Late at night, inside a private room, my best friend, Faye, had been absentmindedly tracing the lines of someone’s abs, but she suddenly seemed to remember something.

She quickly pulled out her phone, checked the time, and asked cautiously, “Andy, you haven’t reported your whereabouts to Sean for almost three hours now. Aren’t you afraid he’ll get angry?”

Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, I couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating smile.

Back when Sean and I had just started dating in university, he told me that because of his family history, he feared and hated betrayal more than anything. He wanted me to keep him updated on my whereabouts every day so he could feel at ease. I pitied him, so I chose to comply. Even if I were just stepping out of the dorm to buy daily necessities at the supermarket, I would tell him immediately.

At the time, I thought that by cooperating like this, I could slowly soothe his wounded, sensitive heart. However, the truth was, his suspicion and need for control only grew worse. Especially after we got married, he demanded that I report to him every hour, no matter what I was doing. He even required me to plan out the next day in advance, of where I would go, what I would do, and how long everything would take.

Once, I had an upset stomach and spent five extra minutes in the bathroom without informing him right away. He immediately became paranoid. He even pulled up the law firm’s surveillance footage to verify whether I was lying or had betrayed him. Yet, he held himself to a completely different standard.

No matter where he went or what he did, he never reported anything to me. Sometimes, if I casually asked about his plans, he would fly into a rage, accusing me of trying to control his life and saying I didn’t trust him or love him enough.

Looking back at it now, I found it ironic. I used to foolishly believe it was because he had been hurt too deeply, and that I simply hadn’t given him enough sense of security and trust. However, I see now that there was something wrong with him.

I suddenly lifted my glass and downed the red wine in one go, completely unfazed.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said. “We’re divorced. In a few days, the divorce certificate will be finalized. I have no obligation to care about his feelings anymore.”

Faye pinched her own cheek, wincing from the pain, and then threw her arms around me.

“This is amazing, Andy! You’ve finally come to your senses! I’ve disliked that b*st*rd Sean for a long time. To celebrate your escape from him, tonight is on me. Come on, cheers! To freedom!”

I clinked glasses with her.

Just as the sound of our glasses faded, a cold voice came from the doorway of the private room.

“Whose control are you trying to escape from?”

I turned around to see Sean standing at the doorway, staring at me with a dark expression. When I didn’t respond, his gaze shifted to the guy beside me.

Then, he gritted his teeth and demanded, “Andrea, I’m talking to you. I told you to report your schedule to me every hour. Why didn’t you tell me where you were? Or are you feeling guilty? Too afraid to say anything because you’re sneaking around behind my back with another man, are you?”

I glanced at him indifferently.

“Mr. Larson, does who I see have anything to do with you? Instead of sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, why don’t you go back to your wife, Brittany, and keep her company at karaoke?”

That shut him up instantly.

His brows furrowed as he snapped, clearly annoyed. “What’s with the sarcasm? I went to the karaoke bar with Brit as a show for her parents. We have to pretend we’re in love so they won’t suspect anything. And here I was, trying to make it up to you today. I even canceled all my work and social plans to cook your favorite chili con carne. What a waste of my effort.”

As he spoke, he placed a container on the table. I glanced at the bright red minced meat in there, but seeing it made my stomach churn.

Not this dish again.

At the beginning, I used to think it was his way of showing he cared. I had even felt touched. However, over time, I realized it was nothing more than a lazy routine. Every time he needed me to help Brittany, he would cook that exact dish to appease me.

He was even aware that I had undergone surgery for my stomach and couldn’t eat anything spicy anymore. However, he never bothered to change it. He still made it unbearably spicy, enough to sting the nose.

Coming back to myself, I said coldly, “I’ve eaten. You can save that feast for Brittany.”

Sean didn’t catch the displeasure in my tone. Instead, he seemed to think I had been coaxed like before and quickly got to the point.

“Fine. Actually, I came to ask you something. Brit’s parents are coming over tomorrow to check whether I can take care of her and the baby. If I recall correctly, you’ve studied a lot of parenting books. I need you to help me come up with a plan on how to act like a good husband and father who can take care of a pregnant woman and a newborn. I need to make a good impression on her parents.”

Watching the eagerness on his face, I felt a wave of nausea.

Others might not know, but he did. The reason I had read all those books was that I, too, had once been pregnant and wanted to raise our child with him. However, after the miscarriage, it became something we never spoke of again.

Now, he was asking me to teach him how to be Brittany’s husband and a good father?

I shot back immediately, “Sean, I’m a lawyer, not your nanny. Ask someone else.”

Sean’s eyes widened in disbelief. He clearly hadn’t expected that the same dish that used to win me over so easily would suddenly stop working. His embarrassment then turned into anger, and just as he was about to lash out, his phone rang. It was a call from Brittany.

Whatever she said on the other end made him forget all about yelling at me. Without another word, he turned and hurried out of the private room. Faye and I, on the other hand, drank until well past midnight.

The next morning, after I sobered up, I went home to pack my things and move out. However, the moment I stepped into the yard and saw what was in front of me, I froze.

This little suburban villa was a home with a yard that Sean specifically chose after the law firm started turning a profit, just to satisfy my love of growing flowers, plants, and fruit.

Whenever work exhausted me, I would look at everything I had planted with my own hands. Watching them grow always made the fatigue disappear. When the fruit ripened, Sean and I would sit in the yard together, watching TV shows and eating freshly picked fruit. Those quiet, warm moments were rare.

Now, the strawberries that had just ripened were ripped out by the roots, thrown aside, and trampled into the dirt. The garden beds had also been flattened and replaced with a newly installed hanging swing. The tree I planted two years ago had been cut clean in half, chopped into pieces, and hauled away. Even the orchids I used for decoration were all gone, replaced with bright, showy peonies.

I rushed forward and demanded an explanation from the workers. That was when I found out it was all Sean’s order. Just to please Brittany and her parents, he had erased every trace of my past here and redecorated everything to her preferences. For that, Sean sure was ruthless.

Coming back to my senses, I didn’t stop the workers anymore. I walked straight into the house, only wanting to pack my things and leave as soon as possible. However, as I searched through the cabinets, something suddenly fell to the floor. I followed the sound and saw the wedding ring Sean and I had bought when we first got married.

Back then, he had just started the law firm. Just keeping it afloat had drained all his savings. He couldn’t even afford a wedding, let alone a ring. To save money, we simply registered our marriage and left it at that. Afterward, we even lived in the office. Every day was beans on toast or whatever food we could get from business dinners. By the time the holidays came around, I didn’t even have enough money to buy myself a new winter coat.

He felt endlessly guilty about it, so much so that he gave up his pride to approach a former rival with whom he had once been at loggerheads. Under the influence of alcohol, he knelt before the man, hoping the man would lend him a hand and provide some resources.

I could vividly remember the night he came back. He was drunk, his shirt was burned with cigarette holes, and there were still faint handprints on his face. However, he didn’t seem to care at all. He just smiled and handed me a diamond ring, saying it was his way of making it up to me before spending the entire night vomiting in the bathroom.

From that day on, I believed Sean loved me with all his heart, and I made up my mind to stand by him and fight alongside him. Alas, I never once had the chance to wear the ring, one he had traded his dignity and pride for. Our relationship had long since fallen apart and was no longer what it once was. I gave the ring one last look before throwing it into the trash and continuing packing.

Come to think of it, it was actually pretty funny. The bedroom was huge, and I spent ages tidying it up, but in the end I couldn’t even fill a suitcase. It was just like our marriage, which existed in name only but was empty inside.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and dragged my suitcase toward the door. As I passed the corner, the heel of my shoe suddenly snapped. I lost my balance and slammed into the cabinet. In the next second, a dark wooden box fell to the floor, and my expression changed instantly.

That box was the one Sean treasured most. Inside were the belongings his late mother had left behind. All these years, he had never allowed anyone to touch it, nor had he ever opened it in front of anyone. He had even set a password lock on it.

Now, the box had cracked open from the fall, its contents spilling into view. However, with just one glance, I froze where I stood.