I walked over as if possessed and took a taste from the spoon he held out to my lips.

The flavor was very ordinary, but it warmed me up completely.

This soup was my mother's specialty, a taste of home I had mentioned to August many times.

"It's delicious," I heard myself say.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed with relief. "Wanda said she wanted this soup yesterday and I failed several times, almost disappointing her."

My body instantly turned cold and the soup I swallowed felt like a lump in my throat.

August was in high spirits, casually asking while sprinkling scallions, "Where's the child?"

I lowered my eyes. "At Grandma's."

Before he could say anything more, I had already walked away to get a document.

August raised an eyebrow. "Bringing up the child to ask for a reward again? What do you want to buy this time?"

"A burial plot," I said calmly. "Please sign this."

He paused, his tone unusually gentle. "So you know about your mother's passing? Where did you choose for the burial plot?"

As he spoke, he took the document and started to open it. I was about to stop him when his phone rang.

Later, Wanda's sweet, coquettish voice came through. "August, have you left yet?"

"Right away," August replied, a smile in his eyes. "Miss me?"

He flirted with her while mouthing, "We'll talk about it when I get back."

"No," I grabbed his wrist. "Sign it now."

August's face darkened. "Don't push your luck!"

He was always cautious, meticulously reviewing documents before signing and my insistence went against his principles.

In the past, I would have apologized immediately. But this time, I stubbornly refused to let go.

We locked eyes for a long moment until Wanda's voice sounded again. "August?"

Her single prompt made him compromise instantly. For the first time, he didn't read a single word and signed hastily.

"Satisfied?" that man sneered. He threw the document at me, packed up the soup and slammed the door as he left.

I clutched the document tightly and slowly crouched down. In truth, Julie had already helped me arrange my mother's funeral affairs. What he had just signed was our divorce agreement.

A long time later, my phone vibrated.

A post from Wanda popped up. [I just mentioned it casually and the next day, someone made it happen for me!]

The accompanying photo was that very bowl of soup. The first instant like came from August, someone who rarely checked social media and had never once liked any of my posts.

Just as I was about to swipe away, Julie's message popped up. [Eleanor, today is the day of the child's cremation. Do you need me to pick you up?]

I declined her offer and drove to the crematorium.

Seeing that I was alone, the old lady asked, "Where's August?"

I shook my head. "I didn't tell him."

The baby was my child and had nothing to do with August. In three days, I would also have no further connection to him.

The old lady was furious. "This is his child, too! Didn't he even ask about it once?"

She took out her phone to call August, but couldn't get through. Meanwhile, my phone buzzed.

August texted me. [Why is Grandma calling me? Did you complain to her again?]

In our chat history, which contained 19,277 messages I had sent him over five years, he had replied only 82 times. This was the first message he had ever initiated and it was to blame me.

Subsequently, his messages popped up one after another.

[If Grandma causes trouble for Wanda, I won't let you off the hook.]

[I was just helping Wanda out.]

[If you want soup, I'll make it for you later.]

[Stop making a scene.]

I pressed the power button quietly, expressionless.

Soon, a staff member walked over and asked, "Are the two of you ready?"

My throat felt tight, but I nodded.

The moment the child was placed into the cremation furnace, my phone suddenly began buzzing incessantly.

It was a call from August.

My finger hovered over the 'end call' button for a long while, yet it never quite fell. In the end, I still answered the phone.

"What are you doing?" August demanded bluntly.

"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Why didn't you reply to my messages? What trick are you trying to pull now?"

He was used to me being available 24/7—instantly replying, instantly answering, always on call. That was why this single abnormality prompted him to call me and demand an explanation. Still, I had no time for him now.

I stared at the slowly closing incinerator, unable to hold back my sobs.

"Eleanor, what's wrong?" August's tone was urgent. "Speak!"

Right at that moment, a staff member pressed the ignition button. Flames leaped up, instantly engulfing the small body.

Simultaneously, Wanda's excited shriek came through from the other end of the phone. "She gave birth! August, Bella gave birth!"

The next second, the call was ruthlessly disconnected.

Not long after, August posted a rare update. The accompanying picture was of a puppy wearing a longevity lock. [A new life has arrived. Hope you like this gift.]

I stared at the message, speechless for a long time.

While my child was being cremated, he was accompanying Wanda, welcoming a new life. He prepared a longevity lock for her dog, yet he never once thought to give our own child a name.

Actually, I felt no anger or pain as I had imagined. Five years of hardship had long since exhausted all my expectations of him.

When I returned home carrying the small urn of ashes, August was already back. He sat on the sofa without looking up. "Where did you go?"

"The crematorium," I said hoarsely.

That man quickly frowned and stood up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He had clearly misunderstood, thinking it was my mother who was being cremated today. But I didn't explain, my gaze falling on the suitcase beside the sofa.

August noticed my gaze and suddenly became somewhat uneasy. "Wanda just had her nails done and isn't feeling well, so I brought her and the puppy over. Could you help look after them?"

A wave of pent-up exhaustion washed over me.

Just as I was about to refuse, the nursery door suddenly opened. Wanda came out carrying a small white puppy. "The little guy's sleeping so soundly in there!"

She stopped beside August, acting every inch the lady of the house.

I stared at August and asked, "You let her dog stay in the nursery?"

His eyes shifted away momentarily. "Well, since the baby is over at Grandma's place, the room was just sitting empty anyway."

I watched him in silence for a while. In the end, I uttered only one word: "Whatever."

August pursed her lips. "Bella's baby was born just a few days apart from that child. They can grow up together."

Unfortunately, my child would not have the chance to grow up.

Just then, Bella suddenly barked wildly at me.

"Oh dear!" Wanda looked at August in a panic. "Bella never barks without reason! It's the most sensitive dog. Dr. Yager must have brought back something dirty from the crematorium and scared her!"

My heart suddenly clenched and I instinctively hugged the urn tighter.

"Dr. Yager!" Wanda suddenly knelt. "I know you're very unhappy about me staying here without your permission and I know you hate me because August favors me. But Bella is like family to me. Please, let her go!"

"Wanda!" August immediately pulled her up, turning to glare at me. "Eleanor, how could you be so vicious?"

I looked at them coldly, finding it all absurd. "I didn't even know she would move in. How could I harm her dog?"

August sneered, "Then what are you holding in your hand?"

I bit my lip hard. The murderer who killed my child didn't deserve to know.

In the stalemate, Wanda hugged August's arm. "Maybe we misunderstood Dr. Yager. Let's not talk about this. I'm just panicking. Will you sleep with me tonight?"

"Of course," he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead before turning back to me, his voice cold. "Don't disturb us."

The first time he brought a woman home, I cried and asked him why he betrayed me.

In response, he threw the medical bill, which Julie had paid for my mother, right in my face. "You betrayed me first," he shouted.

After that, he only grew worse, even barging into the master bedroom in the middle of the night with other women and forcing me out. My initial pain and resentment slowly faded into numbness over time.

Only this time, I genuinely wanted to leave.

Late at night, the guest room door was suddenly pushed open. August stood in the shadows. "Wanda was terrified. Give her your warm jade."

The warm jade he mentioned was pressed against my chest.

Six years ago, after August's mother took her own life, he ran away from home and spent half a year in despair inside the tiny apartment I rented.

I shouldered all our expenses, including my mother's medical bills. Besides my internship at the hospital, I worked three other jobs, until one day I collapsed from exhaustion in the bathroom.

August held me and cried all night. The very next day, he took off the jade pendant he had never removed from his neck and gave it to me. He told me it was a protective talisman his mother had gotten for him.

That woman had jumped from a building because of her husband's endless betrayals. Now, he wanted it back for the woman he was cheating on me with.

I calmly took off the jade and handed it to him.

He didn't take it; instead, he went to my bedside. He swallowed slightly. "I'll give it back to you when Wanda sleeps better."

"It's yours. She should keep it," I said, pressing the jade into his hand before turning my back to him.

August was silent for a long moment, then placed a hand on my shoulder. "Eleanor, what's really wrong with you?"

Just then, a crisp cracking sound suddenly came from the nursery. This was immediately followed by Wanda's shriek, "Bella!"

August and I rushed over to find a mess of fragments scattered all over the floor. At that time, Wanda was holding 'Bella' and comforting her.

August quickly asked, "Wanda, why did you come down?"

"You were gone so long, I got scared," she said with a sob in her voice. "I'm so sorry … "

I bent down and picked up a fragment shaped like a wing.

After I fell ill back then, August had pulled himself together and gone out to find a job. With his first month's salary, he had personally made me a clay figurine of a little angel wearing a white coat.

"Look, it looks just like you," he had said, holding it next to my cheek, his eyes brimming with tenderness. "My angel in white."

But later, the only value this 'angel in white' had was to perform reconstruction surgeries for his mistress.

Last night, after much hesitation, I finally put this clay figurine deep inside a cabinet.

I looked at Wanda, not missing the unconcealed triumph in her eyes. I knew she had done this on purpose, but I didn't care anymore.

August walked over, his expression darkening instantly. "How did this get here?"

Wanda immediately put on a pitiful look. "Was it something important? It's all my fault for not watching Bella closely enough."

"How could it be your fault?" August quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms. "It's just a useless ornament. The important thing is that you and Bella are okay."

Yes, once the feelings are gone, what's left behind naturally becomes useless.

I then placed the wing-shaped fragment back on the floor. As soon as I stood up, I heard August command. "Clean this up."

I silently went to get a broom.

"Stop!" His voice suddenly rose sharply. "What do you think you're doing?"

I looked at him, bewildered. "Didn't you tell me to clean it up?"

Surprisingly, that man frowned. "How can you sweep it up like that if we're going to have it repaired?"

I shook my head. "It's shattered beyond repair. There's no point."