Chapter 2

Chloe dashed from the entryway straight to the dining table without even washing her hands.

She dropped into my usual seat, picked up a shrimp, and popped it into her mouth.

Still eating, she helped herself to a bowl of the chicken soup Mrs. Baker had made for me to help me recover.

Just then, Ethan finished changing his shoes and walked over.

He sighed helplessly.

“Were you really that hungry? You rushed all the way over here just to mooch a meal?”

He watched Chloe wolf down the food with obvious indulgence.

“Did you finish revising the research proposal we went over yesterday?”

Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

Then she caught sight of my pale face from the corner of her eye and immediately smiled.

“Vivian’s so quiet. No wonder Dr. Shaw is always saying how peaceful it is at home.”

Ethan reached over and wiped a drop of soup from the corner of her mouth.

“Slow down. If your dad saw you eating like this, he’d think I was starving you at the hospital.”

Then he picked up the serving utensils and placed a piece of sea bass on his plate.

He carefully removed every bone before putting the fish into Chloe’s bowl.

Ethan had always told me that a surgeon could never afford to do anything that might injure his hands.

So for the past three years, whenever we had fish at home, I had always removed the bones before serving it to him.

Chloe grabbed his arm and whined playfully.

“Ethan, you’re the best! You know I grew up eating at your family’s house. You wouldn’t really kick me out, would you?

“I already have to pretend I barely know you at the hospital every day. It’s exhausting!”

She stuck out her tongue and went right back to eating.

I looked at the mess she had made of the food on the table, and nausea rolled through my stomach.

I opened the refrigerator, intending to pour myself a glass of ice water.

But my hand slipped, and ice cubes scattered across the floor.

At the noise, Ethan came over and grabbed my hand.

“You never touch anything cold. Now you’re so determined to compete with Chloe that you don’t even care about your health?

“She just finished a night shift and stopped by for a meal. You really can’t tolerate even that?”

Once Chloe had eaten her fill, she left looking perfectly satisfied.

Ethan seemed to notice that I was upset.

But he was certain I was only jealous and throwing a tantrum.

“Fine. I’ll make an exception tonight. You can talk to me for five minutes. I won’t complain about the noise.”

As he spoke, he actually raised his wrist and started a timer.

I looked at him without saying a word.

I was just tired.

I used to be a fairly successful voice actor.

I had met Ethan one morning while I was out for a run.

When we were dating, he had never imposed any ridiculous rules on me.

He would even laugh as I imitated voices from different animated shows.

After we got married, I was the one who adjusted to his work habits.

I voluntarily locked up the recording studio in my room.

Because I knew he hated noise, I hadn’t taken a single paid voice-acting job since we got married.

I turned my head away when he tried to touch me.

Then I opened the coffee table drawer and took out a document.

“Ethan, these are the divorce papers. I’ve already signed them.”

With that, I turned and walked into the bedroom.

He froze for a moment before slamming the papers onto the table.

His voice rose behind me.

“Divorce me? Vivian, where exactly do you think you can go without me?”

I didn’t stop.

I went into the bedroom and locked the door.

The next day, I came back to pack my things.

But when I tried to open the door, I discovered the lock had been changed.

I called a locksmith to let me in.

The moment the door opened, I heard a voice coming from my recording studio.

I pushed the door open.

Chloe was sitting comfortably in my studio as if she owned the place.

The room was a mess.

She had my headphones on and was adjusting my professional recording equipment.

On the screen, she was recording a health education segment for the hospital.

When she saw me walk in, she merely glanced up.

She made no move to get out of my chair.

Then I saw the familiar words on the screen.

It was material I had spent several sleepless nights writing for my own voice-over work.

And when I saw the name listed in the credits at the bottom of the screen, my entire body started shaking with anger.

I strode forward and yanked the microphone cable out.