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Chapter 3

Author: Lune Glow
“The audience says they hope I take over your show permanently. They find me much more attractive to look at,” Mark said.

My eyes swept over his bespoke suit and the expensive brooch pinned to his lapel. A sudden, numbing pain pierced my heart. I had seen all those items sitting in Sarah’s online shopping cart, each meticulously handpicked by her.

As my mind drifted, Mark pulled a bottle of cologne from his bag and held it out to me. “Sarah always says that a pleasant scent is a basic mark of a gentleman. Just smell yourself. You smell of spoiled milk.

“Here, you can have this cologne. Sarah’s bought me so many anyway. Consider it my thanks for handing your show over to me.”

Before I could refuse, Sarah snatched the cologne and shoved it back into his bag. “He doesn’t use stuff like this. You keep it.”

I looked down at the milk stains on the hem of my shirt, a bitter feeling swelling inside me. Once upon a time, I was a glowing, renowned news reporter who loved high-end fashion and style. Yet back then, Sarah would complain that fine accessories might scratch her or that cologne gave her a headache.

In her eyes, only a cool, handsome man like Mark deserved the finer things in life. Meanwhile, I was nothing more than the caretaker trapped at home, raising the baby and running the household.

Mark smiled triumphantly, then gasped in deliberate surprise. “Wow, Sarah! You got pain au chocolat! You bought these for me back when we were covering that news story in the South, and I’ve craved them ever since.”

He shot me another mocking glance. “What a shame, though. Harry is allergic to chocolate, so he won’t get to enjoy them.”

Sarah smiled at him. “As long as you enjoy them, that’s all that matters.”

Only after that did she seem to remember I was standing there, and she squinted her eyes as she looked over at me.

It was strange. Usually, I would’ve been consumed with jealousy over her interactions with Mark, but today, I stood there in complete silence.

Clearing her throat, Sarah said to me, “Harry, I ordered almond croissants on the delivery app for you since you like them. That should keep you satisfied, right?”

The corner of my lips twitched into a self-deprecating smile. “It’s fine. I’ve eaten.”

Sarah has probably forgotten that when I was rushed to the emergency room due to a serious allergy, she cried her eyes out right outside the door.

Hearing my refusal, Sarah sneered sarcastically. “I give you an inch, and you take a mile, huh? Unemployed men sure love to overthink everything. Mark and I both have real jobs to worry about. We don’t have time to deal with your pathetic drama!”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away with Mark, who cast a triumphant look over his shoulder at me.

Surrounding colleagues quickly averted their eyes, trying to spare me the humiliation, because every one of them remembered the truth. The prime-time show that Sarah and Mark now co-hosted was the very show I had willingly handed over to them when I kept my promise to step back, be a stay-at-home dad, and take care of the baby.

Forcing myself to stay composed, I walked out the front door and immediately called my lawyer, getting him to draft two copies of the divorce papers.

When I arrived home alone, I noticed that Sarah’s messaging account was still logged in on my tablet. I had never checked her phone before out of trust, but now, remembering the lawyer’s advice, I turned on the screen recorder.

Six months ago…

Waiting: [It’s not that I don’t love you. I just can’t accept a third person in our relationship, even if it’s a child.]

Sarah: [Say no more. I understand. You’re a free-spirited bird. How could you be trapped at home raising a child? Once Harry takes a sabbatical to stay home and raise the baby, that prime-time show will be ours.]

Waiting: [Baby, I love you.]

Two days ago…

Waiting: [When are you planning to bring up the divorce with him?]

Sarah: [Soon. Relax, babe.]

Waiting: [How can I relax? We agreed at the start that you’d slip him sleeping pills so he’d miss the late-night feedings and feel guilty, and then you’d use that chance to demand a divorce! But you’ve been dragging it out. Once the kid gets older, she’ll start recognizing her mother. How are we supposed to fly off together then?]

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  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 11

    I really didn’t have any energy left to waste on people who were no longer a part of my life.Two months later, the news director asked if I wanted a promotion to become a show producer. After thinking it over, I turned it down. Staying on the front lines to help stay-at-home moms and dads trapped in desperate family situations gave my work far more meaning.At the end of the year, while updating my documents, I frowned as my eyes landed on the “married” status under my personal details. So, I dialed Sarah’s number, intending to ask when she would finally finalize our divorce. To my surprise, her mother answered the phone instead. Through tears, her mother sobbed that Sarah had been critically ill for a month. Sarah had fallen into a coma several times, continuously calling out my name, and her mother begged me to see her.When I stayed silent, her mother changed her approach and pleaded with me to visit Sarah for the sake of her being Lily’s mother, promising she would convince S

  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 10

    After signing the purchase agreement and completing all the paperwork, I received the key to the place that officially belonged to me.I snapped a photo of it as a keepsake before heading straight to the gym. Even as a stay-at-home dad, I could still be handsome, confident, and vibrant.… A month flew by in the blink of an eye.While busy working on getting back into shape, I also launched a brand-new show with the rival network, The Blue Network.Using my own experience as a blueprint, the program aimed to help mothers struggling with postpartum depression as well as stay-at-home dads trapped in domestic life, helping them step out of the shadows and start a new life with confidence and optimism.Thanks to the massive scene Mark and Sarah had made earlier, my show’s popularity broke records, dominating the prime-time slot with a massive lead over our competitors.During an episode where I interviewed a woman whose husband had betrayed her after fourteen years together, she wip

  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 9

    I sorted through the evidence I had compiled long ago, getting ready to hit send as soon as I edited it. Yet, before I could, Sarah released a public apology that caught the entire internet off guard.She opened Mark’s profile on WhatsApp and initiated a video call.Mark answered, looking so relieved. “Sarah! You’re finally stepping up to clarify things for me. You have no idea how horribly those haters have been dragging me online lately…”Sarah simply held her phone up to her camera, proving to the viewers that the account belonged to Mark himself. Then, she hung up.Next, she scrolled up through their WhatsApp chat history. She exposed even more evidence of her and Mark’s flirty interactions and hotel hookups—details I hadn’t even seen before, including the entire process of how they had conspired to use sleeping pills to harm me. Among the evidence was Mark’s purchase history, which hammered the last nail into his coffin and destroyed him.Mark tried calling Sarah back frantic

  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 8

    “Harry, it really isn’t what you think! Mark used that time I got drunk as an excuse to blackmail me into tricking you into quitting your job and becoming a stay-at-home dad. He wanted to take over your show!“All those things I said were just made-up nonsense to go along with him. I was terrified that if he caused a scene in front of you, I would lose you for real… You’re the only one I love, and I can’t live without you!”Was she terrified of ruining her own career, or was she truly unable to live without me?I couldn’t be bothered to figure out the truth behind Sarah’s words.“Sarah, Lily will still have a mother and a father, and I won’t deprive you of your rights as a mother. But rather than having her grow up in a home filled with deception and betrayal, I think we should separate. I don’t want to raise Lily to turn out like you.”I pulled out my phone to book a ride and kicked Sarah away.Refusing to give up, Sarah asked me, “If I give up everything and sincerely admit my

  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 7

    “Harry, I remember you love that brand of hot chocolate. Every year when I go down south for location scouting, you’d always ask me to bring some back for you. Honey, the title of this house has officially been transferred under both our names now. It’s our joint property.”I didn’t touch the cup of hot chocolate, merely nodding thoughtfully. She tried to wrap her arms around me from behind, but my next words froze her in her tracks.“Then that brings up the issue of property division.”“Harry!”Sarah’s face darkened as she grabbed my collar and pulled me close to her. However, the moment her eyes met mine, she was stunned to realize that there was nothing in my gaze except indifference.With a look of disgust, I brushed her hands away and said in a calm tone, “Sarah, let me emphasize this one last time: I want a divorce. We are over. Even when Lily starts school, there’s no need for us to hide anything. We’ll just explain the situation to her teachers. I’m confident that people t

  • When Love Is Gone   Chapter 6

    “Mark, when you and my wife bought strawberry-flavored condoms at the supermarket together, who were they for?”Mark and Sarah exchanged a look, their faces flushed with panic.Under the live broadcast camera, Sarah was afraid to call a halt to the show, so she frantically signaled to me with her eyes. However, I continued playing their chat history and the video footage from the emergency room.“You call yourself a free-spirited bird, so why do you love hovering around other people’s nests? You act as if you care so much about children, so why were you rehearsing scripts with orphans while locking a feverish infant out of the emergency room?”Mark’s face was filled with absolute horror, and he looked as though he were about to pass out on the spot.I turned to Sarah and smiled. “Sarah, conspiring with Mark to give me sleeping pills without my knowledge is illegal.”Drenched in cold sweat, Mark jumped up and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Harry has gone mad! Cut the live broad

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