Chapter 3

I'd thought everything would change after Caleb appeared.

But seeing that familiar gift bag, my eyes reddened uselessly, and my vision blurred.

Just as I clung greedily to that brief moment, Vivian's phone rang.

She hurriedly let go of the bag.

The things inside spilled out.

My mouth twitched. My heart felt as if it had been stabbed. Still refusing to give up, I asked, "What... is this?"

Vivian froze with the phone in her hand and glanced at the underwear scattered across the floor.

It was obvious all of them had been worn.

Guilt flickered through her eyes, but she was in a hurry to answer the call, so she dismissed it casually.

"Caleb said he wanted to choose your gift. It couldn't have been like this. Maybe someone played a prank. If you don't like it, throw it away."

Did she really expect me to like it?

Vivian's gifts to me had always been carefully chosen after she walked through every luxury boutique.

Sometimes, when she couldn't decide, she'd video call me for three or four hours, asking for my opinion while she picked.

Who would've thought my long-awaited sixth anniversary would become this?

Impatience showed in her eyes. She didn't bother with me anymore and answered the phone.

The next second, Caleb's sobbing voice came through.

"Vivian, is Nathan still unwilling to forgive me? So many people came to the hospital to call me a murderer. I'm so scared..."

"Ah!"

After a scream, the call cut off.

"Hello? Caleb!"

When she looked at me again, anger had already filled her eyes.

"Isn't that already over? Why are you still being so aggressive? Will you only be happy if you really push Caleb into depression?

"After all, he even helped pick your anniversary gift and wished us a happy sixth anniversary. Do you have a heart at all?"

Faced with her accusation, I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

She could completely believe Caleb had sincerely helped choose my gift, yet she wouldn't believe her husband would never deliberately hurt anyone.

The explanation stuck in my throat. My chest felt as if a huge stone were pressing down on it, suffocating me.

Vivian didn't give me a choice. She grabbed my injured arm and dragged me into the car.

The pain made my arm shrink back, but she didn't even look at me.

She only warned me, "Nathan, if something really happens to Caleb, I won't let you off easily."

When we arrived, Caleb's ward was packed with people.

He was curled up in the corner. The instant he saw Vivian, he ran over crying pitifully.

"Vivian, I don't know why Nathan hates me so much. I've had depression since I was little. I really can't handle being tormented like this. Why don't you just send me to prison?

"I'll go to prison to atone for your child."

He cried so miserably that he instantly stirred Vivian's sympathy and pity.

She stroked his hair with heartache, then turned and looked coldly at me.

"Nathan, you could've defended your rights through proper channels. Why did you do something illegal? You studied law too. Don't you understand something this basic?"

As if standing in court would've made her fight for justice for me.

How absurd.

I looked around. Every face was unfamiliar. How could I have hired them?

But I was unexpectedly calm. I looked straight into her eyes.

"These people aren't mine. I don't have time to play games with you."