To keep our marriage “fun,” every anniversary Ryan Hayes and I played a game of rock-paper-scissors. The loser had to grant the winner one wish.

It wasn’t until the tenth year that I finally beat him…

“Ryan, there’s a rare pair of lifetime-binding couple’s rings overseas. I want them.”

The moment he heard my request, his face darkened.

“Evelyn, those are just fakes. They can’t compare to our real love. Pick something else, okay?”

I let out a short laugh, lowered my head, slipped off the matching silver wedding band from my finger, and said I wanted a divorce.

He stared at me in disbelief, the warmth vanishing from his expression.

“Ten years… and you think our marriage is worth less than a couple of rings? All the conditions I ever asked for were to strengthen our relationship. Look at yours… completely unreasonable.”

“The first year, I asked you to wash my socks for a whole year.”

“The second year, I asked you to do the dishes.”

…

“The ninth year, I asked you to give me a child. Did you?”

I remained silent, but his anger kept rising.

“Say something! Every time you don’t get your way, you just play deaf and mute. I’ve put up with this for ten years—isn’t that enough?”

“Evelyn Lane, I really don’t get you. Always walking around with that deadpan face—who are you trying to scare? I even let you win this time, thinking you’d be happy, but instead you ruin my mood.”

“Tell me, what’s so great about that stupid ring? You barely even leave the house. If you wore it, people would just laugh and say it’s fake. What’s the point?”

In ten years of marriage, this was the first time Ryan ever raised his voice at me. In the past, whenever we disagreed, he was always the one to apologize first. He once said that only men who pamper their wives will prosper in life…

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was effort, but in just ten years, we had gone from ordinary working-class to wealthy and successful. Our house changed, our cars changed, our lifestyle changed… It seemed the only thing that hadn’t changed was our supposed “love.”

But the opened gift box on the table shattered that illusion.

“Ryan Hayes… we’ve been married for ten years. If you wanted to deceive me, did you really need to use a dress that your assistant already wore?”

“And those rings—was it that you didn’t want to buy them, or that you already gave them to someone else?”

Before I could finish, he subconsciously twisted the ring on his finger. Within seconds, he snatched up his phone and smashed it onto the floor, as if his last shred of cover had been ripped away.

With a loud crash, the phone lay shattered, lifeless on the ground.

“You’re insane! What nonsense are you spouting? The rings are just the silver bands we bought the year we married. And that dress—I paid a fortune to buy it for you! What does any of this have to do with Sophia?”

Yes… if I hadn’t seen Sophia Reed’s social media post last night, showing off that same rare pair of rings… I wouldn’t have realized my husband’s heart was big enough to hold two women.

I had no desire to argue further. Quietly, I walked to the drawer, pulled out the divorce papers, and handed them to him.

“Ten years of marriage. Signing this divorce is the last dignity we have left.”

Before I could blink, he sat down beside me, cut a piece of steak, and tried to feed it to me. I swatted his hand away.

The wineglass fell to the floor, shattering into countless shards—just like our already broken marriage.

He threw down his knife and fork and began yelling at me.

“Fine… I’ll buy it for you. But this is the only time! As for divorce, I’ll take it as you just venting. If you bring it up again, I won’t let it slide…”

“Don’t forget, you’re just a housewife now. Without me, what could you possibly do? You’d be useless. Take a look at my friends’ wives—see how sensible they are?”

He must have forgotten… If it weren’t for him kneeling before me five years ago, begging me to stay and support his startup, I would never have given up my promotion, never have lost myself.

After graduating from college with excellent grades, I had been accepted by a Federal Contracting Firm.

But him? He sent out countless résumés, went through endless interviews, and only managed to get hired by a small private company that paid less than half my salary.

A year later, he decided to start his own business. He knelt before me, begging me to give him all my savings.

I agreed. And he succeeded.

Now, hearing him belittle me with those cruel words, a sharp pain tore through my chest. So this was the end of love—not growing old together, but erasing the good memories.

“Ryan Hayes, I’m not being unreasonable… If you won’t agree to a peaceful divorce, fine. I’ll file for legal separation right away.”

The moment I finished, Ryan’s face darkened. But then, his spare phone buzzed in his pocket.

He glanced at me, answered the call, and walked toward the window.

I couldn’t hear the conversation, but I saw the warmth in his expression… and the faint shadow of someone standing outside.

Seeing that scene, my emotions broke free. Tears streamed down my face.

I snatched the phone from his hand and hurled it to the ground.

“Tell that woman to get out! Don’t come here to disgust me.”

The sound of a slap rang out in the living room.

Clutching my burning cheek, I stared at him in disbelief. He spoke coldly:

“Stop being ridiculous. Sophia had a fight with her family and got kicked out. She has nowhere else to go. The company’s about to go public—do you really expect me to let my assistant suffer on the street?”

With that, he went to open the door. Sophia stumbled in, tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry, Evelyn. I know I shouldn’t be here bothering Ryan, but I truly had nowhere to go. My parents used all my savings for my brother. Otherwise, I would never—”

But Sophia wasn’t just his assistant. She was also his White Moonlight—the one he could never forget.

They had been college sweethearts. If not for his family’s disapproval, Ryan would never have given her up to marry me.

I had always known about her existence. I thought if I ignored it, maybe I could warm his heart. But I forgot… How could a stand-in ever compete with the one that got away?

When I stayed silent, Ryan’s voice thundered again:

“Evelyn Lane, I paid for this house. Since when does Sophia need your permission to be here? If you don’t like it, get out. Who do you think you’re giving that attitude to?”

Before he could say more, Sophia grabbed his arm and choked out,

“I’m sorry, Ryan. I forgot it’s your tenth anniversary today. I’ll leave now. I won’t bother you again…”

As she turned to go, I picked up the gift box on the table and shoved it into her hands.

“Assistant Reed, with your habit of forgetting things, how can you possibly be qualified to work as the CEO’s assistant? Forgetting a dress is nothing. But if you forgot something more… intimate, wouldn’t people say you were seducing your boss?”

Both of their faces flushed with embarrassment. With one look from Sophia, Ryan grabbed my wrist roughly, forcing me to apologize.

“Stop talking nonsense! It’s bad enough you’re unreasonable with me—now you insult Sophia’s character? You owe her an apology. Otherwise, how is a young woman supposed to face the world?”

“And that dress is one of a kind. How could Sophia afford it?”

Of course she couldn’t. But Ryan could. Otherwise, how else could he have secretly kept her for nine years?

I ignored them and turned upstairs, desperate to pack my things and leave that filthy house.

The air froze. Sophia rushed forward, clutching my hand and falling to her knees.

“Evelyn, it’s my fault… I just wanted to see how I’d look in the dress. It had nothing to do with Ryan. Please don’t be angry with him, okay?”

Ryan let out a sigh of relief and pulled me into his arms with a smile.

“Evelyn, I swear on everything—I haven’t betrayed you. Now that we’ve cleared it up, and Sophia has admitted her mistake, how about I dock her bonus to make it up to you?”

I laughed coldly, staring into his eyes filled with fake tenderness. Then I pulled free of his embrace, snatched up the dress, and tossed it at Sophia.

“Why don’t you explain the bloodstains and the white residue on this dress? Or should I just take it to the hospital lab for testing?”

Ryan froze for a moment, then his voice turned impatient.

“She was on her period. The blood is nothing. She’s just a naïve young girl. Do you really have to be so harsh? Can’t you show some grace as the boss’s wife?”

“Oh—so should I be thanking Sophia for also helping my husband with his other ‘needs’?”

“Enough! I promised to buy you the rings, I gave you the gifts—what more do you want?”

I lifted my head, met his sharp, cold eyes, and spoke each word clearly:

“What do I want? Forget the rings. I want my merger proposal back. How else could Hayes Corporation possibly reach IPO status if not for me, the housewife who stayed up writing it?”

His face turned dark instantly. He flung my hand away, and I stumbled, slamming my abdomen into the table’s edge.

Pain shot through me, but I bit down on it, tears spilling uncontrollably.

“Evelyn Lane… how dare you even mention your so-called proposal? Because of that, Sophia almost died at a business dinner. If I hadn’t arrived in time, you’d be her murderer!”

“If it weren’t for Sophia begging me to let you stay, you wouldn’t even still be here as Mrs. Hayes. And you dare to ask for your plan back? You really don’t know your place.”

Every word was like a nail driven into my chest.

So in his eyes, I wasn’t just worthless—I was a jealous, malicious woman.

Clutching the table, I tried to move, only to see the pale tiles beneath me bloom with red.

The sight stole my breath. I curled up on the floor, the pain in my stomach unbearable.

My face went ghostly pale. I clutched Ryan’s pant leg, my dignity gone, my pride shattered. All I wanted was for him to save me, to save our child.

“Ryan, I’m pregnant. Please… take me to the hospital.”

But before I could finish, he cut me off, frowning, eyes flickering with doubt.

“Evelyn, do you even hear yourself? I was away on business all last month. How could you possibly be pregnant with my child?”