I had feared he might realize I planned to go away, bringing trouble.

I made myself remain composed and faced him. “I suddenly got an idea, I want to grow sunflowers here, so I just burned it to turn it into fertilizer.”

After hearing that, he regained control and stayed calm, appearing unconcerned.

“As long as you enjoy it.”

I did not glance at him anymore, and as I moved to walk away, two warm and strong hands circled my waist.

“About what happened today, are you still upset?”

Why would I feel upset? Was someone who kept betraying really worth my anger?

I turned back, saw his beautiful peach blossom eyes, bringing up a memory.

“Evie, even if I lose everything, are you still willing to marry me?”

I smiled and pressed a kiss on the tear mark under his eye and said, “Even if you end up as a poor man with nothing, I still want to stay with you!”

His eyes looked certain, his expression honest as he made that promise to me.

“In this life and the next life, I won't hurt you. If I break it, I will surely die without a complete body!”

That promise felt too serious, falling on us who were still so young, we couldn't carry it.

He pulled out a gemstone necklace from his top pocket and softly set it into my hand.

“I don't think about anything else, I just want to live well with you.”

After saying that, he tried to touch my lips with his, but I moved away at once.

He said, “After divorce, don't talk about it again, Vera is still little, hearing this isn't good.”

Looking at that heavy necklace, my whole body turned stiff.

Three hours earlier, Heidi's Facebook page posted something new.

“A present from brother, said I went through a lot these years.”

“This type of ugly necklace only older women like, so he switched it for me to the latest bracelet, oh!”

Under it, many people cried out, and she almost immediately answered one message.

“It’s him. We meet again after being apart for so long.”

Back then, this account was where she shared updates about her love with Ezra. This account I secretly followed for two years had no new posts, but it suddenly posted today.

In the picture, the hand that was purposely shown, the right hand, belonged to Ezra.

Because the mark on his wrist came from when he hurt himself before to avoid ending things with me, this time the wedding ring was gone, only leaving light marks.

I moved gently and gave the necklace back to him.

“Ezra, since I was young until now, I haven’t worn necklaces.”

At that moment, he froze, his face showing a bit of discomfort.

When we were fifteen, the first present he gave me was a necklace, and I told him then.

“Sorry, I don’t like wearing necklaces.”

At that time, he said, “I’ll always remember, I’ll remember everything you like!”

Before he could say more, a call came in.

“Mr. Howard, Miss Trevino keeps yelling that she wants to die. Please come fast and check!”

Soon, I heard Heidi’s voice; she cried and screamed.

“I do not want to see him! I do not want to be a mistress. Why do they all push me to death!”

At that time, Ezra looked at me with doubt, wanting to speak to Heidi but stopping.

But soon he still chose.

“I go now, very soon!”

After the call finished, he quickly walked past me.

This sudden call made me feel a bit worried.

As expected, a message appeared on my phone.

[Old town fire, Heidi tried to burn the other woman alive, could it be done by the wife?]

[Past love not gone, making the wife unhappy, even starting a fire to kill?!]

Those two short lines had all pointed at me, even purposely showing the photos from that day in the old town, of me striking Heidi.

In a moment, online users exploded, all deciding that I had planned it.

Soon after, Ezra returned with great anger.

He acted out of control, grabbing my throat, shouting loudly.

“You can't stand her, so you have to push her to death to feel satisfied?”

I was held tight by him and couldn't breathe; my face turned red.

Seeing me struggle hard, he then woke up and let go of his hand.

I coughed a few times. “It isn't me. If it were me, back then I would've killed her!”

Ezra frowned, very unhappy with what I said.

“Stop. Did we not agree we do not talk about what happened before!”

Seeing him avoid the past, I instead felt it was both silly and sad.

She falsely accused me of cheating to get awards, led me to be hurt by extreme people online, caused my right ear to have lasting hearing loss, and made me forever unable to play the cello.

For a cello player to lose part of the sound, those painful days could not be spoken of.

Even his making up for my schizophrenia and helping her clear her suspicion could not be spoken of.

During that time, I tried so hard to get treatment, hoping to go back to the orchestra, but it all ended with one line, not to mention.

“Ezra, you still love her, right?”

My voice sounded very calm, but held many mixed feelings.

His body froze, as if he had not expected me to say that.

Then, he suddenly took my hand and softly said, “Evie, what’s done is done. Why keep holding onto it? Can’t we just live well together?”

I gently smiled and pulled my hand away.

“If you truly wanted to live well, you would not still have feelings for her, and you would not lose control again over her safety.”

“Ezra, you may fool others, but you cannot fool me.”

From the age of eight to twenty-eight, I had seen how he lost control because of love.

Once for me, and many times for Heidi.

When I was twenty, studying in England, I had acute gastroenteritis. I cried and called him.

“If you were here with me, it would be better.”

After a twelve-hour flight, he came to my side. When I had a high fever and fainted, his eyes turned red.

“I’m here, don’t fall asleep. I’ll stay with you.”

Later, he would worry over Heidi’s stomach pain during her period, stay by her bedside all night when she had a fever, and believe her tears when she said I made things hard for her…

In the end, he never lost control of me again, never panicked for me again.

“Let’s divorce. Like you once said, I’ll grant your wish.”

My words felt heavy, yet to him they were as light as air.

He smiled faintly with mockery. “Evie, you won’t divorce, for this family, for our daughter.”

“Between us, we have already gone beyond lovers; countless ties bind us tightly. You won’t be willing to divorce, because you love me deeply.”

I looked at his confident expression and felt it was absurd.

“What if this time, I truly mean it?”

Before I could hear his reply, a phone rang.

It was Heidi’s; if he no longer loved her, why, after so long, was his ringtone still her instrument recording?

Such poor skill, who else could it be but her?

I still remember when we argued about this. He had said, “Heidi’s playing isn’t that good, using it as a ringtone is just to acknowledge her, and even that you want to argue about?”

After the call finished, he nervously moved toward the door. I suddenly caught his sleeve without saying anything.

“Ezra, one last time, if you go see her today, we are totally over.”

He quickly pulled away from me and spoke in a strict voice.

“Stop it. Don’t cause problems; she is not feeling well right now. I’m going to check on her.”

“Why can’t you stop being jealous all the time? If you didn’t get someone to start that fire today, she wouldn’t be in the hospital!”

At last, the door slammed shut, and all I could hear around me was the wind.

After Ezra was unfaithful, I decided to forgive him. But over the past years, I spent every day and night hurting because of what he did. He kept thinking I was acting unfairly, always bringing up past issues, so starting now, let us fully separate.

Suddenly, my phone started to ring.

It was Attorney Harper calling, her voice a bit serious.

“Ms. Russo, Ezra has just taken the money from the trust fund account you created for your daughter.”

“Every amount has been moved into Heidi’s account.”

For her sake, Ezra even took this money illegally, which is really shameful.

After the call ended, I quickly called another number right away.

“Hello, I want to make a police report. Someone has committed fraud.”

Within only half a day, I saw the money go back into the fund account, and at the same time, my phone kept ringing nonstop.

Ezra called me again and again, more than ten times, like he had lost control.

I did not even check; I simply switched on airplane mode and stayed with my daughter while she drew.

Soon after, he rushed back quickly, staring at me and speaking.

“What are you doing, acting like this? Why did you contact the police?”

I quietly shut the drawing book and looked straight at him.

“I got back the money that belongs to my daughter. Is there any issue?”

“Or do you think I should report you as well?”

Seeing how calm I was, he could not hold back his anger; he suddenly seized my wrist.

“Come with me to the police station now and say you were wrong!”

With a loud slap, the room became quiet again.

I could barely recall how many times I had struck him because of Heidi, yet he still would not change.

“Ezra, that money was what you said you would never use, and now you spend it to please the mistress, is that it?”

Three years earlier, on Vera’s one-month celebration, Ezra and I set up a trust fund for her together, to keep her safe for her whole life.

He was the one who promised that no one would ever use this money.

“Yes, so what, Evie? I already stopped loving you long ago!”

“If not for this child, I would have married Heidi a long time ago!”

“You supported me before, I truly feel thankful, but now I’m telling you we have already settled everything!”

Ezra spoke many lines without stopping, every word hurting deeply.

I stared at his face, suddenly feeling a bit lost.

What was he saying…

When I was pregnant, he gently placed his ear on my stomach and happily said, “Baby, your dad and mom are both waiting for you; you need to arrive safe and healthy.”

After the baby came into the world, he changed diapers himself, picked up baby things, and softly said, “Evie, thank you, our little family is now whole.”

And he said, if not because of this child, we would have separated long ago.

My hands shook, and I cried out in a rough voice.

“Ezra, can you return what you owe me? Without me, you would be where you are today!”

Together with Vera’s weak crying, this argument suddenly ended.

Ezra glanced at me with impatience and spoke coldly, “Evie, believe whatever you like, I will not allow her to go to jail.”

“And for you, as long as you keep acting like you don’t know anything, this home will not fall apart, you can still stay as Mrs. Howard.”

After he finished speaking, the loud sound of the door shutting echoed.

So being happy means acting like you don’t know, but I no longer want that.

Vera looked at me with teary eyes, and I forced out a smile.

“Vera, don’t worry, Mom will take you away.”

That night, Ezra did not return at all, and that account showed their love updated again.

That lovely hand-in-hand picture strongly hurt my heart.

“With you here, I do not fear anything, love you!”

I quietly pressed like on that post.

Then I called my father.

“Dad, after one week, I will bring Vera back to England.”

The man on the other side of the call laughed loudly.

“My child, I know he cheats again, a foolish man who cannot control his body.”

“This time, do you still, like before, leave him a chance?”

I looked at the wedding picture on the wall and gave a firm answer.

“No, I want him to lose everything, worse than death!”

Ezra, you think you do not owe me anymore, but I want you to pay me back what you owe me.