Chapter 0001

My husband, Evan Sanders, told me to my face after he hung up his call, "Sadie, Rosie needs to go back to our hometown during the holidays. There isn't enough space in our car. You should just get a train ticket home."

I stopped packing when I heard that. I was puzzled as I looked at Evan. "What do you mean?"

Evan thought I did not hear what he said and he repeated his words with an annoyed tone, "We can only fit five people in the car. It'll be full once Rosie joins us. You should buy a train ticket home. It's not that much of a difference."

Rosalie Young had grown up with Evan.

If Rosalie had not married another man, Evan would not have given up on her and married me, who had a crush on him for years, instead.

I thought time would change everything and I could eventually replace Rosalie’s place in his heart.

Unfortunately, things had changed for us since Rosalie got a divorce and returned to Wraithwood.

I laughed self-deprecatingly and confirmed with Evan once more, "You want me to take the train?"

Evan did not seem to understand my issue. "What's the problem?"

I laughed instead of getting angry. I questioned him calmly, "Have you forgotten who your wife is? The person whose name is written on your marriage certificate?"

Evan slammed the table angrily and glared at me. "Sadie Bradford, what are you trying to get at? All I'm asking is for you to take the train home. Do you think you're some sort of rich heiress or wealthy wife? Would it kill you to take the train? Why can't you take the train when it's fine with any other person?"

A guilty person would always be the loudest.

This was not the first time Evan yelled at me over Rosalie.

All I felt was disappointment as I watched Evan hide his panic with anger.

It diminished all of my previous efforts at making him happy and compromising with whatever he wanted.

I put down everything I had packed and replied calmly, "Fine. I won't be going back. You guys have fun."

Evan was taken aback by my reply. He hesitated and finally softened his tone.

"Sadie, Rosie has always been weak. She'll feel uncomfortable being confined in a train compartment. My parents are old and Cooper is too young, which means you're the only one who can take the train. I'm sorry to make you do this.”

"You've always been a big-hearted woman, Sadie. You understand why I'm doing this, right?”

"Besides, there won't be traffic if you take the train. You can arrive earlier at the old house to clean up before we arrive. Isn't that like killing two birds with one stone?"

Evan was showing how considerate he was by being concerned over Rosalie's health and taking care of the elderly and children by making sure they arrived to find a clean comfortable house.

I was the only person left out in this scenario.

His main point was to get me to clean up the house.

In that moment, my love for Evan died.

"If there isn't a place for me, what's the point in joining all of you?"

When Evan saw me being stubborn about this, he lost his temper.

"What are you making a fuss about? We've agreed to go back to our hometown with my parents to pay our respects to our family ancestors. What does it make me look like when their daughter-in-law refuses to join us?"

I was rendered speechless as I stared at him. He was the one who was kicking me out. How did this become my fault?

Our son heard Evan's accusation as well.

He ran over to me and asked with his head lowered, "Mommy, aren't you coming back with us? Who's going to cook my meals for me?"

Evan agreed with Cooper. "Are you going to starve our son?"

I realized that I was nothing but a cooking machine to Evan and Cooper.

All I could do was smile bitterly. "Then let Rosalie take the train."

Evan was about to retort when my five-year-old quickly spoke up, "Mommy, Aunt Rosie is so pretty. How can you bear to let her squeeze in a train?"