All Chapters of A Borrowed Sweater, A Broken Marriage: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

My words hung in the air, and the room fell into a long silence.My husband Jeremy Tate's face darkened. "Shirley, why are you making a big deal out of this again?"He stepped toward me, reaching to brush the damp strands of hair from my forehead, but I turned my head to the side.His hand froze in midair, impatience flashing across his face. "I know you miss Eliza, but she's been gone for so long. We have to move on."He lowered his voice and pointed at Chloe Stevens, who was standing nearby, fidgeting anxiously."You know Chloe's situation. It's just a sweater. Just let her have it. You're making us look bad here."Chloe quickly handed the sweater back to me. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she looked at me apologetically."Shirley, I'm sorry. I didn't know this sweater meant so much to you. Jeremy was only trying to help. Please don't blame him. We don't need it."Jeremy snatched the sweater back from me and shoved it into her arms again before saying stiffly, "Keep it! Shirle

Chapter 2

Chloe quickly grabbed her daughter Lily Mason's hand. "Jeremy, we'll get going. I don't want to cause any more fights between you two.""Leave her alone, Chloe," Jeremy said, pulling her back. "This isn't your fault. She's just being unreasonable. Let her cool off, and she'll be fine."With that, he walked straight into the kitchen, brought out the dishes I had made, and sat down with Chloe and Lily to eat.I was left standing alone in the living room. As laughter echoed from the dinner table, a single tear fell quietly at my feet. At that moment, I finally realized something.Jeremy thought I was overreacting, and I thought he was cold and heartless. We lived under the same roof, but we were already living in two different worlds.I closed my eyes, forcing the tears back. When I opened them again, my gaze was clear.In the end, Chloe left with the sweater.Jeremy walked up to me, trying to pull me into an embrace. "I was being too harsh earlier. I'm sorry."I didn't resist, le

Chapter 3

Jeremy didn't come home that night.My pillow was soaked, and my eyes were dry and gritty. I sat up slowly, staring out at the gray sky. Everything felt colorless.I sat on the bed for a long time, then walked to the closet and pulled open the bottom drawer. Inside were some of his old things.There was a photo album, a few letters, and a house purchase contract.I never used to go through these because I believed that a marriage should be built on trust and respect.But now, I just wanted to find some answers for myself.I opened the yellowed letters. They were love letters from Jeremy to Chloe, full of sincere words and deep affection.I closed the letters, unable to describe the feeling inside me. There was no jealousy or anger, just a deep, overwhelming fatigue.Suddenly, I remembered so many details I had ignored.When Chloe first moved in next door, Jeremy had shown an unusual level of enthusiasm.He volunteered to help her settle in and gave her a tour of the neighborh

Chapter 4

The next day, I contacted a lawyer to discuss the divorce.Hannah Wagner, a polished middle-aged woman, listened to my story and calmly analyzed it. "Mr. Tate's behavior falls under emotional neglect and psychological abuse. Although it's hard to legally define as fault, we can fight for your share of the marital assets."I nodded. "Ms. Wagner, there's one more thing I want.""What is it?""My daughter's sweater."Hannah paused for a moment, then understood immediately. A trace of sympathy flickered in her eyes. "Ms. Jamison, don't worry. I'll handle this for you."As I walked out of the law firm, my phone rang. It was Jeremy. I hesitated for a moment but still picked up."Where are you?" His voice on the other end was strained with suppressed anger. "You need to come back now. I—"I cut him off. "Jeremy, I've already hired a lawyer. The divorce agreement will be sent to you soon. If you don't agree, we'll meet in court."With that, I hung up before he could say more.Just th

Chapter 5

"H-How do you know that?" Jeremy's voice was hoarse. Color slowly drained from his face."If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it." I looked at him coldly. "You thought you could hide everything, didn't you?"I pulled out a stack of printed photos and documents from my bag. "Every month, you've been sending Chloe more money than you ever gave me or this family. Last year, you used our joint savings to buy that unit for her and paid it in full. Her name is on the deed."And you even put 200 thousand dollars into her daughter's education fund. But when Eliza was hospitalized, you argued with me for days over a few thousand dollars for medicine, insisting cheap drugs were just as good."I flung the evidence at his face, one page after another. Paper scattered through the air like a long-overdue snowfall, burying every excuse and lie he had left."Jeremy, you've been using our marital assets to support your mistress!""I didn't!" he roared. "Chloe and I are innocent! I just fel

Chapter 6

After hanging up, I collapsed into the chair, feeling like every ounce of strength had been drained from my body.A dull ache pulsed through my lower back. It was a reminder of everything that had happened at the cemetery.I closed my eyes, and memories from the time Eliza was sick came rushing back.Back then, she was already terribly weak. She would drift in and out of sleep most of the time.Once, she woke briefly. She held my hand as she whispered in a fragile voice, "Mommy, does Daddy not love me anymore? Why doesn't he come see me?"Holding her close, I swallowed my tears and lied. "Of course he loves you. He's just working hard outside so he can pay for your treatment. He loves you the most."She nodded, half-understanding, then slipped back into sleep.But I knew that wasn't the truth.The truth was that during the final stretch of her life—when she needed her father more than ever—he was busy comforting his first love, who had just divorced and whose life had fallen ap

Chapter 7

Hannah told me Jeremy was falling apart.Because of the lawsuit I'd filed, his company had launched an internal investigation. All his work had been suspended.That was when he finally panicked. He called Hannah, saying he was willing to give up all assets if I would just withdraw the case and agree to see him once.Hannah asked for my opinion.I thought for a moment, then replied, "Tell him to bring me the old sweater. I want it back undamaged."I wanted to see what the last traces of Eliza and me were worth to him.Three days later, Hannah called again. Her tone was complicated. "Ms. Jamison, Mr. Tate said… he can't get the sweater back.""Why?""He said he went to Ms. Stevens to ask for it. She told him her daughter liked it a lot and wore it several times. But she accidentally damaged it, so Ms. Stevens threw it away."I drew in a slow breath. Those last three words pierced straight through my heart.On the other end of the line, Hannah continued, "Mr. Tate had a huge arg

Chapter 8

On the day of the trial, I saw Jeremy and Chloe again.In just one short month, Jeremy looked as though he had aged ten years. The polish of a successful man was completely gone.Chloe looked just as worn down. When she looked at me, her gaze was filled with resentment.In court, faced with the evidence Hannah presented one after another, neither of them had any real defense.Jeremy kept his head lowered the entire time, saying nothing.During the final statement, he finally raised his head and looked toward me from across the distance. His eyes swirled with a complex storm of emotions."Shirley…" His voice was hoarse. "I know I was wrong. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm just asking you not to leave me. Please. Our family can't just fall apart like this. Eliza wouldn't want us to separate. I regret it, Shirley. I really do…"I stared at him coldly, feeling completely drained. "Jeremy, this family fell apart the moment Eliza died. You never even saw her for the last time. Y

Chapter 9

One afternoon, as I was packing an order ready to be shipped, the doorbell rang.When I opened the door, Jeremy was standing there. He leaned on a cane, his hair streaked with gray. Holding a fruit basket, he stood at the doorway, looking stiff."Shirley…" he began cautiously. "C-Can I come in and sit for a bit?"I didn't let him on. Instead, I leaned against the doorframe and looked at him calmly. "What do you want?""I…" He lowered his head, like a child who knew he was in the wrong. "I just wanted to see how you're doing."He paused, then looked up again with a pleading gaze. "That sweater you were knitting… is it finished?"It took me a moment to realize that he meant the sweater I had once mentioned to Eliza at the cemetery."It is.""C-Can I see it?" His voice trembled. "I want to burn it for Eliza and tell her I'm sorry."Seeing how pathetic he looked, I felt no hatred nor pity, only a hollow emptiness.I turned and walked into the studio, returning with the newly fini

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP