: Despair Comes from the Dearest Person

Realizing he could no longer hide the truth, Aiden Fordham took a deep breath.

He proceeded to tell me how Rosalie Sloane was like a child, how he couldn't trust her to do anything on her own, and that was why he had to keep her by his side.

He said that seeing her youthful vibrancy made him feel hopeful about life again, made him think that life was still beautiful.

...

'So, does that mean every day he spent with me was lived in utter despair?'

Every word he spoke was like a steel blade, stabbing me until I was raw.

"Sienna, if you'd experienced that kind of sunlight, you'd understand. Don't worry, she won't be an obstacle between us. I just need an outlet, a way to catch my breath..."

He said it all so matter-of-factly.

I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to leave.

Aiden Fordham's voice was laced with irritation. "Sien—I've already been perfectly clear with you. What are you still making a scene for..."

"SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!"

Three loud cracks.

That was me, having turned back around to give Aiden Fordham what he deserved.

'The bastard deserved it!'

While he was still standing there in a stunned daze, I slammed the door and stormed out.

'Does every heartbroken person get their own personal downpour?'

It soaked me to the bone, and standing on that unfamiliar street, I had no idea where to go.

But I couldn't stand to stay there a minute longer. My flight was canceled, so I booked a high-speed train. That had too long of a wait, so I bought a ticket for a regular train. Throughout the ten-hour journey, I sobbed too many times to count.

My heart ached with an agonizing, piercing pain.

'How could Aiden Fordham say those things? She's the one who killed our child!'

I had been six months pregnant. The baby was already formed.

It was Rosalie Sloane who hit me with her motorcycle. She claimed she wanted to be a professional rider, but instead of practicing in some sparsely populated suburb, she just had to tear through the crowded downtown area and crash right into me.

There was nothing innocent about what Rosalie Sloane did.

And I lost my chance to ever be a mother.

Aiden Fordham knew perfectly well how much I hated her.

I threw her out of my hospital room time and time again. Just looking at her reminded me that she was the one who killed our baby.

In a fury, I demanded that Rosalie Sloane get out of my life.

To his credit, Aiden Fordham did as I asked back then. I really didn't see Rosalie Sloane again.

But I never imagined he was secretly keeping her right by his side.

There were so many things he could have delegated to others, yet he insisted on taking her on every business trip, claiming he couldn't trust anyone else to handle the work.

'What a load of crap about not trusting others. It was obviously just an excuse to have his own little world with Rosalie Sloane right out in the open.'

Aiden Fordham could have chosen anyone else, and I would have walked away without a word. But no, he had to choose the very person who killed my child.

'What about our dead child?'

'And what about me?'

In a daze, I found myself at my best friend Sunny's house.

When she saw me at her door, looking completely wrecked and still in my damp clothes...

Sunny didn't say a word. She just pulled me inside, told me to get in a hot shower to warm up, and handed me a cup of hot water.

Only when I had finally calmed down did she ask, "What happened?"

After I told Sunny about Aiden Fordham cheating on me with Rosalie Sloane, she grabbed a wrench, ready to go hunt down that bastard and make him pay.

She knew how utterly devastated I had been when I found out I could never get pregnant again.

Through all of Aiden Fordham's busy days and sleepless nights, my heart ached for him, but I never dared to cry in his presence, not wanting to worry him or become a burden.

It was Sunny who stayed by my side, comforting me. It took a full year with her help for me to finally accept my reality.

'To think I was so worried about him, and this is the "surprise" he had in store for me.'

'It seems the old saying is true: pity a man, and you'll be cursed with a lifetime of bad luck.'

: Devastating News

I hid from Aiden Fordham at Sunny's for almost two weeks, until she brought me some news.

"Aiden Fordham is throwing a party. Looks like he's planning to apologize to you. I'd like to see just how he plans to do that!"

She dragged me to the party.

But just as we reached the door, we overheard one of Aiden Fordham's friends trying to talk some sense into him. "Man, why don't you go and make up with Saozi? She's been at her friend's place for days and you haven't even gone to see her. When she divorces you, you'll be crying your eyes out."

Aiden Fordham let out a long sigh. "A woman who's had a miscarriage just can't compare to an innocent young girl. You guys wouldn't get it."

"Besides, Rosalie Sloane and I are in the honeymoon phase. I can't give that up right now. It's better she's at Sunny's place, saves me the trouble of her starting another fight. It's not like I said I wanted a divorce. Women are such a handful."

'Honeymoon phase?'

'Cheating on me emotionally and physically, and he's so brazenly self-righteous about it.'

A chill shot through me, as if I'd been plunged into an icy abyss.

Sunny stormed in, grabbed Aiden Fordham by the hair, and a fight broke out. The scene instantly descended into chaos.

But Sunny was still a woman, and Aiden Fordham threw her to the ground.

I snapped out of it and rushed in.

Aiden Fordham pointed at me and roared, "What kind of friend is that? She's a lunatic!"

Sunny, her spirit unbroken, shot back, "You cheating piece of scum, I hope you die a miserable death!"

The insult hit a nerve, shattering his pride. A wave of fury washed over Aiden Fordham, and his eyes turned bloodshot. "Who are you calling scum? Don't think I won't hit a woman!"

Seeing he was about to get physical, I didn't give him the chance. I smashed a bottle over his head.

The bottle must not have been big enough; his head didn't split open. Instead, he just clutched his skull in pain, staring at me in disbelief.

The angry curse on his lips died the moment he saw the look on my face. He froze.

My expression was frighteningly calm.

"I can't spend one more minute with a person like you. I want a divorce!"

Aiden Fordham staggered back in shock. "You want to divorce me... over an outsider?"

In his mind, I was just lashing out on Sunny's behalf.

"Why do I want a divorce? Don't you dare pretend you don't know why!"

'What right did he have to say something like that?'

Aiden's bluster faded. "Sienna, can you stop being so prickly? Must you always say such hurtful things? A divorce? We have ten years of history..."

He mentioned our history.

That was the final straw. My suppressed emotions finally erupted. "Aren't you the one who destroyed that history?"

"You want to have your flings on the side and expect your wife to wait faithfully at home? Have you no shame? What, you can't see your own pathetic reflection when you take a piss, so you figured you'd just be completely shameless?"

I had always hidden my claws around Aiden Fordham. My merciless tirade left him completely stunned.

I helped Sunny to her feet and walked out without a backward glance.

As we were leaving, a man ran out after us.

Sunny looked ready to tear into him, but the man said, "Rosalie Sloane borrowed my phone earlier today. I didn't see anything suspicious, but..."

"This was supposed to be a Boys' Night. I was surprised to see you two here."

Sunny opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

'So it seemed the 'news' had been a deliberate leak from Rosalie Sloane.'

Sunny rubbed her bruised backside, looking at me cautiously. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was a setup by Rosalie Sloane."

A flicker of warmth touched my frozen heart. I shook my head. "This has nothing to do with Rosalie Sloane's schemes. It's Aiden Fordham who's changed."

We hadn't even had the chance to settle the score with Rosalie Sloane, but this time, she came looking for me.

And she even asked to meet at a place like the hospital.