Chapter 3

Alone in the room, I fell apart.

When I was too worn out to throw anything else, I collapsed back onto the bed.

Tears slid down one after another, soaking a wide patch of the sheet.

I stared up at the ceiling, and slowly my breathing evened out.

But there was still a hollow place inside me.

The next second, a voice call popped up on my phone.

It was from Madison.

The background was all noise.

The crack and crackle of things breaking, mixed with Madison's laughter.

Something clicked, and I shoved myself up, hands braced against the bed.

Right on cue, Herbert's voice came through the call.

"She smashed your trophies, so you smashed hers."

"That's fair."

Through the surge of tears, I could just make out Herbert's figure.

He had once cradled my trophies so carefully.

Handled them like treasures, locking them one by one into the display case.

His gentle promise still sounded in my ears.

"Clemmie, don't worry. As long as I live, I'll never let anyone hurt you, not even a little."

And now, for the sake of being fair, he was smashing every honor I had.

【Clementine's so pitiful. Her legs are ruined, her career's destroyed, and now even the last thing she had left is being smashed.】

【Oh no! They're cutting up all of Clementine's dance costumes too!】

My breath caught, and I clutched the phone, crying so hard I couldn't get air.

"Don't cut my costumes!"

"I was wrong, I'm sorry, I'm begging you, don't touch my costumes!"

But nothing I said could stop them from destroying the things I treasured.

Listening to the fabric tearing on the other end, I closed my eyes, tears dropping one by one onto the phone.

With a shaking hand, I hung up.

Another message came in.

【Sis, does it hurt? Are you feeling hopeless yet?】

Choking, I typed out two words.

【Why】

She answered instantly.

【You stole the man I love! I'm just letting you taste it too.】

I let out a bitter laugh.

Everyone loved her more than they loved me. When did I ever steal the man she loved most?

The live comments were flooding in.

That was how I learned they had known each other all along.

Madison had chased Herbert for three years.

But in the end, Herbert had ended up with me.

【Madison is so vicious. Over one man, she'd destroy her own sister's whole life.】

【And her sister was good to her too. At home everything came second to Madison, and she still wasn't satisfied!】

Even tears run out eventually.

I took a deep breath and blocked and deleted both her and Herbert.

Listening to the birds outside the window, I found I wasn't in as much pain as I'd expected.

So love ran out too.

Maybe the sooner I got away from them, the sooner I'd truly be free.

I picked up the phone and called my lawyer, asking them to draw up the divorce agreement.

After lunch, the aide wheeled me out to the hospital garden to clear my head.

I sat staring blankly at the vines winding up the wooden trellis.

When I came back to myself, Herbert had wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder.

"Still angry?"

He pulled out a slice of mango cake and held it out to me.

"I bought it just for you. Something sweet is good for your mood."

"I know you didn't mean it. Eat the cake, and we'll call it over."

Looking at the cake, a wave of nausea hit me.

A faint itch was already creeping up under my skin.

I'm allergic to mango.

In our very first year together, I'd ended up in the hospital after eating some by accident.

He hadn't even remembered that.

I heard my own calm voice.

"Let's get divorced."

Herbert lifted his head, stunned.

"What did I ever do to you? And now you want a divorce!"

I lightly stroked my numb, feelingless legs, my voice drifting off on the wind.

"I don't love you anymore."

Herbert's face went dark, the good-husband mask dropping away.

"Can you stop being so unreasonable?"

"I failed Madison's love, so I'm just paying her back."

"It's not like I stopped loving you."

I didn't want to hear another word of his nonsense.

I pushed as far away from Herbert as I could, wheeling myself forward.

Herbert sighed and caught up, trapping my hand inside his.

"I know you're upset, but you can't say things like divorce out of anger."

"How would you even survive without me?"

I tugged the corner of my mouth: "Better than living beside a pack of murderers like you."

I lifted my head and let out a bitter laugh.

All the hurt and resentment inside me was about to spill out.

Then my mother slapped the words back down my throat.

"Are you really so set on killing your own sister!"