Nine months pregnant, I suddenly craved the caramel apples my husband and I used to eat when we first started dating. I pestered him to drive me to get some, but as soon as we got in the car, the smart navigation system automatically popped up a destination. It was an unfamiliar apartment complex on the west side of the city. My husband quickly clicked the 'X' when the pop-up appeared, changing the subject with a casual air. I tacitly pretended nothing had happened. That night after going to bed, I connected to the car control app. In the cloud-uploaded driving records, the car had a 30-mile abnormal route every day. Just recently, the "Owner" had categorized it as a "Daily Habit." In the video records, every night after I fell asleep, my husband would secretly get up. Under the cover of night, he would drive to the address I had accidentally seen. Every time the car arrived, a slender figure was waiting at the entrance of the apartment building. She would take his coat, dust it off, and adjust his scarf before he left. Most of the time, she would gently say: "If you're too busy, you don't have to come see me. I'm not like your wife, who can't be left alone for a moment." That night, I had insomnia. Married for five years, it took four rounds of IVF to conceive this child. I couldn't bring myself to be ruthless. Friends also advised me that at least my husband still had feelings and responsibility for me. Marriage needs management; turn a blind eye and it will pass. But a week later, on the day of my difficult labor, inside the delivery room, my husband's phone suddenly rang. An anxious voice came from the other end: "Sarah is standing on the edge of the roof now, saying if you don't come, she'll jump!" His movement to pull his hand away was faster than his brain. "She is the daughter of my late mentor..." He dared not look into my eyes, "I'm just going to persuade her to come down." Red-eyed, I screamed hoarsely at his back: "If you dare to leave today! I will consider this child to have no father!" My husband paused, looking back at me with a pained expression. But the next second, he still rushed out of the hospital with firm steps. 1 I knew who the woman on the other end of the phone was. I had seen her countless times in Lucas's dashcam footage. I lay on the operating table, my clothes soaked through with sweat, clinging messily to my body. The child was not yet born, but the father had already abandoned him. In my hazy consciousness, I heard my parents and in-laws arguing outside. Intense contractions hit like a tsunami, but they couldn't compare to one ten-thousandth of the pain in my heart. My mother roared through tears: "Who is that woman? Is Lucas crazy? Leaving his wife while she's giving birth?" The Sterling elders were frantically making calls, their voices crying: "Emily, hold on a little longer. We've sent people to find that disgrace. If he doesn't come back today, we'll pretend we never had this son!" My wedding ring slipped off my finger during the struggle and rolled under the bed, kicked into the shadows by rushing medical staff. The contractions became more urgent, and the alarms of the machines rose and fell. "Fetal heart rate dropping!" The doctor's shout pierced the air, and my vision went black. When I opened my eyes again, the smell of disinfectant drilled into my nose. The nurse was adjusting the IV drip speed. Seeing me awake, she said softly: "It's a miracle we saved you from the hemorrhage. Children... there will be more in the future." With a boom, my heart felt like it had been pierced through. My mother sat by the bed, tears in her eyes, gently wiping mine: "My baby, you've suffered." My father stood by the bed with a heartache expression, and my in-laws stood in the corner full of guilt. I looked at the pale ceiling, tears silently flowing into my hair. The days and nights of these five years played on loop like a silent movie before my eyes. From Lucas's proposal at the graduation ceremony when we were twenty-two. To him staying up late preparing various pregnancy nutrition meals for me. To the way he seriously recorded fetal heart data at every checkup. Now, all these tender fragments had become a joke. At the door, Lucas's childhood friend, Mark, stood there guiltily. "Sister-in-law, Sarah, her depression flared up. She said if Lucas didn't go, she would jump off the building. There was really no choice... You..." He didn't dare to continue, seeming to realize the inappropriateness. "So what? Do I need to be understanding?" I mocked expressionlessly. I wanted to ask him, how many times did you help Lucas lie to me? Every time you said it was a gathering between friends, how many times was it true? But suddenly I didn't want to know. From the delivery room to the ward, I waited for my legal husband to return, from dark until dawn, until night fell again. At 8 PM, Lucas, who had disappeared for a full twenty hours, finally appeared. His suit was wrinkled, and his eyes dodged mine. "Emily, I'm sorry." His voice was dry. "Sarah's condition was really dangerous. My mentor entrusted her to me before he died, I had to..." I interrupted him, voice hoarse: "Do you know our child is gone?" "You knew I was having a C-section yesterday, but you still chose to be with her." "Lucas, that was our child!" Silence spread in the ward. He held my hand, his palm ice cold. "Emily, in these five years, I've never begged you for anything. Just this once, I beg you not to make a scene." "Sarah just lost her father. If she is accused of interfering in someone else's family again, her depression will worsen." I looked at the pleading in his eyes, my heart tearing into pieces. He shouldn't be begging me; he should be kneeling and crying at the door of the NICU. A person's first reaction can't lie. He didn't ask the doctor why I had a hemorrhage. Didn't ask how scared I was during the surgery. Once he opened his mouth, it was all about another woman. Tears poured out, soaking the pillowcase. Using all my strength, I squeezed out a word from my throat: "Okay." He was visibly relieved, then said: "Sarah needs someone with her right now. I'll move in with her for a while." "When her mood stabilizes, about five months or so, I'll move back. It won't be too late for us to have children then, okay?" Lucas's tone was like arranging a work meeting. My eyes widened abruptly, as if a basin of ice water had been poured over my head. The child we looked forward to for five years was not yet cold in his grave, yet he was already planning a future for another woman. In this instant, my world collapsed. 2 I subconsciously touched my flat abdomen. A new little life was once nurtured there, proof that we once loved each other, but now it seemed so ironic. I slowly withdrew my hand from his grip, my voice terrifyingly calm: "Lucas." "The first time you learned to make soup, you filled the kitchen with smoke just because I couldn't eat anything due to morning sickness." "You secretly recorded the baby's heartbeat, set it as your ringtone, and showed it off to everyone." "You lay at the door of the examination room shouting 'Wifey don't be afraid,' refusing to leave even after being chased away by nurses three times." "In these five years, you spoiled me until I couldn't take care of myself, even squatting down to tie my shoelaces..." "I once truly believed we would be happy forever." I raised my tear-stained face, voice shattered: "But now, I can't see a single bit of care for me in your eyes anymore." Memories of five years flooded in like a tide. Lucas's Adam's apple rolled violently, and finally, he said hoarsely: "But wifey, Sarah really needs me right now." That "needs me" completely crushed my last shred of illusion. I looked at him, suddenly feeling the person in front of me was so strange. With a trembling voice, I gritted my teeth and spat out a word: "Get out!" His figure paused, seemingly wanting to hug me, but eventually disappeared at the end of the corridor without looking back. On the day of the child's hundred-day memorial, I knelt in front of the grave. Lucas still didn't come. "Baby, Mommy is here to see you." My voice was soft but trembling uncontrollably. My mother put her arm around my shoulder and wiped tears, "Emily, Mom is here." I choked in my mother's arms: "It's okay. At least the child came to accompany me." "Besides, given the current situation, maybe it's better he didn't come to this family." As soon as the voice fell, Lucas arrived late. He knelt beside me. "Baby, Daddy..." I interrupted him coldly: "I said it that day. If you dared to leave, the child wouldn't have you as a father." "Emily, I know you are sad, but don't say such things..." He frowned at me, looking as if I was being unreasonable, while he was so magnanimous not to hold it against me. "As a father, I'm also sad that the child is gone. You..." My mother raised her hand and slapped him. "Sad? Your sadness is leaving your wife in difficult labor to take care of a shady woman outside?" Lucas's face suddenly turned gloomy. Before he could say anything, Sarah rushed over from outside the cemetery with red eyes. She looked at Lucas, voice choking. "Lucas, are you done paying respects?" "Is it... finally time to move back?" My father rushed up immediately: "Lucas! What day is it today? You actually brought this woman here?" Lucas probably knew his behavior was inappropriate, saying guiltily: "Dad, I had no choice. Sarah's mental state hasn't been good recently. I can't leave her alone at home." "Mental state not good? Is it the turn of someone else's husband to take care of her bad mental state? Do you know today is your child's hundredth day? Do you know how Emily survived these days?" Sarah immediately lowered her head, voice as thin as a mosquito: "Uncle, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to. It's just that Lucas said he was coming out today, and I was really scared, so I followed him." Looking pitiful everywhere. Sure enough, Lucas immediately protected her, "Dad, just direct your anger at me, don't make it difficult for her." My father was furious, turning to look at Lucas's parents: "This is the good son you raised!" My mother helped me stand up, trembling with anger: "Lucas, are you still human?" Lucas's parents panicked too, quickly advising: "Lucas, today is indeed inappropriate. Find someone to send Sarah back first." But Lucas acted as if he didn't hear, instead tightening his grip on Sarah's hand: "Her mental state just stabilized, she can't be stimulated anymore." I looked at him, voice dry: "So... in your eyes, she can't be stimulated, but I can? I should bear the child's death alone, right?" Before he could speak, Sarah said aggrievedly: "It's okay, Lucas. Sister-in-law is right. I was insensible. You... you go back and take good care of Sister-in-law." "I... I'll go back now and pack your luggage." She turned stumbling, her high heel tripping on a tombstone, and fell to the ground. Lucas's hand holding mine tightened abruptly, almost letting go to rush over. But he didn't move in the end, just watching Mark help her up. After a long time, he said deeply: "I'll accompany you for a while longer." "But Sarah, you must remember, Emily is my lawfully wedded wife." "When she needs me back, I must leave." "Don't cry or make a scene. I have done my utmost these years." Sarah bit her lip, as if she couldn't hold it anymore, crying and running out of the cemetery. Lucas remained expressionless, not chasing. But the hand holding mine trembled slightly. Care cannot be hidden. Many years ago, I was hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis. He rushed back overnight from out of town. Clearly distressed with red eyes, he insisted on scolding me with a cold face for eating indiscriminately. He was like that then too, saying harsh words but his fingertips gently rubbing the back of my hand. 3 That night, in a private room at a restaurant. Elders from both families sat around the round table, the atmosphere oppressive. Mark whispered in Lucas's ear. "Sister Sarah is still crying in the parking lot. The security guard says she refuses to get out of the car." Lucas was serving me soup, movements calm and unhurried. He didn't even look up: "Let her be." The air in the room stagnated a bit more. This meal was tasteless, no different from when I usually ate alone. Sarah was the daughter of his and Mark's mentor, growing up together. Although Mark didn't say it openly. His care for her was ultimately more than for me, the rightful sister-in-law. When the main dishes were all served, the last dish, steamed leopard coral grouper, was turned to me. Mark suddenly spoke. "Leave some of this dish for Sister Sarah. She loves fish the most." "If Sister-in-law wants to eat, just order another one." Lucas sneered. Raised his hand, directly moving the whole plate of fish in front of me. His voice was cold and hard: "What my wife loves to eat, it's not the turn of outsiders to share." Despite saying so. After putting down his chopsticks, he frequently looked towards the door of the room. The waiter finished clearing the plates and was about to go out to dispose of the kitchen waste. Lucas was silent for a long time, suddenly stood up: "I'll go." The waiter handed over the garbage bag in astonishment, hesitating to speak. After Lucas left. Mark immediately moved to the farthest seat, bowing his head pretending to deal with emails. Parents on both sides were silent in embarrassment, chewing food mechanically. I felt chest tightness. Got up and walked to the corridor, wanting to breathe fresh air. Unknowingly, I walked to the underground parking lot. I faintly heard Sarah's aggrieved sobbing, mixed with Lucas's low comfort. Hiding behind a pillar, I saw light snow falling outside. Lucas and Sarah sat side by side on the hood of the car, sharing a bento box. He raised his hand, gently wiping the tear stains from her cheek. Sarah, red-eyed, punched him, face full of grievance. "You're going back to her, why come to care about me!" Lucas let her hit him, with no impatience in his eyes. His gaze was gentle and tolerant. Completely different from the forced gentleness every time he looked at me. His voice was helpless. "Don't say silly things." "I promised my teacher to take care of you for a lifetime. Don't you know if I would abandon you?" Sarah sobbed, leaning into his arms. Lucas picked up a piece of ribs, feeding it to her lips: "Specially ordered from a private kitchen and delivered." "Much tastier than hotel food." She took a bite, gradually stopping her crying. Lucas explained to her in a low voice. "Emily just lost a child, emotions unstable." "Just accompanying her for a meal." "If she's satisfied, she won't urge me home all day." So, that's what he thought. In these five years, he chose to side with me on many insignificant matters. Turns out he just felt that way, I would trouble Sarah less. A little favor was enough to make me grateful and stay by his side obediently. Looking into the parking lot with drifting light snow, the two still clinging together. Lucas had slight stomach trouble and usually ate very little. Clearly just dined in the private room, yet most of the bento went into his stomach. Maybe it's true as others said. Meals taste sweet only when eaten with someone who shares your heart. Whether it's a childhood sweetheart or a beloved one. Anyway, that person isn't me. 4 I turned silently, taking the prepared divorce agreement from my bag. When I returned to the private room with the agreement, parents from both families stood up. After what just happened, the Sterling parents didn't know how to mediate. My parents sighed, didn't persuade much, just said "Divorce if you want." Lucas's mother hesitated, but still grabbed my hand and said: "Emily, give Lucas another chance, okay? Lucas is just this way because he values his mentor too much." I didn't speak, just placed the divorce agreement on the table. Just as Lucas's mother was about to shed tears, the door opened. Lucas arrived. And brought Sarah. She wore Lucas's suit jacket, looking around the room with a matter-of-fact expression, like the incoming Mrs. Sterling. The room fell instantly silent, all eyes focused on them. Lucas's mother's voice trembled: "Lucas, why did she come back again?" Lucas's father threw his wine glass in anger: "Lucas, are you crazy?!" Lucas didn't answer, just glanced at my coat, gaze landing on my face: "Finished eating?" "Mm." I responded calmly: "I'm going home." He seemed relieved, "Okay, message me when you get home." He finished lightly, turning sideways to bring Sarah forward. "Dad, Mom, you know my mentor passed away. Before he died, he entrusted Sarah to me. I can't break my word. I need to give her a job for the coming period, so she will temporarily join our company." This open attitude made our questioning just now seem like making a fuss. Sarah showed a decent smile, reaching out to hold Lucas's mother's arm. "Hello Auntie, Lucas has always taken care of me. Today he specially brought me to meet the elders. Since everyone is here, how about I toast everyone?" Lucas's mother looked at me troubledly, "Emily, how about... sit down and talk?" Just as I was about to refuse, Sarah interrupted, eyes provocative: "Sister Emily sit down too. After all, you are still the sister-in-law. You should be informed about some things, don't you think?" Slap— A crisp slap sounded in the room. I looked in shock as my mom slapped Sarah. "Mom!" Mom glared at me with red eyes, voice trembling: "I carried you for ten months, don't I understand you?" "From marrying him at twenty-two to twenty-seven now, five years! For him, you gave up the chance to study abroad, managed the company for him. When he drank until gastric bleeding for business, you stayed by his bed for three days without closing your eyes. You love him so much. If your heart wasn't dead, could you bear to let go?" "I don't ask for great wealth for you, but today he brings a mistress to humiliate you. As a mother, I can't stand it!" "If you don't want to hit her, I'll do it for you!" Mom's words were like a heavy hammer, finally knocking my tears down. Sarah covered her face, tears swirling in her eyes. Lucas immediately shielded her behind him, face terribly gloomy: "Emily, when did you learn to use elders..." "Do you know what disgusts me most about you?" I didn't wait for him to finish, stepping forward and slapping him. "Lucas, the person who deserves hitting most is you!" After hitting, I pulled out the divorce agreement from the table and slammed it on him. Lucas caught the document, pupils contracting upon seeing the title. "Emily... you want a divorce?"
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