He still didn't agree to the divorce. He gave me a fierce look and then slammed the door on his way out.

I collapsed onto the bed. I looked at the familiar room layout in front of me and felt a wave of sadness.

Earlier this year, my dad, who was known as a model husband, had an affair.

His mistress was pregnant with his child. She came straight to my house to confront us.

She screamed and demanded my parents get a divorce.

The commotion caused everyone around us to know about the affair.

My mom had been with him for most of her life. There was no way she hadn't noticed.

But she chose to endure it.

I had seen moments of their deep affection. I had also seen my dad hitting my mom to protect his mistress.

I almost broke down at that time. It was Ian who came out to resolve everything.

He held me tightly. His voice was unsteady, and kept comforting me, saying, "I'm here. Don't be afraid."

Since then, he had given me all the security I needed.

He would always report to me wherever he went.

Even when having dinner with friends, he would make a video call just to reassure me.

However, he kept a woman who was three years younger than me secretly.

If I hadn't impulsively decided to clean the study that day, would he have hidden it from me forever?

My vision blurred. My sore eyes ached faintly, and my lower abdomen began to hurt slightly.

I held my lower abdomen in pain. The intense pain made it difficult for me to walk.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the phone on the bedside table.

I instinctively called Ian.

After one or two rings, the cold mechanical voice on the phone gradually turned into a busy tone.

I gritted my teeth and directly called the ambulance.

The severe pain was unbearable. I fainted directly.

When I woke up again, the unpleasant smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

I turned my head to see Ian looking at me with a gloomy expression.

He was surrounded by deep anger, seemingly ready to strangle me at any moment.

When he saw me awake, his eyes moved slightly.

He was wrapped in immense anger and gritted his teeth as he asked, "Did you abort our child?"

Faced with his anger, I appeared calm and composed.

I moved my dry throat and softly said, "Mm."

"What right did you have to abort him? He was my child too!"

Rarely, he actually argued about this.

In four years of marriage, he never asked me about having children. Even when his parents urged me to have a child, he always jumped in first and said, "We're still young. There's no rush to have kids now."

So, I always thought he didn't like children.

"Speak up, Clara!"

Hearing his angry roar, I said calmly, "Because I think your mom was right. Bad genes are hereditary. I don't want my child to be like you."

Hearing this, Ian's body stiffened. His expression turned ugly.

He angrily kicked the chair next to him.

The chair couldn't bear the weight and fell straight to the ground with a loud noise.

I was so scared that my heart skipped a beat. I pressed my dry lips together tightly.

Ian laughed angrily and said repeatedly, "Clara, you are something."

I didn't know if I was something or not. I just knew I was really tired.

I didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore.

So, I just closed my eyes.

I didn't know how long it had been, but the room was silent.

When I opened my eyes again, I was the only one left in the room.

With Ian's help, my mom got a lot of property when she divorced.

Now, she was using that money to travel and relax.

In this city, I only had my close friend, Eva Garcia, left to contact.

After a short rest, I contacted her.

Since I wanted to divorce, I should be decisive.

Eva hurried over. Before she could sit down, I said, "Eva, can you help me with something?"

"With what? Why are you in the hospital?"

I told her everything that had happened recently.

Eva fell silent after hearing my words.

Back then, she advised me not to tell Ian about my dad's affair.

She feared it would one day turn to hurt me.

But I was too foolish and didn't listen, relying on him for everything.

Now, it became a boomerang and came back to stab me.

"It's too late to say anything now, but I support your decision. A man with a changed heart should be discarded."

I smiled faintly.

"So I'll need your help for a while."

"What? When I bought my house, I reserved a room for you. You can move in anytime."

Her words put my mind at ease.

After resting in the hospital for two days, I went back home.

I didn't rest and searched for everything Ian had given me.

As he said, he never mistreated me.

The jewelry and clothes he gave me were the best.

Every time he went on a business trip, he brought me carefully prepared gifts.

Now that I searched, I found some clothes still had their tags on.

I mechanically organized the gifts.

But I was stunned when I found a thick stack of envelopes.

Pink envelopes filled with Ian's love for me.

Undoubtedly, he was generous with his love for me.

Since we started dating, he recorded everything about us.

These thick envelopes were the proof.

I suppressed the overwhelming memories and took the envelopes downstairs.

"Julia, can I have a lighter?"

Julia, who was cleaning, didn't understand but found me a lighter.

I took the envelopes and lighter to the flower bed in the yard.

There were many red roses I planted in the flower bed.

They were beautiful and dazzling in the sunlight.

I composed myself and lit the envelopes with the lighter.

Then I threw the burning envelopes into the flower bed without hesitation.

The raging fire reflected my endless anger.

Julia's face turned pale when she saw it.

She ran out quickly, slapping her knees anxiously. "Ma'am, what are you doing?"

"Things that don't need to be kept are just an eyesore."

Memories and people alike.

I coldly watched the burning fire destroy the beautiful flower bed.

But I didn't regret it.

Ian only knew my mom endured a tough marriage for years without divorcing.

But he didn't know that my mom and I were fundamentally different.

I couldn't tolerate any flaws.

After all this, I called a cleaning service.

They cleaned the villa inside and out.

No trace of my life was left.

Julia's persuasion failed. She turned to call Ian.

But he said coldly, "Let her do whatever. Don't tell me about her anymore."

I was right next to her when she made the call.

I heard his words clearly.

Luckily, I decided to divorce and wouldn't be hurt by his actions and words anymore.

Next, I moved to Eva's house with my luggage.

Ian began to have no scruples. He took that woman to various events.

Before this, I was the only one who accompanied him to events.

Because of this change, many people speculated that there was a problem with our marriage.

When Eva told me about these things, I was still negotiating prices with a buyer for my bags.

I was indifferent to her words.

She got anxious and said, "Are you really going to sell all the bags and jewelry Ian gave you?"

"What else can I do? I can't leave this marriage with nothing."

He did not want to divorce now.

I would go through legal procedures for a forced divorce.

If things got ugly, I might get nothing but a divorce certificate.

I had not worked for four years. Without money, how could I survive?

"You are really clear-headed." Eva praised. "But I never thought Ian would cheat. He loved you so much before."

"What is love? Life is so long. Who can guarantee to love one person for a lifetime?"

Saying this, I rarely felt relieved.

My dad's situation was an example.

He used to love my mom so much. He couldn't bear to let her cook. He couldn't bear to see her suffer or get tired. He always pampered her like a princess.

But in the end, he said, "You don't provide me with emotional value. At home, I feel like a slave without dignity."

The man who once couldn't say a harsh word to her hit her for another woman.

Perhaps this is the common flaw of men.

"Eva, what hurt me the most was not his cheating.

It was when he said, "Didn't your dad cheat too? Your mom could tolerate it. I am just playing around. Why can't you?"

My original family should not be his excuse for moral corruption.

Eva got furious when she heard this. "How can he be so shameless? He drags others down with him. Why doesn't he just die?"

I shrugged indifferently.

Because of them, I understood one thing.

Only by letting go of everything can one live happily.

I deleted all contact information related to Ian.

I avoided everything about him.

But I didn't expect the police to come to my door one day.

"Ms. Miller, your husband reported you missing. If you are okay, please go home. Your husband is still looking for you everywhere."

Hearing the policewoman's words, I was confused.

The surrounding neighbors poked their heads out to watch the fun. Countless eyes looked straight at me.

Under pressure, I reluctantly agreed. "I will go back. Sorry for the trouble."

"Go back now. We can take you."

I was forced to return home.

The policewoman said Ian was looking for me. He was now sitting on the sofa with a stern face.

There was a well-dressed woman beside him.

It was Rose Scott, whom he had been showing off recently.

"You are really something. Playing runaway with me?"

Before I could say anything, Ian's cold voice came over.

I shifted my gaze from Rose's face. "You did well. You even brought her back."