Chapter 7

Milton sniffled as he tried to explain, “We just wanted to find a necklace to give to Ms. Shaw… Mom wouldn’t let us and tried to take it back… I-I accidentally…”

Justin crouched down beside Yvonne, reaching out to help her up. “Where are you hurt? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

The two boys also hurried over, fumbling as they tried to help.

Just then…

A scream came from the dining room. A maid rushed over in a panic. “Sir! Ms. Shaw was scalded by hot soup!”

Justin froze for a moment.

“Is it serious?” he asked urgently.

“A large patch of skin turned red…”

Before the maid could finish, Justin had already stood up. “Yvonne, call an ambulance yourself. We’ll take Sophia to the hospital first.”

The two boys immediately let go of Yvonne’s hands. “Mom, you should go to the hospital yourself!”

“Justin… Milton… Travis…”

Yvonne weakly reached out. However, the three of them were already rushing toward the dining room without looking back, carefully supporting Sophia as they escorted her away.

Blood blurred her vision. She trembled as she fumbled for her phone, using the last bit of her strength she had to dial 911.

“H-Help me…”

The moment the call connected, darkness swallowed her whole.

…

When Yvonne woke up again, her hospital room was still empty. A nurse came in to change her bandages. She let out a sigh when she saw that Yvonne was awake.

“Your husband and children are in the VIP room next door, taking care of Ms. Shaw.”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing. There was a hint of indignation in her voice. “Ms. Shaw only has a small burn on the back of her hand, but they’re acting like it’s a huge emergency. Mr. Quinn personally applied ointment for her, the older kid was blowing on the burn, and the younger one even ran out to buy ice cream to cheer her up… Meanwhile, you’re injured badly, yet…”

Yvonne listened quietly. Her heart was already hurting past the point of feeling.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. The screen lit up with a notification from the courthouse: [Your divorce has been processed. You may collect your divorce certificate in three days.]

She stared at the message for a long time, then she smiled. It would soon all be over.

…

After leaving the hospital, Yvonne began preparing to leave. On the first day, she went to the cemetery. A little stone marker now stood beside her parents’ tomb, marking Henry’s resting place.

She knelt before the grave and gently wiped the dust from the photo of her brother’s young, smiling face.

“Mom, Dad, Henry…” Her voice was soft. “I loved the wrong person. I shouldn’t have fallen in love with Justin. I shouldn’t have given birth to those two children…”

She gave a small smile as silent tears slid down her face. “I’m leaving… This time, I’ll let them go completely. I’ll make the rest of my life count. You guys, be well and don’t worry about me. Someday, years from now, we’ll meet again.”

The mountain wind lifted her long hair, and the white flowers at the grave trembled slightly, as though they were responding to her.

The next day, she went to Lovers’ Bridge. Years ago, she and Justin had hung a lock there. It had been engraved with their names, meant to symbolize their lasting love. She found the lock, gripped a pair of pliers, and snapped it off before tossing it into the river.

As the lock fell into the water, she seemed to hear the laughter of her younger self.

How ridiculous. Those vows of 'forever' only lasted five years.

After that, she visited every place that held memories of her time with Justin—the restaurants they frequented, the park where they had their first date, the church where they were married…

Bit by bit, she erased every trace of their love.

Back at home, she gathered all the gifts Justin had given her over the years and threw them into the trash. Finally, she packed her bags. Once she collected the divorce certificate tomorrow, she would leave for good.