Chapter 2

I hung up on him.

At some point, the rain outside grew heavier and began pounding against the window.

I put my phone on silent and stood there for a long time.

A cold draft slipped through the frame and sent a chill through me.

I was not like this ten years ago.

Back then, I had just graduated from college and found a decent job in my hometown. My parents worked good jobs. We were not very rich, but we had a comfortable life.

Jackson had come to town on a business trip, and we met through a friend. We dated for a year before I followed him to this northern city.

In the beginning, my parents did not approve of my choice. They were worried that I would be taken advantage of.

In the end, they could not dissuade me and agreed to let me marry Jackson.

The day I left my hometown, Mom cried so hard that she could barely speak. At the train station, Dad said, “Come home if things get bad. I can still afford to take care of you.”

I hugged my mother, chuckled, and told them not to worry. I told them that Jackson treated me well and that I would be fine.

Indeed, Jackson treated me well at the start.

During the early days of our marriage, he felt bad seeing me commute to work every day. Because of that, he saved three months’ salary to get me a Vespa.

I told him that I did not need one, but he told me that his wife had to have the best.

Then, he got a promotion and his work got busier. He got a stomach ulcer that only kept worsening.

I quit my job to cook for him because I loved him so much.

I spent every day cooking healthy, balanced, and tasty meals for him.

To make sure I made it in time for his lunch, I carefully packaged everything and rode my Vespa for twenty minutes to bring it to his office.

At the beginning, he tried to talk me out of doing it, saying that it was too much work.

I told him that it was not that hard for me and that I felt better knowing that he was eating what I cooked for him.

After that, I kept doing it for the next ten years.

In that time, I gave birth to a son and a daughter. I lost my figure and did not get it back.

I put all my thoughts and effort into the family. I cooked for him, raised the kids, and managed the household chores.

There was no time left to dress up or care about how I looked. Besides, it was not like I had anywhere to go where I needed to dress myself up.

The most expensive makeup I had was from before I got married. It had expired long ago.

It was not like I never noticed myself getting older.

I would be taken aback sometimes when I saw the fine lines at the corners of my eyes and the whites in my hair.

But I would convince myself that we were a family, and Jackson did not care how I looked since he appreciated all I did for him.

For the past ten years, I would make lunch and leave promptly to deliver it to him. I rarely ever stayed long at his office.

At least, that was true until this afternoon.

It had been raining. It was practically storming. I had wrapped the food container with my raincoat, securing it under three layers of protection. But I was sodden through.

By the time I got to Jackson’s office building, my pants were wet all the way up to my thighs. My hair stuck to my face even as water kept dripping down.

I thought I could go up and wait a while for the rain to slacken before leaving. It really was only for a little while.

Instead of worrying that I might catch a cold, Jackson only cared that I was embarrassing him.

When I came back to myself, I looked at the card in my hand.

There was $150,000 in the account.

Jackson had given me that money as a wedding gift. Mom had told me to save it, reminding me that it was important for a woman to have some money of her own, just in case.

I had never touched this money, not even when things were bad at home.

I sat by the bed in a daze.

My thoughts were all over the place. I tried to focus, but nothing would stay in my head for long.