On my tenth wedding anniversary, my wedding ring was on someone else's hand.

When I got off the operating table, I made up my mind and drafted a divorce agreement.

His friend was so anxious that she burst into tears. "Mrs. Holmes, the ring is so beautiful. I couldn't help it... Mr. Holmes just lent it to me to try it on. I have no other intention."

Jimmy Holmes protected her behind him and said to me, "Okay, just don't regret it."

But half a month later, Jimmy regretted it.

...

1

"Why didn't you cook?"

It had been half a month since Jimmy returned home. He acted as if nothing had happened and frowned when he saw the empty dining table.

Normally, whenever he came home at this time, the dinner table would be filled with his favorite dishes.

Not today. He naturally thought that I had no appetite because he didn't come back.

In fact, I just got back from a big meal out.

He put down his suitcase, rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.

When he came out again with spaghetti, I was still reading the accounting documents in my hand with great interest.

He placed the spaghetti in front of me, then took out a bracelet from his pocket and handed it to me.

He was trying to coax me

I looked at the spaghetti and the bracelet on the table. Since when did this become his way of coaxing me?

I remembered when we had not been married, he would make me happy in so many ways.

He would hug me and then gave me a flower like a magic trick.

He would take me for a bike ride, a boat trip, and a long walk...

As for gold bracelets, I actually like them too because I think they were the most valuable jewelry.

Compared to the diamond necklaces that Jimmy gave me, I would rather receive gold bracelets.

But compared to sincerity, any material things would seem perfunctory.

In the past, as long as he showed his attitude, I would eat up the spaghetti to show my support and praise him, and then the matter would be over.

But today...

"I've eaten," I said, "When are you free? Let's go get a divorce."

Jimmy was very busy. After all, he was in charge of several companies, so I was always willing to accommodate him in terms of time.

But it was obvious that Jimmy didn't want to appreciate my favor.

He threw the bracelet onto the table, and felt a little depressed.

He said, "I've already explained the ring. Abigail said it looked nice, so I lent it to her. I didn't expect you would mind it so much."

What?

Did he not expect it, or had my affairs become unimportant to him?

Jimmy and I were each other's first love.

They met in high school and then entered a stable relationship in college.

We didn't have those unforgettable experiences, just the good times when we were young.

He said that one afternoon, I was sitting under a cherry tree reading a book. When the wind blew, the petals fell, like a dream. That was when I became the one he loved.

He had started to pursue me, but I had been poor. Studying was very important to me. I told him that if he could get into the same university as me, I would agree to be his girlfriend.

Since then, Jimmy never contacted me again. And I thought he had given up.

Until the day we got the admission letter, he ran to find me excitedly, but saw my mother, Stella, jumping off the roof.

My family was so poor that we often couldn't even afford my tuition.

But even though we were poor, my father, Tom, always managed to attract some women with his eloquent mouth.

Stella was used to it. But that day, a woman broke into my house, snatched Stella's ring and put it on her hand. The woman said it should be hers, and she said Stella was ugly, old, and useless...

The first time, Stella called Tom to make a fuss, but Tom said, "It's just a ring. Why are you making such a fuss about it?"

After hanging up the phone, Stella sat on the sofa and muttered to herself, crying and saying, "It's gone. Everything is gone."

Later, Stella jumped from the rooftop of our building and died on the spot.

Jimmy stayed with me for a long time that day, until Tom came back and I had a fight with him.

Jimmy was always helping me. He didn't care when I beat Tom, but as soon as Tom fought back, he stopped Tom.

That day I beat Tom so badly that his face was bruised.

Later I told Jimmy, "If anyone dares to wear my wedding ring, I will chop off her hand."

Jimmy touched my head and said, "If you marry me, I promise not to let anyone touch your wedding ring, because it is yours and belongs only to you."

I probably really fell in love with Jimmy starting from this sentence. I thought Jimmy had a very positive view on marriage.

But now it seemed that everything would change.

Seeing that I hadn't spoken for a long time, Jimmy changed the subject.

He asked, "When is David's piano performance exam?"

"I don't know. You should ask your mother."

Jimmy's parents had never liked me and thought that Jimmy and I were not a good match.

So after I gave birth to my son, David, they found a reason to take the boy to their house to raise him. At first, I often went to see David, but they refused to let me see David because he was sleeping or in class.

I had had a fight with Jimmy before, but he always told me, "My mom just loves David."

Jimmy frowned and adopted a condescending tone.

"You should focus more on David. He's closer to Abigail than to you now."

I closed the book, feeling impatient.

"Isn't that great? This way, after we divorce, Abigail won't have to build her relationship with David."

"Enough." Jimmy seemed to be provoked by me, and he was furious. "You're so jealous. You're not a good mother."

I wondered, "Was it my fault that I can't act like a good mother?"

His parents looked down on me, but they thought highly of Abigail.

Abigail was an overseas returnee. Her family was a long-standing friend of Jimmy's. After returning, she joined Jimmy's company as a secretary under the guise of her ability.

They came in and out of the company in pairs, stayed in the same suite when on business trips, and even went to pick up David from school together.

Even his parents always asked Jimmy to take Abigail back to their house for dinner.

I often felt that Abigail was more like his wife than me.

I actually didn't want to quarrel with Jimmy, but I was upset.

I said, "Yes, you are right. I had an abortion because I was not a good mother."

I looked at Jimmy with red eyes. His fists clenched.

On a rainy night half a month ago, Jimmy and I returned from his parents' house.

On the way, he received a call from Abigail, and he left me on the side of the road and told me to take a taxi back by myself.

It was raining heavily and dark that day. I couldn't get a taxi and fell down. That was when I miscarried.

Gone with the baby was what little love I had left for Jimmy.

Even though he later admitted his mistake to me and explained that Abigail was being followed and the situation was urgent, I still had no feelings about it.

I thought it was time for us to end.

Over the past ten years, we had had countless quarrels. Every time, Jimmy would rush into the study room angrily and slam the door shut to end the quarrel.

This time was no exception.

The only exception was that I never wanted to make peace again.

I took out my packed luggage, placed the divorce agreement in the most conspicuous place on the coffee table, and left without looking back.

I was back in the house I once called home.

I hadn't been back for fourteen years, ever since I beat Tom up in this house.

After leaving here that year, Jimmy and I rented a small apartment near the university.

At that time, his parents were against us being together. Jimmy's stubbornness angered his father, who told him to fend for himself and stopped supporting him.

Therefore, Jimmy and I worked and studied together. Apart from attending classes, we spent almost all our time working.

It was very hard, but later on, that time became our only happy and beautiful memory over the years!

I received the key to the house one night five years ago.

Before Tom died of cancer, he left this only house to me.

I had had the key to the house for five years, but I had never dared to come back, because every time I came here, I thought of Stella.

And now, this had become my only home...

The next day after I came back, Jimmy called me, but I didn't answer, so he never called again.

On the fifth day, I went to the hospital for a follow-up check-up and ran into Abigail in the corridor.

When she saw me, she looked surprised and flustered.

She said, "Mrs. Holmes, there's nothing going on between Mr. Holmes and me. He sent me to the hospital because I sprained my foot."

Seeing that I didn't say anything, she noticed the medicine in my hand.

"Mrs. Holmes, are you okay? I heard from Mr. Holmes that your baby... I'm really sorry. It's all because of me."

I nodded, "It's indeed because of you, but it doesn't matter anymore."

I was about to leave when Jimmy came over with a cold face.

He handed the medicine bag in his hand to Abigail and snatched my medicine away.

"Are you sick? Why didn't you contact me?"

After opening the bag and seeing the medicine inside, his expression became a little stiff.

He must have remembered it. Out of guilt, he said he would accompany me for a follow-up check-up. I told him the time.

He turned to Abigail and asked, "I told you before that my wife will have a follow-up checkup today and asked you to remind me."

Abigail was instantly flustered. "I'm sorry. It slipped my mind."

"What? Arranging my schedule is the most basic duty of a secretary."

I didn't want to watch their show, so I took the medicine and left.

Jimmy ran up to me and grabbed me by the wrist. Her voice sounded impatient.

"Tricia, when are you going to stop being mad at me? Even if I forgot about today's event, couldn't you just call and remind me?"

"I'm not mad at you." I slowly peeled his hand off my wrist, speaking calmly.

"Jimmy, this is a hospital."

He understood the hidden meaning in my words and stopped pestering me, offering to take me home.

I looked at Abigail behind him and smiled.

"No need. Ms. Martin seems to need someone to send her off more than me."

After saying that, I waved at Abigail and walked out of the hospital.

I heard Jimmy's footsteps and Abigail's exclamations.

I saw Abigail falling and Jimmy pausing through the glass at the door, and I quickened my pace and left.

A week later, I wanted to call and ask Jimmy whether the divorce agreement had been signed.

As soon as I took out my cell phone, Laura's number popped up on my phone. I hesitated for a moment and then answered it. Laura Wilson was Jimmy's mother.

"Mom." David's small, hoarse voice came from the phone.

Before I could ask, his voice started to sound a little aggrieved. "Why didn't you come to see me when I was sick? Do you really not want me anymore, like Abigail said?"

I said, "David, are you sick? When..."

Before I could ask, the call was hung up.

Remembering David's words, I immediately drove to him.

In the house, all the Holmes family members sat around the dining table.

Seeing me arrive, Jimmy stood up from the table with a frown and lectured me. "Today has a family dinner. You haven't been home for several days. I thought you had already regarded yourself as someone who didn't have this family."

I ignored him and walked straight to David, touched David's face and asked, "What's wrong with you? Have you seen a doctor?"

David's eyes were red, and he turned his head away, obviously still angry with me.

Abigail smiled and touched David's head. "He got a cold. He's almost recovered. Why do you suddenly think of David?"

If Abigail hadn't spoken, I wouldn't have noticed her. Now, I saw that she and Jimmy were sitting on either side of David. They looked like a family.

I took David down from his seat, walked around to the sofa, and apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry, David. I didn't know you were sick. But as soon as you called me, I came. Don't be angry, okay?"

Tears fell from his eyes. David tugged at the corner of his clothes and nodded.

"Then you wait here for me for a while." I kissed his forehead, stood up and walked towards Abigail.