On the day I gave birth prematurely, my husband was celebrating someone else's son's birthday, turning a deaf ear to my calls.

The next day, I gave the wedding ring to his dream lover.

Later, a divorce agreement and my self-mocking smile were delivered to him. "Since you dare not put forward the divorce, I will do you a favor. Sign this agreement, and I'll never disrupt your happy life with her."

What was beyond my expectations was that he refused to divorce me and begged me with tears.

——

When Gabriel Hernandez rushed to the hospital, I was being pushed out of the operating room on a mobile bed.

He glanced at me indifferently, with a distant look in his eyes, and said softly, "You must be exhausted after the delivery. Thank you."

His unconcerned manner of showing care amused me, but the wound after delivery prevented me from laughing out.

Suddenly, I recalled the despair I felt when I fell.

I was in so much pain that I couldn't move. I called him crying, but he hung up on me again and again.

I could only endure the pain and call an ambulance.

At that time, I was still thinking that he might be busy with something urgent, and that it was not a convenient time for him to answer my call, until I checked my Instagram and found him and his dream lover in the same picture at her birthday party.

My heart sank at that moment.

What was I in his eyes?

The memories were so wretched that I was reluctant to go through the despair of that time again.

After going through what he had done, I said calmly, "I wanted to conceive in the first place, so I deserve what I went through when delivering."

Gabriel was stunned for a moment but did not refute what I said.

I was then sent back to the ward.

Because my baby was born prematurely, she was sent to the neonatal department, and I couldn't see her for now.

He wanted to stay and take care of me, but I made him dispel this thought by calling Hazel Green, the caregiver I hired before I started delivery.

I said, "You don't have to stay here. I get Hazel to take care of me."

Lying on the hospital bed, I didn't have the guts to move even a little bit because of the sharp pain.

I thought I would have natural labour, but the accident forced me to have no choice but to have a cesarean section.

Squinting, Gabriel responded calmly, "Okay. A professional caregiver can indeed provide better care for you."

I smiled self-deprecatingly and turned away from him.

Then, I heard him walk out of my ward.

When I looked back at where he stood just now, I found out I was the only one left in the ward.

For some reason, I felt like crying.

The meaning of marriage suddenly seemed confusing.

Or maybe, this was bound to be the end for every couple who got married more for interests than for love.

After all, our marriage was formed because of the former reason.

Among all the marriage candidates, we felt each other was the best partner in this marriage of convenience.

I had prepared myself for this day a long time ago.

But when that day really came, I was crushed by unwillingness.

I worked hard to manage this marriage and try to fulfill my duties as Mrs. Hernandez.

But his dream lover's appearance made all my efforts in vain.

Soon, my mother, Sophia Dawson, rushed to my ward after hearing about my delivery.

Looking around the ward and finding no trace of Gabriel, she asked in confusion, "Where is Gabriel?"

In the past, I would make excuses for him when he failed to shoulder the responsibility of being a husband and a father.

But now, I suddenly felt fed up with lying.

I told her the truth, "He was here just now, and now I don't know where he is going."

Sophia pressed her lips in displeasure.

"What does he mean? You just gave birth to his child, and as your husband, he ought to be by your side. What's going on with his mind?" she said.

I said calmly with a pale face, "Who knows?"

Hearing my passive answer, she was so furious that she called Beth Collins, Gabriel's mother, who was far away abroad to complain.

After learning what happened between me and him, Beth bought the closest ticket to fly back.

In the past, I would always stop her from complaining to Beth about his problem in our marriage, but this time, I deliberately said nothing.

Since then, Gabriel never came to the hospital again and only sent texts to show his care.

But I didn't expect that his dream lover, Natalie Bennett, would come to visit me.

"I heard of your delivery, so I stopped by the hospital to see you."

Natalie seemed gentle and virtuous, and her smile was as cozy as a spring breeze, giving people a sense of harmless intimacy.

I glanced at her indifferently.

A breeze blew by, and I smelled a faint citrus scent.

That was the smell that I could often smell on Gabriel's body some time ago.

I looked at her indifferently and had no intention of greeting her even out of courtesy.

Natalie didn't seem to feel embarrassed and placed the flowers she bought for me on the bedside table.

She said, "You gave birth to a daughter, right? She must be as beautiful as you. It's a pity that Gabriel said before that he wanted a son."

Hearing this, I smiled and said, "Indeed, that may be because I don't have the ability to control my baby's gender. Perhaps you can help him have a son."

Natalie was stunned when she heard this.

I looked at the wedding ring on my ring finger that was not the right size for me and took it off silently.

"Actually, I think you're more suitable to be his wife than I am." I smiled and handed her the wedding ring. "Would you like to try it?"

Perhaps my movement was so abrupt that she was surprised and not knowing what to do for a moment.

"Ms. Jones, you seem to have misunderstood me. I didn't..." she said.

"Just try it." I interrupted her and handed over the wedding ring again.

After a momentary hesitation, she took it and put it on her ring finger.

Fortunately, it fit her ring finger perfectly.

But for me, this ring was a little bigger.

It was evident to demonstrate that he bought this ring for Natalie rather than me.

I couldn't help but laugh.

He was even reluctant to conceal the truth he had been cheating on me since the beginning of our marriage.

"It fits me so perfectly."

Natalie's eyes flashed with a subtle smugness, but she pretended to be reserved. "But it doesn't belong to me. Please take it back, Ms. Jones."

As she said this, she wanted to take it off.

I interrupted her again. "I'm giving it to you. You don't have to return it."

She was the one who Gabriel hankered to give this wedding ring to, after all.

As much as I hated to admit it, this was the truth.

In the evening, Gabriel came with dinner for me.

He said, "You can be discharged from the hospital tomorrow, right? I will pick you up then."

He took out the soup from the thermos while speaking, seeming so calm and easygoing, just like a good friend coming to visit me.

Drinking the soup, I said composedly, "You don't have to pick me up if you're busy with work. I can find my way home."

"I've been busy lately. I'll be with you more after this project is finished," he said.

It was the first time he ever explained why he was absent from the critical moments in our marriage, which surprised me a little. But I didn't want to pay more attention to him anymore and perfunctorily nodded.

The next day, Sophia came to the hospital early to pick me up.

I wrapped myself tightly in a coat and waited in the lobby with my baby in my arms for her to complete the discharge procedures.

On the way back, she still wanted to send me back to Gabriel's home.

I said, "Mom, I want to go home with you."

Sophia was stunned, and it took her a while to realize my determination.

"Okay, it's better to go home. I will take care of you personally so that you don't have to worry all the time," she said.

Sophia took me as well as Hazel back home.

Only with their taking care of me could I feel completely at ease.

But I didn't sit idle either. I found a lawyer to ask about something about divorce.

According to my lawyer, I could only file for divorce during the breastfeeding period so that Gabriel wouldn't be able to compete for the custody of my baby.

I sighed deeply. If possible, I didn't want to make too big a fuss about this.

After all, my marriage with Gabriel was deeply intertwined with the interests of both our companies, and the pros and cons still entailed to be balanced.

I had compromised three years of my prime life and couldn't harm my company any more.

That night, Gabriel found out that I didn't go home, so he came to Sophia's house in person.

I was still breastfeeding my baby when he rushed in.

When I saw him, I was stunned and calmly pulled the quilt over to cover my body.

He frowned slightly, as if he was dissatisfied, and came over to ask, "Why don't you go home?"

"I can relax here with my mom taking care of me," I said very calmly.

Scanning my face several times, he asked, "Are you angry?"

I didn't expect him to ask that and was stunned for a moment.

And immediately, the surprise turned into hilariousness.

I realized that maybe he wasn't caring about my emotions.

I looked up at him. He was still cool and distant with indifference.

I looked down at the baby in my arms and deliberately said, "Did you do something to make me angry?"

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed, and a faint citrus scent wafted towards me.

Pressing my lips, I said, "She is a premature and weak baby who is sensitive about her surroundings. You just came back from work, so it's not appropriate for you to be too close to her."

He paused and looked gloomy.

Then, he stood up and said, "Then, I'll go back and take a bath."

Before I could reject, he strode out of my room.

It was funny that although we had been married for three years, he never stayed overnight at my house. He usually just ate a meal and left.

Maybe for him, coming to my house for dinner was like a forced social engagement, which demonstrated that he didn't love me at all.

It was my fault that I was blind and didn't realize it until now.

The stuffy room made the bitterness in my heart grow rapidly, and I felt a little breathless.

My baby seemed to notice my emotional breakdown and burst into tears.

I immediately cradled her to comfort her.

But unexpectedly, she cried even louder.

My eyes also turned red with tears. "Baby, don't cry."

But all my attempt to comfort her failed, so I also began to weep.

Sophia and Hazel heard us crying and went into my room.

"Oh my God, why are you crying?"

Sophia handed the baby to Hazel worriedly, and then came to comfort me.

I thought that I was so contentious that the more she appeased me, the more I felt like crying.

In the end, she shocked me to stop crying. Sophia glared at me fiercely. "If you cry again, I will ask Gabriel to bring you back right away."

When I heard this, my tears stopped immediately, but I still couldn't help choking.

As I calmed down, my baby also gradually became quiet.

"See, the baby is affected by your emotions. You have to learn to release your negative feelings. If you continue like this, you will easily suffer from postpartum depression."

Hazel reminded me with concern, and Sophia also realized the seriousness of my problem.

Thinking of what Gabriel said just now, I said to her, "Tell him not to come here anymore. We can't rest well if he comes."

She thought I was afraid that Gabriel would be tired from driving all his way here to visit us.

She complained to herself, "He is the father of your child. It is his duty to take care of you two."

I closed my eyes and said nothing.

Sophia listened to me and didn't let him come here any more.

Actually, Gabriel's plan really confused me. Why did he marry me in the first place if he couldn't forget Natalie?

Why did he give me hope and also bring me despair?

My mind was in a mess, and my heart was in turmoil.

The uneasiness made me get up and took out my cell phone from the bedside table.

I was bored and checked Instagram.

But unexpectedly, I saw Natalie's latest photo posted five minutes ago.

In the photo, there was only the back of a man washing his hands and cooking in the kitchen, enclosed with a sentence saying that "Having you is the greatest happiness in my life."

I recognized it was Gabriel at the first glance at this picture.