“Now that the baby’s been born, isn’t Jason already exhausted from caring for the child? With you—the mother—right there, what’s so wrong with him taking a break? And you’re seriously asking for a divorce over something this trivial? Have you no shame?”

Julia, putting herself on a pedestal of righteousness, immediately painted me as the cold, heartless wife who failed to appreciate her husband.

Her verbal assault was quickly followed by a raised hand, aiming to slap me.

But I sidestepped easily before she could land a blow. I glared at her icily, my voice thick with sarcasm. “So, my husband massages my stretch marks every night? And you know this how? Don’t tell me—you two share everything?”

Julia’s composure faltered, panic flashing across her face. “Isn’t that just common knowledge? Go ahead, ask anyone here—who doesn’t know?”

Around us, the guests nodded awkwardly, aligning with her false sense of certainty.

My father-in-law’s tone turned heavy with criticism. “Nicole, you’re being too impulsive. Everyone saw how well Jason cared for you during your pregnancy. He’s only human, not a machine. He needs rest, too. After childbirth, this is when a marriage is truly tested. You shouldn’t abandon him now.”

My mother-in-law’s eyes narrowed as her lips curled into a scornful sneer. “I knew it—you never looked like someone with a good heart. And now you want to leave my son? There must be another man. Go on—who is he? Did he pressure you to divorce Jason?”

She hiked up her sleeves, ready for a fight, then turned to her son and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, son. I’ll find that homewrecker and teach him a lesson. I’ll bring your wife and child back no matter what.”

I chuckled coldly, lips curled into a mocking smile.

“The problem was never with me.”

“No matter what any of you say, I’ve made up my mind. I’m divorcing him—today.”

Jason’s eyes were swollen and red. He took a long breath, stepped forward, and gently held my hand.

“Wife, what’s wrong? Talk to me. You weren’t like this before. Did you forget our wedding vows? That we’d walk through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, life and death—together?”

Looking at the so-called affection written all over his face, my stomach turned.

“Enough. Spare me the performance.”

“Get away from me!”

I shoved him with disgust, and he stumbled back, hitting the ground hard. His elbow slammed onto the floor with a sickening thud, and he winced.

“Nicole,” he shouted, voice filled with frustration. “I’ve tolerated your behavior for far too long!”

Julia stepped forward, seething, eyes filled with jealousy and rage. She pointed at me and screamed, “If you dare divorce Jason today, I swear I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

“I’d rather see him widowed than divorced and shamed by everyone!”

Mad with fury, Julia lunged at me and tackled me to the floor, snarling that she’d kill me with her bare hands.

I smirked beneath her.

“What gives you the right to interfere in our marriage? Who asked for your opinion?”

“We’re childhood sweethearts!” she yelled bitterly. “I’m like his sister!”

I laughed scornfully. “Sister? The kind who shares his bed?”

“Bullshit!”

“You filthy woman. You think everyone else is as shameless as you.”

As she froze in shock, I took the chance to strike. My fist connected with her jaw—precise, powerful, and merciless.

Julia had some Taekwondo background, but it was mostly show. She didn’t know I’d trained too.

Jason cried out in panic from the sidelines.

“Nicole, stop!”

“Don’t hurt Julia—please!”

My grip tightened around Julia’s neck. Her limbs flailed, her face turning sickly purple as her breath caught in her throat.

In a frantic panic, Jason grabbed the closest object—a blue and white porcelain vase—and with a shout, smashed it against my head.

Screams erupted across the room.

Panic spread like wildfire.

"Ah! There’s so much blood!"

"Someone called an ambulance!"

Warm liquid streamed from the corner of my forehead, soaking into my lashes, clouding my vision with a hazy red. Around me, the noise turned chaotic, voices echoing as if underwater.

Then I heard Jason's voice—shaking, panicked.

“Honey, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to…”

“I just… I was afraid you’d lose control and actually kill someone…”

“I already called the emergency. Help is coming!”

The last expression I remember before losing consciousness must have been a bitter, ironic smile.

See? That’s my loving husband.

To protect his precious childhood sweetheart, he smashed a vase over my head with full force.

When I regained consciousness, I was in a hospital room, the pain in my skull screaming as if a hammer were pounding inside.

“Nicole, don’t move.”

“You needed more than a dozen stitches on your scalp…”

I shut my eyes and forced a faint, pained smile.

“Did you sign the divorce papers?”

“Once I’m discharged, let’s go to the Office of Civil Registry and get it done.”

Jason’s sobs cut off abruptly.

“Why are you still clinging to this divorce?”

He looked at me as if I had stabbed him, his tears falling onto the back of my hand.

“Nicole, I love you. The moment I saw you bleeding, I panicked and called for help right away. What’s wrong with you?”

I gave a humorless laugh.

“You love me? So your idea of love is smashing porcelain against my skull?”

If that’s love…

Then I’d rather you gave it to someone else.

Jason faltered, stunned. Then he quickly scrambled for defense.

“Nicole, I panicked! You looked like a completely different person—grabbing Julia by the neck and terrifying everyone in the room.”

“You know she and I grew up together—we’ve been neighbors since we were toddlers. She was just trying to help patch things up between us. How can you twist it like that?”

“Stop.”

I cut him off, my tone of ice cold. “Whatever excuses you’re trying to spin, I don’t care. My answer is simple: divorce.”

Even my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who had been shamelessly eavesdropping from just outside the door, looked at each other, stunned by my unwavering resolve.

They clearly hadn’t expected me to be this determined.

Suddenly, my father-in-law barged in.

“Nicole, you’ve never been this heartless before. Tell me the truth—did Jason do something unforgivable? If he did, just say the word, and I’ll teach him a proper lesson.”

It sounded like he was on my side—but only for a moment.

Before I could even open my mouth, he changed tone.

“Or… is there someone else?”

“My dear daughter-in-law, you just had a baby, you’ve started building your own little family. Don’t let some smooth-talking young man tempt you into ruining everything.”

“One moment of weakness, and your whole life could fall apart.”

My mother-in-law, who had been watching silently, stepped in too—her voice impatiently, her expression filled with disdain.

“Exactly. Young couples bicker, it’s normal. Quarrel at the head of the bed, make up at the foot of the bed.”

“You’re a wife and a mother now. Learn to be more tolerant.”

“Marriage isn’t a joke. You can’t just throw out the word ‘divorce’ every time things don’t go your way.”

Jason, for once, was unusually patient. He gently took my hand and whispered, his tone tender and coaxing.

“Wife, please talk to me. What’s really going on? If something’s wrong, let us face it together.”

“You’re so desperate to leave me… Are you suspecting something?”

His voice trembled. His expression, once confident, now betrayed a crack—a subtle flicker of fear and guilt.

Tears rolled down his cheeks once more.

“No matter what it is, even if you’ve done something, I’ll take the fall for you. Don’t worry about me.”

I stared at him in silence.

That flicker of panic in his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I stared at him blankly, my face devoid of emotion.

After all these years together.

Every time he cried, something in me softened—my anger, my resolve, everything.

Whatever he wanted, I gave in.

When he asked to convert a room into a private studio, I agreed without hesitation.

Even when he put up a sign on the door that read: “Nicole and dogs, keep out,” I didn’t say a word.

I didn’t care—until now.

But something had changed.

Something had snapped.

“There’s nothing left to talk about, Jason. I don’t love you anymore.”

His eyelashes trembled violently, as if I’d struck him with a knife.

“What… what did you just say?”

“Nicole, we have a child now. How can you say something like that so casually? Don’t you feel even a shred of guilt?”

He looked completely broken, chest rising and falling rapidly, unable to process my words.

Seeing how far things had escalated, his father let out an angry snort.

“Nicole, wasn’t it you who wanted this in the first place?”

“If you go through with the divorce, you’ll leave with nothing. You’ll be kicked out of the house and have no place to go!”

I closed my eyes and didn’t respond.

My silence only made them more furious.

Curses and insults followed like a flood.

They picked up Jason, who was nearly collapsing in tears, and prepared to leave.

“Get up! You’re rich, talented—you could marry any woman you want. What’s the use of crying over someone like her? Let’s go!”

But their anger couldn’t mask their confusion.

They couldn’t understand how what they believed to be a perfect marriage had fallen apart so quickly, so irreparably.

Shortly after, my best friend Cindy Lang came rushing to the hospital as soon as she heard I’d been injured.

“Nicole! You’ve never been this cruel before. What happened to you?”

She had also heard about the divorce—and everything else.

The night my husband shattered a porcelain vase over my head during a family dinner to protect his childhood sweetheart had become the talk of the town.

Locally, I’d become a punchline, a walking joke on social media.

She glanced at my stitched-up forehead and bruises, then exhaled deeply, trying to stay calm.

“Weren’t you and Jason known as one of the most loving couples around? How did it all unravel like this?”

I remained quiet for a long while.

Then finally, I asked her softly, “Have you ever seen a sculpture of a half-naked goddess?”

She blinked. “What? You mean like a European classical piece? Nude, artistic, that sort of thing?”

“Yes.”

Cindy frowned, unsure where I was going with this.

“There’s one just like that in Jason’s studio,” I said, voice flat.

She stared at me, then suddenly burst into laughter.

“What? That’s impossible! It’s got to be a replica or something—there’s no way it’s real…”

I nodded.

“You’re right. It’s a fake.”

Then I added quietly, “And it moves.”

Cindy froze, her laughter dying instantly.

She didn’t finish her sentence, but her widening eyes told me she’d already put the pieces together.

Her smile vanished.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

After I was discharged, Jason welcomed me home dressed in thin, stylish pajamas. He had clearly taken the time to spray himself with cologne. His appearance was casual, yet carefully curated.

“Nicole,” he said softly, stepping close to me, “I know I’ve been ignoring you recently. It’s just—after childbirth, the doctor said we had to abstain, so I spent time in the studio. I see now that I was wrong. Tell me what you need, and I’ll change. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it.”

His voice was low and seductive.

He moved behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

After so many years of marriage, I knew what this was.

He was trying to win me back.

This was his way of showing remorse.

And I used to love it.

But now, the very thought of that studio—the one he always kept me away from—filled me with disgust.

“Nicole…”

He whispered again, holding me tighter, pressing a kiss to the back of my neck.

“I’ll slowly make up for everything… for the times I failed you…”

Then suddenly—

“Ah! Nicole, what are you doing?!”

Before he could finish, I shoved him away.

He stumbled and hit the floor hard.

The look in his eyes—shock and disbelief—mirrored exactly how I felt when I first learned the truth.

Seeing my coldness… seeing how rough and indifferent I’d become… he finally began to understand.