“Have you really made up your mind to divorce Elio? Just because your contractual marriage was about to end?”

Facing the lawyer’s persuasion, I let out a muffled, bitter laugh.

“No. It was because he had never truly seen me. I no longer had the strength to keep waiting for Elio to fall in love with me.”

Two days ago, Alyssa and I had been kidnapped together.

When the thug’s knife came down, Elio’s hesitant gaze swept across my face. But in the end, he gritted his teeth and lifted Alyssa into his arms instead.

“Alyssa’s in poor health. Hang in there. The police will be here soon.”

As they stood up, Alyssa viciously kicked my three-month pregnant belly.

Clutching my aching abdomen, I watched Elio disappear without looking back, carrying someone else in his arms. I bit my lip until it bled, determined not to let the tears fall.

In the final moment, the police arrived and shot the thug dead.

Late that night, when I returned home from the hospital, the pink lace underwear lying at the foot of the bed shattered the last of my strength. The tears I had held back finally burst free.

I had thought that even a stone would soften after five years. I had believed that giving everything I had would be enough to make Elio finally turn back to me.

But he kept using betrayal to remind me that what we shared had never been more than a transaction.

In that case, I would give him exactly what he wanted.

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I slipped the medical abortion certificate into the drawer and dialed a familiar number.

“Bruce, does your promise still stand?”

Elio, in five days, we would both be free.

1

"Did I hear that right?" A mocking voice drifted through the line. "I told you long ago that he never loved you."

Yes, how could I not have known that Elio Ledger never loved me?

From the very beginning, it was because the woman he truly loved, his adoptive sister Alyssa Mavis, had gone abroad. Forced by his parents to marry, he found me, a substitute who merely resembled her by thirty or forty percent.

At that time, my father was critically injured in a car accident and falsely accused by someone powerful. I had no choice but to accept Elio’s offer.

"I’ll handle your father’s case and cover his medical care. In return, you must marry me and be Mrs. Ledger for five years."

After our marriage, I gradually fell for this young, handsome, refined man. I even foolishly imagined that our five-year contract could become a lifetime.

But just over two months before the contract was due to end, Alyssa returned to the country.

At first, I thought perhaps Elio only felt some lingering sibling affection for her.

After all, in recent years, he had held me so gently, brought back thoughtful gifts from every business trip, and never once forgot our wedding anniversary.

On that day each year, he would always set off an extravagant fireworks show, wrap me in his warm embrace, and whisper tenderly in my ear, “I’ll love you forever, baby.”

That fragile illusion shattered the day I overheard him speaking with a friend in the garden not long ago.

“Now that Alyssa is back, what will you do about Abigail Lavigne?”

Elio paused, his voice turning low and cold.

“It was all just an act with her. Every time I held her, I had to imagine Alyssa’s face just to get through it.”

“So you chose the day Alyssa left to get married, and every year on that same day, you light her favorite fireworks. Aren’t you afraid Abigail will learn the truth and leave you? Especially now that your contract is almost up?”

After a long silence, Elio’s gaze darkened.

“She won’t find out. My parents are pleased with her. She has no choice but to keep being my wife. And you’d better keep your mouths shut.”

His oppressive presence made his friend instantly fall quiet.

I stood frozen behind the pavilion, my entire body turning cold. My pale fingers clutched the pregnancy report against my chest.

After they left, I collapsed to the ground, retching uncontrollably.

It was at that moment I finally understood that my foolish dream had to end.

Snapping back to reality, the man on the phone spoke in a cold, domineering voice.

“My promise to you still stands. But if you dare to play me again this time, I won’t just take you away. I’ll make sure the Ledger family goes down with you.”

I nodded quietly. “Don’t worry. Come pick me up in five days.”

“Good. Be a good girl and wait for me.”

When the call ended, Elio stepped out of the bathroom, his phone still in hand.

Water droplets slid from his hair, traced down his sharply defined jaw and toned waist, and disappeared into the towel wrapped around his hips.

Seeing my gaze fall on his neck, he seemed to remember something. His fingers absently brushed the fresh scratch marks there.

“I’ve started keeping a little wild cat at the office. Who were you just talking to on the phone?”

He kept asking questions, yet his head stayed buried in his phone.

I told him I was checking with the doctor about my dad’s routine medical review. He only muttered an absent “oh,” never once lifting his gaze.

As always, his full attention was locked on his chat screen with Alyssa. He couldn’t have cared less about anything I said.

And for once, I didn’t argue or make a scene.

When Elio reached for his water glass and didn’t find the warm milk I prepared every night, he finally seemed to remember something. He looked up with the air of bestowing me a favor.

“You don’t need to worry. The thug’s accomplices were all handled by the police. I spoke to a hospital specialist, and he said your hand only has a surface wound. Just apply medicine, and it’ll heal soon.”

Today, I had been slashed across the hand by the thug.

And the child I had longed for had been kicked out of me by Alyssa.

Seeing my face turn cold, Elio frowned, about to say something, when his phone suddenly buzzed.

He smiled faintly. “It’s my secretary.”

He turned and stepped out onto the balcony.

I opened my alternate account and pulled up his Instagram.

There it was, a new post, hidden from me.

A self-penned apology.

[My darling was taken hostage, and I was late, which frightened her. From now on, I’ll always come running, never letting her worry again. To make it up to my beloved, I’ve decided to give her a baby as a gift.]

Staring at that so-called precious gift, I pressed a hand against my empty belly. My stomach churned, and a bitter laugh slipped out.

My child was never wanted by its father; perhaps it was better she had left this world early.

I tapped “like” and then opened the email from my lawyer, which included the electronic divorce agreement attached.

Half an hour later, Elio came back in from the balcony. I pulled up the signature page and handed him my phone.

“Elio, I want to buy a new car. Here’s the e-contract.”

Too busy flirting with his darling, he didn’t even glance at it before signing.

Then he brushed a kiss over my cheek. “Go to bed. I have some work to finish.”

The next morning, Elio uncharacteristically woke up early.

When I walked to the dining table, he stood there in the apron Alyssa had given him, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

“Baby, I made you breakfast.”

As I reached to open the steak box, he suddenly slapped my hand away.

“Don’t you love bread? I made your favorite nut bread just for you.”

I froze, and in that instant, I understood.

The steak wasn’t for me. It was for Alyssa.

And the so-called nut bread looked exactly like the ones from the bakery down the street.

My chest tightened. Even after everything, even after I’d stopped expecting anything from him, my nose still stung with bitterness.

“Elio, I’m allergic to nuts.”

Five whole years as his stand-in, and he’d never cared enough to learn a single thing about me.

His expression flickered, then darkened with impatience. He shoved his chair back and stood.

“Quit pretending. Don’t eat it, then.”

He picked up the thermal box and headed for the door.

I called after him and held out a small bag.

“Please return this to Alyssa.”

When he looked inside and saw the lace underwear, his pupils trembled.

###2

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he parted his lips to explain.

But I no longer looked at those feigned gentle brows and eyes. I simply turned and walked into the room.

“Last night, Alyssa’s house didn’t have water, so she came here to take a shower,” Elio followed me into the bathroom in long strides. Staring at my thin back, he added, as if to make up for everything, “Didn’t you say you wanted to go shopping? I’ll take you to pick out a few new outfits.”

But then my gaze fell on his toothbrush cup, and I froze. There was an extra toothbrush resting inside.

Elio had severe OCD. He once refused to speak to me for two whole days because I’d accidentally touched his towel.

Yet now that Alyssa had returned, she shared his toothbrush cup. They even had a matching couple of toothbrushes.

My hand began to tremble. The comb slipped from my grasp and clattered onto the floor.

Clutching my aching chest, I bent down to pick it up. When I straightened, Elio had already hurried out.

“There’s something urgent at the company. I’ll go shopping with you another time.”

As his figure quickly disappeared, I began gathering every gift he had ever given me and packed them all into a box.

Dragging the box into the hallway, I suddenly heard the maids downstairs whispering.

“So it’s true? Young Master really plans to divorce Abigail and be with his adopted sister, Alyssa?”

“Of course! Didn’t you see it last night? Miss Alyssa just dirtied her skirt from her period, and Young Master carried her into the bedroom like a princess, right in front of his parents!”

“All those gifts Young Master gave Abigail over the years were actually based on Miss Alyssa’s tastes. And only that fool Abigail cherished them like they were something precious.”

The box slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor, expensive gifts scattering and shattering in all directions.

The noise swallowed every whisper in the house.

I squatted down, silently picking up those things that had never truly belonged to me, and threw them all into the storage room without a word.

By 8 p.m., I was sitting on the steps outside the house, wiping dust off a photo of my late mother.

Suddenly, a delicate piece of Black Forest cake landed in my lap.

Elio’s arms reached around from behind, encircling my waist.

“It’s so cold out here. Why aren’t you inside?”

I stared blankly at the cake in my lap. His warm breath drifted against my ear.

“You girls like desserts, don’t you?”

I had always loved sweets. When we first married, I once told Elio I wanted dessert.

He had sneered in disgust. “Do you just want to eat carelessly, ruin your figure, and disgrace the family’s image? Don’t forget, you’re representing more than yourself now.”

For five years of marriage, just to please him, I gave up every dessert and all the food I loved most.

Now, he was the one handing me the cake.

Seeing I didn’t move, he frowned. “Didn’t you keep pestering me about wanting dessert before?”

I looked up with a blank expression. “It’s too late. I can’t digest it now.”

After a long pause, Elio scoffed coldly and turned away. “I’m going for a run.”

Over half an hour later, I saw a new Instagram post from Alyssa.

[Just because I said I wanted something sweet, a certain big idiot bought every famous dessert in the city. Are you trying to turn me from a spicy little hottie into a chubby pig? But since you’re taking me abroad to have fun, I’ll forgive you.]

In the photo, Elio was carefully placing a mountain of little cakes in front of her.

I silently turned off my phone and began packing my luggage.

It wasn’t until deep into the night that Elio finally came home.

The moment he stepped into the bedroom, a cloying unfamiliar perfume clung to the air, making me nauseous.

His gaze fell on the drawers I had emptied, and his brows drew together.

“I’m going abroad for business soon. If there’s anything you want, send it to me.”

I sank into the pillow, turning my back on him. “No need. There’s nothing I want.”

Only four days left. The only thing I wanted was to leave him.

Annoyed, he threw his suit onto the floor and growled at the back of my head. “Abigail, are you done sulking? Just because breakfast didn’t suit your taste, you’re giving me the cold shoulder over something so trivial?”

Before I could answer, he sneered again. “Who do you think you are? Don’t forget your place. Without me, do you think you’d be living like this?”

With that, he slammed the door and disappeared into the guest room.

In the past, every time he lost his temper, it was always me who tiptoed around afterward, humbly trying to please him and beg for his forgiveness.

But now, I was utterly exhausted.

That night, Elio lay in the guest room, staring at the sliver of light under the door. But no matter how long he waited, the light never revealed the shadow of me coming to make peace.

I used to rise early every morning to prepare his breakfast.

But now, I no longer intended to.

The next morning, I woke up very late.

Elio stormed into the bedroom, his face dark as he shook me awake.

Agitated, he shoved his phone in front of me and barked. “Have this carved for me, a replica, before the afternoon the day after tomorrow!”

###3

That commanding tone, as if I were nothing more than his employee or some lowly servant.

Before marrying Elio, I had been a well-known student in the field of sculpture. I had already won several international awards while still in college.

Every year, on his parents’ birthdays, I would carve a pair of statues for them.

For our wedding anniversaries, I always crafted the most unique gifts with my own hands.

But this time, the design Elio showed me was of Alyssa’s favorite anime character.

I fell silent.

After a long moment, it was as if Elio finally sensed how unreasonable his demand was.

He mumbled, “Forget it.”

But I had already climbed out of bed, my lips pressed into a tight line. “I’ll go to my studio to start preparing now.”

Five years ago, if it hadn’t been for him, my father’s legal case would never have been resolved so smoothly.

And without the money for treatment, maybe my father wouldn’t have survived at all.

Once I finished this sculpture, I would consider us even.

As I walked away alone, Elio stood there in a daze and murmured, “Abigail.”

I turned back calmly. “What else do you need?”

“Nothing… Just be careful with your hands… don’t get hurt.”

Before turning around again, I couldn’t help but smile faintly.

If he truly understood what being hurt meant, I wouldn’t have been wounded so deeply and for so long.

On the way to the studio, I began deleting our entire history from my phone.

That was when I realized I had sent him 6,541 messages over the past five years.

He had replied only thirty times.

On the third night, I received a call from Elio.

“What are you doing?”

I was at a sculpture exhibition. My voice was indifferent. “Why? I already delivered the piece. Didn’t you receive it?”

His voice sounded soft, almost gentle. “No, I got it. It’s beautiful, really well done.”

After a brief pause, he added, “Um… for our fifth wedding anniversary, is there something you want?”

Before I could answer, Alyssa’s delicate voice drifted through the line.

“Even though everyone says Sister Abigail and I look alike, you can make such beautiful sculptures, while I can’t do anything. No wonder brother Elio won’t let me lift a finger. Even when I drink, he insists on feeding me himself.”

Elio suddenly raised his voice, cutting her off. “That’s enough. I’m hanging up.”

The next moment, all I heard was the cold, mechanical dial tone.

Two minutes later, he sent me a location pin. [Bring a pack of sanitary pads for Alyssa.]

When I arrived at the hotel pool, Elio was holding Alyssa’s hand, patiently teaching her how to swim.

The instant my footsteps reached the edge of the water, his brows knitted tightly. “What are you doing here?”

Alyssa leaned against his chest, her eyes misting over in the rippling blue. “I’m sorry, brother Elio. I just ran out and lied to Sister so she’d bring them for me.”

Elio’s expression softened at once, and he gently pulled her from the pool.

He ran his fingers through Alyssa’s wet black hair and softly asked if she was feeling unwell.

I tossed the sanitary pads into his arms. “I’ll be going now.”

Seeing my calm and unbothered face, Elio actually looked a little agitated. “Abigail, don’t you have anything else to say to me?”

I looked at him in confusion. “What do you want me to say?”

Watching how gentle he was with her made me jealous.

No. I wanted to congratulate him. He had finally gotten what he wanted.

Elio’s face grew even darker. Suddenly, he let go of Alyssa and reached his hand toward me.

I stepped aside to avoid his touch. As he stared at me in stunned silence, I turned and walked away from the pool with long strides.

Just as I stepped into the hallway, I heard a voice calling after me from behind.