Chapter 2

The nurse ended the call before Terence could finish his rant. She looked at me with shock as if to ask, ‘Is that really your husband?’

My lips stretched into a bitter smile. “Can I sign it myself? You heard how he—” Tears began to stream down my face.

Once again, Terence had made it clear that despite being his wife, I meant nothing to him compared to his first love.

The nurse looked at me sympathetically as I signed the consent form.

Just doing that drained all my energy, and I fell into a deep sleep afterward.

In my dreams, I revisited a time from years ago.

The year before this happened, Sadie suddenly left the country and cut off all contact.

At the same time, Terence lost his father in a car accident.

Both incidents happened one after the other, and Terence turned to alcohol to cope with the loss of his first love and his father. By the time he stopped drinking so much, his stomach was already in terrible shape.

For a whole year, I was the one who dragged him home from the bar and took care of him during his darkest time.

He remained indifferent toward me until his father’s death anniversary. Intoxicated, he got into a fight that quickly turned physical. I ended up taking a hit from a beer bottle that was meant for him.

Red tinted my vision, and Terence looked furious.

When we left the hospital, he pulled me into his shaking arms. He gasped, “How could you be so silly, Melinda?”

Foolishly, I hugged back. “I’m glad you’re okay. It doesn’t hurt. Don’t worry.”

That was the last time Terence drank.

After that night, he threw himself into work and began to look at life more optimistically. Our relationship also improved, and things were nearly back to normal.

After he closed his first deal, he bought an entire night’s worth of fireworks and lit them at the nearby river bed for me. Under the stars, he swore to love me and treat me well forever.

That promise cost me seven years.

However, Sadie’s return shattered the relationship and marriage I had given everything to protect.