Chapter 3

Holding all my belongings, I spent the night huddled on the cramped couch. I was woken up by hunger at 5:00 AM. As usual, I went to the narrow kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family.

Just as I had heated the milk, Melissa walked in and took the pot from me. "Noelle, let me help you."

Before I could warn her to be careful of the heat, Melissa let out a cry and threw the pot of milk at my feet. Almost all of the scalding milk splashed on my feet, burning me so badly that I almost fainted.

However, Melissa's cries drowned out my cries of pain. "Ouch! It hurts so much. Noelle, are you still mad at me?"

A few drops of scalding milk splashed onto her hand, causing a faint redness to appear on her fair skin.

Melissa's scream drew Titus over. Seeing the burn on her hand, Titus glared at me furiously. "Noelle, what's wrong with you? You can even hurt others while cooking. Melissa is sensitive; why did you let her touch these?"

The tenants in the rental house yawned and gathered around. Melissa suddenly clutched the back of her hand and cried weakly. "It's not Noelle's fault; I was careless. Maybe she just didn't want me to touch her things..."

Amidst the neighbors' whispers, Titus grimly shielded Melissa and walked out of the rental house.

Before leaving, he only said, "Clean it up, don't get in the way."

Only after they left did my legs give way, and I collapsed to the ground. My instep was badly burned, and the pain was so intense I could not even stand up. However, Titus did not even glance at me. His eyes were only on the faint redness on Melissa's hand.

I numbly cleaned up the mess on the floor, rinsed my burned foot with cold water, and then limped into the bedroom.

Christian was fast asleep, lying sprawled out on the bed. I did not disturb him and endured the pain as I quietly rummaged through the cabinet.

I was looking for a bottle of expired ointment, which should be in the bedside drawer. Instead of the ointment, I discovered an old tin box in the drawer.

Opening it, I found several yellowed slips of paper and a fruit candy wrapper. I opened one of them to find Titus' handwriting. The childish handwriting wrote: [Letter of Guarantee: I will be good to Melissa and share everything with her...]

I quickly remembered what Titus had said yesterday. It turned out he had made this promise to Melissa a long time ago.

Inside the box was a makeshift stamp made from an eraser. It bore crooked words that read out 'Titus & Melissa' in blue ink. Suddenly, I felt breathless. A suffocating pain gripped my chest.

We had been married for eight years. He promised me the best of everything and a custom-made wedding ring just for me, but none of them came true. I did not really care for expensive gifts, but he had never even carved a rubber stamp for me.

There were many other things scattered inside the tin box, but I had no interest in exploring them. This box of memories proved the profound bond between Titus and Melissa. All of this made my existence seem ridiculous.

Without hysteria or a breakdown, I closed the tin box. I simply picked up my backpack calmly, endured the pain in my foot, and left the rental house without looking back.

I went straight to the airport and changed my flight to the next available one to Swizor.

Just before boarding, I received a message from Titus: [You've gone out? That's perfect. Don't come back until the Riso family's car arrives tomorrow. Don't let Melissa see you, or she'll remember those unhappy things. It'll also save people from gossiping.]

Then, he sent another message: [But remember to be back at the rental house at 9:00 AM tomorrow. We'll be leaving on time, so don't be late.]

I stared at the messages on my phone for a long time and did not reply at all. Instead, I took out the SIM card, broke it in half, and threw it in the trash.

Holding my boarding pass, I calmly boarded the flight, leaving Itolia. By the time they returned to Napple the next day, I would no longer be in Itolia.

I would leave behind my life as a socialite, as well as my husband and son, to Melissa. I did not want any of it.