Chapter 2

Boom—

Thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began outside.

"Hey, Alice, are you still there?" Chloe’s voice came through the phone.

I asked for the address, my hands shaking as I hung up.

The Uber sped through the rain, and cold water dripped down my collar as I got out.

On the way there, I had prayed a thousand times that this was just a sick joke.

But then I arrived at the private restaurant and looked through the glass.

Inside, Vivian accepted the proposal, and an ecstatic David pulled her into a tight embrace.

The crowd erupted in cheers as confetti rained down on the happy couple.

"You gotta kiss her!" someone shouted.

"Stop teasing me," Vivian blushed, burying her face in David’s chest.

David smiled gently, protectively shielding her behind his back.

"Vivian is shy. If you guys scare her off, I won’t let you off easy."

A few friends nearby continued to joke.

"David, this move was brilliant. You got rid of that old hag and brought home the beauty!"

"Aren't you afraid that crazy wife of yours will find out and make a scene?"

"Let her. David has been nice enough to her. Flying back and forth between countries all the time was exhausting anyway!"

An old hag? I reached up and touched my pale, hollow cheeks.

For the past ten years, I had given up my career to dedicate myself entirely to taking care of David.

At only twenty-eight, I looked like I was forty.

Meanwhile, the woman in David’s arms had flawless, glowing skin. She looked like an eighteen-year-old girl.

It seemed she had been well-protected all these years.

David casually pinched Vivian’s earlobe and spoke in a dismissive tone.

"She’ll find out sooner or later. I only did this to avoid unnecessary drama."

"If she wants to make a scene, let her. If she wants to quietly remain Mrs. Jonathan, she has to accept Vivian."

The restaurant’s heater was blasting warm air, blowing over my drenched body.

But I couldn't stop shivering. My chest felt as if it were being violently crushed.

The pain was so intense that I collapsed onto the cold ground.

When the proposal ended, David dismissed the guests and led Vivian toward the penthouse suite.

Numbly, I followed them up.

Before they even reached the room, David seemed unable to control himself any longer. He pressed Vivian against the wall, kissing her passionately.

His voice was deep and breathless.

"You look so beautiful tonight."

"I've been holding back the urge to kiss you for so long."

The sound of their heavy breathing filled the hallway. Vivian’s jacket slipped to the floor.

She giggled softly.

"You made too much noise last night. Danny asked me this morning if we were fighting."

Clatter—

My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

The motion-sensor lights in the hallway immediately flared to life.

Only then did they realize someone was standing at the end of the corridor.

"Oh my gosh... Let's go inside, this is so embarrassing!"

Vivian whined, pushing David toward the door.

David gave me a cold, detached look and dialed a number on his phone.

"Come up and clear out this intruder. Vivian is getting uncomfortable."

Then, he leaned back down to kiss Vivian’s lips, smiling playfully.

"Since when are you so shy? You weren't like this last night."

"Your face is as red as an apple."

The keycard beeped, the door clicked open, and the moment it shut, the hallway fell back into silence.

A few burly security guards dragged me out like trash and threw me onto the wet pavement outside.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I curled into a ball and sobbed hysterically.

Ten years. I had loved David with every fiber of my being for ten whole years.

I still remembered our wedding night. David had drunk a lot of alcohol, his eyes incredibly red.

He had knelt before me, holding my hands tightly, and sworn an oath.

"Alice, now that I’ve married you, you're the only one for me for the rest of my life."

He had held me and talked for hours.

I had been so tired back then, and because I missed responding to a few of his words, he had actually pouted.

"Do you not love me anymore?"

I had laughed all night because of that one childish question.

That night, we held each other and talked until dawn. It was so beautiful it felt like a dream.

But in our fifth year of marriage, David received a letter from abroad.

He began going on irregular business trips, sometimes disappearing for months.

It was during one of those trips that I miscarried our first child.

The doctor said the miscarriage had severely damaged my body, making it hard for me to conceive again.

I cried hysterically on the phone, questioning David.

But he, far away in another country, remained silent for a long time before saying coldly, "I'm busy with work. We don't need to rush the baby thing."

I told him I would wait.

Finally, another five years passed.

When I unexpectedly got pregnant again, I was so excited. I wanted to wait until he returned from his trip on our anniversary to give him a surprise.

Instead, I received news of his plane crash.

Thinking back to Vivian's words now, I cried until I choked.

His busy work was all a lie.

He just didn't want to have a child with me.

My lower abdomen began to throb painfully, and my heart felt as if it were being torn open.

I completely blacked out.