Chapter 3

Before Jess could finish speaking, she suddenly fainted.

My husband's eyes turned red as he gathered her into his arms and got into the car without a moment's hesitation.

Sam scrambled in after him, panic written all over his face, tears welling in his eyes.

"Hurry, drive to the hospital! Aunt Jess must have inhaled water!"

The driver glanced at me. "But—"

He barely got the word out before Jonathan cut him off. "What are you waiting for? Delay any longer, and I'll dock your pay. Go to the hospital. Now!"

The driver swallowed whatever he had wanted to say, stopped looking at me, and slammed on the accelerator. The car sped off and disappeared in an instant.

And I remained silent the whole time.

My husband and child didn't notice me. They didn't see the blood dripping from my leg.

In the end, only the driver had remembered me.

I stood there in a daze, staring at the car as it vanished into the distance, the pain in my chest tightening as if someone had clenched it hard, growing more and more unbearable.

Lowering my head, I happened to notice two necklaces lying quietly on the ground not far away.

They belonged to Jonathan and Sam.

Two years ago, the two of them had made three necklaces by hand as my birthday gift. Inside each one was a family photo of the three of us. We each had one.

Back then, Jonathan had said with a smile that we should always wear them, so that our family of three would be together forever.

And now, those two necklaces lay lonely in this weed-choked wasteland.

I slowly crouched down, picked them up, and together with my own necklace, gently tossed them into the nearby lake.

With a soft plop, the necklaces sank slowly to the bottom, as if a part of the memories buried deep in my heart had vanished along with them.

I thought that perhaps, like those three necklaces, I too would soon disappear from this world without a sound.

Jonathan and I had met and fallen in love at Peach Blossom Park. I never imagined that it would also be here that our love would come to an end.

I lowered my head and looked at the wound on my leg, the blood still flowing steadily. I quickly tied my clothes tightly around it to stop the bleeding, then clenched my teeth and, enduring the pain, limped all the way from the outskirts back to the city.

That walk took several long hours.

At last, Jonathan drove up.

"Honey, I thought Jess had inhaled water back then. It was so urgent—I panicked…"

He wrapped his arms around me in a fluster, as if holding a treasure he had nearly lost. "Natalie, it's all my fault. Please forgive me, okay?"

Cold sweat covered Jonathan's forehead, dripping down to the tip of his nose, making him look utterly disheveled.

I didn't understand. Gently breaking free from his embrace, I asked, "When are we going to file for divorce?"

He stared at me, shock filling his eyes.

"Honey, what are you talking about? I've never thought about divorce. Didn't we agree to grow old together?"

In his panic, he grabbed my hand, only then noticing the injuries on my hand and leg. Surprise and distress crossed his face.

"You're hurt? I'll take you to the hospital."

As he spoke, he tried to pull me toward the car, but I lightly pressed my hand over his.

"If we don't divorce," I asked, "then what about Jess?"

Jonathan's brows knit even tighter. "Honey, Jess is going to live with us. My brother is gone, and she's all alone. She's pitiful. What's wrong with taking care of her for the rest of her life? Besides, this is also Mom's decision.

"She's our sister-in-law. Even if I take extra care of her, it will never surpass your place in my heart. You will always come first."

Just a sister-in-law?

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. "But I don't like having another woman in our home—especially one who's going to live with us for the rest of our lives."

Jonathan's mouth curved downward slightly. "Natalie, the one I love is you. You will always be my wife."