Chapter 1

[Finally. It's over.]

I heard Theodore's voice again.

But the expression on his face didn't change at all.

I slipped my arm through his and asked him,

"Honey, can we go take a look at that other store, please?"

He hesitated visibly.

"We've been out so long today. You must be tired. Let's head home so you can rest."

Then I heard his thoughts again.

[I'm so sick of this. She shops for clothes all day. Does it ever end?]

Something clenched hard around my heart.

"Okay, let's go home."

This was my fifth year married to Theodore.

Five years ago, when he proposed, he promised to give me the best of everything.

Back then, I thought I was the happiest girl alive.

But after the wedding, he grew colder and colder toward me.

At first, I thought he was exhausted from work and had little energy left for me.

So I played the good little wife, coming up with endless ways to keep his spirits up.

Then today, I suddenly heard his thoughts.

So this was how he really felt.

That evening while making dinner, I accidentally cut my finger.

I sucked in a sharp breath, gripping my bleeding finger, and asked Theodore where the Band-Aids were.

Theodore didn't even look up.

"Is it bad, sweetheart? If it's serious, I'll have someone take you to the ER. How could you be so careless? You're going to make me worry."

As one of the housekeepers put a Band-Aid on my finger, I heard his thoughts again.

[I told her to leave the cooking to the household staff, but she never listens. All she does is cause trouble for me.]

I lowered my eyes, fighting back the tears the pain had brought.

Once the cut was bandaged, I called him to dinner.

"Sweetheart, I made your favorite vegetable soup..."

Theodore closed his laptop and stood up.

"Sorry, sweetheart, something came up at the company. I have to head over right now. Eat without me."

He pulled on his coat and walked out.

I sat at the empty dining table, staring at the meal I had spent more than two hours preparing.

It wasn't even the first time.

Whenever he didn't come home, I would sit there and finish the entire meal alone.

But today, I had no appetite at all.

I even felt a little sick.

Theodore didn't come home for two days straight.

Whenever I texted him, he would only say he was busy and didn't have time.

The old me would have waited at home like a fool.

But ever since I started hearing people's thoughts, I hadn't been able to find a moment's peace.

Even the household staff occasionally grumbled in their heads.

[Poor Mrs. Sterling. She has no idea her husband stays away because he doesn't want to see her.]

Right. How had I never seen it before?

Theodore's coldness toward me wasn't because he was too busy or too tired.

He was simply sick of me.

He was going out of his way to avoid me.

Still, I kept remembering the happy days before our wedding.

I remembered how he came through pouring rain to pick me up after work, and how he secretly planned a surprise for my birthday.

I remembered his promise to give me the best of everything.

Each memory kept a faint hope alive inside me.

So that day, I packed him lunch and took it to his office.

The receptionist took me upstairs, told me Mr. Sterling was in his office, and asked me to wait.

But one moment turned into an hour.

Worried the food would go completely cold, I worked up the nerve to walk to his office door.

I was about to knock when I heard a woman's voice inside.

"Theodore, have you made up your mind? When exactly are you going to divorce that woman?"