When I got back from the hospital, Samuel was in the kitchen making soup for me.

Steam rose from the pot. He turned around and gave me a gentle smile. “Honey, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be with you that day. Do you want to post today’s soup on your social media?”

Ever since I got pregnant, he had been making soup for me every day and asked me to post it on my social media.

I used to think that, as the CEO of Xenos Corp, he cooked for me every day without ever getting tired because he truly loved me.

I foolishly thought he asked me to post those photos to prevent the young women at his company from fantasizing about their handsome CEO and to save him from any pointless trouble.

I also thought he was trying to tell my parents in heaven that I had found someone who truly loved and cared for me, so they would not have to worry.

But on that day, I finally understood it was not because he loved me so much. As the CEO of Xenos Corp, he needed a peaceful family life to maintain the company’s stable stock value.

I forced a smile so he would not notice anything and carefully took photos.

He watched me edit them and waited until I posted them on my social media. Then, he smiled and kissed me. “Honey, work has been so busy lately. Once things calm down, I’ll spend more time with you and the baby, okay?”

He put his hand on my belly. He did not realize there was no longer any life inside.

“Okay.”

I showed a fake smile.

“Honey, can I tell you something? Promise you won’t be mad?”

He crouched down and held my hand. His eyes were full of what looked like endless affection.

But I only felt chills all over. I still could not understand how someone could fake love so perfectly.

“Honey, do you remember Stella? She’s already paid for what she did.

“She’s out of prison now, and she’s the head of Xenos Corp’s biggest partner. She has control over my finances. I can’t keep her from coming to the company’s annual party. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m doing this for the company and our future.”

I teared up. How could Samuel do this?

So this so-called punishment was just three meaningless years in prison for Stella in exchange for my mother’s life?

Because of my “forgiveness,” Stella, who should have been sentenced to life, only spent three years in prison. Other than not being able to go out, she had the best food, clothes, and everything she needed. She never suffered at all.

He actually wanted to use the company’s annual party as an excuse to throw her a grand welcome-back celebration.

My chest hurt so much it felt numb, and I could barely breathe.

“Honey, you need to let go of the past. I don’t want you to keep holding onto it and making yourself suffer.”

He looked at me with eyes full of tenderness.

I did not say anything, so he kept trying to comfort me.

He was waiting for my answer, but I knew I did not have a choice.

He always gaslit me into giving in.

In the past, my love and gratitude for him kept me from thinking the worst of him. But remembering everything that happened made me see the truth clearly.

“Fine. I want to give you a special gift at the party too. To celebrate Stella getting out and to… make peace.”

My eyes turned fierce as I smiled.

Samuel was right. I should not keep holding onto the past and making myself suffer.

I should make the ones who caused it to suffer instead.

When he heard me agree, Samuel was elated. He held me and whispered sweet words.

He stayed with me the entire day, but his phone kept ringing without stopping.

By noon the next day, he finally answered a call from Stella. He said he had to deal with something at the company and left.

But the desire in his eyes that she had stirred up was impossible to hide.

I pushed down the pain in my heart. After making sure he had left, I took out the dashcam that I had kept hidden in a corner and contacted a top restoration team.

Then, I went to the prison where Stella had served her sentence.

By the time I got home, I had already received her prison record on my phone.

She had barely spent any time in prison over those three years.

All those business trips Samuel told me about were just excuses. He had been working to get Stella’s sentence reduced illegally.

For three whole years, in all the moments I could not see, during every night I lay awake waiting for him, the man sleeping beside me was doing everything he could to free the woman who killed my mother.

He was just like my ex-fiance, Victor.

They both loved Stella and treated her like she was the most precious thing in their lives.

Victor smashed the dashcam in front of everyone at the accident scene and left with Stella when I arrived.

Samuel sacrificed his marriage to me and trapped me just so he could make me sign the pardon letter to reduce her sentence.

It was not wrong to love someone, but they should not do it at the cost of me and my family.

I gripped the ring Samuel gave me so hard that it nearly cut into my palm.

He had designed it himself, along with all the other gifts in this villa that once seemed to prove his love. They had been nothing but lies.

Together, they formed a suffocating web that left me struggling to breathe.

Back then, seeing these things warmed my heart. That warmth had turned into disgust.

After Samuel left, I contacted an auction house right away and sold off all his gifts.

The diamond on the ring he designed sparkled so brightly it burned my eyes.

I took a deep breath and threw it out the window with all the strength I had.

With that throw, I left behind the version of myself that had been trapped in all his lies.

…

For the next few days, Samuel did not come home.

Stella sent me videos of them together by the river.

It was the same river where Samuel once swore he would love me for the rest of his life.

He laid on her stomach and said he hoped she would give him a child.

He looked exactly the same as when he found out I was pregnant.

On the third day, they were on a swing. On the fourth day, they went to my university.

I closed my eyes as tears fell down my cheeks.

I was not as frigid or as numb as I thought. The more pain I felt, the more it showed just how much I had loved him during these three years of marriage.

Humans were not machines. Three years of memories could not disappear overnight.

But I knew I could never forgive them for their lies or for what they did to my mother.

My phone buzzed again.

Stella sent me a photo of Samuel’s back.

[Samuel has been working so hard these days to prepare for my welcome-back party. He said I should reward him well tonight.]

[Oh right, I heard you’re planning to apologize and make peace with me.]

[How about giving me your divorce papers with Samuel as an apology?]

I heard the door lock turn.

I quickly turned off my phone in a panic.

Samuel walked in holding a bouquet.

“Honey, I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you these past few days. After the party is over, I’ll go with you for your prenatal checkup, okay?”

I stared at the flowers in his hand. In the photo Stella sent me, that exact bouquet had been on their bedside table while they were together.

“No need.”

I looked away and gently pressed my empty belly.

Samuel’s heart skipped a beat.

But when he saw me smiling at him like always, he forced that uneasy feeling back down.

“Honey, I saw a necklace I really like, but it needs to be customized. Could you sign it for me?”

“Of course, it’s just a necklace. Even if you wanted the stars in the sky, I’d find a way to get them for you.” His voice was full of affection as he signed the documents without looking.

He kept signing until he reached the last page of the divorce agreement. When I saw his signature there, I realized my palms were soaked in cold sweat.

From that day forward, I was finally free of Samuel.

For the rest of my life, we would never see each other again.

When I put the papers away, Samuel reached out to hug me. But before his hands could touch my waist, his phone rang.

Stella’s sweet, spoiled voice came through the speaker.

Samuel quickly covered the phone’s speaker. I saw the desire flicker in his eyes.

“You should go if you’re busy.”

I tenderly handed him his clothes.

He looked at me, and for a moment, guilt flashed across his eyes. He lowered his head and gave me a gentle kiss.

“I’ll have the driver pick you up for tomorrow’s party.”

I did not answer him because I had no intention of going to that party.

When I walked him to the door, I gently helped him straighten his clothes.

“Samuel, have a safe trip. Drive carefully.

“Oh, and I hope you’ll like the special gift for tomorrow’s party.”

He was about to ask me what I meant when his phone rang again.

I caught a glimpse of Stella’s explicit photo on his screen.

I urged him to leave.

Once he disappeared from sight, the smile on my face faded.

Messages kept coming into my phone.

After I confirmed that all the evidence would play out at Stella’s welcome-back party just as I had planned, I packed up the remaining things, took the fifty million I earned from the auctions, and left for the airport without looking back.