Chapter 3

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I gagged and threw up.

The sour smell of digested food filled the hallway.

Ethan handed me a cup of water, looking worried. "Did you really get food poisoning? Rinse your mouth first."

I looked up at the man standing in front of me.

Ethan had been handsome since his college days. He was charming and knew exactly what to say. Many girls had chased him, and I wasn't the prettiest or the most popular.

Due to my quiet nature, I had always been the one silently following him, loving him from a distance.

Back then, I was young and naive. I thought loving him was my own business. It had nothing to do with him.

I didn't know when he started noticing me. He would take the water bottles I bought him at the basketball court. He always chose the seat right behind me in lectures.

That kind of subtle, unspoken love was beautiful. After graduation, he confessed to me.

But we ended up going to different graduate schools.

During those five years of long-distance relationship, our train tickets filled a shoe box.

Neither time nor distance could tear us apart.

Yet today, our love was crushed by the reality of our domestic life.

Seeing my pale face, Ethan knelt down beside me, explaining desperately, "Babe, please don't be mad. I did it for your own good. I wanted you to eat healthy."

"Your hands are meant for holding surgical scalpels. How could I let you ruin them in the kitchen? Besides, you and my mother never got along. I married you to cherish you, not to make you suffer. And you know I'm a terrible cook."

"Chloe is an amazing cook, and she lives alone. I just paid her a monthly fee to prepare meals for us so you could eat healthy. I didn't mean to keep it a secret. I was just afraid you'd misunderstand."

I almost wanted to applaud him.

Every single word was wrapped in fake consideration for me.

"You cooked together, and eventually, you cooked up some feelings, right? Now you're not just sharing meals. You're sharing your body."

The way they were devouring each other's mouths just seconds ago—I wasn't blind. I would never forget it.

"Claire, please don't misunderstand," Chloe said quickly. "The hallway light was flickering, and it was dark. Ethan got the wrong person."

"It's my fault. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Chloe. I live right across from you."

I slapped Ethan across the face.

"You really think I'm an idiot? Don't dip your pen in the company ink, Ethan, but you literally cheated right on your own doorstep! The light was broken? He got the wrong person? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

Ethan raised his hand, and I flinched out of instinct.

"Babe, don't be scared," he said, his voice cracking. "I promised I would never hit you, and I meant it. I was possessed by the devil. You can beat me to death if it makes you feel better. Just please don't cry. It breaks my heart."

I touched my face. Only then did I realize I was crying.

With a loud thud, Ethan fell to his knees. He slapped his own face hard.

"Babe, I was wrong. Please forgive me. I'll change. We can move. I promise I will never see her again."

Hearing this, Chloe lost her composure. Forgetting her "innocent neighbor" act, she knelt beside Ethan, wrapping her arms around him and crying, "Ethan! You can't abandon me!"

She looked up at me. Her eyes were filled with pure hatred and malice.

"Claire, stop acting so holy! We both know what kind of woman you are. I bet you still smell like the men you examine at the hospital!"

Ethan pushed her away violently, roaring, "Shut up!"

Suddenly, the door across the hall opened. A three-year-old boy toddled out.

He threw himself onto Chloe, crying loudly, "Mommy! Daddy is hitting Mommy! Bad Daddy!"