Nathan Brooks had been tangled up with his secretary for far too long.

All I did was ask one simple question.

“Has Chloe Bennett resigned yet?”

That was enough to make him hurl the glass in his hand at me.

“You jealous, bitter woman,” he snapped.

“Because of your jealousy, you drove Chloe away.

“I told you I’m not divorcing you, Emily. Isn’t that enough for you?”

I said nothing.

I only looked down at the cut on my arm, where the shattered glass had sliced through my skin, then quietly bent down and picked up the broken pieces.

What Nathan didn’t know was that I had already drawn up the divorce papers.

The cut on my arm was deeper than it looked. Blood had begun to seep out, and my heart felt as if something sharp had gone straight through it.

I stared at the wound for a long time, too stunned to move.

In the past, even when I lost my temper and Nathan got angry, he had never laid a hand on me. He had certainly never thrown a glass at me.

But now, Nathan did not even glance at me.

His face was dark with anger as he said, “Emily, when did you become this jealous? You really disappoint me.”

With that, he turned and left, giving me nothing but the cold line of his back.

I watched him walk away without hesitation, and a chill slowly spread through my chest.

Jealous?

I sniffed and tried to hold back my tears, but the bitterness still seeped through every inch of me.

In the eight years I had been married to Nathan, I had given everything I had. I stayed by his side when he started Nathan’s company from nothing. I built that life with him piece by piece.

Back then, he used to say I was the kindest girl in the world. He would hold me gently and promise, “Emily, I’ll give you a good life. I’ll never let you suffer.”

I had once believed that marrying him was the greatest happiness I would ever know.

But ever since Chloe Bennett appeared, everything had changed.

He was always bringing Chloe up in front of me, praising her for being kind and capable. He even let Chloe sit in the passenger seat of his car. He drank from the same cup of coffee as her.

Whenever I got upset, Nathan would look at me with a frown, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a stranger.

“Can you stop being so childish?” he would say impatiently.

When I saw them hugging and argued with him about it, Nathan insisted he had only been comforting Chloe. Then he told me not to take things too far.

Eventually, I grew tired. Something in me went still, and I stopped arguing.

A few days ago, Chloe offered to resign.

I only asked about it in passing, but Nathan pushed all the blame onto me. He said I had forced Chloe away. He called me jealous.

I wondered how he could be so cruel.

While I was still lost in that hurt, my best friend, Hannah Lewis, called me.

Her voice was full of worry. “Emily, are you really divorcing Nathan?”

I gave a quiet hum.

Nathan was no longer the man he used to be. There was no point clinging to this marriage anymore.

Hannah sighed, sounding regretful. “You two were so perfect back in college. Such a beautiful couple. Everyone envied you. I never thought it would end like this.”

I said nothing.

Hannah seemed to sense that I was in a bad state, so she quickly changed her tone.

“Come on, Emily, let’s not think about that. I’ll go shopping with you. Remember how we used to go shopping whenever we were upset in college?”

I answered, “Okay.”

I looked at the mess on the floor, swallowed down my hurt, and cleaned up the broken glass. Then I gave the wound on my arm a quick bandage and went out.

When Hannah saw me, her face lit up.

“Emily, ever since you got married, we barely ever see you out anymore.”

That landed harder than I expected.

She was right. After getting married, my entire life had revolved around Nathan.

Who would have thought it would end like this?

“Nathan!”

Just as I was drifting into my thoughts, Hannah suddenly called out his name.

I slowly came back to myself and looked over.

Not far away, Nathan had his arm around Chloe’s shoulders. Their fingers were intertwined. They looked just like a loving married couple.

The sight stabbed at my eyes, and my vision began to blur.

Hannah looked at me with concern, then said angrily, “Nathan is unbelievable.”

I forced a smile for her.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Just then, Nathan spotted me.

He let go of Chloe’s hand in a panic and hurried over to explain.

“Emily, listen to me. We were just shopping. There’s nothing between us.”

Chloe came over too. She grabbed my arm and said, “Emily, Nathan and I only ran into each other by chance.”

Her fingers landed right on the cut from earlier. A sharp sting shot through my arm, and I could not help frowning.

I took a deep breath and said nothing. I only gave a cold nod.

All at once, Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry, Emily,” she said in a wounded voice. “I know you don’t like me. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I never appear in front of you again.”

Nathan looked at Chloe with pity, then turned on me with fury.

“That’s enough, Emily. Chloe barely touched you. What are you pretending for?

“And I already told you there’s nothing between us. Do you really have to stand there with that face? You’re so petty.

“Thank God Chloe is generous enough not to hold it against you.”

I was too tired to keep defending myself.

I took Hannah’s hand and tried to leave.

Nathan grabbed my arm, his expression dark.

“Emily, do you have to make a scene in public?”

The wound ached faintly, but I no longer had the energy to argue with him. I kept walking.

Behind me, Nathan shouted my name in exasperation.

I acted as if I had not heard him.

By the time Hannah and I finished shopping and I got home, it was already evening.

Then Chloe suddenly posted on social media.

I opened it.

It was a photo with a caption.

Birthday night. The person I love most is by my side.

In the picture, Chloe had her eyes closed, smiling as she made a wish. A man was turned slightly away from the camera as he placed a birthday hat on her head.

I knew that side profile too well.

After all, he had slept beside me for eight years.

Even though the photo was blurry, I could still see how gentle Nathan’s eyes were when he looked at Chloe. There was even a trace of indulgent affection in them.

Once upon a time, Nathan had celebrated my birthdays like that too.

No matter how busy he was, he would make time to come home for my birthday. He would place the birthday hat on my head himself, then secretly pull a gift from his pocket while I closed my eyes to make a wish, just to surprise me.

But now, Nathan was celebrating someone else’s birthday, leaving me alone at home.

At that thought, the room suddenly felt airless. Suffocating.

I could not bear to look anymore, so I exited Instagram.

The next second, Chloe sent me a message.

[Emily, I wonder if you’re lonely at home all by yourself. After all, Nathan is with me right now...]

It felt as if something had stabbed straight into my heart.

I breathed hard, struggling for air. It took me a long time to recover.

Once I did, I made a phone call.

“Hello, Mr. Turner. When are you available? I’d like to discuss the details of the divorce agreement.”

After getting his answer, I lay down on the bed, exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, after finalizing the divorce agreement with Mr. Turner, I got up to walk him out.

Just then, Nathan suddenly came home.

He glanced at Mr. Turner as he stepped out the door, and his gaze darkened.

“Emily, who is he? Are you cheating on me?”

Hearing Nathan accuse me without even asking what was going on made my heart go cold.

“Nathan, you’re being completely unreasonable.”

At that, Nathan flew into a rage.

“Emily, I’m unreasonable? Haven’t I been good enough to you? You spend every day suspecting me and making wild guesses, but what about you? You’re bringing some random man into our home!”

A wave of exhaustion rose inside me. I no longer had the energy to explain myself to him.

Disappointed, I said, “Nathan, we should di...”

My voice was cut off by the sudden ring of his phone.

I glanced at the caller ID.

Chloe.

I turned my head away with a self mocking smile.

Nathan looked at me, his expression flickering with guilt. Then he turned slightly aside and answered the call.

Although he was clearly trying to keep his distance from me, Chloe’s voice still reached my ears.

“Nathan, cough, cough. I’m sick. Can you come stay with me?”

Nathan’s face tightened at once.

“Is it serious?”

“It’s okay. Not too serious. Cough, cough...”

Chloe’s voice sounded weak on the other end of the line.

Nathan frowned deeply.

“You sound like that and you’re still saying it’s not serious? Wait for me. I’m coming right now.”

After hanging up, Nathan shot me a glare.

“Emily, we’ll talk about this when I get back. And you’d better have a proper explanation for me.”

With that, he ran out in a hurry without looking at me again.

Watching him leave like a gust of wind, I almost wanted to laugh.

My eyes fell on the divorce agreement that had just been drafted on the table.

It was time for all of this to end.

I waited until the next morning, but Nathan still did not come home. Left with no choice, I took the divorce papers and went to Nathan’s company.

Nathan’s office was spotless, with only the basic things he needed for work.

The only exception was a pink pig plushie sitting quietly on his chair.

Chloe had bought it for him when she was still around.

She had said his office felt too dull, so she wanted to brighten it up with something colorful and lively.

Nathan had always been organized. He hated having random little things cluttering his office.

Once, I wanted to put a small plant in his office. He frowned and said, “Emily, this is a place for work. I don’t like things like this in here. Don’t buy them again.”

But now, even that rule had been easily broken by Chloe.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Then my gaze landed on the wallet on his desk.

It was the wallet I had bought for Nathan after graduation with the first money I ever earned.

He had treasured it. For eight years, he had kept it with him. Even after he became wealthy, he could never bring himself to replace it.

Now, everything had changed.

I picked up the wallet and opened it with a faint sense of nostalgia.

The moment I did, my blood seemed to turn cold.

Tucked inside the wallet was a photo of Nathan and Chloe together.

In the picture, Chloe was leaning sweetly against Nathan’s shoulder. Nathan had turned his head slightly toward her, smiling at her with gentle eyes.

The sight made my stomach churn.

I could not bring myself to believe that Nathan could be this heartless. That he would keep a photo of himself and Chloe inside the wallet I had given him.

I had been disappointed too many times. I had been disappointed too many times to feel surprised anymore.

If I felt anything now, it was only wave after wave of disgust.

I felt sorry for those eight years of my life, wasted on a man like him.

I took a deep breath and looked down at the divorce agreement in my hand.

It was time to make things clear with Nathan.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the office.

I lifted my head and said firmly, “Nathan, I need to talk to you.”