Chapter 1

Jackson's eyes were filled with pain and guilt. "Wendy, please bear with it for now. Candace has always lived a pampered life. She... she can't handle all the gossip."

Wendy stared at him blankly, then suddenly laughed with tears streaming down her face.

"So... I'm supposed to handle it?"

She suddenly felt so tired.

Tired to the point where she no longer wanted to love him.

-

In a law firm, Wendy finished signing all the documents. Looking at the blank space for the husband's signature, she looked up and asked the lawyer, "Can I sign on the husband's behalf?"

The lawyer pushed up his glasses, looking a bit troubled. "Only if you have his consent."

After a moment of silence, she called Jackson, but from the other end came Candace's coquettish voice, "Jackson, I'm craving that dessert from the west side of town…"

Wendy's heart stung, but she tried hard to maintain her composure. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Jackson's deep voice came through. "What is it? Wendy, I'm busy right now. Whatever it is, you can make the decision for me."

She confirmed again, "Whatever it is, I can decide for you?"

He laughed, his tone gentle. "Of course. All these years, haven't you always decided everything at home?"

"Alright then. I'll make the decision for you."

The call ended. Wendy lowered her gaze and, stroke by stroke, solemnly signed Jackson's name in the blank space.

As the lawyer saw Wendy out, he reminded her, "Mrs. Wallace, the divorce will take effect in one month. If you change your mind during this period, you can withdraw it anytime."

She suddenly chuckled, a very soft chuckle. "No, I won't regret it."

She was determined to end the marriage.

After leaving the law firm, she hailed a cab and rushed straight to the hospital.

"Hi, I would like to perform an abortion."

"Are you sure you want an abortion?" The doctor glanced at the report. "The baby is very healthy."

"I'm sure."

On the operating table in the hospital, the cold sound of the instruments chilled Wendy to the bone.

She closed her eyes and remembered how Jackson had pursued her back in the days.

At the college welcoming ceremony, he was giving a speech as the student council president but forgot his words the moment his eyes landed on her.

Later, everyone said the most popular guy in Economics had fallen for someone.

That unattainable heartthrob, who was never seen near any girl, pursued a girl for an entire year.

On the day of the first snow, he placed 999 roses beneath her dormitory building and stood waiting in the snow all night.

On a stormy night, because she casually mentioned she "wanted cake from the west side of town", he drove halfway across the city.

But she only truly fell for him at that anniversary gala.

She was performing a piano solo. Halfway through, the keys jammed, and the whole venue went awkwardly silent.

The next second, Jackson walked straight onto the stage and sat down next to her.

"I'll play with you."

His slender fingers landed on the keys, and he played the remaining part of "Mariage d'Amour" with her.

The screams from the audience nearly blew off the roof, but he had eyes only for her. He whispered, "Wendy, in this life, it's you or no one for me."

Her heart was moved.

He kept his promise. From dating to marriage, he treated her like the most precious treasure.

The only thing that bothered her was his childhood friend who was always with him, Candace Hall.

"Candace is like a younger sister to me," he always said. "Her grandfather saved my grandfather's life. Now that the Hall family's fortune has declined, I can't just abandon her."

Wendy believed him.

But gradually, Candace became a shadow looming over them.

She had had to make way for Candace countless times.

Last year, he promised to take her to see the aurora for her birthday, but canceled the trip at the last minute because Candace had a fever.

On their wedding anniversary, she prepared many surprises, but Candace called and said she was scared of thunder, and he went over to keep her company.

When Wendy had a high fever, he was with Candace on a Ferris wheel, posing for pictures with her for her Instagram posts.

Wendy endured it time and time again, until this time, when he wouldn't even acknowledge their own baby for Candace's sake.

Since that was the case, she didn't want the baby anymore.

And she didn't want him anymore, either.

When the lights in the operating room went dark, Wendy felt as if her soul was drained away along with them.

She leaned on the wall and slowly walked out, her legs still trembling slightly, a dull ache radiating from her lower abdomen.

When she turned the corner and saw the scene some distance away from her, she felt like she had fallen into an ice pit, her blood frozen solid.

On the bench, Jackson was down on one knee, pressing his ear against Candace's slightly swollen belly.

"The baby kicked me!" Candace's smile curved her brows and eyes. "Jackson, they say the more a baby kicks the mother's belly, the smarter the baby is."

Jackson gently stroked Candace's belly, his voice so tender it could drip water. "I just hope the baby is safe and sound."

Wendy clenched the medical record in her hand so tightly it crumpled.

The paper made an overwhelmed, tearing sound in her palm, just like her shattered heart.

She should have rushed over and confronted him.

She should ask him if he knew that while he was eagerly anticipating another woman's baby, their own flesh and blood was being ground up and sucked away by cold instruments.

She should ask him if he remembered that when he first learned she was pregnant, he had been so ecstatic that he scooped her up and spun her around.

Yet she did nothing.

She just stood there quietly, watching that beautiful couple under the sunlight.

All the anger, grievances, and frustration eventually turned into a deep, bone-weary exhaustion.

She turned to leave, but Jackson's voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Wendy?" He sounded surprised. "What are you doing at the hospital?"