5

Violet's POV

I spent the entire night calling the nurses or doctors whenever Belle needed them. 

She was restless all night and for a moment, I got worried. 

It was a huge scare after all, but as the sun finally peeked out, relief washed over me. 

The worst was finally over. 

And forget about showing up… not once had Jason or Ivy called. 

I picked up my phone and froze as a notification popped up. 

I opened it and my grip on the phone tightened. It was a photo of Ivy holding a bouquet, grinning like she’d won a pageant. 

There were bottles of alcohol and confetti littered across the table and floor. 

Jason and several other people were around her, smiling into the camera. 

To add insult to injury, she added a caption; ‘Thanks Jason, I’m so glad to always have you at my side’

My breath hitched, my throat tightening as I realised…

This entire time while I was taking care of their daughter…

Jason and Ivy were busy partying at home. 

I set my phone down, my skin burning all over again as Belle stirred. 

“Mommy…” she said, sitting up. “Where’s Daddy?”

I didn’t get a chance to respond because the doctor walked in at that exact moment. 

He smiled, “Her discharge papers are ready. She’s finally ready to go back home.”

I glanced at Belle, squeezing her hand as I stood. 

“Thank you, Doctor.” I said, “We’ll take our leave now.”

The entire drive home was silent. Belle had a pout on her lips; the poor girl couldn’t understand why her father hadn’t picked her up.

When kids got sick, their parents fussed over them. 

But as I got out of the car and entered the house with Belle, I realised…

Some parents partied instead. 

“Okay, okay! My turn!” A blonde-haired man chuckled, spinning a bottle.

I glanced around; the entire place was littered with empty bottles, confetti, and the stench of alcohol. 

“This time, you have to pick the dare. You’ve run out of truths, Jason,” he nudged him. 

Jason and Ivy sat closely, her arm linked with his on the couch. 

I stood at the door, watching the exchange. They had so much time on their hands that they were playing truth or dare? 

“I dare you to…” he paused, pretending to think before he spoke. “Kiss Ivy!”

My hands curled into fists. 

The room felt silent before someone else spoke up. 

“Yeah, Jason. It’s about time, kiss her already!”

“There are no excuses now, do you dare!”

“Don’t joke around like that,” Ivy said, even as she leaned in, staring at his lips. 

My fingernails dug into my skin.

Just as Jason actually moved, my voice echoed through the room. 

And for a moment, the pressure in my chest bubbled over. 

“You’re really amazing, Jason Ashford. You have time to play games with Ivy after abandoning your daughter at the hospital?”

Everyone turned to the door where I was standing. 

Ivy stood up immediately. “Violet, it’s not what you think, Jason and I were just– ouch!”

She had barely taken a step toward me when she cried out leaning against Jason.

A practiced sob escaped her lips. “Jason! Jason, I think I twisted my ankle!”

I rolled my eyes. The classic sprain. She had done it a million times in front of my parents whenever they asked her a question directly. 

It worked like magic and from the looks of it, Jason wasn’t immune to it. 

“It hurts so bad, I can’t even stand,” She cried, wrapping her arms around herself. 

Jason moved toward her but I spoke up. 

“The driver can take her to the hospital, Jason.”

Surely, they knew some lines weren’t meant to be crossed, right?

Ivy whimpered and pushed herself closer to Jason, clinging to the hem of his trousers. “Jason, please.”

That was the push he needed to cross the line. 

My husband crouched and picked her up immediately, holding her to his chest as he looked directly at me. 

“Ivy is afraid of hospitals. She wants me to accompany her.” His tone was decisive. “When I get back, we’ll talk.”

A stupid thought crossed my mind. If I were the one who’d gotten hurt, would he have crouched down to pick me up too? 

Would he have showered his affection so loudly? 

Definitely not. 

Even when I caught a flu last week and the doctors were almost certain I wouldn’t make it — Forget about checking on me, Jason Ashford hadn’t looked at me once. 

And when he left for a business trip, he’d finally stopped at my door, coldly claiming that when he came back we would talk. 

He returned with Ivory. 

We never talked. 

Not then and not now. 

And for some reason, I suddenly started thinking maybe we were never going to have that talk. 

Maybe I didn’t want to anymore. 

I watched as one by one the guests left. Once we were alone, I put Belle in and waited until she was asleep. 

Then I went to the terrace. 

It was the place I spent the most time on. Waiting, calling, glancing at the gates to see if Jason Ashford was coming home. 

I waited for seven years but as I recalled his words and how he’d carried Ivy past me, I realised – maybe the wait was never going to end. 

Getting married to Jason, sacrificing seven years at his side to win his love. 

Raising Belle like my daughter, believing I was building a home. 

Somewhere I belonged…

And it took barely twenty-four hours for him to throw it all away. 

Like I was never there, like I didn’t exist. 

Like these past seven years meant nothing and maybe to Jason Ashford, they didn’t. 

If it didn’t mean anything to him then why should I keep clinging on? 

Why not wake up from the dream before it slowly turns into a nightmare? 

Because forget about love, not a single day in seven years had I been treated with the respect a wife deserved. 

It felt like I’d been acting like a wife, auditioning for a role that was taken. 

Just as dawn peaked, the gates finally opened. 

And as Jason got out of the car, strolling into his house, I— who never really knew what to say when he asked to talk — suddenly had the right words. 

“I’ve told you many times not to wait for me.” 

I turned to see him and the scent of Ivory’s perfume hit me immediately. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” He spat, “Ivy was genuinely scared; don’t make a big deal about this.”

“Besides, I’m here to talk to you, aren’t I?” 

“Even I have something to say to you.”

“Hurry up,” He was already loosening his tie. “I need to go to bed early and bring Ivory back from the hospital, you can handle breakfast, right?”

If he was in such a hurry, then why hold him back? 

He moved toward the door when I finally spoke the words that had been clawing at my throat for the past few days. 

“Jason Ashford,” I said, stepping closer. “I want a divorce.”