Chapter 2

That day, I took the opportunity while Natalie and Nick were out to head to the latter's office.

However, upon stepping inside, I was absolutely stunned.

This looked nothing at all like an office. Instead, it was a replica of our home.

The dark green velvet couch, the standing lamp Nick had personally picked out, even the vase of flowers on the coffee table—everything was exactly the same as back home.

The only thing different was the wall that had our wedding photo hanging on it. Here, the entire wall had instead been filled with photos of Natalie.

Her chopping vegetables in the kitchen. Her leaning back on the couch, eyes closed as she slept peacefully…

Every single photo had been taken with meticulous care for the lighting and composition, and even through the photo paper, I could sense the overwhelming love he had for her.

My heart spasmed in my chest as I thought back to our honeymoon.

I had spent two hours dolling myself up before happily asking Nick to help me take a photo. Yet, he had simply half-heartedly pressed the shutter a few times, capturing blurry photos of me that lacked any life or beauty whatsoever.

As it turned out, it wasn't that he hated taking photos. He had merely saved all his patience and passion for it for Natalie.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside the office.

Snapping out of my daze, I quickly hid in the nearby closet.

A few seconds later, the door was pushed open.

"Let me go!" Natalie cried out in a voice thick with tears as she shook off Nick's grip.

All restraint seemed to have been thrown out the window as Nick pulled her into a tight hug. "Nat, I can barely stand it anymore! When I saw her with that knife earlier today, all I could think of was that we would finally be free if she really did stab herself."

That earned him a harsh smack across the cheek.

"Nick Goldberg, you monster! She's your wife!"

"But I don't even love her!" Nick's eyes reddened as he went on, despair practically dripping from his voice, "You have no idea how suffocating it is to lie down beside her every night. Nat, how about I just be honest with her? As long as she's willing to let me go, I can give her all my money!"

"No!" Natalie cried out brokenly. "If you tell her the truth, that's no different than forcing her to kill herself!"

In response, Nick buried his head in the crook of her neck and pleaded like a drowning man, "Then what about me? You care so much about her, but who will care about me?"

Natalie sobbed in heartrending anguish. "When I was ten, she pushed me out of the way and got hit by a truck. It was then I made a vow to protect her for the rest of my life, even if that means throwing my own life away. Yet, I failed to keep myself in check and fell in love with her husband.

"Back when you were negotiating that project and accidentally offended someone, she took your place and was ambushed at that underground parking lot. If it weren't for us, Lena wouldn't have gotten depression, so how could we ever do anything that would hurt her so deeply?"

With trembling lips, Nick kissed away her tears.

In the closet, my nails dug deep into the skin of my palms, tearing open the wound on my hand again. Still, I couldn't feel any pain at all.

So, that was how it was. How very touching.

Out of gratitude for a life saved, one chose to give up the person they loved. Meanwhile, the other endured everything in silence, burdened by guilt.

In that case, what role did I play in this tragic love of theirs?

I had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, it fell silent outside.

Climbing out of the closet, I staggered my way out of the company. The icy winds of a winter night slashed at my cheeks like daggers, swiftly drying the tears on my face.

Suddenly, I recalled the day Nick had firmly handed me a divorce agreement and insisted on getting a divorce, even if that meant giving up his entire fortune. However, he just stopped bringing it up after that day.

Now, I knew that it was because he had been worried about having my life on his hands and that Natalie would be haunted by a guilty conscience for the rest of her life.

Since they were so tormented by my presence in their life, I decided that I would oblige them.

Taking out my phone, I dialled my lawyer's number with numb fingers.

"Mr. Lont, please help me draft a divorce agreement. The sooner the better."

For a very long while, there was nothing but silence from the other end of the line.

"Ms. Swift, are you joking with me?" There was no hiding the pity in his voice. "There's no record of your marriage registration in the system. In the eyes of the law, your current marital status is unmarried."