On my birthday, I found out my husband, Ethan, had booked a high-end waterfront restaurant and ordered a massive bouquet of 99 sunflowers. To keep from ruining his surprise, I dressed up in my finest evening gown and went there. But I stood outside the restaurant until closing time, and he never showed up. Instead, I scrolled past an Instagram post from Daisy, the daughter of his late college professor. "The flight was delayed, so I missed the waterfront view, but the one who loves me will always wait for me." In the photo, Daisy was holding that exact bouquet of sunflowers, her smile sweet and radiant. And around the wrist of the man holding her shoulder was the braided couple's bracelet I had made with my own hands. Calmly, I liked the post and left a comment underneath. "I didn't know some people actually enjoyed picking up my trash." Closing my phone, I looked down at the matching bracelet on my own wrist. It only made me feel sick. I ripped the bracelet off with force and threw it straight into the trash can without a second glance. The phone in my pocket buzzed repeatedly. It was Ethan calling. His voice was filled with impatience. "It's so late. What are you doing messing around outside?" I said nothing. He continued his endless lecturing. "Stop hanging out with those useless friends of yours. Look at what they've turned you into." "Besides, Daisy has no family here. If something happens to a young girl like her in the middle of the night, who's going to take responsibility? Stop overthinking!" If something happened to her in the middle of the night... But what about me? My knuckles turned white as I gripped the phone. Hearing his words, I cut him off directly. "Ethan, I've been waiting for you outside the waterfront restaurant all night." The person on the other end of the line fell silent for a moment, his voice suddenly losing its confidence. "Stay right there. I'm coming over now." The freezing winter wind swept under the hem of my dress. I shivered uncontrollably. An entire hour passed. I huddled under the awning of the closed restaurant, my hands frozen bright red, but the cold was nothing compared to the numbness in my chest. In the end, my best friend, Lily, drove over to pick me up. On the way back, she cursed Ethan out, calling him a piece of garbage. I didn't reply; I just leaned my tired head against the car door. I felt completely disgusted and exhausted. Exhausted by Ethan, and by our three-year marriage. Right then, my screen lit up. Daisy had sent me a Snapchat message. Every single word dripped with arrogance. She said, "Beg me, and I'll let Ethan go pick you up." Attached was a photo. In it, Ethan was making the bed for Daisy in a hotel room. I blocked Daisy on Snapchat immediately. After a moment's thought, I blocked Ethan's number too. I stayed at Lily's place until noon the next day. When I unlocked my front door, I saw Ethan sitting on the sofa, smoking. The moment he saw me, he blew up, questioning me with intense annoyance. "Where the hell have you been? Now you're staying out all night?" "Didn't I tell you to wait for me at the restaurant? Why did you run off in the middle of the night? How can you be so immature?" I watched him put out his cigarette, and my chest felt even tighter. I couldn't stand the smell of smoke. In the past, Ethan refused to quit, so even in the winter, I would keep the windows half-open for ventilation, doing my best to avoid it. But now, I didn't want to compromise anymore. I changed my shoes, walked over to the window, and pushed it wide open. The icy wind rushed in, pouring down my collar, but I felt nothing. My voice remained flat and detached. "You went to a hotel room with her, yet you still care where I slept last night?" Ethan seemed taken abashed. He stood up abruptly, his brows furrowing deeply. "Chloe, what nonsense are you talking about? Before Professor Davies passed away, I promised him I would take good care of Daisy. Last night, I was just picking her up. You have a birthday every year anyway. I'll just make it up to you next year." "Is it really necessary to hold a grudge against a younger girl?" As he stood up, he kicked the coffee table. The glass ashtray slid off and shattered into pieces on the floor. A strange silence fell over the living room. That was when I noticed the faint, half-hidden hickey beneath his white collar. I blinked, a wave of emotion surging in my chest. He was wearing the shirt I had carefully chosen for him. When he was doing *that* with Daisy in the hotel, did he ever think of me? In reality, the waterfront restaurant was meant to welcome Daisy back. Even the 99 sunflowers were meant for Daisy. I looked down, the light reflecting off the broken glass stinging my eyes. So, I had been fooling myself all along. There would be no "next year" for Ethan and me. Just like the shattered glass on the floor, once it was broken, it was broken. I looked up, staring at the face that was both so familiar and yet so strange, and said, "Ethan, let's get a divorce."
"Chloe, nothing happened between Daisy and me, I swear. Can you just trust me?" His tone softened, and he reached out to grab my arm. "I was only worried about you. I searched for you all night, terrified that something had happened." I took a step back, dodging his hand. What was the point of saying all this now? I turned to get my ID from the drawer, but suddenly noticed that my jewelry box had been moved. My heart skipped a beat. I opened it. It was completely empty. Inside was a diamond necklace left to me by my late mother. It was my dowry, and her only heirloom. To me, it was irreplaceable. With a trembling voice, I asked Ethan, "Where is my necklace?" Seeing my red eyes and distressed state, he pursed his lips, looking uneasy. "Daisy said she had an important networking event today and couldn't show up looking cheap. So, I lent her your necklace." "But don't worry, I told her she has to return it right after the event. She won't ruin it." As soon as he finished speaking, Ethan's phone rang. The ringtone was a romantic love song. It was a ringtone that used to belong exclusively to me. But the caller ID now read: *Daisy*. "Ethan, I'm so sorry... I lost the necklace you lent me," Daisy's crying voice came through the speaker. My eyes widened, and I felt the blood drain from my face. But Ethan ignored my reaction, asking her frantically, "What happened? Where are you right now?" "I... I was cornered by some sketchy guys when I left the venue. I'm so scared, Ethan..." "Send me your location. I'm coming right now!" Even as he spoke, Ethan was already rushing toward the front door. In his panic, he even put on the wrong shoes. He seemed to have completely forgotten I was standing there, until I brushed past his shoulder and stepped into the elevator first. "I'm coming with you." Ethan froze for two seconds before frowning deeply as he followed me. "Didn't I tell you? Daisy and I are completely innocent. Can't you just give me some personal space?" I stepped into the elevator expressionlessly. Looking at the blame written all over his face, I felt no emotion left in my heart. "I'm getting my necklace back." Realizing he had misunderstood, Ethan opened his mouth as if to explain, but I didn't want to hear it. We were silent the entire drive. He glanced at me several times but said nothing in the end. And I didn't care. When we arrived at the scene, Daisy immediately threw herself into Ethan's arms without saying a word. Tears streamed down her pale face, her hair was a mess, and her voice was incredibly fragile. "Ethan, you're finally here. I thought I'd never see you again." She didn't even look at me sitting in the car. Or perhaps, she simply didn't care about me, his actual wife, at all. A police officer walked over from nearby. "Are you her husband? Don't let a young girl walk down these dark, isolated alleys alone. Just sign here." Ethan thanked him repeatedly, gently rubbing Daisy's back to comfort her with one hand while taking the pen to sign with the other. Suddenly, I remembered the early days of our marriage. I had worked late one night and got cornered in an alley by a group of thugs on my way home. Terrified, I had called Ethan, but he was performing at Daisy's graduation ceremony. Faced with my crying pleas for help, he had casually dismissed it, saying no decent guy would even look at me. He had hung up before I could even finish. Later, the police escorted me home and said the exact same words to him. But instead of comforting me, Ethan had yelled at me. He said, "I didn't expect you to make a fortune anyway. If you have the energy to work overtime, you should spend it taking care of the house!" I had thought that once Daisy went abroad, our marriage would slowly become happy and peaceful. I never expected these three years to be nothing but a joke. Now that the dream was shattered, it was time to end it. I pushed open the car door, ignored the hugging couple, and spoke in a cold, clear voice. "Officer, I want to file a report." "Someone scammed my husband and manipulated him into stealing my necklace." "That necklace is an auction piece worth $150,000. That's grand larceny." Ethan stared at me in absolute shock. After all, during our three years of marriage, I had always been gentle and submissive in his eyes, never once going against him. Now, not only did I expose his relationship with Daisy on the spot, but I was also ready to get them arrested. But to me, he was already a nobody. I was going to file the report, and I was going to take back everything that belonged to me.
Daisy stood in front of Ethan with red eyes, speaking defensively on his behalf. "Chloe, in front of the police, how could you not leave Ethan any dignity?" Even Ethan spoke in a dark, warning tone. "Chloe, I don't care how much of a tantrum you throw at home, but don't cause trouble in public. Otherwise, I won't tolerate it anymore!" I slammed the car door shut, walked over to the police officer who was watching the drama, and insisted on filing a formal report. This time, I wouldn't let things go. My decision to resign from my job back then was entirely Ethan's fault. It wasn't just because he criticized me for neglecting the home, but because he had taken the financial project data I was responsible for and given it to Daisy for her graduation thesis. Because the data was leaked ahead of schedule, I was almost arrested as a corporate spy. While I was locked in a holding cell for an entire night, Ethan was busy sending Daisy off at the airport. Every single time, he chose to blame me unconditionally. "Daisy is my mentor's daughter. Is it wrong for me to look after her? Learn your place!" But why did his gratitude have to be paid with my suffering? Ethan and Daisy were both taken to the police station to give their statements, while I went home to pack my bags. Standing at the entrance of our apartment complex, watching the bustling traffic, I felt a sudden wave of emptiness. Eventually, Lily rushed over, cursing the entire way. If I hadn't stopped her, she would have driven straight to the police station to run them over. I said nothing, went inside her apartment, and fell asleep immediately. By the time I woke up, the sky was already dark. I saw a text from Lily. She had ordered dinner for me and said she would be back late. So, when the doorbell rang, I thought it was the food delivery. But when I opened the door, Ethan was standing there. Before I could slam the door, he forced a bouquet of red roses into my arms, his tone placating. "Chloe, I came to apologize. I didn't expect Daisy to lose the necklace. Please stop being mad, okay?" "The police are already checking the security cameras. We'll find it. But do you have any idea what your little stunt this morning did? The job Daisy worked so hard to get was canceled." "Let's be reasonable. You went too far this time. Daisy came back to the country specifically for this job, and now years of her hard work are ruined because of you." My movements froze. I slammed the door shut with all my strength. The heavy security door collided with Ethan's shin. He let out a painful groan and bent over, clutching his leg. "Chloe, how did you become so unreasonable?" In his eyes, I was always the unreasonable one, the one making a scene out of nothing. The bouquet of roses slipped from my hands and hit the floor, a card sliding out from the petals. I recognized the familiar, elegant handwriting on it. "Hope my princess Daisy is always happy." It was signed by Ethan. I felt like my hands had been contaminated. "Ethan, I'll have my lawyer draft the divorce papers and mail them to you in a few days. We're done." "What do you mean we're done? If we don't resolve this today, I'm not leaving." Ethan propped his arm against the doorframe, his face dark. I knew this was the prefix to his temper, but before I could do anything, his phone rang. It was Daisy. Ethan's face changed instantly. He turned slightly away, his voice dropping into a soft, comforting whisper. "Don't cry. I'm coming right now."
I didn't bother to look at him again and shut the door firmly. Not long after Ethan left, I received a call from the police station. They told me the necklace had been found and asked me to come identify it. However, they also mentioned that while trying to help find the necklace, Daisy had gotten into a car accident and was currently in surgery. I sat silently on the sofa for two minutes after hanging up, then went downstairs, got into a cab, and headed to the hospital. Yet, when I reached the hospital room, I found Ethan's parents were there too. Daisy was sitting in bed, tears streaming down her face as her shoulders shook. "Ethan is such a good man, but now he's losing Chloe because of me. I don't deserve to live!" With that, she ripped the IV needle from her hand, swung her bare feet out of bed, and tried to throw herself against the wall. Ethan barely managed to hold her back. Seeing me enter, he scowled deeply, threw the necklace from the bedside table onto my lap, and spoke in a low, heavy voice. "Your precious item is back, completely intact." "Daisy almost died. Now that things have turned out like this, are you satisfied?" I weighed the diamond necklace in my hands, saying nothing. Mrs. Miller had never liked me, and now she seized the opportunity. She rushed over, pointing her finger at my nose, and screamed, "How do you even have the nerve to ask for a divorce? Making such a huge fuss over a stupid necklace, even dragging the police into it! How embarrassing!" "Son, divorce her! A lazy woman like her would be sleeping on the streets if you hadn't been supporting her all these years!" Even Mr. Miller huffed angrily, his eyes wide. "Professor Davies did our family a massive favor. It is our duty to take care of Daisy. A wicked woman like you has a dirty mind, so you see everything as dirty! If anything happens to Daisy today, I'll use my last breath to make sure you pay!" I looked at Ethan, who also looked indignant, and slowly clenched my fists. Anyone who didn't know the truth would think they were the ones who had suffered a terrible injustice. But there was no point in playing nice anymore. The precious Daisy they cherished so much might look innocent and fragile, but behind their backs, she had an entirely different face. Did they really think Daisy had just simply returned from her studies abroad? No! I threw the diamond necklace onto the floor. Watching the plastic beads shatter and scatter, my eyes turned cold. I pulled out my phone and tapped play on an audio recording. Daisy's voice filled the room.
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