I didn't wait.

After sending a quick text to my lawyer about starting the divorce process, I went to bed early.

In the middle of the night, a notification from WhatsApp woke me up. It was 1 a.m., and as expected, the other side of the bed was still empty.

I checked my phone and saw several messages from Jenna.

[Brandon is just so hot!]

[I wanna eat him up while he's sleeping!]

Attached was a photo of Brandon asleep. His head rested on her pink cartoon pillow, his hair tousled, lips slightly parted in a way that once made my heart skip a beat.

When she saw the "typing…" indicator appear at the top of the chat, Jenna quickly deleted the messages and sent me an emoji of a cat begging for forgiveness.

[Oops! Meant to send those to my bestie, but accidentally sent them to you. I was just messing around--don't be mad! Brandon's already knocked out.]

She probably expected me to blow up her phone with angry calls, like I had before.

But this time, I just blocked her and went back to sleep.

Whether she was playing games or being serious didn't matter anymore.

The next morning, they showed up at work together.

Jenna, always trying to be delicate, tripped over her own feet, her face going pale with fear.

Without hesitation, Brandon scooped her up and carried her into the office.

Her cheeks flushed, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, glancing back at me with a smug grin.

One of my coworkers sidled up to me, whispering, "Can you believe that girl? Jenna doesn't even know how to work the copier, let alone anything else. How has she been Mr. Louis's secretary for half a year? You don't think he's, like, actually into her, do you?"

I was busy texting my lawyer and nodded absentmindedly. "Maybe."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard Brandon's voice. "Sylvia, come with me."

I turned around to find him standing right behind me, his eyes cold and unfeeling.

No one in the office knew we were married. Brandon was adamant about enforcing the company's no-office-romance policy, so to everyone else, I was just another senior employee.

At work, he always kept his distance. Once, when I had a 104-degree fever and could barely stand, I went to him, hoping he'd take me to the hospital. But he brushed me off, worried about what people might think, and told me to get HR to give me the day off.

Yet, if Jenna so much as whispered about a stomach ache, Brandon would cancel meetings and rush her to the doctor.

I followed him into his office, watching as he gently told Jenna to go rest in the back room.

Once we were alone, Brandon came over and grabbed my hand, his voice low. "Still mad?"

I pulled my hand away, keeping my tone distant. "I told you, I'm not mad."

He placed his hands on my shoulders, his eyes drilling into mine. "Don't lie to me. I didn't come home last night, and you didn't even call or text. And you expect me to believe you're not upset?"

I frowned, confused. "Jenna was with you, right? She's your secretary. She'd take care of you."

His expression darkened, and his grip on my shoulders tightened.

I winced from the pressure and tried to pull away. In the struggle, he shoved me onto the couch. As I pushed myself up, my hand brushed against something. I tugged at it and pulled a pink lace bra from between the cushions.

The anger drained from Brandon's face as soon as he saw it. "That's…"

I didn't care to hear his explanation. I tossed the bra back onto the couch, my voice calm. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going, Mr. Louis."

After work, I had a meeting with a client. Just as I stepped outside, Brandon's car pulled up in front of me. "Get in. We'll drop Jen off first, then head to that seafood buffet by the water."

Jenna poked her head out from the passenger seat, grinning. "Sorry, Sylvia, I'm hitching a ride again!"

I was busy trying to hail a cab, and without looking at her, I said, "You two go ahead. I'm allergic to seafood."

Brandon's face turned dark immediately. He knew I wasn't allergic to seafood. In fact, that buffet was one of my favorites.

He opened his mouth, ready to say something, but I didn't give him a chance. I walked around his car and got into a cab across the street.

What I didn't expect was for Brandon and Jenna to follow me to the restaurant.

My client hadn't arrived yet, but the two of them sat down across from me like it was perfectly normal.

I stared at them in disbelief before cutting straight to the point. "I'm meeting with Mr. Anderson from Gem Technologies."

Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Did Mr. Anderson say he didn't want to see me?"

I kept quiet and didn't argue. After all, Brandon was still my boss.

During the meal, Johnson Anderson instructed his assistant to open a bottle of expensive wine.

I frowned, remembering what the doctor said when I scheduled the abortion. "You've already had one miscarriage from the car accident, and your uterus was severely damaged. The fact that you're pregnant again is a miracle. If you lose this baby, you may never get another chance."

I pressed my lips together, about to politely decline the wine when Jenna chimed in with a sweet smile. "I've heard Sylvia can really hold her liquor. Can't wait to see it in action!"

She looked wide-eyed and innocent like she had no idea what she was doing.

My expression went cold as I asked her, "Who told you that?"

Jenna's smile froze, and she glanced nervously at Brandon. "Did I say something wrong again?"

Brandon patted her on the head and turned to me, his tone icy. "Sylvia, it's just a glass of wine. Don't make a big deal out of it."

A chill crept through me. Meeting his indifferent gaze, I forced a smile and spoke clearly. "Mr. Louis, I can't drink. Because I'm pregnant."

Everyone at the table froze.

Jenna was the first to recover. She quickly masked the look in her eyes, standing up to raise her glass to me. "Congratulations, Sylvia!"

As she brought the glass to her lips, Brandon immediately stopped her. "Jen, you're pregnant too. No drinking."

For once, Jenna didn't listen. "No, I have to! Ever since I joined the company, I've upset Sylvia so many times. This drink is my apology!"

She grew more emotional with each word, tilting her head back and downing the wine in one go. Her face flushed red instantly, and she started coughing violently, tears welling up in her eyes.

Brandon's face twisted in frustration as he shot up from his seat, pointing at me. "Is this what you wanted? Only someone as gullible as Jen would fall for your lies! If anything happens to our baby because of you, I'll never forgive you!"

I barely looked at him, my voice flat. "Do whatever you want."

I turned to Johnson, muttering a quick apology before heading out the door.

Brandon's voice followed me, full of anger. "Sylvia, I've had it with you! You've got a problem with everything Jen does. If you can't deal with her, maybe we should just get a divorce!"

That caught me off guard for a second, but I quickly shrugged it off.

We'd been married five years, and in all that time, he never once made our relationship public. Now, just to make me back down to Jenna, he was finally admitting it.

I stared at his face, handsome but distorted with fury, and nodded. "Alright. Let's get divorced."

Without another word, I walked out.

After leaving the hotel, I called my divorce lawyer. Mid-conversation, a sudden blinding light flashed in front of me. A car was speeding straight toward me, out of control. Panic shot through me, my legs went weak, and I stumbled backward.

Just when I thought it was over, the driver slammed the brakes, swerved, and sped off. I was left sitting on the ground, shaken.

A girl passing by rushed over to help me. Her hand barely touched my waist when she gasped. "Oh my God! You're bleeding so much!"

I looked down in a daze, finally noticing the large pool of blood spreading around me.

At the hospital, the doctor asked me to contact a family member. I clutched my phone, staring at Brandon's number for a long moment, before deciding to call my lawyer instead.

I couldn't forget the license plate on that car--it was the same as Brandon's. We'd chosen that number together.

I stayed in the hospital until noon the next day. While I was there, Brandon sent me one message: Jen's ceiling is leaking, so I'm taking her back to our place.

I knew right away it wasn't from him--it had Jenna's fingerprints all over it.

When I got home, the door code didn't work. As I was about to try again, the door opened from the inside. Jenna stood there in my apron, smiling brightly. "Sylvia, you're finally home! The old code was too hard for me to remember, so Brandon changed it to my birthday. Come in, I'll get you some water!"

She welcomed me like she owned the place.

The smell of food drifted in from the kitchen. She ran to the doorway and called out, "Brandon, Sylvia's back!"

Brandon stepped out, wearing the same couple's apron I'd bought for him. He used to say it was too childish and refused to wear it. Now that I saw him in it, I thought he looked ridiculous.

He glanced at me briefly and said softly to Jenna, "Go rest in the bedroom for a bit."

Jenna nodded, grabbed a bag of nuts and snacks, and disappeared into my bedroom.

It was just me and Brandon now. His expression hardened. "So, you finally decided to come home?"

I ignored the accusation in his tone and asked calmly, "Jenna… is eating nuts?"

I remembered when Jenna first got pregnant. I'd made her a special meal, and I'd sprinkled a few nuts on it. She'd had a severe allergic reaction, and Brandon had lost it on me.

Brandon frowned, clearly confused. "What are you talking about?"

It was obvious he didn't remember. I wasn't about to explain it. "Never mind."

He didn't push, just looked me over. "Anyway, go freshen up. It's Jen's birthday, and I've booked a private room at the karaoke bar. Just keep it light on the makeup, okay? Don't outshine the birthday girl."

I shot back without thinking, "I'm busy. You guys go ahead."

Brandon frowned, irritation flickering in his eyes. "Jen already told her friends we're throwing her a birthday party. If you don't show up, it'll be embarrassing for her. Look, I know you're feeling jealous because she's young and can have kids, but it's not Jen's fault you can't get pregnant. Why keep competing with her? Here's the deal: you celebrate her birthday tonight, and I'll grant you a wish later. You can pick anywhere you want to travel."

I hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."

That evening, I put on my best makeup and arrived at the KTV room right on time.

When Brandon spotted me, he was momentarily speechless. He walked over and took my hand, looking a little awestruck.

Jenna's expression shifted slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and introduced me to her friends, acting all graceful and charming.

Her long-distance boyfriend lounged in the corner, lazily blowing smoke rings as if he were the king of the room.

A waiter wheeled in the three-tier cake Brandon had ordered for her, and the atmosphere buzzed with excitement.

As she made her wishes, Jenna clasped her hands together, her smile radiant and serene, like a princess. "I have three wishes! First, Brandon can't call me a little troublemaker anymore!"

"Second, Brandon can't ignore Sylvia because of me!"

"Third, I wish I could pass my easy-pregnancy genes to Sylvia so she can have a baby for my brother soon!"

Just as she finished speaking, my bag slipped from my hand, and a piece of paper tumbled out.

Brandon picked it up, and when he saw the words "Post-Abortion Care Instructions" printed on it, his face went pale. "Sylvia, what's this?"