Chapter 1

His name was Ivan Blake.

He was the man Elena Coleman had fallen in love with at thirty years old.

He was also the newest intern at her company.

I had met Ivan a few times.

Fresh out of college, he was cheerful, naive, and inexperienced, reminding me of myself back when I was right out of college.

Elena absentmindedly scrolled through her phone, glancing out of the window every now and then.

It was raining heavily outside.

I knew she was worried about Ivan, though it wasn't a guess—her thoughts had told me so.

The food I had prepared for our fifth wedding anniversary had long since gone cold on the table.

It was just like my heart, which grew colder by the minute.

Elena didn't notice a thing as her attention was no longer on me.

In the past, she would notice even the slightest change in my mood and comfort me right away.

But today, I was practically invisible to her as she was focused on nothing but her phone and Ivan.

Suddenly, her phone beeped, breaking the strange silence.

Elena's face lit up the moment she read the message.

Then, she grabbed her coat and hurried toward the door.

"I'm sorry, Julian. Something urgent came up at work. I have to go out for a while."

Before I could even respond, she had already shut the door.

It was the first time she had left me behind, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

Looking at the cake that had 'Happy 5th Anniversary' written on it, I found the situation rather ironic.

I had never imagined that Elena's gift for our fifth wedding anniversary would be another man.

I lost my appetite, and I dumped all the food into the trash.

Once I had finished cleaning up, my abdomen started hurting.

My old injury was acting up again.

Elena and I had been in a car accident back in college.

I had been thrown thirty feet away while saving her from the impact, and the doctors worked around the clock for three days to save my life.

Elena only had a few minor injuries, while the accident had left me with a lingering injury.

Whenever I got worked up, my abdomen would start hurting.

I sat down on the couch and glanced at the follow-up appointment notice on the table.

I had originally wanted Elena to come with me.

If she had been a little more attentive, she would've noticed the appointment notice I had left on the table.

But she hadn't. From the moment she came in, her mind had been occupied with Ivan.

That was why she hadn't noticed the appointment notice or the strange atmosphere in the room.

She hadn't even noticed how I had stiffened for a second when I touched her.

Knowing what it felt like to have all of Elena's love, I couldn't accept that she had fallen for someone else.

There was no point in staying in a marriage without love.

I let out a bitter laugh and began packing my bags.

Just then, Elena called me.

"Julian, don't be mad. I really did have to leave because of work."

She repeated herself as if afraid that I wouldn't believe her.

"Mhm." I didn't bother calling her out on her lie.

Elena thought that I had believed her and sighed in relief.

"Let's just forget about today. I'll make it up to you next time with something even more extravagant, okay? We'll go to your favorite restaurant."

'But... there won't be a next time,' I answered her in my heart.

"Ms. Coleman, who are you talking to?"

Ivan's voice came through the phone.

It was low, but I heard him.

Elena quickly muted the call as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

A moment later, she spoke again.

"Julian, I still have some things to take care of. I'll make it up to you when I get back."

With that, she hurriedly hung up.

She was probably afraid she would let something else slip if she stayed on the phone any longer.