Chapter 1

Chantelle's POV

I slowly made my way back home, walked into the bedroom, and collapsed onto the bed. It wasn't until I woke up that the pain in my abdomen finally eased a little.

It still felt strange, the emptiness—both in my abdomen and in this dark, hollow house.

Out of habit, I wanted to send a message to my husband, Rykel Heffer. I wanted to ask him why he still wasn't home at 3:00 am.

But when I unlocked my phone and saw the screen full of messages reading "okay", my mind finally caught up.

I laughed mockingly at myself. After almost two years, how could I still not remember that his replies were automated?

Then, all of a sudden, there came the click of the door lock from the entryway.

I walked out and saw Rykel, who was pulling off his soaked shirt.

"Joey said she wanted my goulash, so I brought some over, but I got caught in the rain on the way back. Anyway, you're still up at this hour?"

I hummed flatly in response.

He headed for the bathroom and asked casually, "Why were you at the hospital today?"

Then, he pulled out the hairdryer, plugged it in, and flipped the switch.

"To get an abortion," I said, but my voice was drowned out by the roar of the hair dryer.

This was common behavior from him. He never gave me any time to speak at all.

My eyes drifted to the red cord necklace around his neck. Whenever he wore a white shirt, it always showed through. He would rather put on an extra suit jacket in the height of summer than take it off, even though it was just a free gift Joey Mugbrey, my mentee, got during a shopping spree.

"Rykel, where's your wedding ring?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.

He turned off the hair dryer and casually ran a hand through his hair. "I took it off. I don't like the feeling of being constrained."

"Then why do you wear that cord necklace?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"That's different," he said. "The necklace is soft, but the wedding ring is stiff and gets in the way. You're the only one who likes wearing it."

I looked down at the ring on my finger. The wedding ring? I had taken it off long ago. This one was something I bought at a flea market for ten dollars. In fact, the diamond on it was so obviously fake that it was laughable.

Rykel simply hadn't noticed. Or rather, he had stopped paying attention to me for too long and hadn't held my hand in ages.

"Alright. Get some sleep," Rykel said before ruffling my hair and heading into the guest room.

Ever since I got pregnant, we hadn't shared a bed again. He told me that he stayed up late and didn't want to disturb my rest.

Yet every day, he would go and pick Joey up after her night shift, accompany her to get a late-night snack outside, and then drop her off at her place. By the time he got home, it would already be 3:00 am.

Even then, they still stayed in contact after returning home.

Once, I got up to use the bathroom at around 5:00 am and saw that the light in the guest room was still on. The sound of typing and soft laughter came from inside.

In the past, I really would have gone in and asked what they were talking about.

Was there really that much to say? And if so, why did Rykel clam up whenever he was around me?

But now, none of that mattered anymore.

My phone screen lit up with a confirmation notice for the overseas assignment. I pressed "Confirm" and went back to bed.