Chapter 2

At two in the morning, Gunther opened the bedroom door. He carried an elegant thermos flask and walked straight to the bed.

"I knew you'd still be awake. I picked up some seafood chowder from the south side of the city on my way home."

I glanced at it. The bag outside was wet, and the chowder inside was completely cold. I stayed where I was and quietly said, "Thanks, but I'm allergic to seafood."

Gunther stopped loosening his tie and frowned. "Really? Why haven't you mentioned that before?"

I forced a small smile and said nothing.

During our second year of marriage, Gunther had brought me chowder from the same place. After eating it, I went into shock and was rushed to the emergency room.

He had not come. His excuse was that he would not deal with emergencies during his personal time.

Afterward, he had even hugged me, which was rare, and promised he would not forget this.

And yet, he had forgotten this completely anyway.

The last flicker of emotion faded from me.

He took off his suit jacket and held it out to me out of habit. I did not take it, and the expensive handmade jacket slipped onto the carpet.

Gunther stared at me. "What's wrong with you today?"

A small square box of black velvet slipped from the jacket's pocket and fell open. Inside was a dazzling custom Cartier necklace worth six figures.

Gunther's expression shifted, but he quickly recovered his usual cool composure. Before I could ask, he picked up the box and spoke casually.

"I picked it up for my mom's birthday."

I lowered my eyes.

Gunther's mother, Kate, was a devout who ate no meat and prays daily. She hated flashy jewelry covered in small diamonds. Gunther knew that even better than I did.

I did not expose the lie. When I remained silent, he rubbed his brow, his voice turning cold.

"Stop imagining things. Go to sleep."

"Alright."

Just then, his phone lit up on the table. A message from Chloe appeared on the screen.

[Gunther, has the necklace been resized? I want to wear it to the party tomorrow.]

Without a change in expression, Gunther turned the phone face down and said, "it's just spam."

"Your intern sends you spam at two in the morning?" I looked him straight in the eyes.

His gaze turned cold. "Nicole, do you have to be so sensitive? Chloe just started working for me and she's just like a little sister to me."

I said nothing and took out my phone. I opened Chloe's post and held it out to him.

His frown deepened as he looked at the screen. "It's just your typical social media post. What's wrong with a young woman taking a few pictures?"

In the past, I would have insisted on an explanation, with my eyes probably red and me in tears. Now, I just looked at him calmly.

"You're right, of course."

I turned and lay back down under the blanket with my back to him.

"I'm tired. Get some sleep."

Gunther stood there, stunned by how readily I agreed. He watched me for a while, as though my calm unsettled him. After a brief silence, his voice softened a little.

"After my birthday party tomorrow, I'll take you on vacation to the Coralhaven Islands. Just the two of us."

I kept my eyes closed and murmured a word, but I knew that day would never come.

Sounds of water running could be heard from the bathroom.

I sat up and picked up the iPad he had left on the sofa. The password was Chloe's birthday, and I unlocked it easily.

His conversation with Chloe was pinned at the top of his messages.

Chloe: [Gunther, you gave me such an expensive necklace. Won't Nicole be mad if she sees it?]

Gunther had replied quickly: [It's just a necklace. She has always behaved herself. She won't make a fuss over something so minor.]

I scrolled up and found a screenshot of a bank transfer that hurt to look at. Gunther had sent Chloe three hundred thousand dollars as employee benefit. The note read, "Down payment."

I stared at the screen, my fingertips growing cold.

The month before, my father had undergone heart bypass surgery. We had urgently needed thirty thousand dollars to cover his intensive care bills.

Gunther had stood at the end of the hallway, his expression cold, and handed me a sheet of paper. He had made me write a note on the spot saying that I owe him the money, and even told me to include the interest rate in it.

"We need to draw a line between our shared finances and personal expenses even in a marriage," he had said. "I hope you understand."

His boundaries had only ever been an excuse to shut me out. I took a deep breath and put the iPad back where I had found it.

I did not sleep that night.

Instead, little by little, I erased every trace of myself from the house.

At dawn, my best friend sent me a message: [Nicole, are you still going to Gunther's birthday party tonight?]

Looking at the screen, I remembered our wedding three years earlier. With tears in my eyes, I had promised to stay by his side as his wife forever.

I typed a few words and pressed send: [Yes. For the last time.]

It would be a dignified ending to our relationship.