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All Chapters of My Marriage Ended With One Photo: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I set my husband Simon Mercer's phone face down on the coffee table. The sound of running water in the bathroom ceased. Simon emerged, drying his hair with a towel. As usual, he picked up his phone and swiped it a couple of times. His expression remained the same.I stared at his profile. It had been 11 years between college and where we were now. I could draw his face from memory with my eyes shut. Simon abruptly turned around. "Is something the matter?""No, it's nothing."He smiled and reached out to tuck my hair behind my ear. His fingertips brushed against my earlobe. It was cool to the touch and carried the fresh grapefruit scent of his body wash. "You must be exhausted," he said. "Hurry up and get some rest."I nodded, but I didn't get a wink of sleep that night.…I called in sick for work the following day. As soon as his car pulled out of the residential complex, I went back home and powered on his spare phone. There was no "L" in his contacts, but those pho

Chapter 2

I started living like a detective. When Simon was in the shower, I went through his briefcase. When he was in meetings, I checked the footage from his dashcam. Late at night, after he had fallen into a deep sleep, I used his fingerprint to unlock his phone. The passcode was our wedding anniversary. That realization made me sick to my stomach for three whole days. He was using a passcode tied to me while living a life tied to another woman. L was hidden in a contact group he had named "Work Contacts". Her avatar was a close-up shot of piano keys. He wiped their chat history every day, but every now and then, a message slipped through the cracks. On the tenth of last month, he went on a business trip to Aqualuna. Lillian told him she wanted to dine at a private restaurant by West Lake, and he replied. "Sure, I'll take you."That same day, the text he sent me read, "I have back-to-back meetings today, so I can only eat takeout."On March 17, she complained that her practice

Chapter 3

Three days later, Nora emailed me the report. The moment I opened the attachment, my hand trembled around the mouse. Item One: "Four years ago, March. 250 grand was transferred with the remark 'Renovation.'"Nora's note beside it read, "The recipient, Ms. Rhodes, had no qualifications to operate a renovation company. The purpose of the transfer was unclear."Item Two: "Three years ago, August. 480 grand was transferred with the remark 'Car Purchase.'" Nora's note read, "The vehicle was registered under Ms. Rhodes' name."Item Three: "Two years ago, November. 120 grand was swiped overseas."Nora notes, "There's no record of Mr. Mercer traveling abroad during that period."Items Four, Five, and Six. Five years, 1.43 million dollars.730 grand of it came directly from our joint savings account. The account was opened in my name, and I was the one who set the password. He had never told me that he had touched this money. I dug out the passbook. The last time I had checked i

Chapter 4

During the three days he was in Cyberia, I did two things. First, I tracked down Lillian's address. I asked a friend who worked in real estate to look into the past three years of home purchases in that neighborhood. The purchase had been made a month before she bought her car, and the property had cost 3.2 million dollars.Second, I met with someone—Lillian's former colleague, Vivian Sterling. Half a year ago, she resigned from the symphony orchestra. Now, she ran a violin studio. I signed up for a 20-grand adult course. She taught me for 20 minutes, collected the fee, and seemed to be in a good mood. I invited her out for coffee, and before long, we were talking about the orchestra, the concertmaster, and the cellist. "Oh, Lillian?" She stirred her latte. "She's pretty, and she's a decent cellist. Most importantly, she's lucky.""How so?""She has a sugar daddy," she whispered. "Claims he's her boyfriend. He works in research. Every year, when the orchestra holds a fundr

Chapter 5

"Daddy heard your heartbeat for the first time today, Lily. The doctor placed the Doppler on Mommy's belly, and it filled the whole room. It sounded just like a little train. Mommy cried. Daddy didn't, but his hand, which was holding onto Mommy's hand, trembled for a very long time. "Lily, you have a Mommy who loves you very much. She's been practicing the cello for 23 years. She has calluses on her hands, but when she plays, it feels like she's glowing!"The first time Daddy saw her was eight years ago at the New Year's concert. She was playing Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Second Movement. It was a slow, beautiful piece, like someone telling a long story. "Daddy had no idea what her story was. However, at that moment, Daddy wished he could be a part of it. Daddy won't say these things to Mommy's face. "She's shy, and she blushes over the smallest compliment. When you grow up, if Daddy ever makes her angry, you have to put in a good word for Daddy. "Mommy bought you you

Chapter 6

The day I filed the lawsuit, Simon was still in Cyberia. I received a call from him. He told me there was a problem with the project there and that he would have to stay a few more days. "Okay," I said. "Take care of yourself." He paused for a moment before asking, "Why's your voice so raspy, Celeste?""I caught a cold." "Have you taken your medicine?" "I have."He fell silent for a couple of seconds. "I'll head back as soon as I can." The call disconnected. I sat in the living room, staring at the unfinished box of brie and cranberry pastries on the coffee table. It had a 15-day shelf life. It was already day 14.I tossed the box into the trash can.…The court's notice of case acceptance came through four days later. I saved the digital copy into a folder titled "Simon's Case File." It contained the list of evidence I had prepared—37 screenshots of their chat history, 52 pages of bank statements, two property registration records, one vehicle registration recor

Chapter 7

I woke up early on the day of the hearing. Fog blanketed the view outside, turning everything into a wall of gray and white. I put my hair up in a bun and threw on a dark coat. I almost couldn't recognize my reflection in the mirror. I wasn't haggard; I was just calm, as though I was waiting for something that should have happened a long time ago. There were already people gathered outside the courthouse. I spotted Simon at the foot of the stairs, and Lillian was beside him. She was noticeably thinner, wearing an oversized trench coat. However, her baby bump could no longer be hidden. Simon supported her. The moment he saw me, he let go of her hand. Lillian turned her head as well. She gazed at me for a couple of seconds before lowering her gaze. She didn't say a word.Without sparing either of them a single glance, I walked straight into the courthouse. …The hearing commenced. Ms. Kovalev presented the first set of evidence—bank statements, the purchase agreement fo

Chapter 8

The verdict came down in early November. The court ruled that Simon was at fault for maintaining an ongoing extramarital relationship with Lillian throughout the duration of the marriage. Out of the 4.12 million dollars transferred, 3.8 million was ruled as an unlawful dissipation of marital assets, and Simon was ordered to repay the full amount. The apartment and the car were both included in the assets to be recovered. As for the bigamy allegation, the court found that the evidence was insufficient to establish that Simon and Lillian had cohabitated as a married couple. Thus, the court declined to uphold the charge. Ms. Kovalev asked me if I wanted to appeal. I shook my head. "This is enough." 3.8 million dollars. The 600 grand Dad had left me, the old house his parents had left behind, every single cent I'd earned through eight years of working late into the night, traveling for work until the wee hours, and never daring to take a day off, all came back to me. Ms. Kovale

Chapter 9

I boarded a sleeper train. Back when I was traveling for work and couldn't afford plane tickets, I used to take bunks like this all the time. Later on, after I was promoted to director, I got used to business class. It felt strange to lie here again. Across from me was a young woman who looked like she had just graduated. She was lying on her stomach in her bunk and watching a show on her tablet. She glanced at me and smiled. "Miss, are you traveling solo?""Mhm.""Where are you heading?" I named a small town down south. She blinked. "Are you going on vacation?" "No, I'm moving there.""Oh." Then, she didn't press further. The train pulled out of the station. The gray buildings on the outskirts of the city gradually gave way to farmland and distant mountains outside the window. I pulled the curtain shut. Sleep eluded me. In the end, I had brought the letters with me. It was sitting in my carry-on bag now, alongside my passport, savings book, and property deed.

Chapter 10

The town was even smaller than I'd imagined. It took 20 minutes to take a cab from the train station to the town. The driver was a woman in her 50s who gave me a running tour of the town. "That's the farmers' market. Freshest produce you'll find, especially first thing in the morning. That's the clinic. They can handle most minor illnesses and injuries. And that's the elementary school. They just renovated it this year." She looked at me in the rearview mirror. "Are you here on vacation?" "I'm here to open a shop.""What kind of shop?" "I haven't decided yet."She chuckled. "In that case, you should settle down first. You've got plenty of time to figure that out." The cab pulled up in front of a three-story building. There was a storefront on the first floor, and the upper floors were residential quarters. The real estate agent was waiting at the entrance. She handed me the keys. "Ms. Winslow, as you requested, the storefront faces south, and there's space out front to di

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