Chapter 3

It was late at night when we got home.

As soon as Jeremy walked in, he called the house cleaner over. "Disinfect the house all over. Focus on the cabinet by the entrance. Elaine leaned on it earlier."

I stood by the door and watched the cleaner spray disinfectant everywhere.

The harsh smell of disinfectant filled the air right away.

It was to wipe out every trace I'd left behind.

I kept quiet, changed my shoes, and headed for my room.

Sophie was sitting on the sofa, playing with that pink diamond necklace. The gems sparked brightly under the lights.

"Look how shiny these diamonds are, Elaine." She held up the necklace to show off.

I ignored her and walked straight ahead.

As I passed the display cabinet, Sophie suddenly jumped up with an over-dramatic move. "Oops!"

There was a sharp crack. A glass bottle fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

Jeremy heard the noise and rushed out of the study.

His first move was to cover Sophie's nose and shield her behind him.

Then he turned to me, his eyes menacing. "What are you doing? You made this strong smell on purpose. Are you picking a fight with Sophie?"

I stared at the broken glass on the floor and the liquid evaporating there.

"It wasn't me," I said calmly.

"It can't be anyone else but you," Jeremy shot back.

Sophie hid in his arms, her eyes glistening with tears. "Elaine, I know you're jealous that Jeremy gave me the necklace. But you shouldn't take it out by breaking things. The smell is so strong. My head's spinning."

Jeremy's face turned grimmer. "Elaine, how much longer are you going to keep this up?"

He pointed at the mess on the floor. "Clean this up right now. I don't want a trace of this smell left."

I crouched down and started picking up the glass pieces.

A sharp shard cut my finger open. Blood welled up and dripped onto the floor.

Jeremy saw it. He frowned hard, and a look of disgust flashed across his eyes.

"Anna!" he shouted. "The floor's dirty."

He called the cleaner to clean up the mess, but didn't ask anyone to tend to my wound.

He didn't even bother to tell me to be careful.

I picked up the last piece of glass and tossed it into the trash can.

I tossed the perfume away and let go of every memory I had of him.

After cleaning up, I headed back to my room.

The cut on my hand was still bleeding, but I didn't bother tending to it.

I was dying soon anyway. A little cut meant nothing.

I lay on the bed, kept awake by the throbbing pain in my stomach.

Jeremy's voice drifted over from the study next door.

He was reading a storybook to Sophie.

His tone was soft and low, and every word stung deep inside me. "Once upon a time, there lived a prince..."

I used to ask him to read to me.

Back then, he'd always brush me off. "That's childish. Read it yourself."

It turned out that he never wanted to dote on me.

I pulled out my phone and opened the booking app.

The flight info showed my departure was tomorrow at three in the afternoon.

There were fewer than twenty hours left to go.

I opened the nightstand drawer and took out a document.

It was the divorce settlement agreement. I'd signed it.

I held the document and walked quietly over to the study door.

The door was left slightly ajar.

I saw Jeremy holding Sophie in his arms, stroking her hair gently with his fingers.

I didn't step inside.

Instead, I turned and went to Jeremy's study.

It was his off-limits space, one I was never allowed to enter normally.

I laid the divorce settlement agreement and my medical diagnosis on his desk.

I tucked them under the book he always read. The title was Pride and Prejudice.

What a bitter joke.

His pride and his prejudice against me had ruined everything between us.

Once I'd done that, I went back to the guest room.

I stayed awake the whole night.

I listened to their laughter and chatter next door, and the wind blowing outside the window.

Jeremy, this was my last night in this house.

You'd probably never know how much pain I'd been in.

But this was the last time.