Chapter 3

My phone vibrated against the nightstand.

It was a message from Valerie, my former college mentor who was now running a jewelry studio in Paris.

[Chloe, all three of the jewelry designs you sent me won international design awards! Are you seriously still not considering moving abroad?]

[I really want you in Paris as my partner. If you keep hiding behind your husband, your talent is going to be completely wasted!]

I looked at the sleeping back of the man next to me and typed a firm reply.

[Valerie, once I wrap things up here, I'm booking a flight to Paris.]

[Don't worry. I've made up my mind.]

If this were the old me, I would have said no.

...

Ethan was raised solely by his single mother.

Six months after we married, his mother was diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

I quit my job as an assistant jewelry designer to take care of her full-time.

After she passed away, Ethan’s company finally took off.

He insisted that I didn't need to work anymore and should focus on being a full-time housewife.

During my free time, I would sketch jewelry designs and send them to Valerie to earn some extra money.

My designs kept getting rave reviews from her high-end clients.

Valerie had been begging me to join her as a business partner.

And seeing my name on the international award list made my heart leap.

Just like Lily loved her violin, designing jewelry was my life's passion.

Becoming a famous jewelry designer had been my dream since childhood.

But back then, I couldn't bear to leave Ethan and our young son.

Ethan had no other family left, and I didn't want to abandon him.

I could never forget the Christmas Eve when Ethan was only eight years old. He was kneeling alone at his father's funeral service.

It was freezing. His small, stiff body stood straight, fighting back tears as he bowed politely to the guests like a mini-adult.

While other houses were filled with laughter and holiday music, his home was filled only with his mother's weeping.

I was building a snowman down the street when I saw him watching me through the window.

His little face was so solemn, so heavy with grief.

I remembered my parents talking about his family that morning, and my heart had ached for him.

"Poor kid. His dad died in a car crash. How is his mother going to raise him alone?" my mother had sighed.

I had walked over and knocked on his window. "Ethan! Can you help me build this snowman? I'm really bad at it."

I handed him my little plastic shovel.

He stared at the half-formed pile of snow, then slowly took the shovel from my hands.

When I wrapped my red woolen scarf around the snowman’s neck, his tense, sad face finally broke into a smile.

Later, I brought over a warm pot roast my mom had made, calling it a "thank-you gift" for helping me.

He looked at his crying mother in the other room, patted his empty stomach, and accepted it.

I stayed by his side through all his darkest years.

We only separated when he became the high school valedictorian and went to an Ivy League university in another state, while I attended a college closer to home.

But Lily, with her violin talent, was admitted to the same university as Ethan on a music scholarship.

Every holiday, Ethan would be the one driving Lily home.

The bright, sunny smile on his face was something I hadn't seen in years.

Even though we were the same age, he started calling me "older sister" just because Lily did.

His phone background was a candid photo of Lily.

I knew he loved her desperately, just as desperately as I loved him.

But then, Lily decided to move to Europe to pursue her career, and the smile vanished from Ethan's face.

One winter night, I saw him standing under the streetlamp outside our house.

Snow had piled up on his shoulders.

I tried to walk past him quietly, but he called out my name.

"Chloe, Merry Christmas."

"Yeah, you too."

I stood there, unsure of what to say.

He pulled a small jewelry box from his coat pocket.

"For you."

"Thank you."

As silence fell between us again, I turned to walk inside.

But he suddenly asked, his voice dead serious, "Chloe, will you be my girlfriend?"

I froze, my heart pounding wildly against my ribs.

My face flushed hot. I panicked, ran inside, and threw myself onto my bed.

When I opened the jewelry box, my heart sank.

It was a beautiful platinum necklace.

But under the light, the engraved initials "L" were painfully obvious.

L for Lily.

A bucket of cold water couldn't have chilled me more. I clutched the necklace, ran back downstairs, and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.

"Yes, Ethan! I'll be your girlfriend!"

"But from now on, you can only have me in your heart. Promise me?"

He stared at me. "I promise."

I forced back my tears and buried my face in his chest.

I knew he didn't love me. He was just using me as a bandage to forget Lily.

He knew I had a crush on him, and he knew I could never say no to him.

He did it on purpose.

And I willingly let myself be used.

Five years later, we got married.

On our wedding night, he drank too much.

He pinned me to the bed, his eyes red as he hugged me tightly. "I missed you so much..."

I whispered sweet nothings to soothe him while undressing him. But then his phone lit up on the nightstand with a text:

[Ethan, I miss you. — Lily]

I turned off the phone and pretended nothing happened.

I became the perfect, supportive housewife, the graceful Mrs. Sterling.

A year later, on Ethan's birthday.

He was incredibly passionate that night, almost out of control in bed.

He held me tight, refusing to let go for hours.

Pantingly, I asked him, "What's gotten into you tonight?"

He didn't answer. He just kissed my forehead gently, but his movements grew even more intense.

I was so exhausted that I slept until noon the next day.

When I woke up and opened Instagram, I saw Lily's name trending.

She had just announced she had a new boyfriend.

Once again, I chose to play the fool, quietly taking care of Ethan's life.

But in the end, I was still the one being discarded.

I stared out the window into the pitch-black night, feeling my heart shatter into a million pieces.

Across the ocean, Valerie sent another message: [Wow, how did you suddenly decide to leave your husband? Did you guys have a fight?]

After a long silence, she wrote:

[But honestly, congratulations on finally waking up! A woman should live for herself! Chloe, Paris is waiting for you!]