Aiden tried to undo the clasp, but it was too tight. His movements grew rougher, his patience thinning and he still couldn’t get it open no matter what he did.

His face slowly darkened.

Just as I was about to speak, he fully lost patience and pulled hard.

The watch strap came apart.

He tossed the broken watch onto the ground without care, his tone harsh.

“Here you go. What a useless thing and you even came all the way just to ask me for it.”

“How much money has the Turner Family given you all these years? Have I ever bothered to ask?”

He looked annoyed, even saying that much, threw out one more impatient line, then turned and walked away.

I bent down and picked up the watch. The once shiny surface was now covered in dirt and dust. But at least the thing I treasured was finally back in my hands. That was enough.

Aiden turned and went back into the hospital to stay with Aurelia.

I went home alone, getting ready to pack my things. I hadn’t been home long when my phone rang.

It was the kindergarten teacher calling. I watched the screen light up, then go dark, then light up again.

The phone rang again and again until it finally stopped. I let out a slow breath.

The teacher also had Aiden’s contact information. She should have reached him by then.

That was fine.

After I left, Aiden would have custody of Isaiah and he would naturally handle everything related to the child, including her school and her daily care.

Whether I stayed in that home or not no longer mattered.

Before I even packed a few things, there was a sound at the door.

Aiden had come back.

He was helping the mobility-impaired Aurelia, with Isaiah following behind, who was still not going to kindergarten.

“I’m sorry for troubling you again.” Aurelia sat on the sofa without any unease, a polite, soft smile on her face.

Aiden didn’t seem bothered at all, his tone full of bias. “You don’t need to say that to her. She was the one who messed up and caused your serious wounds. It’s normal for you to come here and get better.”

“Besides, Isaiah is really happy to have you here, right, Isaiah?”

Isaiah smiled shyly, walked to Aurelia’s side and held one of her hands with both of her small hands.

“Aunt Aurelia, I hope you can stay with me all the time.”

Aurelia looked at me for a brief moment, not answering right away.

Aiden’s face instantly grew dark, as if the anger he had stored up at the hospital that morning still hadn’t faded.

“Why are you looking at her? This is my home, the house is under my name, it has nothing to do with her.”

His tone became more and more annoyed.

“It’s so late, you didn’t even remember to send Isaiah to kindergarten, the place wasn’t cleaned and breakfast wasn’t made. You’re not even as good as a nanny.”

“What am I letting you stay here for? To spend real money on you?”

He said these things with no control.

But when he turned toward Aurelia, his tone softened, as if he were another person.

Isaiah couldn’t help but complain, “Mom, we’re having a paper-cutting activity today. You didn’t bring me to kindergarten, so I can’t cut paper with the other kids. It’s all your fault.”

“You can’t say that, she’s your mother.”

It was Aurelia who spoke up for me.

But I felt no thanks at all.

She quickly smiled at Isaiah and said, “Do you want to do paper-cutting? I can’t move on my own right now, so I’ll teach you. Whatever you want to cut, I can show you. I’ll cut better than the other kids.”

Aiden watched them talk, his face full of smiles.

Then he turned to me and said, “What are you still standing there for? Go make food. I haven’t eaten anything since morning, I’m starving.”

After saying that, he walked into the master bedroom to wash and change.

When he saw the suitcase I had just dragged out, he didn’t pause for even a moment. Seeing it as something that bothered him, he kicked it into the corner.

After breakfast, he pushed me to go to the dry cleaners to pick up his clothes.

I had barely returned and hadn’t even taken a sip of water when he sent me to Aurelia’s company to bring back some papers.

“My assistant had something come up and those documents are really important. I don’t really trust anyone else.”

Aurelia said this lightly, not showing the slightest sign of being sorry, as if it were completely normal for me to go for her.

I didn’t want to go.

But before I could speak, Aiden coldly pushed, “What are you standing there for? Go already!”

“Aurelia’s injury is your fault. You should be glad they didn’t call the police and drag you away. Now, asking you to help is only fair, isn’t it?”

I forced back the words “I don’t want to go.”

It took an hour and a half to drive from home to Aurelia’s company.

By the time I returned home, the sky was already fully dark.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard Aiden on speakerphone, picking up a call from the kindergarten teacher.

“Hello, Mr. Turner, the kindergarten will have a parent-child activity tomorrow. We hope you and your child’s mother can come. This activity is mainly to help build parent-child closeness.”

“Okay, no problem, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow.”

Aiden answered with ease.

Isaiah suddenly brightened. “Daddy, can we go with Aunt Aurelia? Aunt Aurelia is great at paper cutting and she knows a lot of superheroes. My friends will for sure be jealous of me!”

I stood in the entryway, feeling strangely foolish for a moment.

My voice came out on its own, carrying a small tone of putting myself down.

“What about me?”

Isaiah lowered his head, choosing not to answer.

He still seemed upset about Aurelia’s burn yesterday.

The three of us, who had been so lively just minutes earlier, went quiet at the same time.

Aiden soon broke the quiet, his tone cold and plain.

“Haven’t you already gone to so many parent talks for Isaiah? Don’t go this time.”

He looked at me, his brow pulling together a little.

“The house hasn’t been cleaned the whole day; it’s a total mess. You’ll stay tomorrow and clean it well.”

With a few simple words, he pushed me aside again.

As if it were the most normal thing in the world.

After he said that, he stood, stretched and his voice suddenly softened.

“I’ll cook tonight. Aurelia, what do you want to eat? Isaiah, what do you want to eat?”

In his world, there had never been a place saved for me.

“I remember you used to make braised prawns,” Aurelia said gently. “I haven’t eaten them in a long time and I suddenly want some.”

“Dad, I want prawns too!”

“Okay.” Aiden smiled. “I’ll make them for you right away.”

Isaiah happily followed him into the kitchen to help Aiden.

I handed the papers I had brought back from the company to Aurelia.

“Thank you for going out for this.” She took the papers and gave me a small, polite smile.

Then, as if something came to mind, she asked directly, “I’ll go to Isaiah’s parent-child event for you tomorrow. You won’t be upset, will you?”

In the past, this kind of question would have made me think about it seriously for a long while.

If it were before, if someone had tried to step into my marriage, tried to take my husband and child, I would have used all my strength to hold onto them.

But now it was different.

These last two days, the thought of leaving had become more and more clear.

Aurelia’s small moves, in my eyes now, were nothing.

My heart had been hurt too many times; it had already grown numb.

It no longer hurt and it no longer loved.

I shook my head and lightly picked up her empty water cup.

“No.”

She looked surprised at my answer, a strange look showing in her eyes.

Right away, she lowered her voice, her tone openly bold.

“Since you’re so easygoing, why don’t you just hand Aiden back to me? I can look after Isaiah, too, as long as he behaves.”

This time, she finally dropped her act.

I suddenly felt like laughing.

I had never truly held him, so what was the meaning of talking about giving him back?

Aiden’s heart had never been with me from the start.

Before, I had fooled myself, hoping to touch him.

Now, I was awake.

I didn’t want him anymore.

When she noticed I ignored her words and simply carried on with what I was doing, Aurelia narrowed her eyes, clearly not willing to stop.

As if she were thinking about her next move.

After dinner, Isaiah said he wanted to hear Aurelia tell a story.

Aiden went with them.

The three of them walked into Isaiah’s kids’ room and shut the door.

I had no idea what they said or did inside.

And I didn’t care.

I went back to the master bedroom, washed up quickly and without waiting for Aiden, lay down to rest.

I had been tired out from running errands all day.

But when the night grew late, I turned over and noticed the other side of the bed was still empty.

I instinctively picked up my phone and looked at the time.

12:30 AM.

Aiden always took careful care of his health, keeping a fixed routine, going to sleep early and waking up early, all to stay in his best shape.

By reason, he should have been back in the room by then.

Feeling unsure, I pushed open the bedroom door.

Before I even walked into the living room, I heard Aiden’s voice coming from the kitchen.

“Don’t…” A short, dragged-out sound, mixed with a purposely held-back note of worry and panic.

“Don’t push me away.”

Then came Aurelia’s lightly rough voice.

At that moment, it felt like something sharp went straight into my heart; my chest tightened and I almost couldn’t breathe.

Aiden soon walked out. When he saw me standing in the doorway, his face clearly froze, his voice uneasy.

“Weren’t you asleep? What are you doing out here?”

Aurelia slowly stepped out, steadying herself with a hand on the wall, as if she had just caught her balance. Her voice was soft and calm.

“It’s so late; you might want some water. Aiden just heated some water; do you want some?”

This scene, this way of talking, it felt like he was the one who owned this house.

And I was the only one staying here.

I didn’t answer them and went back to my room.

When I entered the bathroom, I turned on the tap right away, letting the cold water pour over my head.

The harsh chill didn’t calm the storm in my chest.

I never thought they would act so openly, even with me nearby.

I didn’t know how long it took before I finally settled down inside.

Since I had already made up my mind about a divorce, why let myself stay stuck on these things?

I walked into the study, locked the door and lay on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.

I didn’t sleep at all that night.

At sunrise, I heard slow sounds outside.

Steps, voices and Isaiah’s bright, excited calls after waking up.

No one came to look for me.

No one said a single thing about what had happened the night before.

It felt like I wasn’t even part of their world.

After they left, I returned to the master bedroom and started packing my things.

In a strange way, after living in that house for seven years, the items that truly belonged to me didn’t even fill one suitcase once I packed them.

The room still looked messy.

The guest room had already been taken over by Aurelia’s things.

I only looked at them briefly before turning away.

No more looking back.

I took out the signed divorce agreement and set it on the dining table. Leaving the place I had called home, I rolled my suitcase out of the neighborhood, a quiet smile slowly forming on my face.

I was walking away from that suffocating space, leaving behind the people who had caused me so much hurt.

From that moment on, I was free.