Chapter 2

After breakfast, Ethan left for work.

I stayed home to clean.

When I passed his study, I stopped.

Ethan’s study had always been completely off-limits to me.

He wouldn’t even let me go inside to clean. If I so much as lingered near the door, he would get irritated.

Once, I had gone in just to bring him a cup of coffee.

The back of my hand accidentally brushed against one of his pens.

He immediately lost his temper.

“Joanna, can you stop touching my things? I can’t stand people who don’t respect boundaries.”

After that, I never set foot in his study again.

I stared at the closed door.

Then something suddenly occurred to me.

I pulled out the phone I used for my alt account and scrolled back through our messages.

Two weeks ago, Ethan had sent Jess a photo of the study.

In the picture, the room that was usually kept perfectly neat looked as though he had deliberately cleared out and rearranged part of it.

There was a voice message underneath.

'Jess, I cleared out half the study for you.'

'When you move in, you can arrange it however you want.'

'As long as you’re here with me, I don’t care what it looks like.'

The tenderness in his voice made my legs go weak.

I slid down the wall and sat on the floor as tears spilled down my face.

Suddenly, I remembered our wedding day three years ago.

When we exchanged rings, Ethan had stared at my face without blinking.

A moment later, his eyes had actually turned red.

Everyone watching had started teasing us.

They all said Ethan had truly fallen in love with Joanna.

A man who normally never showed his emotions had gotten so overwhelmed at his own wedding that he cried.

I had thought they were tears of happiness too.

I had even squeezed his hand and whispered like an idiot,

“I’ll stay by your side forever.”

I kept scrolling.

All the way back to our wedding day.

That night, my brand-new husband had sent a long message to my alt account.

'Jess, I got married today.'

'When I put the ring on her finger, I couldn’t stop myself from crying.'

'The thought that I’ll never be able to give you a home hurts so much.'

'I hate myself for this.'

I stared at those last words.

'I hate myself for this.'

A violent wave of nausea rose in my throat.

I rushed into the bathroom and dry-heaved until tears streamed down my face.

Joanna, what exactly are you still holding on to?

The marriage you had been so proud of had been a joke from beginning to end.

That afternoon, a sudden downpour hit the city, and the temperature dropped sharply.

Between the dry-heaving that morning and the pounding in my chest, I already felt lightheaded and weak.

I went to the hospital.

Sure enough, I had a high fever.

I looked out at the rain hammering against the windows.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally messaged Ethan from my main account.

'Ethan, I have a fever. I’m at City General.'

'The rain is really bad and I can’t get a ride. Could you pick me up on your way home from work?'

No response.

Two full hours passed before he finally replied.

'In a meeting.'

'I’ll have the driver pick you up.'

I stared at the cold words on the screen.

Then I closed my eyes.

Whatever tiny bit of hope I still had left finally disappeared.

But the next second, the other phone in my pocket started vibrating.

My hand trembled as I pulled it out.

Ethan.

He was calling me through my alt account.

Startled, I immediately declined the call and sent him a message instead.

'Can’t talk right now. What’s wrong?'

His reply came almost instantly.

'It’s pouring outside, and the temperature dropped a lot.'

'Didn’t you tell me you’ve always hated the cold? Are you dressed warmly enough? Did you bring an umbrella?'

'I just had my assistant buy you a coat and some hot tea. He’s bringing them to your office.'

'I booked you a car too. The license plate ends in 889.'

'Be careful, okay? Don’t get caught in the rain and get sick.'

'If you get a fever, I’m going to worry.'

One message after another filled the screen.

Even through a phone, I could feel how anxious he was.

Wasn’t he in a meeting?

Wasn’t he too busy?

Apparently, he was only too busy to care whether Joanna lived or died.

When it came to Jess, even something as trivial as getting her a ride home had to be personally arranged down to the last detail.

I stared at the ride confirmation he had sent me.

The destination was the fake office address I had casually made up years ago.

'Thank you.'

His response came immediately.

'You never have to thank me.'

Then another message appeared.

'Jess, I wish I could fly straight to you right now and hold you.'

I stared at the words and suddenly laughed.

But before I knew it, tears were running down my face.

In the end, Ethan’s driver never made it to the hospital.

There had been an accident in the storm, and traffic was completely backed up.

I didn’t call another car.

Instead, I walked out into the rain.

Heavy drops pounded against my skin.

They were freezing.

But somehow, they still weren’t as cold as I felt inside.

After getting soaked in the storm, I was sick for an entire week.

Ethan came home occasionally.

Whenever he saw my pale face, all he ever asked was,

“You’re still sick?”

He had been busy lately.

Or rather, he had been busy getting ready to divorce me.

Tomorrow was our third wedding anniversary.

I knew it would probably be the last one we ever spent as husband and wife.

That evening, Ethan came home unusually early.

He had even brought a beautifully wrapped velvet box with him.

“Happy anniversary.”

He set the box down in front of me as casually as if he were checking another task off his schedule.

I opened it.

Inside was a diamond necklace from an expensive luxury brand.

It was beautiful.

And very expensive.

But this was the third year in a row he had given me the exact same necklace.

Even the diamond was the same size.

I knew why.

His assistant kept a supply of generic luxury gifts on hand for occasions like this.

“Thank you.”

I closed the box, my voice perfectly calm.

Ethan gave me a second look.

He seemed almost surprised by how agreeable I was being tonight.

In previous years, I always used our anniversary as an excuse to make him have a candlelit dinner with me or beg him to watch a movie together.

Tonight, I asked for nothing.

I simply put the necklace in a drawer and went back to my book.

Ethan didn’t say anything else.

He turned and headed for the bathroom.

The moment the door closed behind him, the phone connected to my alt account lit up.