Chapter 1

Mia's POV

That weekend, I left my son, Nicholas White, in the care of Derek Smith, the owner of the diner I worked at, and arrived at the restaurant on time for the class reunion.

I sat in the far corner of the private dining room, watching everyone exchange pleasantries while they all ignored me. I kept my head down, gripping the faded hem of my shirt.

It was then that the door to the private dining room swung open again, prompting almost everyone to immediately go over to greet whoever had just arrived.

"You're finally here, Hugh! Do we have to start calling you Mr. Thorne now?"

"You're doing so well for yourself these days! You have a successful career and a happy family! We're all so jealous of you, Hugh!"

Hugh Thorne, my husband, was the one who walked into the private dining room—the man who had been dead for three years. He looked around the room and finally fixed his eyes on me, his breath catching for a moment.

I looked up and met his gaze.

Hugh frowned and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the one who invited Mia over, Hugh!" The former classmate who had called me about the class reunion quickly came over and explained, "You two might have gotten a divorce, but we're still considered former classmates! We should get together more often!"

They had no idea that Hugh and I were still married.

I smiled politely and said, "Hey, Hugh…"

Hugh's expression hardened slightly.

"Congratulations on being alive…"

Everyone in the private dining room instantly froze. They glanced at me, then at Hugh. "W-What's going on here? What do you mean by that, Mia?"

It was clear that nobody except me realized Hugh had supposedly died. I was the only one stuck in this web of lies, struggling through three miserable years.

"It's nothing, really. Mia just harassed Hugh for so long that he had to fake his own death to get away from her."

I recognized the voice immediately.

Beatrice Lane, my so-called best friend, walked out from behind Hugh, looking every bit the wealthy, legitimate wife. "You already know the truth now, so there's no point in hiding it from you anymore, Mia."

I said nothing. I just looked at her and then at Hugh standing beside her. I suddenly realized how foolish I had been.

I met Hugh when I was 18 years old, at a time when I needed love the most. He was the person who brought light into my life. Through endless lonely nights, he told me that he would never leave me.

On our first anniversary, we made a death pact under a shooting star—whoever initiated the divorce first would end their own life.

I thought he was the one person I could hold on to, but it turned out that he had wanted to leave long ago.

It was then that someone stepped in to break the tension. "Oh, that's all behind us now! We've all got to move on! Come on, let's get the game started!"

Everyone took their seats and began bringing out various items from their bags in turn—some made everyone laugh, while others left people scratching their heads.

Beatrice flashed a bashful smile and took out a pregnancy report from her handbag. She was blushing deeply as she said, "It's Hugh's baby…"

In that instant, everyone in the private dining room froze, their eyes darting between Hugh and me.

It was my turn next. I kept a straight face and took out a wrinkled sheet of paper from my faded canvas bag.

Those around took a closer look and noticed the words "Divorce Agreement" written on it.

I took out a ballpoint pen and calmly signed it. "Let's get a divorce, Hugh. Might as well give you what you want."

I held the pen out in front of Hugh, but he made no move to take it.

Hugh frowned slightly, his expression conflicted as he looked at me. "Did you forget what we agreed on—the first one to bring up divorce has to die first?"

I looked at him and shook my head. "I haven't forgotten."

I then took out a medical report showing my liver cancer diagnosis.