Chapter 3

I stood on the wintry street, my vision darkening in waves.

Esther had married me with a ring and a ceremony. She had cared for me in every possible way. Yet the one thing she had faithfully reserved for Adam was the spouse line on her marriage licence. Even while she played house with me, she had saved that place for him.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face. Still clinging to one final shred of hope, I called the version of myself from 10 years in the future.

"I want to know. Even for a single moment, did she ever love me?"

A long silence followed.

"Go to the VIP ward at Seacliff Central Hospital right now. Then you'll see how stupid that question is."

I drifted to the hospital like a ghost.

Inside the room, Adam seemed to be suffering from a flare-up of gastroenteritis and was bent over retching. Meanwhile, Esther, the severe germaphobe who could not tolerate even the faintest unpleasant smell, wiped the corner of his mouth with her bare hand.

Watching through the glass, I felt tears slip down my face without warning.

Six months earlier, the side effects of my medication had left me vomiting in the middle of the night.

What had she done then?

She had jumped back to the doorway as though she had been shocked. Frowning, she called the housekeeper to clean up the mess. Then she locked herself in the bathroom and showered 3 times in a row. From beginning to end, she never looked at me again as I retched until I could barely breathe.

Why was it that when it came to Adam, nothing was off-limits for her?

Esther stepped out carrying a basin of water. The moment she saw me, she reached back and firmly shut the door behind her.

When her gaze fell on my bare feet and my cold-purple lips, the wariness in her eyes eased.

She removed her oversized coat and wrapped it around me.

"Are you out of your mind? Running out in the middle of the night dressed like this? Don't you know how weak you are?"

Even now, she still remembered her promise to take care of me.

I looked at her, surprised by how calm my voice sounded.

"He's in there, isn't he?"

Esther's expression darkened, and her grip on my hand tightened.

"That's an important client of mine. You're having an episode. I'll take you home."

I shoved her aside and pushed through the door.

"Hugo!" Esther cried in horror.

Startled by the commotion, the man in the hospital bed let out a yelp and immediately pulled the blanket over his head.

I grabbed the corner of the blanket.

All I had to do was pull it back and tear away their disguise. Yet I could not bring myself to do it. Even now, I wanted to hear the truth come from their own mouths.

Under Esther's terrified gaze, I pulled a small knife from my pocket and pointed it at my chest.

"Esther, pull back that blanket and tell me who that man is. Otherwise, I'll die right here today. Your choice."

Esther did not move.

Bit by bit, the patience drained from her eyes.

"Hugo, do you really think threatening to die still works on me? It's been three years. Every time something doesn't go your way, you threaten to kill yourself. You keep crying wolf. Don't you ever get tired of it?"

So that was what she thought.

Every desperate cry for help I had made while standing on the edge of collapse had been nothing more than a ridiculous performance in her eyes.

The last flicker of hope inside me died completely.

I let out a soft laugh, raised the knife, and drove it toward myself.

Esther's face went white.

"Don't you dare touch him!"

She had not even noticed which direction the blade was facing before she lunged forward and kicked me.

My body was already so weak that the blow sent me flying.

I crashed onto the floor, and the knife plunged deep into my right thigh.

Agonizing pain tore through me.

Yet I did not cry out.

I merely watched in silence as she threw herself in front of the man in the bed. Her eyes were bloodshot as she guarded him from me.

She thought I was trying to kill him.

Because of that belief, she had not hesitated for even a second to hurt me with everything she had.

In that moment, I felt truly exhausted.

"Esther, the game is over. Let's get a divorce."

The shock on Esther's face lasted only 3 seconds before she let out a mocking laugh.

"You don't have to test me. If you really wanted a divorce, you would've gotten one long ago."

"This time I mean it," I said.

A sharp crash suddenly cut me off.

The man in the bed was trembling so violently that he lost his balance and fell over the side. He landed in the shattered glass scattered across the floor.

A muffled groan escaped from beneath the blanket.

Esther's expression changed instantly.

Without the slightest hesitation, she rushed over to help him up.

"Easy. Are you hurt? I'll get you to a doctor."

I lay on the cold tile floor as a shocking pool of blood spread beneath my leg.