1 The moment Caleb Stone instinctively mixed the noodles for me, I asked for a divorce. His hand, mid-stir, paused abruptly. “Why?” he demanded, his voice thick with disbelief. “I told you before, Stella and I have nothing going on!” I looked at the perfectly mixed bowl of noodles, a faint, bitter smile touching my lips. “Caleb, we’ve been together for eight years. You’ve never once mixed my noodles for me.” Caleb’s hand, still clutching the chopsticks, froze. After a long silence, he spoke, his voice strained, trying to explain. “Ava, I just…” “You just got used to doing these little things for her. You got used to me always accommodating her.” I curved my lips, my voice eerily calm. “But Caleb, I’m not used to it. I deserve a genuine, complete love.” I was dragging my suitcase, just about to step past the villa’s grand entrance, when Caleb grabbed my arm. “Ava…” I turned to him. His lips trembled, words caught in his throat. “Stella isn’t feeling well. She wants your special soup.” Caleb suffered from stomach issues, and this soup was a recipe I’d gotten from a renowned holistic healer. To learn that recipe, I’d turned down an invitation to join a prestigious research expedition, spending a full month working as an assistant at the clinic. Eight years we’d been together, and Caleb had never even wiped a spilled drop of water from the table. Yet now, he was begging for this soup for Stella. Meeting my reddened eyes, Caleb shifted his gaze, looking away. “Make it one more time. I’ll let you go back to the research team.” He looked at me with an air of condescension, as if he’d forgotten why I’d left the team in the first place—Stella had wanted to join a polar expedition tourist group but couldn’t get a spot, so Caleb canceled my opportunity for a polar research trip. While they stood close, watching the aurora borealis in the snow, I received my dismissal notice from the research team. “Fine.” I took a deep breath, turning and walking into the kitchen. The soup was ready. I was just about to hand it to him when a gasp echoed from the master bedroom. It was supposed to be Caleb’s and my marital bedroom, but now he and Stella shared it. Caleb’s outstretched hand snapped back, and he rushed into the master bedroom. He accidentally knocked over the steaming bowl of soup, scalding liquid splashing all over me. My exposed skin instantly flushed crimson. I bit back a cry, dousing myself with cold water, but painful blisters still rose in angry patches. I was just picking up my suitcase, wincing in pain, when Caleb emerged from the master bedroom, cradling Stella in his arms, his face contorted in anger. He carefully settled Stella onto the sofa, then thoughtfully draped a blanket over her. Then, his face grim, he strode towards me. I instinctively reached for the door, wanting to escape, but he clamped down on my wrist. He squeezed hard on the scalded blisters, the searing pain almost making me black out. “You know Stella is allergic to pollen! Why didn’t you clean the room after she opened the window?!” “I didn’t…” Before I could finish, Caleb dragged me into the master bedroom. The movement burst the blisters on my wrist, yellowish pus mixing with blood seeping out, staining my white dress. Caleb shoved me to the floor. My knees hit the rough wooden floorboards, the coarse material scraping against my burns. I trembled uncontrollably from the pain. He saw the angry blisters on my hand, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, but then he glanced at the red spots on Stella’s wrist and spoke. “You’ll kneel here and clean this bedroom thoroughly. Don’t leave until there isn’t a single trace of pollen.” Ever since Stella arrived, cleaning the master bedroom had become my duty. Even though we had a full-time housekeeper, Caleb assigned this task to me simply because Stella claimed, “no one else cleans properly.” The bedroom had hardwood floors, and I was expected to kneel and meticulously wipe every inch with a rag. The dirty water in the bucket stung my skin, bringing waves of agonizing pain. Once the entire room was spotless, I finally stood, looking at Caleb with a vacant expression. “Is that enough?” Gazing at the increasingly grotesque burns on my hand, Caleb shifted his eyes. “Ava Hayes, it was clearly your negligence that caused Stella’s allergic reaction. Why are you putting on this show?” “We’re already divorced. You’re the one who asked for it!” I nodded, pulling my suitcase, intending to leave, when I bumped into our hurried family doctor. She saw me and gasped. “Mrs. Stone, your burns are so severe, you need immediate medical attention! Let me treat you first!” Before she could even set down her medical bag, Caleb pulled her towards Stella. “She’s the patient.” The doctor looked incredulously at Stella, who only had a mild allergic reaction, then at my severely burned self. She could only lower her head and examine Stella. As everyone gathered around Stella, I quickly opened the door and slipped away. 2 I endured the searing pain, walking for what felt like an eternity before finally exiting the villa community. The ambulance I had called was already waiting at the entrance. Seeing the paramedics, the intense pain finally overwhelmed me, and I passed out. When I woke again, the burns were neatly bandaged. Caleb was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in paperwork. A young nurse, changing my IV bag, whispered, “That must be your husband. He’s been here watching over you for two days straight.” After the nurse left, Caleb set down his papers and came to my bedside, offering me a bowl of hot soup. “Try this. I specifically ordered it for you.” It was takeout from that upscale restaurant he frequented. But I’d just seen Stella’s social media post, a photo of Caleb himself cooking soup for her. Seeing I didn’t take the bowl, he didn’t get angry. He placed the soup on the table and spoke. “Stella’s condition can’t be delayed any longer. Since you’re awake, we’ll begin the bone marrow transplant this afternoon.” With his words, a team of doctors streamed into the room. Before the operating room doors closed, I overheard the doctors’ conversation with Caleb: “Mr. Stone, Mrs. Hayes is not in optimal condition for a marrow donation, and she’s also injured. Extracting bone marrow now could cause organ damage. Ms. Reed’s condition is currently stable; we can certainly wait until Mrs. Hayes recovers before proceeding…” Before the doctor could finish, Caleb cut him off, his voice cold. “Stella suffers more with each day without the transplant. I can’t bear to see her in such pain. As for Ava, I’ll compensate her later.” Through the crack in the door, I saw the complete absence of love in his eyes. I closed mine, and a tidal wave of suppressed pain and humiliation washed over me. The cold anesthetic flowed into my veins. Caleb watched me, utterly oblivious to my immunity to anesthesia. The thick needle pierced my spine. The excruciating pain of the bone marrow aspiration made my entire body spasm. I tried to speak, to tell them the anesthetic wasn’t working, but a nurse beside me clamped her hand over my mouth. I bit down hard on the soft flesh inside my cheek, tasting blood as it trickled from the corner of my lips. Caleb approached, his voice laced with false reassurance. “I told the doctor to increase the anesthetic dosage. You won’t feel anything.” I gritted my teeth, closing my eyes, refusing to look at him anymore. Three years ago, when I underwent a D&C after a miscarriage, I told him I was immune to anesthesia. Back then, he held me, his eyes red-rimmed, promising he’d never let me be hurt again. But now, all my injuries were his doing. Stella, lying on the other bed, let out a soft murmur. Caleb quickly strode over, barking, “Where’s the anesthesiologist? Didn’t Stella get an anesthetic? Why is she still reacting?” The doctor, beads of sweat on his brow, explained to Caleb that it was a normal reaction after anesthesia, but Caleb remained unconvinced. “Stop the surgery for now. Go find the best anesthesiologist in the city.” “Mr. Stone, the bone marrow has already been extracted. If we don’t proceed quickly, we’ll have to perform a second extraction.” Seeing my pale face, Caleb hesitated for two seconds. But his concern for Stella quickly overcame that brief flicker of doubt. “Stella is afraid of pain. Ava is fine since she had the anesthetic.” I closed my eyes, my emotions draining away, leaving only a hollow ache. The doctor tried to say something more, but Caleb cut him off. “I hired you to ensure Stella’s safety. You don’t need to concern yourselves with anything else.” An hour later, the assistant arrived in the operating room with a new anesthesiologist. The thick needle plunged into my body once more. This time, under the immense pain, I completely lost consciousness. 3 When I woke again, the vast hospital room was empty save for me. I forced myself to reach for my phone. An invitation to join the research team had arrived. I quickly scanned it, then signed my name. This was a top-secret national research team. A long time ago, I had turned down their offer for Caleb’s sake. But I never imagined that, in the end, they would be the ones to embrace me. Seeing the flight details for three days later on my phone, I finally allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. Caleb walked in with a meal tray just as I put my phone down. Seeing my movements, he casually asked, “What are you doing?” I smoothed the smile from my face, tucking my phone further away, my voice flat. “Nothing.” Caleb looked at the woman who had been expressionless since he walked in, a flicker of unease stirring within him. He placed the food on the table, about to speak, when Stella’s special ringtone chimed. “Caleb, didn’t you say you’d come help me pick out rings? Where are you?” After hanging up, Caleb left without a backward glance. “I have things to take care of today. I’ll pick you up when you’re fully recovered.” But he never showed up, not even on the day I was discharged. Ever since Stella came into his life, “busy” became his constant excuse. Busy taking care of a sick Stella, busy taking Stella out. All his time was devoted to Stella, leaving me with only his retreating back, time and again. But this time, I wouldn’t wait for him anymore. During my hospital stay, only a single nurse’s aide cared for me. At lunchtime, when she brought me my meal, she spoke enviously of Stella, who was on the same floor. “I heard her husband paid a high price to have her room redecorated by a designer during her surgery because she couldn’t stand the regular rooms. And he personally cooks every meal for her after consulting with a nutritionist.” “They say her husband is a CEO, always so busy, yet he still insists on visiting her three times a day and staying with her every night.” I ate the hospital meal, tasteless and bland, suddenly recalling that I had never been cared for by him with such devotion. Three years ago, my research team was caught in an accident, buried under an avalanche. Before hypothermia set in, I used my last ounce of consciousness to call Caleb. But his first words were a complaint, accusing me of interrupting his time watching fireworks with Stella. After being rescued by border patrol, I saw a video Stella had sent me: Caleb kneeling, gently rubbing her ankle after she’d supposedly twisted it. I ignored Stella’s gloating, blocking her number directly. When I returned home, Caleb stood before me, Stella wrapped in his arms, her eyes red-rimmed. Disregarding my frostbitten skin, he dragged me from my bed to the floor, forcing me to kneel and apologize to Stella. He only released me when a passing nurse discovered my reopened wounds. As he left with Stella, his face was grim. “Stella isn’t well. Can’t you be more understanding? If you upset her again, you and your sick mother can get out of my house.” Shaking off the memories, I finished the food in the box. This unpalatable meal was the last I would ever eat. 4 On my discharge day, I ran into Caleb and Stella while handling the paperwork. I was about to walk away when Stella smiled and approached. “Oh, Sister Ava is here too! Caleb, you’re so thoughtless, not telling me Sister was in the hospital. Otherwise, I would have visited every day.” Caleb’s face was cold. “Don’t you have legs? Couldn’t you come find me yourself?” I lowered my eyes, instinctively murmuring, “I’m sorry.” A flicker of surprise crossed Caleb’s face. He seemed a little unconvinced by my easy apology, and his tone softened. “I’ll drive you home later.” I could barely believe what I heard. After all, since our marriage, I had almost never ridden in his car, because he had promised Stella that his car was exclusively hers. Stella’s expression changed, but she quickly recovered, linking her arm through Caleb’s. “I told you to visit Sister Ava, but you insisted on accompanying me to that research team lecture.” “I’m so sorry, Sister Ava. Caleb will drive you home later.” Caleb’s gaze flickered. He was about to agree, but then saw me pull my arm from Stella’s grasp and shake my head. “No, thank you. I can take a cab myself.” But Stella ignored my refusal, forcefully pulling me into the car. “Don’t be shy, Sister Ava. Come to the lecture with us. I remember you used to be a team leader for a research expedition.” I was pushed into the back seat, and Stella naturally took the passenger seat. Seeing her settled, Caleb instinctively leaned over to fasten her seatbelt. In the past, seeing him so intimate with Stella would have caused me to make a scene, but now I was so calm, it seemed to stir a strange displeasure in Caleb. I followed them into the auditorium. As we took our seats, I instinctively sat next to Caleb, but Stella bit her lip, hesitating to sit. “Sister Ava, I’m so sorry, I only managed to get two seats together. The other one is in the back row.” She started to leave, but Caleb grabbed her arm. Caleb turned to me and ordered, “You go sit in the back.” I didn’t question, didn’t argue. I quietly got up and moved to the back row. I sat there, watching them whisper intimately, his head close to hers. The auditorium’s air conditioning was blasting, and my heart chilled, inch by inch. Halfway through the lecture, I got up and went to the restroom. As I left the restroom, I saw a small good luck charm dangling from Stella’s finger. I had personally gone to the mountains to get that charm for my mother when she was sick, hoping it would keep her safe. But now, it hung precariously from Stella’s fingertip. She looked at me, a smirk playing on her lips. “Ava Hayes, Caleb specifically got this from your mom, he said it was to protect me. The day your mother died, he wasn’t there because he’d just gotten this charm and rushed to bring it to me. Good thing Caleb gave it to me before your mom died, otherwise, it would have been bad luck for a dead person to wear it, right?” I snapped. I lunged, snatching the charm, and clamped my hand around her throat. As we struggled, a piercing alarm suddenly blared overhead, followed by a violent explosion. The crowd in the hall erupted in chaos, everyone scrambling, pushing desperately towards the exit. My body, fresh out of the hospital, was still weak. I was quickly knocked down by the surging crowd, forcing me to curl up against the wall. Then, I saw Caleb moving against the tide of people, walking towards us. “Ava! Ava!” His voice was anxious, and a flicker of hope ignited within me. But he saw Stella first. He pulled Stella into his arms, shielding her completely. The crowd surged around us. He turned his head and glanced at me, instinctively reaching out his hand. Stella coughed softly, and he immediately withdrew his hand, striding away with her. I watched him walk away, holding Stella, and remembered something from many years ago. He sat opposite me, his eyes bright as he watched me eat. Seeing me eat slowly, he’d anxiously asked if the food wasn't to my liking. I quietly told him it was because of poverty, my teeth had always been bad. He had suddenly gotten teary-eyed and apologized. “I’m sorry, you’ve worked so hard all these years.” The two figures, past and present, merged into one. My nose stung. I silently bid farewell to the boy he once was. Three hours later, the man who had finally managed to soothe a terrified Stella remembered me, the one he had abandoned. But he searched through all the rescued injured, and I was nowhere to be found. In a black SUV, clutching the good luck charm, I repeatedly hung up on Caleb’s calls. Before I turned in my phone, I received a text from Caleb. 【Stella isn’t feeling well. Come to the hospital to stay with her and get yourself checked out too.】 I didn’t reply. I simply handed my phone to the person beside me. “Please dispose of this for me. I don’t need it anymore.” Caleb, you and your meager love, I want neither.
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