Margaret clutched her chest, fumbling for her medicine.

“You nearly scared me to death, Lily. You really don’t know when to keep quiet.”

I looked her dead in the eye.

“Didn’t Chloe say the same things? I thought that was the Brooks family tradition at dinner.”

Robert instantly stiffened.

“Chloe’s just a girl—she’s your sister-in-law! You’re the elder! What kind of example is that?”

“You really want to kill us with anger?”

Ethan finally calmed down.

“Lily Carter, apologize to my parents and to Chloe!”

I stared at him coldly.

“No. I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“When Chloe said it, none of you reacted. I thought you liked this kind of talk.”

Scanning their faces, I couldn’t stand another second. I turned to leave, but Ethan yanked me back.

“Lily, this is the Brooks family dinner! Try leaving and see what happens!”

“Chloe is my sister—how can you stoop to her level?”

Right. Chloe was his sister.

That’s why she could wear my wedding gown at my own ceremony, brushed off as childish mischief.

That’s why she could lie openly on our marital bed, excused as some ridiculous family tradition.

Because she was the sister, I always had to give in.

She could call me an old hag in jest—I had to endure.

She could mock me for my age—I had to swallow it.

Two years of marriage, and I’d lost count of how many times I’d tolerated her.

Not anymore.

I said coldly, “Ethan Brooks, we’re done.”

He froze, unable to react. Robert and Margaret panicked too.

Chloe quickly hurried over, grabbing my arm with feigned sweetness.

“Lily, I know you don’t mean it. You’ve only been married two years, still in the honeymoon stage. Why talk about divorce?”

“It’s my fault. I know I was wrong. I won’t say those things again, okay?”

“It’s just that after so many years, I can’t stop leaning on my brother. I lost my sense of boundaries.”

She tugged me with one hand and pulled Ethan closer with the other.

“Ethan, go comfort Lily! Don’t let her really divorce you. What if she’s pregnant for real one day? You’ll regret it!”

“What, do you really want me to be a child bride? I don’t even want to get married!”

She kept shooting looks at Ethan.

And the next moment, Ethan gave in.

“Fine, Lily, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken harshly or doubted you.”

“Don’t make a scene. Do it for me, okay?”

“My parents are watching.”

I stared at his anxious, perfunctory face—and laughed.

Even when apologizing, he needed Chloe to prompt him.

“See? That’s why I want a divorce.”

“Ethan, I’ve had enough.”

I shook him off and got into the car, not looking back.

He didn’t chase me. Instead, he posted photos on social media of the family dinner—without me.

The four of them, all smiles. After I left, Chloe slipped right into my seat beside Ethan.

When they clinked glasses, she deliberately brushed his hand. Their eyes met, the flirtatious tension stabbing at my heart.

The only comments came from Robert and Margaret:

“We’ll always be one family, never apart.”

At 1 a.m., Ethan came home.

I was lying in bed, awake but unwilling to open my eyes.

I’d given him countless chances.

Even I found it pathetic.

Maybe that’s just how women are—harsh words on the lips, but always giving the man another step down.

I even thought, if only in that moment he had left Chloe and come after me.

If he promised to keep his distance from his sister, maybe we could have gone on.

But it didn’t happen.

Ethan braced his hands on the edge of the bed, leaning closer to my ear.

“Lily? I know you’re awake. You didn’t eat much at dinner. Mom and Dad asked me to bring you some food. Get up and eat?”

When I didn’t answer, he sighed deeply.

“They really do see you as family. Otherwise, they wouldn’t go to the trouble.”

“They’re old. Whatever issues you have, can’t you just talk them through?”

Under the blanket, my fists clenched tight.

I forced myself to breathe evenly.

I was waiting.

Waiting for an apology.

But he still didn’t understand.

The conflict wasn’t between me and his parents.

It was between the two of us.

I waited a long, long time.

Waited until he lay down beside me, until the mattress sank under his weight.

Waited until his breathing steadied, until he fell asleep.

Still no apology.

Tears fell as I stared at his back.

Maybe it really was time to end it.

At dawn, he got up as usual, washed, dressed, and left for work.

Before leaving, he kissed my forehead.

“Good morning, sweetheart.”

His calm voice made it seem as though nothing had happened the night before.

I watched his departing figure, swallowing back the words I couldn’t say.

The truth was, I hadn’t lied.

I really was pregnant.

For the next two days, we lived in cold silence.

He went out, I stayed home.

He came home, I left the room.

He still ordered takeout from the same place, never remembering to note “no onions or ginger.”

If I didn’t say anything, he’d never even notice I was angry.

On the third night, he got a call and rushed out, forgetting to even shut down his laptop.

In the dark, the glowing screen drew me in. I sat down at the desk almost against my will.

His messenger was still open, synced with his phone.

Only one pinned contact.

Saved as “Little Princess.”

And me—his wife—buried under a flood of work group messages, impossible to find.

I clicked into the chat. Ten minutes earlier, Chloe had called him.

Then came a photo of her hospital report. She’d slipped and was having pregnancy complications.

“Ethan, will the baby be okay?”

“It’s my first time being pregnant. I don’t know what to do. Can you come be with me?”

“It’s my fault. If only I’d been more careful.”

Ethan’s replies were overflowing with patience and tenderness.

“It’s okay. I’m on my way. Don’t worry.”

“You’ve always been reckless. Now you’re going to be a mom, you still don’t know how to take care of yourself. Be careful, even when I’m not around.”

Chloe sent back a crying cat emoji.

“You’re scolding me. I’ll tell the baby you’re a bad dad!”

“Good thing I never got married. What if my husband was like you? That would be awful!”

“I can’t change my habits. Maybe you should just move in and watch me?”

Ethan’s response was full of indulgence.

“Alright, alright, Princess. Whatever you say. You’re the most important now.”

“When I proposed and you turned me down, was this why? You really don’t trust me? If it were you, I’d treasure you above anyone.”

“Chloe, you’re different to me. Always have been.”

A tear splashed onto the keyboard, blurring the words on the screen.

My phone buzzed—it was a message from Ethan.

“The company has an emergency. I need to go on a business trip for a few days. Take care of yourself until I get back.”

A stabbing pain shot through my chest, those words piercing me like poison-tipped arrows.

So that’s all I was—a placeholder to fill the role of a wife.

Even our marriage… was just something Chloe Miller had passed over.

I numbly walked out of the room and took down the wedding photo from the wall.

Staring at Ethan Brooks’s smiling face in the picture, I remembered what Chloe had said that day during the shoot.

“Ethan really chose this gown? I was only joking when I suggested it.”

“Don’t worry, Lily. My brother pays such attention to detail. I once said I wanted to take wedding photos by the beach—girls all love something romantic—and of course he remembered and made it happen. I’m so jealous of you.”

Sweet memories replayed before my eyes.

But the betrayal and deception—they had been there all along, waiting for me to notice.

I dialed David Harris’s number.

“Please prepare a divorce agreement for me. Husband’s infidelity—he’s at fault.”

At dawn, I took a cab to the hospital for an abortion.

This child, I had longed for two years.

And just when he finally came, it wasn’t the right time.

After paying the bill, I gently touched my barely noticeable belly.

“Baby, don’t blame Mommy.”

Nearby, I overheard nurses whispering in awe.

“Room 203—are we sure she’s only pregnant? Why is her husband so frantic?”

“He even asked if we had some kind of labor simulator, said he wanted to experience his wife’s pain firsthand, to feel what she felt!”

“In ten years of working here, I’ve never met a man like that. Maybe it’s true—there are happy marriages. It’s just that we haven’t had the luck. If I met someone like that, I’d never let go!”

As if guided by fate, I found myself standing outside Room 203.

Through the small window, I saw Ethan’s anxious profile.

Emily Johnson had just entered to change Chloe’s medication when Ethan rushed to grab her.

“What’s that medicine? Are you sure it’s safe for a pregnant woman?”

“Chloe’s pregnant—you can’t give her the wrong thing!”

Emily could only smile helplessly.

“Sir, is this your first time being a father? I’ve seen worried husbands, but never one this panicked.”

“Relax. This is the maternity ward. I know what I’m doing.”

Chloe winked playfully.

“Ethan, did you hear what she said?”

“Sweetheart~~”

Ethan blushed like an inexperienced boy.

“I-I heard.”

“Don’t move around.”

It felt like someone dug out my dead heart just to shred it again.

I even forgot to breathe.

Just before entering the operating room, I made one last call to Ethan.

I wanted to ask him where he was.

Pathetically, I thought, if he just told me the truth—even just one sentence—I might still consider raising Chloe’s child as if it were my own.

But the ringtone went unanswered.

Inside Room 203, Ethan’s frown deepened.

“Why won’t the calls stop? Didn’t I say I was on a business trip?”

Chloe murmured softly,

“Is it Lily? Maybe you should answer, so she doesn’t worry.”

Ethan snapped, annoyed.

“No need. If I pick up, she’ll just go on and on. Asking what I ate, if I slept well—it’s exhausting.”

“Since the wedding she checks up on me every day. Anyone would think I married my mother, not my wife.”

“Even my mom isn’t that nagging.”

On the tenth call, Ethan simply shut his phone off.