Richard Lorde’s childhood friend had just become a widow.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, he brought his childhood friend and her daughter into a karaoke box and removed my ring right before everyone.

“Lily needs a proper status right now. It’s no longer right for you to wear that ring.

“Resign from your job tomorrow and take care of Lily and her daughter.”

Everyone in the room fell silent as they waited for me to blow my top off.

But I said nothing. I calmly brought out the divorce agreement I had already signed, put it on the table, and left.

My best friend stood up to advise me against it, but Richard just swung the wine glass and snorted. “Let her. She’ll come begging for my forgiveness before tomorrow.”

When I slammed the door shut, I heard laughter from the room.

What they did not know was that half an hour ago, I had received a message telling me that my visa application had been approved.

The person in charge of picking me up had been waiting at my house ten minutes ago.

This time, I was not turning back.

When I looked up, I saw an annoying red lipstick mark on Richard’s collar, and my throat tightened. I nodded. “Okay.”

“You’re agreeing to it?”

Richard never thought that I would agree to it so readily, and he stared at me fixedly.

“Yeah. I’m agreeing to it.”

We had been married for five years, and he knew just how much I treasured that ring. I would not remove it so easily, but he forced me to take it off for another woman.

What was the point of staying with someone like that?

My throat tightened, and I forced myself to smile. “Let’s get a divorce. I’ll give up my place for Lily.”

Richard was not the only one surprised by that. Even the others in the room were shocked, especially when I took out the divorce agreement. Richard looked taken aback.

But it only lasted for a moment before he sneered. “You’re playing hard to get? Anna, you've really gone downhill. And a divorce? Please—no one else would want you.”

Everyone in the room laughed.

“Anna has finally seen the light! At last, she knows that being a simp isn’t easy!”

“She’s throwing a tantrum? Anna grew a spine?”

“If you leave Richard, where will you go?”

They knew I was loyal to Richard and would never leave, even if he chased me away. They did not bother hiding their harsh words.

Words could truly break a person…

Over the years, those words had broken my spirit, and I was numb to them.

I just watched them quietly and said without emotion, “I’m leaving tonight. Once you pick a time, we can get our divorce certificate.”

I turned to leave.

But Richard was displeased and grabbed my hand. “Why do you have to be so unreasonable?!”

Lily came over and tugged at Richard’s sleeve. She looked really pitiful.

“Richard, don’t argue because of me. And Anna… don’t be mad at Richard. If you’re bothered by this, we can just leave.”

I pulled my hand away in annoyance. “Do whatever you want.”

Lily fell on the floor because Richard had stumbled and bumped into her when I pulled my hand away. She cradled her chest and gasped for breath like a fish out of water.

In the next second, Richard held her and shouted at me, “What are you doing, Anna?! If you’re angry, just say so! Why pull such tricks to hurt Lily?!”

I froze. Great sadness and anger seized my heart.

“I didn’t touch her. She’s the one who fell on the floor...”

Before I could finish, Lily said delicately, “It hurts…”

Richard’s face changed immediately, and he checked on her injuries.

Her pale face made him sympathize with her even more. “I’m going to make you regret it when I return, Anna!”

Richard could not even be bothered to argue with me further. After that, he glared at me, picked Lily up, and left.

I just watched them leave in a hurry.

It felt as if someone had dug my heart out. A cold wind blew against me and made me tremble.

Thank goodness that all of this was about to end soon.

…

After I returned home, I packed a few clothes and grabbed all of my identification documents.

Just as I was about to leave, someone opened the door.

The first to rush in was Lily’s daughter, Ruby.

She charged at me and kicked me. “You’re trash! You assaulted my mom! You’re evil!”

The kick hurt. Just as I was about to yell at her, Richard spoke up.

“Take Ruby back to her room, and bring Anna to the car.”

The bodyguards dragged me into the car.

Ten minutes later, I was dragged into Lorde Corporation’s private hospital and tied to the operating table.

Realizing that something was wrong, I felt anxiety flood my heart, and I turned to Richard. “What are you trying to do?!”

Richard’s voice was hoarse as he said, “Lily has just come to our house, and I don’t want to pressure her. We can’t have a baby right now.”

I looked sharply at Richard as my nails dug into my palms. My own voice was hoarse. It was as though there was sandpaper in my throat. “So, you’re going to kill your own baby for another woman?”

Richard did not even look up. “Yes.”

That one word pushed me into the pits of despair.

I knew that no matter how much I begged, he was not going to change his mind. He never did after he decided on something.

“You better not regret this!”

Before the anesthesia kicked in, I shut my eyes, and I heard a weak voice.

The doctor stammered, “Your wife isn’t really healthy. If you abort the baby, she’s going to have a hard time getting pregnant again. It’s better to—”

“No,” Richard said without hesitation.

He was quiet for a moment.

“Even if she can’t get pregnant anymore, I’m sure she’ll forgive me.”

I had a dream while I was unconscious.

I saw a man walking toward me. His face was blurry, and he had a gentle smile.

I wanted to hold his hand, but I could not get out of the binds, and I cried out, “William, save me…”

When I woke up, I saw Richard’s enraged face.

“Who were you calling to just now?”

I pursed my lips and stared at the ceiling. “You misheard.”

He remained suspicious, but he believed me.

Maybe because he was sure that I would not fall in love with anyone else, since I was a simp for him.

Then, he saw me caress my flat stomach, and guilt flashed in his eyes. With a pale face, he defended himself with an absolutely weak excuse.

“Lily married another man because of me, and her life was ruined. I owe her this. That’s why I have to do this.

“I know that you’re angry, but you’re still my wife. That will never change.

“Rest. You’ll have another baby in the future.”

My face was indifferent, and I said nothing.

He thought that I was still angry and wanted to touch my face.

After I avoided him, his hand froze in midair, and panic filled his eyes.

He wanted to say something, but I was fed up with the smell of Lily’s perfume on him. I said in disgust, “If you have nothing else, leave. I want to rest.”

He seemed to be hurt by my indifference and grew frustrated. “Anna, are you done with your tantrum?! I’m trying to be nice! What else do you want?!”

I shut my eyes and did not want to look at him anymore.

“Richard, where are you? Ruby is crying and wants to see you. Can’t you come back and keep us company?”

A delicate voice sounded from the phone, and Richard immediately became uncertain of what he should be doing.

In the end, he looked at me. “I’m going back to check on Ruby, then I’ll come back.”

After Richard left, I took my phone out of my handbag.

I had dozens of missed calls.

I called the person back, and he answered immediately.

“Anna, you finally turned your phone on. I was so worried! What happened? Are you regretting your decision?”

“No. Something unexpected happened, and I had surgery. I’ll come over after I rest for a few days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I seriously want to come and pick you up right now. Wait for me.”

I was just about to refuse when the call ended.

At night, Lily sent me texts to boast about her victory.

Aside from a voice recording of Richard promising that he would definitely take care of her and Ruby forever, she sent me pictures of her in Richard’s arms.

The pose was suggestive, and I could smell the intention from the pictures.

I could not be bothered looking through them all and turned off my phone.

I was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up, it was the next day.

I completed the discharge procedure on my own and went back home, only to find that someone had already occupied my room.

Ruby thrashed my room, and she was fiddling with something.

My breath caught in my throat.

She was holding the locket I had prepared for my aborted baby.

I rushed over and grabbed it. Ruby glared at me. In the next second, she started wailing.

When he heard the racket from my room, Richard rushed in.

Without a word, he threw an expensive necklace at me.

“Enough! Take this as compensation!

“That locket isn’t anything valuable, anyway. Since Ruby likes it, let her play with it for a few days.”

At that, pain filled my heart.

Richard had gotten an old artisan to craft the locket, and our photo was inside. We even got a priest to bless it.

At that time, he said that he would protect our baby, just like he claimed he loved me so much.

In truth, he had given his love away to someone else.

I laughed at myself and smashed the locket into pieces.

“Since the locket didn’t manage to protect my baby, that means this thing is cursed. It’s better to destroy it.

“You don’t want any bad luck on Ruby, do you?”

For some reason, Richard felt frustrated when he heard that, but he could not find any reason to yell at me, so he left with a slam of the door.

Soon, someone opened my door again.

This time, it was not Richard who walked in. It was Lily.

She watched me with a smug look on her face and a victorious grin on her lips.

“Anna, seeing you act like this brings me joy.”

I just glanced at her and could not be bothered to talk to her.

“I can’t help it. Richard loves me. He can set aside everything else for me. Not only did he kill his own baby, but he also abandoned you.”

As if she were sure that I had already seen her Instagram post, she spoke with the intention to provoke. “Richard has never treated you as affectionately as he does me, right? That makes sense. He always told me that you’re like a dead fish in bed. You’re really boring.

“I pity you for having married a man who didn’t love you for five years.”

Then, she pointed at her own neck as she grinned smugly.

She popped off her collar button and revealed more skin. It was covered in hickies.

Did she think I would break down, cry, and rage?