Chapter 1
By the third year of our marriage, I finally realized my husband didn't love me.
His affairs didn't even make me sad anymore.
When he suddenly showed up online after three months of not coming home, all I felt was pure annoyance.
And when he appeared in front of me, all I felt was impatience. "Why are you back?"
He was completely ruining my date with my younger lover.
*****
I was wearing a sleek red dress, with a shawl draped over my arm.
My younger lover, quick to notice, took the shawl from my hand.
"You don't need to come over tomorrow. My husband's back," I said.
As soon as I said it, a disappointed look flashed across his face. But then he forced a bright smile. "That guy is so annoying. I wish I could stay with you forever."
His words made me laugh softly.
I reached up and patted his head, a fond smile tugging at my lips.
Just then, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist with surprising force. "Charlotte!"
His voice was laced with anger, but beneath it was unmistakable disbelief and hurt.
When I heard him, I didn't even bat an eye.
Even though the man standing in front of me was my husband.
I turned to him impatiently. "What is it now?"
Wasn't he supposed to be off with Sophia, his first love?
What was he even doing at this party?
He glared at me, his face dark with fury. "What do you mean, 'what is it'? Look at yourself. What the hell are you doing?"
I looked at him, genuinely baffled. I couldn't understand why he was so angry.
He had disappeared for months to be with his first love, and all I had done was keep a younger lover by my side.
I genuinely couldn't understand why he was allowed to do whatever he wanted while I wasn't allowed to do the same.
Feeling strangely numb, I suddenly thought back to who I had been six months ago.
That was the first time I saw a video online of Edward White, the man I had been married to for three years, shopping with his first love and watching fireworks with her.
Back then, I had screamed at him over the phone like a woman completely falling apart.
When he finally came home, I confronted him, my voice trembling.
I yelled. I cried. I completely lost all composure.
But he looked at me with cold, indifferent eyes, as if I were nothing more than a stranger instead of his wife.
As he turned to leave, he said coldly, "I didn't get married just to watch you lose your mind. If something's wrong with you, go see a doctor."
That day was our third wedding anniversary. I had planned everything carefully.
Unexpectedly, what I got was news of Edward spending time with his first love, followed by his cold, cutting words.
That night, I smashed everything in the house and stood there staring at the wreckage of our home.
For the first time in my life, I felt cold to my very core.
Back then, his betrayal had felt like the end of my world. I felt like I was on the verge of breaking down.
But I never imagined that six months later, I would be able to watch him spend three whole months with his first love and feel absolutely nothing.
For those three months, I never once contacted him. I simply watched him cheat, numb and indifferent.
I had already stopped caring about him. But I couldn't understand why he was so angry.
His expression made me feel sick.
I felt annoyed and pulled my hand free. "What do you want? If there's nothing to say, go home. This is someone else's party. Don't make a fool of yourself in front of everyone."
He looked like he had been hit by a huge shock, almost on the verge of losing control.
"A fool?" he said sharply. "Charlotte, I'm already the fool here.
"At someone else's party, and your date isn't your husband, but some random pretty boy who came out of nowhere.
"You've embarrassed me.
"Charlotte, do you even care about our marriage at all?"