gap romance had withered away. Fine by me. Honestly, I was already getting tired of his lack of energy in bed. It was time for an upgrade—someone younger. I wrapped up my business trip early, planning to give Ethan a surprise. The apartment was empty. Three hours ago, he had texted me a photo of himself sitting on our balcony. I texted him again, saying I’d ordered him some food via UberEats. Half an hour later, he replied instantly: "You're the best, babe! Just picked it up. Love you!" A woman's intuition never lies. Ethan was cheating. And luckily, I still held the upper hand. I dragged my luggage to a hotel for the night and returned home the next morning as originally scheduled. Ethan had already cleaned the place spotless. The moment I walked through the door, he pulled me into a tight hug. Glancing at the damp hair clinging to his neck, I patted his shoulder with a faint smile. "Look at you, all showered and clean. Were you waiting for me?" Without skipping a beat, Ethan leaned in and gave me a long, lingering kiss. His mouthwash had been switched to a sickly sweet orange flavor. Just as he tried to take things further, his phone buzzed. His brows knitted. He answered, then hung up almost immediately. "Natalie, there's an emergency at the office. I have to go." "The project team messed up the data, and the client is furious. I need to go put out the fire!" "Sure. Go ahead." He lied with absolute perfection, without a single hesitation. The second he walked out, I followed him. Ethan didn't even leave the apartment complex. Two buildings down, he punched in the passcode at a front door with practiced ease and stepped inside. I headed straight to the security desk, slipped the guard a generous tip, and lied, claiming my cat had slipped out and I needed to check the hall cameras. Sixteenth floor, unit 1603. The tenant was a young woman. The second the door swung open, the two wrapped their arms around each other. They didn't even bother closing the door before making out furiously. "Your old lady is back, isn't she? Did she kiss you? I'm going to wipe her taste completely off your lips!" "Go ahead. Wipe it all off." Ethan's large hands roamed hungrily over her body, locking lips with her in a breathless frenzy. The heavy door slammed shut, cutting off the view. Calmly, I recorded the entire security footage with my phone. Then, I turned and walked out of the security office. The guard asked, "Did you find your cat, ma'am?" "I did. He wandered into someone else's place. I don't want him anymore." I recognized that girl. Six months ago, I accompanied Ethan to a business dinner. A waitress had accidentally spilled hot soup on my dress, and Ethan had lost his temper on the spot. Ethan had always been gentle, but that night, he berated the poor girl until she broke down in tears, eventually forcing her to pay me a few hundred dollars out of her own pocket. Back then, I even told him he went too far. But Ethan had insisted: "She clearly did it on purpose! You're my queen. What if that soup had burned you?" Now I didn't know if they were already hooking up back then, or if that little drama was how their affair started. Either way, Ethan had stepped out on me. That was a fact. I called my divorce lawyer, Rachel. "Draft a divorce settlement for me." She choked on her coffee. "Already tired of him? Ethan is only twenty-seven. He's literally in his prime!" "He's cheating. No matter how hot he is, he's second-hand trash now." Rachel gasped. "Natalie, you can't throw around accusations like that without proof!" Without answering, I forwarded her the video. A long silence followed before she texted back: "Understood. Out with the old, in with the better." Sinking back into the sofa, all the strength drained from my body. Five years ago, Ethan had bawled like a baby when he proposed to me. Five years later, his little mistress called me an old lady, and he didn't even bother to disagree. Right now, I didn't need tears. I needed a clean break. Twenty-five-year-old Natalie would have cried her eyes out over a broken heart. Thirty-year-old Natalie, faced with a cheating husband, only cared about settling the score.I left the legal paperwork to Rachel. I had a career to run. Men were just accessories; my business was what truly mattered. After clearing out the backlog of work from my business trip, I looked up to realize it was already pitch-black outside. Ethan had sent a text saying he had to work late and wouldn't be coming home. I sent back a simple "Okay," hopped into my car, and drove straight to the courtyard outside Building 16. This was usually the time Ethan went for his evening jog. Sure enough, after just twenty minutes of waiting, he emerged. The girl was right beside him. Dressed in matching sportswear, laughing and chatting, they held hands as they jogged along the path. I tailed them on foot, keeping a safe distance. The darkness hid me well, and they were far too engrossed in each other to notice. Suddenly, Ethan’s phone began to ring. Before he could pick up, the girl snatched it playfully and answered the FaceTime call. The guy on the other end yelled through the speaker: "Holy crap, bro, you two have balls! Aren't you terrified Natalie will find out?" Ethan chuckled coldly. "She's working late at the office. Besides, I'm just out for a run. She won't suspect a thing." "Keep your guard up, man. If she ever catches you, you know Natalie’s pride. She will cut you off completely." Ethan scoffed dismissively. "I just needed some excitement. Besides, Natalie is getting old. Waking up to her crow's feet every morning... I swear it feels like sleeping next to my mother. It's horrifying." The girl burst out laughing. I froze in my tracks. I didn't follow them any further. Turning on my heels, I walked away and dialed my best friend, telling her to meet me for drinks. My chest felt suffocated. At the club, after hearing what Ethan said, Rachel slammed her glass onto the table. "I thought getting yourself a younger guy would be different, but they're all the exact same trash!" "Men can be eighty years old and still drool over twenty-year-olds! It’s in their damn DNA. Natalie, don't let him get into your head. A piece of shit like him isn't worth it!" Under the influence of alcohol, I watched the male dancers on stage flexing their toned abs, a smirk tugging at my lips. "I just find it pathetic. Five years ago, Ethan fought his own parents to marry me. They cursed him out, disowned him for a while, and even now, five years later, they still treat me like dirt whenever we visit." Back then, I had asked Ethan if burning bridges with his family was truly worth it. He had cupped my face, resting his forehead against mine. "It is, Natalie. If I'm not brave enough to fight for you now, I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting it." And now, he was the first one to regret it. Rachel and I drank until we were tipsy, but I still had enough sense to call an Uber to take us to a hotel. The next morning, I woke up to a blank phone screen. Not a single text from Ethan. I had no time for heartbreak. Nursing a hangover, I took the day off from the company. Rachel was terrifyingly efficient; she handed me a full dossier of evidence. "I pulled a few strings. It started six months ago. Their first time was at the Grand Hyatt." "After that, Ethan rented that apartment in your complex under his own name for her." "During this time, Chloe’s lifestyle received a massive upgrade. Look at these luxury hauls on her Instagram. Definitely doesn't match a waitress's paycheck." I flipped through the papers quickly, then drove straight to the bank to pull Ethan's financial records. When I saw the recurring monthly transfer of three thousand dollars going directly to Chloe, a cold fury tightened in my chest. Sitting in the lobby beside me, Rachel’s face was thunderous. "He sure is generous with your money! Does he forget who built his company? Where does he think his biggest clients came from?!"After Ethan got together with me, he launched his own tech startup. Those early days were brutal; he drank himself to stomach ulcers just entertaining clients. During his worst grind, he flew through six cities in twenty-four hours and ended up collapsing from exhaustion on a freezing street corner. By the time I got the hospital's call and rushed over, it was already the next morning. In that sterile hospital room, Ethan had broken down, weeping in my arms. In the end, I stepped in, using my own extensive network and industry connections to pave the way for his business. I was three years older, had entered the corporate world three years earlier, and my career had been soaring. At first, I hadn't planned to intervene. But I couldn't bear to watch him fight a war against his parents on one front while desperately struggling to prove himself to me on the other. Back then, he had drive. He had ambition. I was drawn to that raw hunger, so I gladly smoothed out his obstacles. Ethan grew reliant on me, coming to me for advice whenever he hit a wall. Eventually, his business took off, scaling up until he achieved real financial freedom. It wasn't an exaggeration to say I made him. But because he had chosen me so fiercely back then, I thought sharing my resources was only natural. Well, not anymore. Armed with the proof, I drove to that restaurant with the divorce papers in my bag. The girl was named Chloe. When she saw me walk in, panic flashed across her eyes, but she quickly pulled herself together and walked over. "Hi, welcome. What can I get for you, ma'am?" I ordered two dishes with a calm gaze, then sent Ethan a text with my location, telling him to join me for lunch. The moment the pin was sent, my phone rang. "Babe, why are you at that place again? Didn't we agree the service there was terrible? Let's go somewhere else!" "No need. Let's just eat here. I have a surprise for you after." When Ethan rushed in, beads of sweat covered his forehead. He looked genuinely rattled. "Sit down. You're sweating like crazy." I handed him a napkin. Ethan wiped his brow and glanced nervously around the room, though he quickly masked his anxiety. "What made you want to eat here out of the blue?" "I was just passing by. Saw their lunch special and decided to check it out." Right on cue, Chloe walked over holding a tray. When she saw Ethan, she bit her lower lip, looking like a kicked puppy. Anyone watching would have assumed I was bullying her. Ethan's face darkened the moment he saw her. Jumping the gun, he grabbed the plates right out of her hands. "Don't touch anything. I've got it. Wouldn't want your clumsy hands spilling hot soup all over my wife again." Chloe muttered under her breath, "It wasn't on purpose. Who told her to wear such an expensive dress anyway?" "Watch your mouth! Clumsy amateur. Get your manager over here, swap her out!" Ethan blew up so abruptly that the floor manager rushed over, profusely apologizing, sending Chloe to the back and assigning us another server. Watching the performance, I let out a soft chuckle. "Why do you get so worked up every time you see her? Does a random waitress really matter that much to you?" Ethan stiffened. "What are you talking about? I was just standing up for you." "It's been six months. If you hadn't brought it up, I would have forgotten all about it. Funny how vividly you still remember a server from half a year ago." Hearing the mockery in my tone, Ethan set his fork down with a snap. "Natalie, if you have something to say, spit it out. Stop dancing around it." "Fine." I pulled out the divorce papers and slid them across the table, right under his nose. Ethan froze. "What is this supposed to mean?" "Exactly what it looks like. You cheated, Ethan. I want a divorce."