Because I'd wrecked my health supporting him through the start-up years, and now I couldn't give him a child?

But I was more afraid he'd offer an explanation that would make me sick.

A hundred furious accusations surged to my lips. All of them dissolved into a bitter smile.

“It's fine. Go take care of your stuff.”

I called Samuel again.

“Mel, don't overthink this……”

“Relax, I'm not going to rat you out,”

I choked back the ache in my chest and sniffed hard. “I just have one condition.”

“Don't tell him I know.”

“Mel! You're……”

He went quiet for two seconds, then finally said okay.

For our fifth wedding anniversary, Ferris actually offered to take me to dinner.

There was a time when he'd write me a whole love letter in advance and schedule it to send at midnight, just in case a business trip kept him on a plane past twelve.

I used to read that sappy confession over and over, laughing and crying at the same time, until I had every word memorized.

Now he was always busy. A quick text and flowers delivered to the door were about all I got.

He'd booked a three-star Michelin Japanese restaurant. My favorite.

If it weren't for the lip balm, I would have believed he still thought about me.

But now I wasn't sure whether he'd reserved this expensive restaurant and ordered the finest food and wine because he was planning to come clean.

The polished, adult way of saying, “I'm sorry, but I'm going to hurt you anyway.”

“I booked a table for seven. We can head over together soon. The roses are stuck in traffic, otherwise I wouldn't have come back empty-handed……”

“Ferris.”

“Hm?”

“Is there something you want to tell me today?”

His eyes flickered.

“No, why would there be? It's our fifth anniversary. I just want to spend the whole day with you.”

I finished getting dressed and waited in the living room. His phone, sitting on the coffee table, buzzed again.

A cutesy crying-bunny sticker popped up on the screen.

【Ferris, my stomach hurts. You're not here and I'm so scared……Can you come?】

【Just stay with me for a little while, please!】

【I know today is your anniversary with Melody, but it really hurts so bad. What if something happens to the baby……】

I drifted toward the kitchen without a sound. Then I heard the bedroom door open.

Ferris walked into the living room in a full suit, picked up his phone, glanced at the screen, and when he looked at me, a flicker of conflict crossed his face.

“Mel……”

“Ready to go?”

“Not exactly……something just came up at the office……it's urgent. I need to handle it in person.”

I clenched my fists, fighting to keep every churning emotion locked down.：“But you just said you wanted to spend the whole day with me.”

“It was so sudden. I didn't want to leave either……”

His phone buzzed once. Twice. Three times.

He frowned, unable to meet my eyes.：“I'll just run over real quick and come right back. I'll have my assistant take you to the restaurant first, okay?”

I wasn't angry. If anything, I found it almost laughable.

They couldn't even give me one day.

I nodded.

“Fine.”

He blinked, caught off guard, then visibly relaxed.

“Wait for me. I'll be back soon.”

Ferris jogged toward the door. Before he could leave, I stopped him.：“Take the trash down with you. It's getting hot out. It'll attract flies.”

He nodded and grabbed the bag, but his grip slipped, and a familiar glass jar tumbled out and hit the floor with a crack, shattering into pieces.

Water, slivers of ice, and broken glass scattered across the tiles.

The color drained from his face.

“Mel, you……”

I kept my back to him and didn't turn around.：“I read an article the other day. Experts say you should clean out the fridge before summer hits, so you don't end up with a stomachache.”

“That's not what I meant.”

I knew what he wanted to ask.

He wanted to ask why I was throwing away that jar of snow from up north, the one I'd insisted on keeping through every move, no matter how much of a hassle it was.

But right then, I didn't want to explain.

Ferris opened his mouth, then closed it.

His eyes flicked to his phone screen, just for a second, and his expression shifted.

He looked up at me, flustered, chest heaving, his voice rough：“Mel, I have to go. I'll see you soon. When I get back from dinner, we'll talk. Really talk.”

He made it to the door and froze, as if some instinct told him that if he walked out now, everything would be over.

The hesitation lasted less than two seconds before he pulled the door open and stepped through.

My heart sank with him, but I forced the corners of my mouth up：“Go ahead. Drive safe.”

A flicker of relief passed through his eyes.

“You……wait for me.”

I walked to the window and watched his car turn in the opposite direction from the office.

It wasn't that I didn't hurt. But my tear ducts, usually so reliable, couldn't produce a single drop.

Back in the bedroom, I finished packing, set the divorce papers and the yellowed, soft paper ring on the bed, and dialed my mother's number.

It barely rang once before she picked up.

“Melody?”

Her voice carried a cautious kind of joy.

“What is it? Isn't today your anniversary with Ferris?”

My throat closed：“Mom, I just……I want to come home.”

Ferris was halfway there when his phone buzzed again.

This time, Hannah had shared her location. She was at the airport.

“I bought two tickets to Japan tonight.”

“There's an hour left. I can't wait anymore. If you don't come, I'm going alone.”

Ferris stared at the message, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.

The airport, or the restaurant.

He thought of the shattered jar. But the image of Hannah standing alone, dragging her suitcase, kept circling through his head.

Three years, five years, Melody had waited all this time. A few more days wouldn't matter.

He clenched his jaw and hit the gas.

At the airport, Hannah threw herself into his arms, tears spilling instantly.

“I'm sorry, Ferris. Every time you say you'll come clean with her, every time you tell me to wait, but the baby in my belly can't wait.”

“I don't want to keep sneaking around. I don't want to drop you off at home and then sit alone imagining you eating dinner with her, talking with her.”

She tilted her face up, eyes red and raw, her voice small and wounded.

“You said the snow on Mount Fuji was the most beautiful in the world. You said that's where you'd give me an answer.”

Ferris looked at her, his mind a tangled mess.

But in the end, he nodded.

“Okay. I'll go too. I can't let you go alone.”

At the check-in counter, dragging Hannah's suitcase, he called me.

Phone off.

He tried again.

Still off.

He frowned and sent a text.

“Mel, something came up at work. I need to travel for a few days. We'll talk when I'm back.”

After hitting send, he dialed Samuel's number.

“Samuel, I have to go out of town for a few days. Keep an eye on Melody for me, will you? She's been off lately. I'm worried.”

Two seconds of silence on the other end.

“Ferris……I'm sorry, man.”

Ferris went still：“What do you mean?”

Samuel's voice was barely above a whisper：“Melody……she knows about Hannah. I told her.”