Chapter 3

The hospital room door swung open, and eight hours after my car crash, Carter finally walked in.

"How could you be so careless?" he snapped. His face was filled with irritation. He did not even try to hide how annoyed he was with me.

"I saw your posts," I said, glaring at him.

He did not even flinch, and just looked back at me with impatience. "So what? You’re gonna get jealous of Ruby now?"

"Zendaya, I told you, You will always be my wife. Don’t stress yourself over it."

"I’ve got nothing serious going on with her, so stop overreacting." My chest felt like it was being crushed.

He remembered every detail about Ruby…

How she could not sleep, so he would make her warm milk.

He remembered her fear of thunder, so he would sit with her when it rained.

He even remembered her period, and would make her brown sugar drinks during that period.

If all of that was just for a casual relationship...

Then what was I to him?

Was I no longer even worth that?

The worst part? He did not even try to hide any of this from me.

I would have put up with it before, but now, I was not sure if it was the "love pawn" I had made, or just everything else, but I could not stand it anymore.

"Nothing serious? Carter Simon, do you think I’m stupid?" I demanded, locking eyes with him.

"Then I’ll fire her. Can you find someone else to have your fun with?"

"Zendaya, try hurting her, and see what happens!" His eyes turned cold, and there was a dangerous edge to his words.

I could not breathe. My chest was tight, and my tears started flowing involuntarily.

At that moment, all I could feel was regret for choosing to pawn my love, knowing it would take five days for it to be reclaimed.

He seemed to realize his tone had been too harsh. For a second, he looked flustered, as if he was not sure how to fix it.

"I..." His expression softened, but just as he was about to speak, his phone rang.

It was Ruby.

"Carter, the power’s out here. It’s so dark and I’m scared. Can you come over?" Ruby’s voice cracked with a whimper, and it echoed in the quiet room.

"Ah!" A soft noise was followed by some faint crashes on the other end.

"Ruby, what’s wrong?" Carter asked, clearly worried.

"Stay put. I’ll be right there." He did not look at me again as he rushed out.

I bit my lip, fighting back the urge to shout at him.

It hurt. My body seemed to throb with every ache.

On the first day of pawning my love, I still felt pain for him.

I did not expect Ruby to come knocking the next day.

"What are you here for?" I asked, my voice flat.

Perhaps because Carter had finally posted about her, she felt like she was winning.

So she stood before me with no shame on her face, even casually letting me see the hickeys on her neck.

She smirked, her voice dripping with disdain: "Zendaya, do you want to know what Carter said while he was with me last night?" As she tapped her phone screen, the intimate sounds filled the quiet room.

"Ah, don’t bite me," her voice was teasing.

"Do you bite Zendaya like this too?" she continued, clearly trying to provoke me.

"Stop bringing her up. It’s annoying," Carter Simon’s voice was harsh, but then another sound filled the room—Ruby moaning under his touch.

Carter continued, his voice cold. "I’ve been bored with her for years. Now, I can’t even stand to be near her."

"Unlike her, I can’t forget you." More sensual sounds followed, making it impossible to ignore.

I trembled, my anger boiling over.

I thought I had moved on, but no, I could not understand how someone I loved so much had changed so completely.

Ruby hit stop on her phone, and the recording cut off.

She leaned in close to my ear and taunted, "Heh, look at you. If you’ve got any sense, just leave."

Then, she grabbed the water glass by the bed and splashed it on herself. "Zendaya, I know you’re mad at me. If this water helps, I’ll let you splash me again."

Her eyes reddened with fake tears, looking pitiful as if she might cry at any second.

I stared at her, my eyes burning with anger.

That’s when Carter burst in.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled Ruby into his arms protectively.

"Zendaya, I leave for a second to park, and you think you can bully her?" Ruby found peace in his arms, her fake tears dripping down his sleeve.

She pretended to be strong, saying, "Carter, I know Zendaya is upset with me. Loving you was my mistake."

"I'm willing to endure anything to calm her down, I’ll take whatever you throw at me."

Carter comforted her softly, "You’ve done nothing wrong. She’s the problem."

Then he turned his cold eyes to me as if I were the villain.

"Apologize," he commanded.

Ruby, in his embrace, shot me a smug look.

I thought I would break down, scream, and fight, but I did not.

Instead, I felt numb, with a deep ache of disappointment.

I inhaled sharply and said, "Carter Simon, let’s get a divorce."