Chapter 1 On New Year's Eve, I was scrolling through my phone when I stumbled upon a livestream from a local news drone. Fireworks were exploding over the river, painting the night sky in brilliant colors. And there, under the vibrant lights, was my husband of five years, passionately kissing his childhood sweetheart. I calmly closed the livestream and dialed his number. It rang for a long time before he picked up. The background noise was deafening. "Where are you?" I asked. A brief silence followed before he answered, "At the office. I told you I was working overtime." "Working overtime with your childhood sweetheart?" The silence on the other end stretched longer this time. I heard my own voice, terrifyingly calm. "You always do this. whenever you face a difficult question, you just stop talking." "Well, from now on, you don't have to answer anymore." I hung up. The apartment was suffocatingly quiet. On the dining table, six dishes and a soup had long since gone cold. I stared at the spread for a long time, suddenly feeling exhausted. Five years ago today, Liam was cooking hot pot for me in our cramped rental apartment. Suddenly, he pulled out a velvet box. "Chloe, marry me." "I can only afford silver right now, but I promise, one day I'll replace it with diamond." His eyes shone brighter than any gem when he said those words. I still wear that silver ring. Even though it's tarnished now, I couldn't bear to take it off. He said he'd give me the best life, and I believed him. When we first started our company, it was just the two of us. He handled the tech; I handled finance and sales. During the day, he coded and I met clients. At night, we packed orders together, squatting in the hallway eating instant noodles. Once, to meet a bid deadline, I slept only eight hours over three days and fainted at the print shop. Liam carried me to the hospital on his back, trembling the whole way. His eyes were red. "Let's quit. I'll get a regular job. I can't let you suffer like this." I shook my head. "No, we're almost there. I can hold on." And we did it. The day we got our first round of funding, Liam spun me around the office. Then he suddenly crouched down and buried his face in my chest. I felt my shirt getting wet. He said, "Chloe, I'll be good to you for the rest of my life." By the third year, the company was on track. We bought a house, upgraded our car. In the fourth year, he knelt on one knee and replaced the silver ring with a diamond one. "Wifey, let's have a baby." I touched my belly and smiled, nodding. I had just secured my position as CFO, but seeing the hope in his eyes, I handed in my resignation. Two months into the pregnancy, my morning sickness was so severe I was hospitalized. Liam ran between the company and the hospital every day, the dark circles under his eyes deepening. I touched his face. "Let's hire a nurse." He shook his head. "My wife, I take care of her myself." Back then, I thought this was what happiness looked like. Until six months ago, when his childhood sweetheart, Sophie, returned from abroad after her divorce. Liam picked her up from the airport. He came home late that night, smelling of unfamiliar perfume. Taking off his coat, he said: "Sophie came back alone with a kid. It's tough for her. I helped her find a place." From then on, "pitiful" became Sophie's label. Her car broke down? Liam went to fix it. Her kid got sick? Liam went to the hospital with them. She was sad? Liam drank with her until late at night. I went from asking to questioning, from questioning to arguing. Liam said, "Chloe, you weren't like this before." I said, "Liam, you weren't like this before either." Eventually, he stopped talking. No matter how much I screamed or cried. He would just watch quietly, then turn and leave. Leaving me alone, feeling like a lunatic. Even tonight, on New Year's Eve, he didn't bother with a convincing lie. He just said he was working overtime. While kissing another woman on a livestream. The front door opened. Liam walked in, saw me and the table full of food, and paused. "Still awake?" I didn't speak. He walked over, the scent of perfume making me nauseous. "Something urgent came up at the office..." he started. I cut him off. "Prenatal checkup tomorrow. 8 AM." Liam opened his mouth, his prepared excuse dying in his throat. I stood up to leave, but he grabbed my wrist. "Chloe, I'm sorry." His voice was low. "Just this year. It won't happen again. Once Sophie is settled..." I gently pulled my hand away. "No need to wait. Liam, let's get a divorce." Chapter 2 He froze. "What... what did you say?" I looked him in the eye. "I said, divorce. You sleep in the guest room." Fireworks exploded outside the window, illuminating his shocked face. "Just because I didn't spend New Year's with you? Chloe, really?" I didn't answer and turned back to the bedroom. Closing the door, I heard him yell: "Why are you making a scene again! Can't you be more understanding?" Understanding. That word again. I touched my slightly rounded belly and whispered. "Baby, it's just you and me from now on." The Chloe who believed in everlasting love died on this New Year's Eve. The morning of the checkup, it started to rain. After breakfast, Liam's door was still closed. I knocked. "Leaving at eight." No response. At 7:50, I grabbed my bag and left. In the elevator, I got a message from Liam: Something came up, should I call you a car? I looked at the screen, remembering the first checkup. He had taken leave a week in advance, nervously crumpling the appointment slip. In the ultrasound room, when the doctor said, "That's the baby's heartbeat," his eyes instantly reddened. Leaving the hospital, he spun me around in the parking lot. "I'm going to be a dad!" Back then, his phone was on 24/7 for me. If I craved spicy noodles from across town, he drove an hour to get them. Now he says, something came up. I replied: No need, I'll drive. The hospital was crowded as always. The obstetrics waiting area was full of pregnant women, most accompanied by their husbands. The checkup went smoothly. The doctor smiled at the ultrasound screen. "Baby is healthy." I looked at the tiny figure, my nose stinging. This is my child. Mine alone. "Next time is the Down syndrome screening. Your husband needs to come sign for it," the doctor instructed. I nodded, wondering how far the divorce agreement would be by then. Walking out, I went to the pharmacy to pick up vitamins. While waiting in line, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. Liam. He was holding a three or four-year-old boy, walking over from the pediatric emergency department. Sophie followed beside him, her eyes red and swollen. The little boy looked flushed and lethargic, leaning against Liam. Liam looked down and said something to him, his expression gentle. They didn't see me. I stood there, the medicine bag suddenly heavy in my hand. So he remembered to come to the hospital today. Just not for me. "Chloe?" Liam suddenly turned around, his face changing when he saw me. He hurriedly handed the child to Sophie and walked over quickly. Liam glanced at the medicine bag. "You... finished the checkup?" "Yeah." "Chloe, I didn't mean to bail on you, it's just..." The little boy started crying. "Uncle Liam! It hurts..." Sophie held the child, looking over with red eyes. "Liam, Kayden wants you to hold him..." Liam looked torn. I found this scene ridiculous. "Go ahead. The child is important." "Chloe, Kayden suddenly had a high fever and passed out. Sophie couldn't handle it alone, so I..." Sophie screamed, "Liam! Kayden threw up!" The child vomited all over himself and soiled Liam's coat. Instinctively, he rushed to take care of the boy. I turned and walked away. "Chloe!" he shouted from behind. I didn't look back. As the elevator doors closed, I saw him rushing the child to the restroom. Sophie followed, holding onto his arm. They looked just like a family. In the car, I gripped the steering wheel, my hands shaking. Not from anger, but from cold. A cold that seeped into my bones. My phone buzzed. A message from Liam: Kayden isn't doing well. I'll be home late. I stared at the screen and typed emotionlessly: Liam, when you get back, we'll discuss the divorce. My finger hovered over the send button. I deleted it and retyped: Don't bother coming back. Sent. Then I opened my contacts and found Lawyer Chen. The call connected. My voice was calm. "Mr. Chen, this is Chloe Qin." "I'd like to consult you about a divorce." Chapter 3 Lawyer Chen met me at a coffee shop. "Ms. Qin, we can draft a divorce agreement, but if you can provide evidence of him transferring assets, we'll have a stronger position for property division." I stirred my coffee. "What kind of evidence?" Chen pushed up his glasses. "For example, gifting marital assets to others without your consent." "Think back, has your husband done anything unusual?" I thought about it. Then I thought of Sophie's social media. Starting six months ago, her posts showed increasingly expensive items. Floor-to-ceiling windows in a new apartment, the steering wheel of a white Porsche, Hermès bags, designer kids' clothes. She didn't work and was freshly divorced. Where did the money come from? "I remember she said her ex-husband didn't give much alimony," I murmured. Chen nodded. "Then there's a problem. You might want to look into it." When I got home, I scrolled through Sophie's timeline. I screenshot every background, license plate, even the logos on shopping bags. Then I called Maya. Maya was my apprentice when I was at the company. After I resigned, she took my position. "Chloe?" Her voice was hushed. I got straight to the point. "Maya, do me a favor." "Check the company accounts. Any unusual expenditures recently? Like large transfers to an individual." Silence on the other end. Maya's voice dropped even lower. "Yes. Mr. Lu approved several transfers in the last six months. The recipient is Sophie Su. The biggest one was for a house purchase, two million." My heart sank. "What else?" "A car purchase, eight hundred thousand. The rest are miscellaneous expenses, totaling..." She paused. "About another million." Three million eight hundred thousand. I hung up, my hands trembling. Not because of the money. Because last week, I mentioned booking a postpartum center for about a hundred thousand. Liam frowned. "Too expensive. Just let my mom take care of you." At that very moment, Sophie's timeline showed off a new Birkin bag. I spent the night logging into the company's financial system. It was the account I used before resigning. I still had admin access. Liam hadn't changed it. Or maybe he never thought I'd check. The transfer records were clear. From the time Sophie returned until now, six months. Three million, eight hundred twenty-seven thousand, four hundred dollars. House, car, luxury goods, kids' clothes, early education, housekeeping... Every entry stabbed my eyes. I took screenshots, saved them, backed them up. Then I waited for Liam. He came back at dawn, smelling of alcohol. Seeing me sitting in the living room, he paused. "Haven't slept?" "The company account is missing three million eight hundred and twenty thousand," I said bluntly. Liam's expression froze. "Sophie's house, car, those bags. You bought them?" Silence. More silence. "Speak." My voice was soft. "Chloe, Sophie just got divorced, raising a kid alone isn't easy. I was just help—" I cut him off. "Helping to the tune of a house and a car?" "Liam, our first year, we carried samples onto the bus ourselves to save five hundred bucks on shipping. Now you give away nearly four million without blinking?" He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. "One week. Put all the money back into the company account." "Otherwise, I will sue you for transferring marital assets and report you to the tax bureau." His eyes widened. "Are you crazy? You'd ruin me over money?" I looked into his eyes. "Not for money. For me and my child." He stood there like a statue. Silent. Always like this. Whenever it gets hard, he shuts down. I reiterated. "Seven days. If the money isn't there, see you in court." I turned back to the bedroom. Closing the door, I heard him slump onto the sofa and the click of a lighter. I touched my belly, feeling the tiny life there. Suddenly, the pain didn't matter anymore. I only wanted one thing now. To take my child and the money, and leave. As for Liam, he had to pay the price. Chapter 4 On the seventh day, the money hadn't arrived. The lawyer's letter reached the company. When Liam came home that night, he slammed the letter on the table. "Chloe, do you have to do this?" I asked calmly: "What choice do I have? Wait for you to give all our money away and let me and the baby starve?" His eyes were red. "Our five years of relationship..." I interrupted him. "You destroyed the relationship yourself." "Liam, every time you chose her, you were destroying us." "Every time you stayed silent, you were erasing us." He was speechless again. Over the weekend, I went out to buy baby supplies. When I returned, I heard laughter before I even opened the door. Inside, the living room was a playground. Balloons, streamers, toys everywhere. Several kids were running around. Sophie's son, Kayden, was riding on Liam's shoulders, laughing hysterically. Sophie came out of the kitchen wearing an apron. Her smile froze when she saw me. Her voice was tiny. "Chloe... today is Kayden's birthday. Your place is big, so I thought..." Liam put Kayden down, looking awkward. "Chloe, let me explain..." "Who allowed this?" My voice was icy. The room went quiet. The kids stared. I enunciated every word. "This is my house. Who allowed you to bring strangers in?" Sophie's eyes reddened. "I'm sorry, I'll leave right now... Kayden, let's go..." "Sophie!" Liam grabbed her and turned to me. "Chloe, it's just a birthday party for a kid. Is this necessary?" Is this necessary. I've heard those three words too many times. "Get out," I said. "Chloe!" "Take these people and get out!" Kayden suddenly screamed and charged at me. "Bad woman! Don't yell at my mommy!" He hit me hard. I lost my balance and fell backward. My lower back smashed into the corner of the dining table. Pain exploded. Worse, a tearing cramp seized my abdomen. I looked down. Bright red blood was spreading rapidly on my light-colored pants. "Blood..." someone screamed. Liam rushed to help me, but I pushed him away. I gritted my teeth. "Call an ambulance... call an ambulance!" In the ambulance, waves of pain washed over me. I grabbed the nurse's hand. "My baby... my baby..." The nurse comforted me, but her eyes said everything. I was wheeled into the ER. When I woke up, the doctor shook his head at me. "I'm sorry. We couldn't save the baby." I didn't cry. I just stared at the ceiling, my mind blank. In the ward, Liam stood by the bed, eyes bloodshot. "Chloe, I'm sorry..." "Get out." "We're still young, we can try ag—" "Get out!" He didn't move. I grabbed a glass and threw it. It shattered at his feet. "Get out!" Liam finally left. I lay in the hospital bed, touching my flat stomach. It was empty, as if that little life had never been there. This morning, I felt the baby kick. Now, nothing. The last link between Liam and me was broken. The next day, I placed the divorce agreement in front of him. "Sign it." Liam looked at the "leave with nothing" clause and looked up sharply. "Chloe, you..."
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