All for One Bowl of Fish Stew

After that night, Luke seemed like a changed man. He came home on time every day, cooked all kinds of pregnancy-friendly meals for me, took me on walks, and read me stories.He acted like the perfect husband—attentive, gentle, and doting. It was as if that confrontation, the fish stew, and Ruby had all been nothing more than a figment of my imagination.My friends all said, "He's a guy—they all mess up. Since he's trying to make it right, you should just give him a chance."I didn't argue. But I knew that some things, once broken, could never be fixed.One day, I was coming back from a prenatal checkup when a white Beetle suddenly swerved out of control and hurtled straight toward me.I was thrown into the air and slammed hard onto the ground. A searing pain tore through my lower abdomen before spreading through my entire body.Before I lost consciousness, I saw bright red blood seeping through my skirt, staining the concrete beneath me.When I woke up again, I found myself in t

With every word I spoke, Luke's face turned a shade paler.Not wanting to drag this out any longer, I lay back down. I needed to recover my strength so that I could leave this mess behind.Seeing that I'd fallen silent, Luke seemed to relax a little. He came over and straightened the blanket around me."Cynthia, just rest well. Once you're better, we'll go home and forget all this, okay?"I closed my eyes and didn't answer.In the days that followed, I stopped resisting and asking for a divorce. Luke thought I'd finally given in, so he let his guard down.The day I was discharged from the hospital, I froze the moment I got home.The watercolor painting that had always hung on the wall by the entrance—My father, Owen Roth, had drawn it for me before he died—was gone."Where's the painting?" I asked in a trembling voice.Luke's eyes flickered away."Oh, that… A few days ago, an important client came by. He really liked it, so I lent it to him for a while.""Which client?""Wh

Third-Person Point of ViewLuke took Ruby to the hospital. Between the examination and getting Ruby's wound bandaged, the whole night slipped away.The doctor said it was just a minor cut, nothing serious. Only then did Luke breathe a sigh of relief.By the time he had Ruby settled, it was already dawn. He drove through the empty streets, both mentally and physically exhausted.The thought of Cynthia waiting at home, hysterical, sent a wave of headache and irritation through him. He couldn't understand how the once gentle and lovely Cynthia had turned out like this.He chalked it all up to the trauma of losing the baby and thought that once she calmed down after a while, everything would be fine.They still had a long future ahead of them, so there was no way he would get a divorce. After all, he was always sure of his love for Cynthia.As for Ruby, that was just a mistake—the kind men sometimes made. He would handle it.Luke came home and opened the door. The house was pitch b

The headline read, "A Rising Star in the Art World—Cynthia Roth and Her Goodnight Gallery."That was how Luke learned that Cynthia had opened a gallery. He clutched the magazine as if he'd just been slapped hard across the face. His self-assured understanding of Cynthia shattered in that moment.He found her gallery. It was located in the most bustling part of the city, on land worth a fortune.On opening day, the place was packed with celebrities and distinguished guests.Standing at the edge of the crowd and watching Cynthia shine as everyone flocked around her, Luke felt small for the first time.She looked thinner but radiant, with light makeup accentuating features that now carried a sharpness and distance she'd never shown before.He wanted to rush over, grab her, and ask why she'd done this to him. But he didn't have the courage. In the end, he could only spy on her from the corner like a thief.It wasn't until the reception ended and the last guests had drifted away that