Chapter 4

With that, I closed the door, picked up the cardboard box, and walked away.

Nathaniel didn’t come home that night.

Instead, messages from Isla kept coming.

“Amelia, don’t blame me. You and Nathaniel were never right for each other.”

“We’re close, and if he’s with me, at least he’s staying within the family, so to speak. I grew up without a father, and I can’t let my child grow up without one too.”

Without expression, I blocked her number and deleted all her messages.

Then I opened the refrigerator and threw away the last bottle of peach yogurt from the bottom drawer.

It hit the trash with a dull thud.

The sound felt like a heavy hammer striking my heart.

When we had first moved in together, Nathaniel was still an intern. He would spend his entire paycheck buying yogurt for me and thoughtfully place the bottles on the second or third shelf of the refrigerator.

He said that way, I wouldn’t have to stretch or bend down to reach them.

He used to say that aside from drawing, I was hopelessly absent-minded and needed someone to take good care of me.

Back then, he could be stern with me sometimes.

He would frown and throw away every cup of instant noodles I bought.

He would pull me firmly into his arms and growl, “Amelia, did you get together with me just so you could eat instant noodles for every meal?”

When did he change?

As I thought about it, my eyes grew wet again.

I wiped away my tears and continued throwing things out.

The lucky clover on my desk, the love letters from our college days, the stuffed toys he had molded for me by hand…

One by one, they all ended up in the trash.

By sunrise, the door opened.

Nathaniel stood in the entryway, his face cold.

He didn’t even take off his shoes. He walked straight toward me, pulling the key from his pocket.

Before he could hand it to me—

Slap!

The sharp sound echoed through the room.

His face was knocked to the side by the force of the blow.

I covered my cheek, my hand coming away stained with blood.

Nathaniel glared at me with undisguised disgust, his eyes bloodshot.

He pointed at me, his voice harsh and cold.

“Because of you, Isla got rid of the baby! Are you happy now?

“It was only an embryo. It hadn’t even developed a heartbeat yet, and you were already so eager to provoke her? Now she’s bleeding heavily on the operating table, and we don’t even know if she’ll survive. Are you satisfied?”

His voice rose as he shouted himself hoarse.

There wasn’t a single question in his words. Only accusations.

As if everything that happened to Isla was somehow my fault.

I lifted my face and held out my phone to him, my voice trembling uncontrollably.

“Did I ever say anything cruel to her? See for yourself!”

The next second, he hurled the phone across the room.

It flew in an arc before smashing against the corner of the wall, breaking into several pieces.

It was the first gift he had ever bought me with his internship salary, years ago.

Now it was shattered.

Completely shattered.

Just like our relationship, which had once seemed perfect but had long since been riddled with cracks.

Back then, when he placed it in my palm, his face had turned unusually red. He had fidgeted for a long time before finally saying,

“We use the same brand, just different colors. It’s basically a couple’s phone.”

But now, he had replaced his phone countless times.

And somehow, every new one was always in exactly the color Isla liked.

“Amelia, I had already made up my mind. Once the baby was born, I was going to cut things off with Isla completely.

“We’d get our marriage certificate, have our wedding, whatever you wanted. I would have done it all.

“It was your cruelty that ruined everything! Weren’t you the one who wanted to break up? Fine! We’re done. Get out!”

Nathaniel pointed toward the door, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Then, after giving me one last deep look, he slammed the door behind him and left.

His footsteps gradually faded away.

A moment later, I heard the elevator doors open.

When the hallway finally fell completely silent, I placed the bloodstained key on the table.

As the door closed, tears streamed down my face.

But I didn’t hesitate for even a second.

All I felt was relief.

Isla. Nathaniel.

You would never have anything to do with the rest of my life.