I eagerly sent the ultrasound image to my husband, excited to share the joyful news with him. Instead, I received divorce papers in return.

"If you’re not feeling well, go see a doctor. Why are you sending me medical reports? I don’t even know how to read them."

"Just sign the papers already. Eve’s kid needs a house in the right school district, so we’ll do a fake divorce."

Stunned, I called him to demand an explanation, but Lucas responded with a barrage of anger and insults.

On the other end of the line, I could clearly hear Evelyn’s laughter and that of a child.

After the call ended, I saw Evelyn Lake’s post online.

The caption read, “Thank you, Luke, for divorcing for me. My son can finally go to school!”

In the past, I would have confronted Lucas with a full-blown fight. But this time, I decided to go for a real divorce.

——

Lucas didn’t return home until late at night, reeking of alcohol. His white shirt had lipstick stains on the collar and there were a few red marks on his neck.

At that moment, I made up my mind to take a misoprostol pill.

It’s the medication required for a medical abortion.

Today was supposed to be our wedding anniversary. I had bought a cake, planning to celebrate and share the news of my pregnancy with him.

But what greeted me instead was a set of divorce papers from the one and only Lucas Sanders.

Lucas looked at the cake on the table and asked in confusion, “Whose birthday is it?”

I put the pills away, tossed the cake into the trash and said coldly, “Just a friend, that’s all.”

He quietly let out a sigh of relief. “See? I knew it wasn’t your birthday today.”

“And anyway, our wedding anniversary is on the 27th, not the 7th,” Lucas added smugly, looking at me as if expecting praise for remembering the date.

Yet in our three years of marriage, Lucas had never once gotten our anniversary date right. He’d always remembered Evelyn and her son’s birthdays, though—down to the smallest detail, never missing a single one.

Lucas pulled a Mickey Mouse plush toy out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Sorry about my tone on the phone earlier. Consider this an apology.”

The toy had a BMW logo stamped on it—clearly just a promotional item that came with a car purchase.

I recalled Evelyn’s post earlier today, where she had shared a photo of a brand-new BMW.

I responded flatly, “I don’t like stuffed animals, especially freebie ones.”

Lucas’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, but his tone remained calm.

“Don’t be so petty. Eve’s just a single mom—poor thing—and her kid’s already school-age. If he doesn’t start soon, it’ll be too late.”

“And once Eve’s paperwork for the school is done, you and I will remarry,” he said, leaning in, trying to pull me into his arms.

Just as his hand was about to touch me, I recoiled as if avoiding something filthy.

Lucas’s hand froze mid-air, the awkwardness palpable. His expression darkened as he withdrew it.

"Jane, why are you acting so high and mighty? I’ve already apologized—what more do you want?"

I didn’t want to argue anymore and stood up, ready to leave.

Seeing me ignore him, Lucas grew angrier. He grabbed my wrist in frustration. I lost my balance and slipped, landing hard on my injured left foot.

That injury? Lucas caused it a few days ago. He’d been carrying a pot of hot soup from the kitchen while distracted by texting Evelyn. He lost his grip, spilling the scalding liquid all over my foot, burning off a patch of skin. The wound still hadn’t healed.

Now, the reopened wound began bleeding again, staining the floor red.

Lucas looked flustered and panicked. “I didn’t mean it. I’ll take you to the hospital right now!”

I didn’t refuse. I simply nodded and said, “Fine.”

Lucas helped me into the car, but as soon as we were inside, the car’s Bluetooth assistant activated. Evelyn’s flirtatious voice filled the air.

“My big boss, drive safe, okay? And don’t forget to keep working hard to support me!”

Lucas’s face turned crimson with embarrassment. He hurriedly tried to explain. “Oh, the Bluetooth is Evelyn’s. She left it in my car. I’ll get rid of it right away.”

I replied calmly, “Don’t bother.”

The car was silent. Lucas kept glancing at me through the rearview mirror, trying to gauge my reaction.

“Jane, you’re not mad?” he asked hesitantly.

I pressed my lips together in a faint smile.

There was a time I considered Evelyn my mortal enemy, always picking fights with Lucas over her antics.

But now? I didn’t even care about Lucas anymore—why would I care about his mistress, or any other woman he might have?

“Just drive. It’s late,” I said flatly.

Our home was very close to the maternal and child health hospital in the suburbs, less than two kilometers away. A simple U-turn at the intersection ahead and a straight drive would get us there.

Just as the car started, Lucas’s phone rang.

At such a late hour, there’s no need to guess—it must be Evelyn, that two-faced manipulator.

When Lucas picked up the call, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, his excitement barely hidden. On the other end, Evelyn’s sweet, flirtatious voice came through, coaxing him to keep her company because the rain and thunder were scaring her.

“Jane, I’m going to pull over and drop you off here,” Lucas said suddenly.

“It’s less than a kilometer ahead. Evelyn’s in a bind and there’s no one else to help her—just her and her kid. I really need to go.”

For such a short distance, less than five minutes away, Lucas couldn’t even be bothered to drop me off properly.

I could hear the eagerness in his voice—he was clearly in a hurry to get to Evelyn.

I stared at Lucas coldly and said, “I can’t walk. You know my foot is injured.”

Lucas’s expression immediately darkened. He yelled at me, “Jane, stop being so dramatic!

“It’s just a burn, just a bit of skin peeled off. It’s not like you lost a leg—why can’t you walk?

“I already told you Evelyn has an emergency and here you are throwing a tantrum!”

Without waiting for me to respond, Lucas got out of the car, opened my door and forcibly dragged me out.

Before leaving, he added that he’d come back to pick me up after dealing with Evelyn.

The car sped past me and the water splashed up from the wheels, soaking my injured foot, sending a sharp, piercing pain through the wound.

Rain mixed with my tears as it streamed down my face. I limped forward, walking on tiptoe as I made my way toward the hospital.

I hadn’t gone far when a sudden, searing pain gripped my lower abdomen. Blood began to slide down my thigh and my body felt as if it were being torn apart.

My vision went dark and I collapsed by the side of the road.

Several cars sped past and if it hadn’t been for a kind-hearted woman who stopped and took me to the hospital, I might have been hit by one of them.

After an emergency surgery at the hospital, I dragged my exhausted body back home early the next morning.

As soon as I stepped through the door, Lucas’s furious shout hit me like a physical blow, his voice so loud it felt like it was vibrating through my bones.

“Jane, what the hell is going on? Didn’t I tell you to wait for me to pick you up?”

“I waited for you at the hospital all night! You didn’t answer your phone and then you turned it off!”

I froze in place, completely stunned, unable to move.

His bloodshot eyes locked onto mine and for a moment, it almost seemed like he really had been waiting for me all night.

When I looked out the hospital window, all I saw was a taxi from the night shift; Lucas’s car was nowhere to be found.

My phone had just died, so it had shut off on its own, not long before I got back.

In other words, Lucas was standing there, acting like he cared, when he hadn’t even bothered to come pick me up.

He used to be so attentive, always looking out for me, but somewhere along the way, he’d slowly pulled away.

I looked at him, a mix of sadness and resentment in my eyes. “It’s because you blocked me. I couldn’t even call you.”

Lucas’s anger softened immediately, a brief flash of guilt crossing his face before he quickly masked it.

“Forget it. Let’s not get into this.”

“I was worried you’d be hungry, so I made you some chicken soup. Drink it while it’s hot.”

I stared at the bowl in front of me. If I didn’t look closely, I might’ve mistaken it for just a simple bowl of soup, but it was supposed to be homemade chicken soup with vegetables.

There were only a couple of small pieces of chicken and a few limp vegetables and it looked like it had been thrown together in a hurry—more like a half-finished meal than anything made with care.

While I was bored and scrolling through my phone during my IV drip at the hospital, I saw a post from Evelyn. It was a picture of her and Lucas watching the sunrise together.

No wonder his eyes were so bloodshot—he’d been up all night with *the mistress*.

I didn’t have to guess; this porridge was clearly leftovers from their breakfast. The thought made my stomach churn.

I put my spoon down. “Just throw it away, I’m not hungry.”

Lucas’s face instantly dropped, his eyes locking onto mine with a mix of confusion and frustration. “Jane, I don’t get it. What’s going on with you today?”

“I went out of my way to make you this soup and you’re just going to waste it without even trying?”

“I told you, this whole divorce thing is just a formality. We don’t have kids and you don’t need a school spot. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”

His words struck me like a dagger. Our child had already been lost, erased by his cold, heartless detachment.

When I didn’t respond, Lucas kept on accusing me. “Eve only posted that to celebrate because her kid’s school situation is settled. What’s the big deal?”

“But you? You had to go and stir things up in the comments, even made her cry. I haven’t even gotten onto you about that yet.”

“Listen, Jane, don’t push me too far,” Lucas said, hands on his hips, ranting like a jilted lover.

Having just gone through a medical abortion, with an infected foot and no sleep the night before, my body felt utterly drained.

I honestly didn’t have the energy nor the desire to argue with him.

“You’ve misunderstood,” I said quietly. “I’m not upset about the divorce.”

Lucas interrupted me with visible impatience, “Misunderstood?!”

“Eve’s right,” he snapped, “you’re exactly like that.”

“You get upset over the smallest things, always sulking or getting jealous. You have no emotional maturity whatsoever.”

"Whenever I'm late coming home because of work, you immediately contact my secretary to get my schedule and call me non-stop," he continued. "Please, I’m busy every day, okay?"

Ha, Lucas really knew how to manipulate.

If this had happened before, I would’ve fought with him tooth and nail, trying to prove that everything I did was out of love for him.

Lucas wasn’t stupid. He knew I loved him.

The problem was, he didn’t love me anymore. My love for him had become nothing but a burden in his eyes.

After he finished venting, I calmly said, "Are you done? If there’s nothing else, could you close the door on your way out?"

My words caught him off guard. His face flushed red with anger and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

But a moment later, I heard him slam the door again from the living room.

Every time we argued, Lucas would pack up and leave for a few days to seek comfort from Evelyn, always claiming it was to "let me cool down."

Looking back, it was just a classic move from a scumbag—starting a fight to create an excuse for an affair.

During the days Lucas was gone, I was doing just fine on my own. I hadn’t slept this soundly in ages.

Once my body had healed enough, I reached out to my best friend, who worked at a top law firm and consulted her about divorce and asset division. After all, there were still 30 days left in the cooling-off period. There was plenty of time.

While Lucas had been away, Evelyn’s social media hadn’t slowed down one bit. It was as if she couldn’t wait for every little thing Lucas did to be documented, even if he just farted.

Today’s post was a photo of Lucas and some of his buddies enjoying a day out on the water.

In the center of the photo was Evelyn, wearing a bikini and snuggled up to Lucas. Her curves were pressed tightly against his arm and they were both smiling, looking sweeter than ever.

I accidentally hit the like button on the post. After thinking it over for a moment, I decided not to undo it. After all, if I did, it would just send a notification anyway.

To my surprise, not long after, I got a call from Lucas. “I’m going to pick you up later to take you to the beach and introduce you to some of my friends.”

He added, “I wasn’t planning on taking you, but since you’ve been behaving lately, I guess it’s a reward.”

Even though the process for our fake divorce was already underway, I didn’t want to raise any suspicion by letting him know I really had no intention of reconciling.

I softly agreed, “Okay, sounds good.”

Lucas arrived right on time to pick me up and surprisingly, Evelyn wasn’t around.

When we reached the beach, Lucas’s friends greeted me warmly and I immediately spotted Shane.

Shane Tomson was Lucas’s childhood friend and, more often than not, his scapegoat. Whenever Lucas stayed out all night, Shane was always there, covering for him.

He walked up to me with a smile and said, “Jane, the dinner with Eve and Luke was actually my idea.”

“Should’ve given you a heads-up. My bad. I’ll take responsibility,” Shane added, lifting his glass and downing it in one go.

I couldn’t exactly start a scene after he said that, especially since he was being so friendly.

I awkwardly smiled and said, “I understand. Company matters can be hectic and sometimes things slip through the cracks.” Then, I raised my glass to clink with Shane’s.

Shane kept the conversation going with more polite talk, “I heard you’re planning to expand your business to Hillscapes—congratulations!”

I gave a faint smile. “It’s just an early plan, nothing set in stone yet. The timing isn’t right.”

Just then, Lucas suddenly appeared behind me, his gaze sharp and confused as he stared at me. “You’re going to Hillscapes? You never said anything about it. Did you even bother asking for my opinion?”