Chapter 1

My parents thought raising me was too expensive, so they tossed me between different relatives throughout my childhood.

Because of that, I never felt safe. My biggest fear was being abandoned.

When my husband found out, he spent five years rebuilding my sense of security.

He replied to every text, never cut contact during arguments, and even posted his detailed itineraries on the fridge whenever he traveled for work.

He used to tell me, "As long as I'm here, you will always have a home."

Yet on our fifth anniversary, I came home from work to find divorce papers sitting on the coffee table.

I called my husband twenty-seven times. I reached out to my mother, my brother, and my best friend, only to find that every single one of them had blocked me.

It wasn't until the next afternoon that my husband finally texted me an address.

I rushed to the villa and pushed open the front door.

Confetti popped, and laughter exploded all around me.

The projector screen displayed my call logs from the night before.

Friends and family stood around a betting board, raising their glasses, taking bets on who I would beg for help first.

My best friend bent over laughing. "Hahaha, I won! I told you she's like a needy stray!"

My husband transferred her the prize money before walking over to wrap his arms around me.

"It was just an anniversary prank, babe. Everyone was just helping you practice being independent."

They all knew my deepest fear. They were also certain that all it took was calling it a joke, and I would forgive them just like before.

Looking at the room full of familiar faces, the fear of being abandoned suddenly vanished.

I pushed my husband away, flattened the divorce papers on the table, and flipped straight to the signature page.

Julian's warm hand covered the back of mine.

He gave a soft chuckle and slipped the papers from beneath my fingers.

"Alright, Chloe, it was just a prop. Don't take it so seriously."

"Didn't you promise to learn to be brave? Why are you still getting upset?"

Summer walked over, swirling the red wine in her glass, a smug smirk on her face.

"Chloe, you didn't even grab Julian's leg and sob like you used to today. Looks like my exposure therapy is actually working."

My mother walked up, giving me an exasperated glare.

"You've been starved of affection since you were little, and you've always clung to Julian way too tightly. Summer's method might be intense, but it clearly works. Look at you now. Aren't you totally fine?"

My brother chimed in from the side.

"Seriously. You can't be a needy baby your entire life."

I looked at the people I had trusted and relied on the most.

Under the guise of doing it for my own good, they had dug up my deepest, darkest trauma and laid it out on a table as entertainment.

And my husband—the man who spent five years pulling me out of the dark—was enabling every bit of it with a smile.

I lowered my eyes, saying nothing.

Summer walked up and wrapped her arm intimately around Julian's.

"Julian, I told you Chloe wasn't that fragile. Now you can spend more time playing games with me."

Julian casually slid his arm out of her grip, but he still nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. Once Chloe becomes independent, everyone can finally breathe a little easier."

Everyone took my silence as a sign of progress, raising their glasses to toast our five-year anniversary.

It was late into the night by the time we got home.

As usual, Julian went to the bathroom to run a hot bath for me, then headed to the kitchen to warm up a glass of milk.

He handed the glass to me, his gaze deep and tender.

"Chloe, you must've been terrified today, right? I'm sorry. Summer suggested using this method to help you build some inner strength. I wasn't on board at first, but seeing how insecure you've been, I thought maybe trying it once wouldn't hurt."

He ruffled my hair.

"Turns out my Chloe really is strong."

His tenderness was the same as always. It used to be the only light in my world.

Now, it only made me shiver.

The next evening, right after work, I got a text from Summer.

"Chloe, come down to the abandoned storage unit on basement level two. Julian prepared your real fifth-anniversary surprise down here."

I stared at the screen for a moment, then walked down anyway.

The moment I stepped into the dimly lit storage room, a heavy thud echoed behind me as the metal door slammed shut.

Then came the sound of a lock turning.

"Summer?"

I called out.

Summer's lighthearted laughter drifted in from the other side.

"Your surprise is two hours of solitary confinement in the dark! Julian said we need to reinforce the exposure therapy. Enjoy yourself!"

Her footsteps faded into the distance.

There wasn't a single ray of light inside.

I took out my phone and dialed Julian.

"The number you have dialed is currently powered off."

In the past, I would have broken down sobbing, frantically slamming against the door because I was terrified of dark, enclosed spaces.

Now, all I felt was exhaustion.

I slid down against the cold concrete wall. By the dim glow of my screen, I opened a chat with a lawyer friend on SnapChat.

"Lucas, please draft a divorce agreement for me."