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."

August's face grew even more grim. He stared intently at me, clearly not expecting my indifference towards this clay figure he once cherished.

My unusual behavior unsettled him. Yet, he remained convinced that I would not leave him, especially now that we had a child.

He looked at me deeply and said, "Fine, do as you please."

Then he coldly ordered, "Wanda didn't eat well at dinner. After you're done cleaning up, go buy her a mango cake."

I didn't even lift my eyelids. "I'm not going."

A deathly silence instantly filled the air.

August said eerily, "After your mother passed away, the hospital sent her belongings to me."

My head snapped up to look at him.

Getting the reaction he wanted, he curled his lips in a satisfied smile. "If you want them back, go buy that cake for Wanda now."

After stepping out of the room, I leaned against the wall for a long while.

Just like the ninety-nine times before, he always knew how to find my weakness and exploit it.

When my mother was alive, he used her surgery fees to threaten me. Now that she was gone, he was still using her belongings against me!

The hatred burned like a wildfire in my heart.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my breathing. However, I knew that soon, I would no longer be subjected to August's threats.

Luckily, I knew a store that was still open at this hour. The only problem was that I had rushed out too quickly and forgotten my key.

The late autumn night wind was piercingly cold. I pressed the doorbell repeatedly from the outside while holding the box.

Once, twice, three times ...

Still, no one answered.

Just as I was about to turn and leave, the intercom system emitted a sharp beep. Immediately after, the sound of two people's hurried, heavy breathing came through clearly.

"Ugh, August, wait a moment!" Wanda's voice was sugary sweet. "The doorbell's ringing. I should go let Doctor Yager in."

"Don't bother with her." August's voice was hoarse. "Who told her to forget her keys?"

"But she went out to buy cake for me," Wanda said with feigned sympathy. "It's so cold out there and she just had a baby. Her body must be weak … "

"She's weak, you said?" August sneered. "She puts on that act of not caring about anything all day long. Isn't she supposed to be so strong?"

"I've been too kind to her lately, leading her to believe that just because she had a child, she can give me attitude!"

The passion in his voice had vanished, replaced by a cold tone. "Just let her stand outside in the wind. It'll be a good way to sober her up."

"You're so mean!" Wanda's voice grew even sweeter. "You wouldn't treat me like this in the future, would you?"

August gave a low chuckle, his tone becoming intimate and husky. "You're different. You, my little fool, are truly delicate. Without me to take care of you, your life would be a mess. How could I ever bear to treat you that way?"

I listened quietly until the intercom system clicked off.

History repeated itself, but I no longer felt heartbroken. It was as if a wound that had been repeatedly torn open had finally become completely dead and numb.

The reason I knew a shop was open at this hour was precisely that it had happened before.

That time, to buy a cake for his mistress, I searched from the south to the north of the city at two in the dead of winter. When I got back, I couldn't get in, so I rang the doorbell for an hour in the cold wind. Finally, I spent the night curled up in the garage, developing pneumonia from a high fever.

Back then, his mistress was a college student facing final exams. Afraid I might infect her, he locked me in my room for an entire week and wouldn't even let me go to the hospital. From then on, I developed a chronic illness.

Actually, I knew he heard the doorbell ring that time, too. He was just busy with his affair, too lazy to open the door for me and didn't care if I caught a cold.

In the past, I always clung to the hope that one day he would see my grievances and my endurance. This time, I held no more expectations for him.

However, it was already 4 a.m. Only two more days until my freedom.

I placed the cake box by the door, then turned and walked away without the slightest hesitation.