I remembered how we first got together.

One time, I fell into a river when our friend group had a gathering.

Shaun did not know how to swim, but he still fearlessly grabbed a lifebuoy and ran to the river.

He had jumped in and held me in his arms.

At that time, both of us fought hard to swim to the shore.

I believed that we left that dark river together.

From that moment on, I was sure he was the one for me, and we started dating and even got married.

Everyone said you should never date someone in your friend group, but I refused to believe it. I thought that he loved me.

When Violet showed up after, I woke up to reality.

She was Shaun’s first love, and all of his knowledge about love came from her.

I had been blinded by love, and I even learned how to swim just so that Shaun would not worry about me.

Once I mastered the art of diving, I sent a photo to Shaun.

He praised me at that time, but later, it became a weapon that would hurt me.

At present, I was dreaming, and I dreamed about feeling helpless while I was pushed into the sea again…

The doctor’s words slowly brought me back to wakefulness.

“She’s awake. You can stop injecting glucose in her.”

I opened my eyes. When the doctor saw that I was fully conscious, she said, “Miss Zimmer, your body can’t handle any more abuse. You have to stay calm.”

She then handed me a glass of water.

My head was blank. After some time, I finally realized my current situation.

“Thank you.”

Even a doctor in a city I was a stranger to showed me bits of kindness, but my husband…

Buzz… Buzz…

My phone’s vibrations brought my attention to it.

It was Shaun.

I answered the call.

“Why are you only answering your phone now?” he immediately yelled at me.

I said, “I’m at the hospital.”

He was stunned for a moment before he said hoarsely, “Did something happen to the baby?”

The moment he talked about the baby, my eyes stung.

The air stilled for one second, two seconds…

I sucked in a deep breath. “I’m injured—”

But before I could finish what I wanted to say, Shaun started criticizing me again. “It’s just a mild burn, and you went to the hospital? Seriously?

“We’re married, and I’m the one who provides for you. Can’t you be more frugal?

“You could have just applied some burn ointment on your calf.”

I shut my eyes, but I still could not stop the wave of grief in my heart.

Violet was sent to the hospital because she had a mild burn on her arm.

Meanwhile, I had blisters from the burn on my calf, but I was wasting Shaun’s money when I went to the hospital.

How had I never realized just how disgusting he was?

“Got it,” I said coldly.

But he remained displeased. “We’re about to go home. Think about a way to head home before us to cook for us. Then, wait for us to get back.”

“Why should I?” I would no longer let him push me around like he did before.

Shaun might not have been expecting his usually considerate wife to fight back against him after the trip, and he could not help but become angry. “Don’t forget. You have a baby.

“If you’re going to be stubborn and think about divorcing me, then how are you and the baby going to survive?!”

At that thought, Shaun’s frustration disappeared a little. He thought, ‘That’s right. Minerva is still pregnant with my baby. She won’t leave my side so readily.’

“Beep… Beep… Beep…”

The sound of the phone being cut off was so loud it was like hammers ramming against my eardrums.

Due to my exasperation, I even started trembling.

Yet I remembered what the doctor had just said. She told me not to get too emotional.

I closed my eyes, and tears fell.

From that moment on, I buried all the loneliness I had suffered over the years.

After I was discharged, I went back ahead of them.

While I was on my way back, I subconsciously scrolled through Instagram and saw a post Violet had made.

[The 20th year we spent together.]

Quite a number of observant people could tell that there was some romantic tension between Shaun and Violet.

A lot of people also congratulated them.

Some, along with the people who went on the trip with us, started cheering them on.

All of them had forgotten that Shaun was a married man.

I commented as well.

[Hope you’re together forever.]

Once I returned to the house I had lived in for years with Shaun, I started packing up.

In approximately two hours, I had already packed up everything I owned into one measly luggage bag.

I removed my ring and placed it on the table, along with a divorce agreement and a notice of my miscarriage.

I looked around. The pan I bought was in the kitchen, and the wardrobe around the window, which I had set up, was in the bedroom.

Shaun once said that he loved my cooking the most.

His group of friends thus ordered me around to cook for them because my cooking was good.

At that time, I enjoyed it and was happy because Shaun needed me.

But I finally saw the reality of the situation. He did not need me. I was simply easy to manipulate.

After shutting the door behind me, I turned on my phone.

[Dad, I’m getting a divorce.]

My parents had never favored my relationship.

In an instant, my father sent me a reply. [Come back, then. We’ve opened a private kitchen restaurant lately, and I need you there.]

What I had left in my bank account was not enough to sustain my living after my divorce, so I had to think of a way to earn money.

Once I blocked all of Shaun’s numbers, I went home.

At that moment, Shaun did not know that Minerva was no longer at home.

One of his friends said, “It’s been a long while since I’ve had Minerva’s cooking.”

He nodded. Indeed, after Minerva became the champion of Masterchef, she married him.

Since she had a pretty face, everyone said that she was Helen of the Kitchen.

Because of what his friends said, Shaun remembered how Minerva looked when she cooked in the kitchen.

He bowed his head and smiled. ‘Oh well. Minerva has been with me for years. I’ll tell her that I sent her car for repairs. After that, when I start trying to offer an explanation, Minerva will start thinking of how to give me a graceful way out of the situation, just like before.’

Once they got home, his friends went to the sofa and waited for Minerva to leave the kitchen.

But when Shaun stepped into his house, he sensed something was wrong because Minerva had not come out to see them, unlike before.

Someone finally realized that something was wrong. “Shaun, something’s off. Look what’s on the table.”

Shaun’s smile froze.

A bad feeling rose in his heart. Minerva had indeed thrown a really large tantrum this time, but she had been acting unusually…

He looked at the paper his friend picked up, and his anger made him frown.

That was a divorce agreement!

Violet said, “Why is Minerva so mad? I already went into the sea to make it to her! But if she’s still mad, then I’ll—”

“Quiet!”

Shaun pursed his lips, and he let out a really gloomy air.

Had Minerva lost her mind? Was she seriously throwing a jealous fit by threatening a divorce, all so that he would pay more attention to her?

Had she forgotten about her baby?

He had to teach her a lesson so that she could learn from her mistake.

That thought made his frown lessen slightly, but he immediately noticed something else was wrong.

The divorce agreement was not the only thing on the table. Even her wedding ring was on it, and there was another piece of paper…

Shaun was standing not too far from the table.

For some reason, no one in the house said anything.

The sound of his footsteps was the only thing audible as he walked to the other piece of paper.

He drew nearer.

Just when he saw the words printed on that paper, the divorce agreement he had taken from his friend flew slowly to the floor.

It fell on the floor at the same time Shaun widened his eyes.

In an instant, shock filled his entire being as he saw the words clearly.

Proof of miscarriage.

Thump!

Shaun collapsed on the floor. The house fell so eerily silent that it sent chills down the people’s spines.

Violet came over. “Shaun…”

But Shaun did not praise Violet for being considerate like he usually did. Instead, he gave her a cold look.

“That paper says that Minerva suffered a miscarriage when she dropped into the sea,” he said so darkly that Violet moved backward subconsciously.

Panic welled in her heart, but she still composed herself and said, “I’ve already done everything I can to calm Minerva down. Why don’t you go with me to apologize to her?”

Shaun continued sitting listlessly on the floor. The comment he saw while he was on his way back kept repeating itself in his head.

[Hope you’re together forever.]

He thought it was just a minor temper tantrum and Minerva would come around after a few days. Once he repaired the car and brought it back, she would surely return to his arms like before.

It was only when he saw the miscarriage notice that he started trembling.

A long time passed before Shaun said hoarsely, “You guys, leave.”

Everyone shared looks.

Violet sent all of them back before she sat down beside Shaun. “Shaun.”

Her voice was sweet. In the past, when Shaun heard her speak so sweetly, he would not be able to find it in himself to yell at her.

But at that moment, he clenched the paper tightly and said dispiritedly, “You should leave too.”

Violet pursed her lips and gave Shaun a look that said she did not want to leave. But after sparring another look at the report, she left.

Shaun sat on the floor for a long time as he remembered things about the past.

If Minerva were still around, she would drag him to the floor and tell him not to catch a cold.

When he saw the wedding ring on the divorce agreement, he shut his eyes.

Back then, they had visited plenty of jewelers before Minerva eventually decided to study how to make her own rings in a jewelry shop. After three months of crafting, she produced their wedding rings.

Shaun clenched his fists. Had Minerva truly decided to give up on all those things?

He looked around the house before he thought, ‘It’s going to be okay. We’ve been together for years. She can’t just give up on it like that.’

That night, he recalled how Minerva looked in the kitchen.

When he lay in bed, he looked at the bedside table that had no warm milk on it.

All these things made him decide to go to Minerva’s parents’ house to look for Minerva the next day.