Chapter 3

I didn't wait for my incision to fully heal before discharging myself from the hospital.

Ethan felt guilty, so he texted saying he would come pick me up.

But I waited at the hospital entrance for two hours, and he never showed up.

The freezing wind was biting, and then, a Snapchat video from Melody popped up on my screen.

Ethan was holding her in a bridal carry, looking down at the crying woman in his arms.

"Ethan, I told you not to touch my hair! It's all your fault. If you hadn't suddenly messed with my hair, I wouldn't have tripped!"

Ethan laughed, looking at her with a tenderness I had never seen before.

"Okay, okay, you're always right. I promise I won't let you get hurt ever again, deal?"

The woman snuggled deeper into his chest, giggling happily.

"That's more like it..."

The wife who had shared Ethan's bed for eight years had just undergone surgery, her wound still fresh, waiting for him in the cold.

Yet, he was sweating with anxiety over Melody's pathetic, staged fall.

Looking at the video, no matter how cold the winter wind was, it couldn't compare to the iciness in my heart.

The rain started mixing with snow.

I got drenched on my way home. The cold rain soaked through my clothes, and my incision began to bleed, but my body was too numb to feel the pain.

When I reached the front door, the warm air from inside carried the sound of a man and a woman laughing through the gap.

On the living room sofa, Ethan was gently massaging Melody's ankle.

There wasn't a trace of impatience on his face.

I recalled the morning I burned my hand with hot oil while frying eggs for him.

I had shown him the burn, wanting a little comfort.

But he had just frowned, his eyes filled with annoyance.

"Chloe, don't complain to me about such a tiny scratch, okay? I'm busy with work. Try to be a little more understanding."

I pushed the door open.

Ethan looked up and saw me. I was soaking wet, shivering, with blood seeping through my clothes, a complete mess.

A flash of worry crossed his eyes. He let go of Melody's foot and rushed over to grab my cold hands.

"What happened to you? Didn't we agree you'd wait for me at the hospital? I was going to pick you up as soon as I finished here."

His voice carried a hint of panic.

I looked at his familiar yet completely stranger face. My heart felt absolutely nothing.

On the sofa, Melody was smugly enjoying my pathetic state.

I slapped Ethan's hand away as he reached out to dry my hair.

"Ethan, let's get a divorce."

"The divorce papers will be delivered tomorrow. Just sign them."

Ethan froze, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Divorce? Chloe, stop joking. Marriage isn't something you can just throw away because you're throwing a tantrum!"

He paused, convinced I was just trying to get back at him.

"Alright, stop it. I know I messed up by not picking you up."

"But I don't have superpowers. I couldn't just leave Melody on the street when she was hurt, could I?"

I laughed, looking him dead in the eye, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So, for her, you left your wife, who just had major surgery, waiting in a freezing storm for two hours."

My firm stance and repeated mention of divorce finally sent a wave of panic through Ethan. He tried to grab my hand again.

But Melody limped over, crying as if I were the bully here.

She made me look like an unreasonable, jealous monster.

"Chloe, please don't be mad at Ethan. He was just being nice."

"If you hate me that much, you can hit me or yell at me. I won't fight back."

She sounded so sincere, as if she wasn't the one who had sent me the provocative Snapchat video just hours ago.

I smiled at her.

"Sure. Since you asked for it."

I raised my hand to slap her.

But a crushing grip clamped down on my wrist, squeezing so hard I felt my bones might break.

"Chloe, stop being so unreasonable! I've told you a thousand times, there is nothing going on between Melody and me!"

"Do you have to ruin everything for us? She's already hurt, and you still want to hit her!"

Ethan's face was twisted in anger, his cold glare stabbing into me.

It was colder than the winter storm outside.

A thousand times?

From the moment I was hospitalized until now, I had sent him over a hundred texts, and he had only offered that one cheap explanation over the phone.

He was too stingy to type a single extra word to me.

Yet on his Instagram, he had personally typed a thousand-word post to promote Melody's new single.

He seemed to completely forget that I was the one who was injured, ignoring the blood slowly soaking through my shirt.

Right now, Ethan's mind and soul belonged entirely to Melody.

I bit my lip so hard I tasted copper. With tear-filled eyes, I raised my other hand and slapped Ethan hard across the face.

"Ethan, we are over!"

Seeing my tear-streaked face and bloodshot eyes, Ethan seemed to realize he had overreacted.

But he was still convinced I was just acting out.

He cast a tense look at Melody, then, without hesitation, picked her up and carried her back to the sofa.

"Be good. Chloe and I have some things to sort out."

Then, he turned to me with a guilty look and dragged me upstairs by the wrist.

He looked like he wanted to appease me, but his words cut deeper than any knife.

"Baby, please just cooperate. You know Melody's parents fought constantly when she was a kid. Let's not scream in front of her."

He dragged me into our bedroom without giving me a choice.

My tears finally fell. Even when he was trying to comfort me, his every thought was about Melody.

He shoved me into the bedroom, making sure the soundproof door was shut tight.

I wiped my tears, looked at him with absolute finality, and exposed everything.