Chapter 1 Arthur cheated on me with a female subordinate who was twelve years younger than him. After I found out, he chose to return to our family. Until I accidentally saw an unsigned text message on his phone. [I'm getting married tomorrow. Can you come to Seattle to see me one last time?] It takes three hours to drive from our city to Seattle. If he left now, he would get there around 1:00 AM. Watching my husband pack his suitcase, I said softly: "Taking that many clothes, are you planning to sleep with her again?" "Oh, do you need me to pack a box of condoms for you two?" Arthur tilted his head back, his face showing a level of exhaustion I had never seen before. "Mia, I already chose you. What more do you want?" "Are you really not going to be satisfied until you drive me to my grave?" I remembered the look of sheer panic on his face when I caught him and Lily renting a hotel room. And just like the betrayed wives on TV, driven by absolute rage and heartbreak, I tore into them, hitting and scratching. I took photos of their disgraceful affair and exposed them online. Lily lost all face. Shortly after being fired from the company, she moved back to her hometown. Because of the scandal, a massive contract Arthur had secured fell through, and he was fired from his position as a director. And under the "condemnation" of his own conscience, he knelt before me, apologized, and returned to our family. After returning, he yielded to my every whim. If I said go east, he didn't dare go west. Even when he was in the crucial stages of launching his own startup, he took on the unprecedented pressure of caring for our one-month-old daughter just so I could get a good night's sleep. In just one short year, apart from being a bit busy and tired, his new company had gotten on track and was steadily improving. As his status rose, he enjoyed the prestige and admiration of those around him. It was as if he faced no karma at all. Oh, except for the early days when he overworked himself and caught a few severe colds. And this was what he called me driving him to his grave? How ironic. I smirked. "Arthur, how do you have the nerve to say that?" "Did you forget you swore you would never go looking for her again?" Arthur folded his clothes back into the closet one by one, finally closing the suitcase. "Mia, it's been a long time since we visited Director Lee and the kids at the orphanage. Let's go together tomorrow." "Let's go to sleep early before the baby wakes up. You know how fussy she gets when she's fully rested." Arthur's nonchalant face held a trace of gentleness. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, but I didn't feel the pain. I absolutely hated this act of his—dodging the issue and pretending everything was fine. He was the one who made the mistake! Why could he act so calm and collected?! I mocked him, "What about Lily? You love her so much. If you don't go to Seattle, aren't you afraid she'll be heartbroken? Or are you afraid lightning will strike you for breaking your vow?" His expression remained placid. "Mia, those kids love the meat buns from that shop on the south side. Remember to bring some tomorrow." Arthur was always like this. The colder and more detached he appeared on the surface, the more intense the emotions he hid inside. That was how he used to be with me, and it was how he still was with Lily. I couldn't help but want to tear off his hypocritical mask. I pulled open a drawer, took out a stack of letters, and fighting down the nausea churning in my stomach, I read them aloud, word by word, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Lily, you are like a cloud in the sky, untainted by a single speck of dirt. Seeing you made me realize such pure, crystal-clear goodness truly exists in this world." "Everyone says clouds easily scatter, but I insist on keeping you, this precious cloud, hidden in my heart. Year after year, I will protect you and keep you as pure as the day we met." Chapter 2 "All I seek in this life is to drift alongside you, never to be separated from dawn till dusk." "Lily, the woman sharing my bed is not the one holding my heart. Only in the deep of the night, when dreams return, can I see your face as it was—so pure it makes my heart tremble." A crack finally appeared in Arthur's facade. He completely lost control and roared, "Shut up! Mia, I just made one mistake! Haven't I atoned enough over this past year?!" "It's in the past! Why do you always have to hold onto it?!" With a cold laugh, I grabbed a pair of women's panties embroidered with twin lotus flowers and threw them at his face. "I'm holding onto it? Yeah, the love letters you wrote to her were so moving, I just had to collect them. A constant reminder to you that hidden in your heart is a pure, beautiful Lily!" "And furthermore, is that what you call atonement? Penny isn't just my daughter. Taking care of her is just you fulfilling your basic responsibilities!" Arthur had always been romantic. When he loved someone, he constantly did cheesy things like this. In the past, I would pretend to be grossed out, but secretly, I loved it. I thought he would only ever love me in this life. Until one day, while cleaning out of boredom, I found this stack of paper in a box at the very bottom of his bookshelf. Over the course of two years, he wrote five hundred and twenty-one love letters for her. The twin lotus panties Lily gave him were her response to his deep affection. It was like I had opened Pandora's box. The demons inside instantly devoured my soul. That day, due to the extreme emotional distress, I went into premature labor. And Arthur, unaware that I had discovered their dirty secret, continued to play the role of the star-crossed lover with Lily, right up until the moment I exposed them. The day I finished my one-month postpartum confinement, I stuffed that thick stack of love letters into my backpack and marched to his company, intending to expose them in front of everyone. But the receptionist told me Arthur had taken Lily out to run errands for purchasing. A female colleague, seeing my pale, weakened state, thought I was genuinely there to deliver documents to my husband. Out of pity, she said, "This morning I heard Mr. Vance tell Lily he was taking her to the Butterfly Hotel." The last shred of hope in my heart shattered. I didn't care about anything anymore. When I arrived at the hotel, the staff thought I was there to cause trouble, so I had no choice but to call the police. With the help of the police, I finally saw my husband in a suite, looking panicked but protectively shielding his mistress. I lost my mind. I fought desperately, cursed them using the most vicious language in the world, and took photos to expose them. The whole process went smoothly and wasn't difficult, but it drained every ounce of my strength. Arthur rubbed his temples, impatient. "Is this really necessary? That time at the hotel, yes, I lost my mind for a moment, but that was the only time we were intimate. After you caused that scene, nothing happened between us in the end, did it?" I snapped back, "You don't need to make your cheating sound so righteous!" "Arthur, you are truly despicable!" Arthur smirked, his tone calm and cruel. "Mia, do you know? The more unreasonably you act, the more beautiful Lily becomes in my heart." "You can never compare to her. Let's see how long you can keep this tantrum up." My breathing grew heavy. I stared at him, my eyes locked onto his. He finally showed some emotion, but my chest felt like it was crushed by a boulder, suffocating me. The man whose eyes were once filled only with love for me had become hideous. I had considered just letting this go. He had repented, changed his ways, and returned to the family, and we had a baby daughter who needed us. But over the past year, every time he tried to share a bed with me, every time he wanted to be intimate, I always thought of the image of him and Lily entangled together. Chapter 3 It disgusted me to the point of nausea. I couldn't pretend nothing had happened. The grievances and resentment building up inside me finally erupted. I screamed, "Then divorce me and go marry her! Arthur, you don't have to keep pretending to be so accommodating! Looking at you makes me want to throw up!" After saying that, I picked up the panties and ripped them to shreds. "Sluts! You're both sluts!" Arthur watched my fury with a satisfied expression. He reached out and wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. "See? Ruining yourself like this just to provoke me, is it worth it?" "Mia, that incident is in the past. Why can't you just live a normal life?" "We have a daughter now. Don't bring up divorce again." I slapped his hand away forcefully and gave no response. Our fighting woke our daughter, and she started crying relentlessly. I walked to the crib, picked her up, and rocked her. Arthur watched for a moment, then closed the bedroom door and left. After I finally coaxed Penny back to sleep, I went to the living room to get water to mix her formula, only to be hit by the overwhelming stench of alcohol. I looked at Arthur. He was sitting on the floor, his eyes glazed with drunkenness. Several empty liquor bottles lay by his feet. He looked half-dead. Hah, drinking alone to mourn his precious Lily getting married? His phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it, his expression shifting slightly, and with trembling hands, he pressed answer. "Lily, I'm here." The woman's voice on the other end was soft and sweet. "Arthur, she won't let you come see me, will she?" Arthur's eyes darkened. "Lily, she is my wife, and we have a daughter together. I have to be responsible." "I understand, Arthur. You are a good man who takes responsibility. I know my judgment in men isn't wrong." Lily's voice was light, as if she were about to break. Arthur gripped the phone tightly, his voice gentle. "Yeah. We shouldn't see each other anymore unless it's necessary. Lily, I wish you and him a happy marriage and a long life together." Just as he was about to hang up, Lily pleaded: "Arthur, can you let me say a few words to her?" Arthur was silent for a moment before handing the phone to me. "Lily wants to say a few words to you. Keep your temper in check. Don't scare her." I didn't take the phone, but Lily spoke as if she knew I was right there. "Mia, since he's already returned to his family, I beg you to treat him better from now on. The grievances and exhaustion he suffers making money outside aren't any less than yours." "He doesn't like spicy food. He likes sweet soup, especially mango sago pomelo. Don't let him eat too much cold food in the summer; his stomach isn't great." "Oh right, I bought him a neck massager before. His neck and shoulders ache, so remember to massage them for him when you have time. Also, his career is on the rise right now, and you just had a baby not long ago. You should be careful when you two are intimate. Don't get pregnant again and distract him. Remember to wear a condom..." I sneered. "Are you done?" "You are truly a cheap slut! You're so far away, yet you still want to meddle in our lives! Since you can't let him go, how about I box him up and ship him to your bed tomorrow?! Just in time to swap out your groom!" "Anyway, a shameless homewrecker like you shouldn't be afraid of what people say, right? Might as well let everyone see this..." Arthur quickly yanked the phone away and roared at me, "Shut up! Are you out of your mind?!" I glared at him, my eyes filled with hatred. "She had the guts to do it, so I have the guts to say it. Arthur, the two of you are shameless scum! How dare you act all lovey-dovey right in front of my face!" From the phone came the soft, muffled sound of Lily crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make your wife angry." Chapter 4 Arthur's face grew even darker. "Mia. Apologize." All my reason was burned away by fury. It felt like I was back in the hotel catching them in the act. I beat him and scratched him frantically. "Apologize my ass! Arthur, are you even human?! You two will rot in hell! Rot in hell!" Arthur covered his face and shoved me away, furious. "Mia, are you deaf?! Did you not hear me saying goodbye to Lily just now?! If you keep acting like a lunatic, believe me, I will go to Seattle to find her right now!" When he said that last sentence, a flash of anticipation clearly crossed his eyes. He wanted to go see Lily. But he had to maintain the facade of a good man, making sacrifices and taking responsibility. Making me look like an irredeemable villain. Implying that I forced him to this point. I let out a cold laugh, ran back into the bedroom, grabbed the clothes he had just packed, threw them into his suitcase, and hurled it at his feet. "Get out!" "Arthur, just looking at you makes me feel dirty." "Mia, you asked for this. Let's see how you raise a daughter all by yourself without me." Arthur's lips curled into a callous smile. He grabbed his suitcase and left. The living room finally fell silent. It felt like all my strength had been drained. I collapsed onto the floor, hugging my knees, and cried silently. It wasn't until my daughter started crying again that I forced myself up, shook the half-mixed formula until it was smooth, and took it back to the bedroom. I held my daughter's tiny body and didn't close my eyes all night. I was the one being driven to my grave. By him and Lily. For the past year since Arthur returned, our relationship seemed harmonious on the surface. But I was becoming increasingly unhinged. In the middle of the night, I would always dream of those two pale bodies tangled together on the hotel bed. I started crying uncontrollably. My whole body would shake involuntarily. I would scream, throw things, and use a knife to cut my arms. If Arthur came home even a little late, I would pick fights with him, dripping with sarcasm. Over and over again, I suspected he had another woman on the side. At first, he would patiently explain, but later, he just started sleeping in a different room. The relationship between us slowly froze over. It wasn't until one day, when I stood on the edge of the eighteenth floor holding my daughter, wanting to jump, that I suddenly snapped awake. I almost died. I had become the "melodramatic" and "neurotic" postpartum woman Arthur complained about—I had postpartum depression. Standing on the roof, the cold wind cleared my head. I started trying to save myself. I saw doctors. I took medication. But today, Arthur, the very cause of it all, had pushed me back into the abyss. This disgusting, broken marriage... it ends here. I stayed awake until dawn. Arthur still hadn't returned, but his parents showed up first. His father looked me up and down and started scolding me. "Fighting with Arthur again? Mia, if Arthur really liked that Lily girl, it never would have been your turn to be our daughter-in-law." "It's not that I dislike you, but you're just petty and short-sighted. If you had just tolerated it back then, Arthur wouldn't have been fired. He'd still be easily collecting his monthly bonuses, and he wouldn't have to work as hard as he does now." His mother dramatically picked up her phone and sighed. "Mia, our Arthur is so outstanding, it's normal for him to have women throwing themselves at him outside. You need to hurry up and give him a son to tie him down, or you'll be the one crying later!" Saying that, she shoved the phone in my face. It was Arthur's Instagram post from last night after he left. In the photo, he was holding Lily tightly, wiping away her tears, his face full of tenderness. Chapter 5 [Traveled a thousand miles, just to see you one last time.] I opened my own phone, but I didn't see Arthur's post. That was when I realized he had blocked me from seeing it. I called him several times in a row, but he rejected every single one. Hanging up after the last attempt, I asked softly, "Are you sure he went to see Lily?" His mother looked incredibly smug. Right in front of me, she used her own phone to call Arthur. He answered instantly. "Mom, what's wrong?" His mother said gently, "Son, where are you? Did you fight with Mia again?" Over the phone, Arthur's flat tone seemed to carry a hint of disdain. "Not really a fight, it's just her acting crazy again. Probably has too much free time sitting at home." "I'm in Seattle right now. Mom, don't tell Mia. I'll be back as soon as I see Lily one last time." The call ended in less than a minute. So, he really did rush over there overnight. It felt like a huge piece of my heart had been hollowed out, but strangely, I felt a sense of relief. Seeing I had no reaction, his mother tsked. "Hear that? Arthur is always complaining to me about how dull and stupid you are, only knowing how to fight with him every day. If it weren't for the kid, he wouldn't even want to stay with you!" "I think this Lily girl isn't bad. I heard her parents were teachers. She's more than good enough for my Arthur. Not like some people, an orphan with no parents, probably a jinx!" "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If someone likes rotten goods, then give it to them." After calmly firing back that sentence, I picked up my daughter and left without looking back, leaving his parents cursing behind me. I knew they didn't like me, so after marrying Arthur, I constantly tolerated them. But there was no need for that anymore. Since Arthur wasn't in town, I would go find him myself. I went to a law firm, got a divorce agreement drawn up, and then hailed a cab to Seattle. Following the photo his mother showed me, I went straight to the hotel where they were meeting. In the grand ballroom, Lily, wearing a wedding dress, was about to exchange rings with the groom. Arthur watched from the audience, looking like half his soul had been sucked out of him. With deep affection and restraint, he said, "Lily, you have to be happy." Lily's eyes turned red. One on stage, one off stage. They looked exactly like star-crossed lovers being violently torn apart. I walked into the ballroom from the lobby, stood right in front of Arthur, and raised my voice. "Since you and Lily are so deeply in love, I'll grant your wish!" "Arthur, let's get a divorce!" The moment the words left my mouth, the entire ballroom went dead silent. Several people in the know pointed at Lily, whispering. "The bride had an affair with that guy. It was a huge scandal." "What affair?! She rented a hotel room with a married man and got caught by his wife!" "Oh my god, is the wife you're talking about her?!" Lily stiffened completely, her face turning ghastly pale. Arthur clearly didn't expect me to chase him to Seattle. His expression turned terrifyingly dark. "Why are you here? Did you track me?!" Ignoring the inquiring stares of the entire room, he walked quickly toward me and scolded in a low voice, "Mia, this is not the place for you to throw a tantrum!" "Go back home right now!" I pulled out the divorce agreement and said pleasantly, "Sure. Sign this, and I promise I'll never appear in front of you and Lily ever again." The veins on Arthur's temples bulged. "Mia, how many times do I have to tell you?! I am not divorcing you!" "Do you realize that your little stunt is ruining Lily's wedding?!"
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