I left Wildrose Estate and returned home.

Claude didn't come back until the middle of the night.

I felt him wrap his arms around me while I was half-asleep. The air was thick with an unfamiliar perfume, mingled with the scent of roses.

The smell made me nauseous, and I started feeling a dull ache in my stomach. I pressed my hands to my belly, and when Claude saw it, he moved closer, trying to rub it for me.

My tone was sharp as I slapped his hand away. "You smell awful."

His expression shifted. He lowered his head, sniffed himself, then chuckled.

"It's the roses. I've been thinking about our anniversary, so I went to the rose garden again today. I'll go take a shower."

I couldn't be bothered to expose his lie. After all, he'd said he was going to the office earlier.

When he got out of the shower, he lay down beside me. But just as I was drifting off, the sound of his phone woke me.

"Did I wake you? I've still got some work to finish. You should go back to sleep."

I turned my back to him and pretended to sleep.

After a moment, his voice came, testing the waters. "Angelina?"

I stayed silent, and he eagerly slipped out of the room.

"Are you trying to seduce me by sending me pictures like that? I'll make sure you can't get out of bed tomorrow."

After he left, I got a message from Mabel.

"Aren't you feeling old and washed-up? Claude had me all afternoon, and now he's coming back for more. We're going to try some new positions tonight.

"By the way, I got pregnant with Claude after just one night together. It's pathetic that you have to rely on cold, sterile machines and still can't conceive."

A chill spread through me. I took screenshots and saved them, then lay back down.

For the past eight years, I'd always thought I'd met Claude too late, that life was too short. But with just one week left, it suddenly felt unbearably long.

The next morning, as I stepped out of the bedroom, Claude happened to be coming in from outside. "I bought you your favorite cheesecake."

Like a child showing off, he pulled a neatly wrapped cake from behind his back.

In the past, whenever he messed up and made me mad, he'd bring me cheesecake to win me over. And in the past, I'd always softened and forgiven him, simply because I loved him.

But today, what was this sudden cheesecake for?

Because he'd spent the night with another woman and felt guilty?

I picked up a fork and ate it. I wouldn't deprive myself just to spite him.

When he saw my calm expression, he finally relaxed. "I'll be right beside you working. Take your time."

I scrolled through my phone and saw Mabel posting an update.

"He's so good to me. I casually mentioned wanting cheesecake, and my boyfriend immediately bought it for me."

The attached photo showed cheesecake from the same shop as the one in my hand.

Seconds later, a comment from Claude appeared below. "As long as you know."

Not long after, Alicia commented, too. "He has to be good to you. You're carrying his baby. Unlike someone else who can't have kids."

Claude could see this comment.

I looked up to catch his reaction, but he was smiling faintly, completely unbothered.

I let out a short laugh and blocked Alicia's number. I'd been wanting to do that for a long time.

Before breakfast was even over, Alicia called him.

Her sharp voice rang through the phone. "What's wrong with Angelina? She actually blocked me!"

Claude frowned. "Angelina, Mom wanted to bring you food that helps with fertility, but she found out that you blocked her. Is that the case?"

I asked, "Food? What is it this time? Wild rabbit uterus? Or their balls? Those aren't even things humans should be eating!"

Alicia loved sending me strange and disgusting folk remedies, none of which ever worked. Over the years, I'd forced myself to eat a lot of them, only to still be scolded by her for not being able to have children.

Claude said, "I know it's been hard on you, but you shouldn't have blocked my mom."

I didn't want to talk to him anymore, so I showed him the chat history between me and Alicia.

"A woman who can't have kids isn't a real woman. And when you finally did get pregnant, you couldn't even keep it. How pathetic."

When Claude and I had just gotten married, I had naturally gotten pregnant once.

But when I was seven months pregnant, the baby's heartbeat suddenly stopped. I had no choice but to have an induction.

She'd said those words of blame to me countless times since then. I'd never told Claude before because I didn't want to put him in a difficult spot.

But now, he frowned. "She's my mom. You should try to be more understanding of her."

"If I have to understand her, then who's been understanding me all these years? You know losing our first child was the most painful thing I've ever been through!"

He sighed. "Fetal demise always has a cause. Did you maybe eat something you shouldn't have? Or maybe it was your cosmetics…"

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

Seeing that, he suddenly seemed to realize what he'd said and quickly apologized.

When I was pregnant the first time, I'd been more careful than anyone. After the baby was gone, I even fell into depression for a while.

Back then, he had stayed by my side every moment.

But now I finally knew that he'd always believed it was my fault we lost the baby. He wanted to push all the blame for losing the child onto me, so he could justify his cheating.

For the next three days, he stayed home with me.

When he saw me packing, he grew anxious. "Where are you going? Why are you packing clothes?"

I said calmly, "I don't like them anymore. I'm just packing them up to switch to new ones."

He relaxed.

During those three days, Mabel kept posting updates about the baby supplies, top-tier postpartum care, and specialized pregnancy meals Claude had arranged.

He liked every single post, while I quietly saved the evidence.

There were only two days left before I left.

To cheer me up, he invited my younger brother, Brandon Scott, to have dinner with us.

Brandon and I had relied on each other since we were kids. When our parents died in an accident, I was only 14.

I went to school while working multiple jobs to support him, taking on every dirty and exhausting task just for him.

He had always been the closest to me. If anyone ever bullied me, he'd be the first to step in.

On my wedding day, he'd walked me down the aisle, crying so hard he could barely breathe. He told me, "Angelina, if Claude ever makes you upset, just divorce him. I'll take care of you forever."

When I found out Claude was cheating, my first instinct was to tell Brandon. But I didn't want him to act recklessly, so I kept it from him.

I couldn't say no to my only brother. With just two days left before I was leaving, I didn't know when I'd see him again.

We ended up deciding to have a barbecue outside a rarely used but beautifully located villa.

Even after some time apart, Brandon and I were just as close as ever. He and Claude competed to grill meat for me and bring it to my mouth.

I finally smiled.

Claude let out a breath. "Angelina finally smiled."

Brandon snorted. "If you ever make her upset again, I'll take her away so you'll never find her."

Claude said helplessly, "I'd never want to upset her. We're out of wine. Come with me to the wine cellar to grab some more."

Brandon followed Claude to get the wine.

That was when Mabel sent me a location, showing that she was here, too.

My heart instantly tightened. I was worried Brandon might lose his temper and do something irreversible, so I got up and followed them.

But when I got there, the tense scene I'd imagined wasn't there.

The three of them were standing together, laughing and chatting.

Mabel had her arm around Claude's neck, and Brandon wasn't angry at all. Instead, he gave a teasing smile.

"Claude, you two go ahead. I'll go get the wine."

It felt like the blood in my body turned to ice.

The two people I loved most had teamed up to stab me in the back.

Thinking of Brandon's warning to Claude just moments ago, I couldn't help but find it ironic. This time, he wouldn't have to take me away. After tomorrow, neither of them would ever be able to find me again.

I didn't even know how I got back to the yard.

Brandon happened to be bringing out some wine.

I forced a smile. "Where's Claude?"

He blinked. "He accidentally broke a bottle of wine just now. He's cleaning it up. He should be back soon."

My eyes burned and welled up, and my nails dug into my palm.

Just how many times had he lied to me before that he could do it with such a natural expression now?

I couldn't stay another second. "I'm tired. I'm going home."

Before getting in the car, I took one last look at the brother I'd raised with my own hands.

The moment the door shut, my tears fell.

On the way home, I got a message from Claude.

"Why did you go home by yourself? Next time, wait for me to drive you. Otherwise, I'll worry."

At the same time, a message came from Mabel.

"Claude just left you to be with me. He says you're too conservative and that you never bother trying anything new."

I didn't reply to either of them.

What hurt me most was the cover story Brandon sent.

"Brandon and I agreed not to go home drunk tonight, so we'll just sleep here. Don't worry about us, Angelina."

When I saw that, emotions surged in my chest.

One was the man I'd loved with all my heart for eight years, and another one was the younger brother I'd raised since he was a child.

Right now, I felt like a complete joke.

I wiped away my tears. People who weren't worth it didn't deserve my tears. That included Claude and my own brother.

When I got home, I organized all the evidence I'd collected of Claude's cheating over the past few days before sleeping soundly.

On our wedding anniversary, Claude got up early to make me a loving breakfast.

"Happy anniversary, honey! We're going to stay at Wildrose Estate today, where you'll finally get to see the sea of flowers I've prepared for you by tonight."

I smiled without saying a word. I took out the divorce papers I'd prepared and pushed them toward him. "Sign them."

I'd already flipped to the last page.

Claude took them and signed without hesitation.

I froze for a second. "Are you not even going to check what it is?"

Claude didn't seem to care. "Isn't it just an adjustment to the IVF plan? We've always signed something like this whenever it failed before."

I held the flash drive in my hand, feeling nothing but irony.

I'd been afraid Claude wouldn't agree to a divorce, so I'd held back for a week, gathering all the proof of his affairs, planning to show it to him if he refused to sign.

I didn't expect him to sign without even looking.

In the past, even with IVF adjustments, he would carefully read them before signing.

He said he had work to do at the office and would be back tonight to celebrate with me.

After watching him leave, I packed my things and went to the hospital alone.

I brushed my hand over my stomach, my throat aching.

"I'm sorry, baby. I gave your father so many chances, and he never took a single one."

After the examination, the doctor confirmed again. "The fetus is developing normally. Are you sure you don't want it?"

"Yes."

The doctor sighed. "It took you so many rounds of IVF to get pregnant. If you terminate now, it'll be even harder to have a child later. If it weren't for taking the wrong medicine during your first pregnancy, leading to the miscarriage, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

I looked up at the doctor in shock. "Did the first miscarriage happen because I took the wrong medicine?"

She nodded. "Didn't Mr. Frey tell you?"

Claude knew?

My mind went blank. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears.

During my first pregnancy, I'd been so careful with whatever I ate.

But Alicia would bring me prenatal medicine every week. It was bitter and hard to swallow, and Claude had to coax me into taking it every time.

I'd always thought the miscarriage was just an accident.

The induced labor damaged my body, and I had no choice but to go through IVF.

All these years, Claude had watched me struggle with guilt and self-blame over and over.

He said losing the baby wasn't my fault. But he never once told me it was Alicia's medicine that killed our child.

After the anesthesia, I fell asleep. When I woke up again, several hours had passed.

Walking past the OB-GYN department, I froze.

Not far away, Claude was walking out of a clinic with Mabel. "Claude, I was so scared just now when my stomach hurt."

Claude kissed her forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you or the baby."

Mabel leaned against him, locking eyes with me from across the hall. She looked smug and raised her voice. "Will you come stay with me tonight?"

He stayed silent.

She pouted. "You can spend plenty more anniversaries with Angelina. But our baby is going to be born soon. I'm scared something might happen."

After a pause, he agreed.

Watching them walk away, my eyes went cold.

Everyone knew Claude was supposed to spend our anniversary with me tonight, but he chose to leave me alone to be with Mabel.

I took out my phone and sent him one last message. "The surprise I have for you is ready."

Then, I called a car to the airport. Before boarding, I turned off my phone and placed it inside the gift box that was supposed to be my anniversary surprise.

I had someone return it to Claude.

It was the red ribbon he had picked out for me himself. Now, I tied it to a farewell gift.

That night, fireworks for our anniversary lit up the sky above Wildrose Estate.

Beneath that starry sky, the place was alive with voices and clinking glasses.

But I dragged my suitcase through security and into the boarding gate without looking back.

When the plane took off, the seat prepared for me in the Wildrose Estate remained empty.