Chapter 5

During that week in the hospital, Daniel never once contacted me.

Perhaps he hadn’t even realized I was still pregnant.

I wasn’t surprised. It had always been like this; I used to make excuses for him over and over, but not anymore.

After a week of rest in the hospital, my body had mostly recovered, and I checked out.

During that time, I scrolled through many of Chloe’s Ins posts, each one related to Daniel.

In the photos, Chloe looked like a princess adored by all, surrounded by their group.

Next to her were nutritious meals and countless small gifts, while I had nothing by my side during my hospitalization.

The pearl necklace Daniel had once promised to buy me was now glaringly hanging around Chloe’s neck.

Strangely, seeing all this again, I could scroll past it without a flicker of emotion.

Back home, it was just as I had left it that day.

It seemed Daniel had been at the hospital taking care of Chloe the whole time. He hadn't returned home, nor did he know I had been hospitalized.

I quickly packed my bags, gathered all my belongings, threw away the photo on the nightstand, burned the love letters he’d once written to me, and placed my wedding ring on the table.

After all that, I looked at the empty house, just as it had been when we first moved in.

I lowered my gaze to the divorce papers in front of me, picked up a pen, and signed my name.

Before I could even call Daniel back to sign the divorce papers, he returned himself.

When he entered, I was on the phone, handing over my work responsibilities to a colleague.

My colleague asked about my flight date, and I replied:

“It’s tomorrow afternoon.”

Seeing Daniel come in, I hung up.

He frowned and asked:

“What’s happening tomorrow afternoon? A prenatal check-up?”

I put my phone away and calmly replied:

“Work-related. No check-up.”

Only then did I notice he was carrying a takeout bag.

Meeting my eyes, he offered the bag.

“I’m sorry, Zara. Chloe has been in the hospital these past few days, and I couldn’t leave her.”

“I bought you some food. To help you recover.”

I didn’t take the bag, and the faint smell of fish made me feel a wave of nausea.

We’d been married for so many years, yet he didn’t even know I couldn’t eat fish. How ironic.

But now, I didn’t even have the energy to argue.

“Oh, right, these are Chloe’s clothes. They’re silk, so you can’t machine wash them. You can hand-wash them tonight.”

Hearing his words, and looking at the man in front of me, I suddenly began to wonder.

Had he changed, or had I simply married this kind of person all along?

I bit my lip and said in a low voice: “Just leave them there.”

“I need to go back to grab some change of clothes.”

He said, then quickly went into the bedroom to pack. I picked up the divorce papers and walked over to him.

“Daniel, our mortgage is paid off. We just need to sign this.”

He didn’t suspect a thing, took the pen, and quickly signed his name.

I watched him grab his clothes and leave the house. I booked a flight for two hours later.

Taking off my ring, I placed the divorce papers and the miscarriage surgery report on the table. These were the last things I would leave for Daniel.

As for him and me, this was the end.

Daniel’s eyes were bloodshot, probably from several nights of staying at the hospital.

Chloe frowned at his disheveled look and feigned concern.

“Daniel, you should go back and rest for a few days. Let Carter take over.”

Daniel looked at the empty chat window with Zara and swallowed the words of refusal.