Chapter 1

The cut on my arm was deeper than it looked. Blood had begun to seep out, and my heart felt as if something sharp had gone straight through it.

I stared at the wound for a long time, too stunned to move.

In the past, even when I lost my temper and Nathan got angry, he had never laid a hand on me. He had certainly never thrown a glass at me.

But now, Nathan did not even glance at me.

His face was dark with anger as he said, “Emily, when did you become this jealous? You really disappoint me.”

With that, he turned and left, giving me nothing but the cold line of his back.

I watched him walk away without hesitation, and a chill slowly spread through my chest.

Jealous?

I sniffed and tried to hold back my tears, but the bitterness still seeped through every inch of me.

In the eight years I had been married to Nathan, I had given everything I had. I stayed by his side when he started Nathan’s company from nothing. I built that life with him piece by piece.

Back then, he used to say I was the kindest girl in the world. He would hold me gently and promise, “Emily, I’ll give you a good life. I’ll never let you suffer.”

I had once believed that marrying him was the greatest happiness I would ever know.

But ever since Chloe Bennett appeared, everything had changed.

He was always bringing Chloe up in front of me, praising her for being kind and capable. He even let Chloe sit in the passenger seat of his car. He drank from the same cup of coffee as her.

Whenever I got upset, Nathan would look at me with a frown, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a stranger.

“Can you stop being so childish?” he would say impatiently.

When I saw them hugging and argued with him about it, Nathan insisted he had only been comforting Chloe. Then he told me not to take things too far.

Eventually, I grew tired. Something in me went still, and I stopped arguing.

A few days ago, Chloe offered to resign.

I only asked about it in passing, but Nathan pushed all the blame onto me. He said I had forced Chloe away. He called me jealous.

I wondered how he could be so cruel.

While I was still lost in that hurt, my best friend, Hannah Lewis, called me.

Her voice was full of worry. “Emily, are you really divorcing Nathan?”

I gave a quiet hum.

Nathan was no longer the man he used to be. There was no point clinging to this marriage anymore.

Hannah sighed, sounding regretful. “You two were so perfect back in college. Such a beautiful couple. Everyone envied you. I never thought it would end like this.”

I said nothing.

Hannah seemed to sense that I was in a bad state, so she quickly changed her tone.

“Come on, Emily, let’s not think about that. I’ll go shopping with you. Remember how we used to go shopping whenever we were upset in college?”

I answered, “Okay.”

I looked at the mess on the floor, swallowed down my hurt, and cleaned up the broken glass. Then I gave the wound on my arm a quick bandage and went out.

When Hannah saw me, her face lit up.

“Emily, ever since you got married, we barely ever see you out anymore.”

That landed harder than I expected.

She was right. After getting married, my entire life had revolved around Nathan.

Who would have thought it would end like this?

“Nathan!”

Just as I was drifting into my thoughts, Hannah suddenly called out his name.

I slowly came back to myself and looked over.

Not far away, Nathan had his arm around Chloe’s shoulders. Their fingers were intertwined. They looked just like a loving married couple.