Chapter 1

On my birthday, I found out my husband, Ethan, had booked a high-end waterfront restaurant and ordered a massive bouquet of 99 sunflowers.

To keep from ruining his surprise, I dressed up in my finest evening gown and went there.

But I stood outside the restaurant until closing time, and he never showed up.

Instead, I scrolled past an Instagram post from Daisy, the daughter of his late college professor.

"The flight was delayed, so I missed the waterfront view, but the one who loves me will always wait for me."

In the photo, Daisy was holding that exact bouquet of sunflowers, her smile sweet and radiant.

And around the wrist of the man holding her shoulder was the braided couple's bracelet I had made with my own hands.

Calmly, I liked the post and left a comment underneath.

"I didn't know some people actually enjoyed picking up my trash."

Closing my phone, I looked down at the matching bracelet on my own wrist. It only made me feel sick.

I ripped the bracelet off with force and threw it straight into the trash can without a second glance.

The phone in my pocket buzzed repeatedly. It was Ethan calling.

His voice was filled with impatience. "It's so late. What are you doing messing around outside?"

I said nothing.

He continued his endless lecturing.

"Stop hanging out with those useless friends of yours. Look at what they've turned you into."

"Besides, Daisy has no family here. If something happens to a young girl like her in the middle of the night, who's going to take responsibility? Stop overthinking!"

If something happened to her in the middle of the night...

But what about me?

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the phone. Hearing his words, I cut him off directly.

"Ethan, I've been waiting for you outside the waterfront restaurant all night."

The person on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment, his voice suddenly losing its confidence.

"Stay right there. I'm coming over now."

The freezing winter wind swept under the hem of my dress. I shivered uncontrollably.

An entire hour passed.

I huddled under the awning of the closed restaurant, my hands frozen bright red, but the cold was nothing compared to the numbness in my chest.

In the end, my best friend, Lily, drove over to pick me up.

On the way back, she cursed Ethan out, calling him a piece of garbage. I didn't reply; I just leaned my tired head against the car door.

I felt completely disgusted and exhausted.

Exhausted by Ethan, and by our three-year marriage.

Right then, my screen lit up. Daisy had sent me a Snapchat message.

Every single word dripped with arrogance.

She said, "Beg me, and I'll let Ethan go pick you up."

Attached was a photo. In it, Ethan was making the bed for Daisy in a hotel room.

I blocked Daisy on Snapchat immediately.

After a moment's thought, I blocked Ethan's number too.

I stayed at Lily's place until noon the next day. When I unlocked my front door, I saw Ethan sitting on the sofa, smoking.

The moment he saw me, he blew up, questioning me with intense annoyance.

"Where the hell have you been? Now you're staying out all night?"

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the restaurant? Why did you run off in the middle of the night? How can you be so immature?"

I watched him put out his cigarette, and my chest felt even tighter.

I couldn't stand the smell of smoke.

In the past, Ethan refused to quit, so even in the winter, I would keep the windows half-open for ventilation, doing my best to avoid it.

But now, I didn't want to compromise anymore.

I changed my shoes, walked over to the window, and pushed it wide open.

The icy wind rushed in, pouring down my collar, but I felt nothing. My voice remained flat and detached.

"You went to a hotel room with her, yet you still care where I slept last night?"

Ethan seemed taken abashed. He stood up abruptly, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Chloe, what nonsense are you talking about? Before Professor Davies passed away, I promised him I would take good care of Daisy. Last night, I was just picking her up. You have a birthday every year anyway. I'll just make it up to you next year."

"Is it really necessary to hold a grudge against a younger girl?"

As he stood up, he kicked the coffee table. The glass ashtray slid off and shattered into pieces on the floor.

A strange silence fell over the living room.

That was when I noticed the faint, half-hidden hickey beneath his white collar.

I blinked, a wave of emotion surging in my chest.

He was wearing the shirt I had carefully chosen for him. When he was doing *that* with Daisy in the hotel, did he ever think of me?

In reality, the waterfront restaurant was meant to welcome Daisy back.

Even the 99 sunflowers were meant for Daisy.

I looked down, the light reflecting off the broken glass stinging my eyes.

So, I had been fooling myself all along.

There would be no "next year" for Ethan and me.

Just like the shattered glass on the floor, once it was broken, it was broken.

I looked up, staring at the face that was both so familiar and yet so strange, and said,

"Ethan, let's get a divorce."