Chapter 3

But he immediately blamed me instead. "Oh, I forgot. Why didn't you say something earlier? We also ordered beef. If you don't eat seafood, you can eat something else."

Ezra used to remember that I didn't eat raw food.

But over time, he had forgotten everything.

I suddenly felt like I shouldn't be sitting there anymore, so I got up and left.

Behind me, Yvette asked worriedly, "Is Hayley upset?"

Ezra angrily lowered his voice. "She's always ruining the mood wherever she goes. Just ignore her and keep eating."

I walked out of the restaurant alone and took a cab home.

I had made up my mind.

As soon as I got home, I sent my resignation email to the company and started cleaning out the study.

Since Ezra could only do his work at the office, I was the one who used the study most of the time.

The books, paintings, and notes inside all belonged to me.

Ezra came home while I was halfway through packing.

He looked at me with disappointment. "Hayley, why have you become like this? It's Christmas, and instead of enjoying the holiday, you've been making a scene all day. Do you have to ruin everyone's mood before you'll be satisfied?"

Even now, he was still blaming me.

He really believed I had deliberately ruined everyone's Christmas.

But I didn't want to argue with him anymore. "Ezra, let's get a divorce..."

His phone suddenly rang.

The cheerful melody was Yvette's special ringtone.

Ezra had once told me he was too lazy to change his ringtone, so he had always kept the default one.

Except for Yvette.

Her ringtone was different.

During our three years of marriage, Ezra changed his phone three times. Every time he got a new phone, the first thing he did was set that same cheerful melody as Yvette's ringtone.

I had once asked him about it.

He told me he had been listening to that song since college and had simply gotten used to it.

I only found out later that the ringtone actually belonged to Yvette.

I watched as he answered the call without hesitation.

After hearing Yvette say something, he immediately walked outside and shut the door behind him. "Don't be scared. I'll be there soon!"

He hadn't heard me say I wanted a divorce.

Or maybe he had heard me and simply didn't care.

I stared at the empty living room and suddenly felt that maybe my marriage to Ezra had been a mistake from the very beginning.

Yvette's special ringtone.

The default delivery address he had always refused to delete.

Everything he bought for me and my parents ending up with Yvette...

Ezra had made it so obvious.

Yet I had always made excuses for him. I kept believing that one day he would realize how good I was, wake up, and change.

But nothing ever changed.

I was the only one who had wasted three years like a fool.

After I finished clearing out the study, I went to the bedroom, washed up, and went to bed.

It was almost 1 a.m. when Ezra finally sent me a message. "Something came up at Yvette's place. I'm not coming home tonight."

I didn't reply. I put my phone down and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, I continued packing my clothes and personal belongings.

I hadn't really noticed it before, but while packing, I realized something.

Over the past three years, I had become stubborn and hurt because Ezra kept sending things to Yvette by mistake.

So, whenever he sent something to the wrong address, I stopped buying it again.

Couples' slippers, matching pajamas, small decorations I liked, little potted plants...

There were also the two identical electric toothbrushes sitting on the bathroom counter in our bedroom.

They were ugly and hard to use.

After we got married, I had spent a long time researching electric toothbrushes before finally choosing one that looked nice and had all the features I wanted. Just as I was about to order it, Ezra said he would buy it for me.

But, unsurprisingly, that toothbrush ended up being sent to Yvette too.

I asked him to go get it back, but he refused. I was so angry that I bought these two cheap ones from a nearby grocery store instead.

I put a waterproof label on mine so we could tell them apart.

I also stubbornly refused to buy another one.

I thought that every day when Ezra saw those two toothbrushes, he would feel guilty and uncomfortable. I thought he would eventually reorder the toothbrush I had picked.

But that model had already been updated three times. And he still hadn't done anything.

So, we were still using those awful toothbrushes.

I stared quietly at the two toothbrushes for a moment. Then I threw them into the trash.

Just as I finished packing, Ezra called me. "I told you before that my company is giving me a bonus today. My coworkers are making a big deal about it and insisting that I treat everyone to dinner. Come join us too. I'll send you the hotel's location later."

I was about to refuse.

But then he added, "My parents will be there too. Don't be late."

I froze. Before I could refuse, he hung up.

Since I had already decided to get a divorce, I felt that I should at least tell his parents in person.

When the driver arrived, I had everything shipped out.

Then I called Harper and told her to remember to sign for my things. I told her I would eat something first and then come home to explain everything.

Finally, I took one last look at the home where Ezra and I had lived together for three years after getting married.

Then I left without looking back.