Chapter 2

The candles in the dining room were still flickering, but the steak on the table had gone completely cold.

I walked back, pulled out my chair, and sat down.

Picking up my fork and knife, I cut a piece of the rare beef and put it in my mouth.

Cold beef was hard to chew and tasted slightly metallic.

I didn't spit it out. I chewed it slowly, bit by bit, and swallowed it.

After finishing the last bite, I poured myself a glass of red wine and drank it in one gulp.

My stomach cramped slightly.

I stood up and began cleaning the table.

I put the plates and silverware into the dishwasher and pressed start.

The machine hummed softly.

I walked into the bedroom and pulled a black suitcase out from under the bed.

I had brought this suitcase with me when I moved in three years ago.

For three years, it had sat quietly in the corner, gathering a thin layer of dust.

I grabbed a damp cloth and wiped the dust off.

Unzipping it, the faint scent of old mothballs drifted out.

I opened the closet. It was huge, taking up an entire wall.

It was stuffed with high-end seasonal designer clothes, mostly in white.

White silk dresses, white cashmere coats, white lace shirts.

Liam always said I had fair skin and looked best in white. But that wasn't the truth.

On Aurora’s Instagram, she was always wearing white dresses, smiling like an innocent angel.

I didn’t touch any of those expensive clothes.

Instead, I opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a few old clothes from my college days.

A faded gray hoodie.

Two pairs of jeans with worn-out knees, and a few plain cotton t-shirts.

I folded them neatly and placed them in the suitcase.

While packing my toiletries, I looked at the matching electric toothbrushes on the vanity.

Liam’s was navy blue; mine was light pink.

I pulled the pink brush head off and threw it into the trash can.

Then, I grabbed a cheap, unopened manual toothbrush from the cabinet and slipped it into my travel bag.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

I pulled it out. It was a Snapchat message from Liam.

`[Wire Transfer: $100,000]`

Right after, a voice message popped up.

I tapped it, and Liam’s deep voice echoed in the empty bedroom.

"Jennifer, I’ve handled things for Aurora. She was pretty shaken up, so I’m dropping her off at her hotel."

"That bakery was closed, so I’ll have my assistant get you cake from another place tomorrow."

"I sent you some pocket money. Go buy a bag you like. Don’t be mad anymore."

His tone was still so gentle, so entitled.

As if our conversation about divorce in the foyer had just been a harmless joke.

As if he truly believed that a hundred thousand dollars could buy off a wife's pain of being abandoned on her anniversary.

I stared at the screen, my finger hovering in the air for two seconds.

Then, I tapped "Decline."

The screen popped up a notification: `[$100,000 has been returned to sender.]`

I didn't reply to his voice message and locked the screen.

The screen went black, reflecting my expressionless face.

I went back to packing.

On the desk was a picture frame containing the only photo from our wedding.

In the photo, Liam wore a black tuxedo with a polite smile.

I wore a white wedding gown, staring blankly at the camera.

The photographer had kept begging me to smile, but I couldn't.

Liam had told him, "It’s fine, she’s just like this. Just take it."

I picked up the frame and took the photo out.

On the back, there was a line written in pencil in my handwriting:

Liam, today I became your wife.

I found a pair of scissors and slowly cut down the middle, right between the two of us.

With a sharp snip, the photo was split in half.

I threw the half with Liam into the trash can.

The half with me, I slipped inside an old book.