Chapter 1

"Jeffery Fox, let's get a divorce." My voice was steady, but one could hear the determination in it.

That night, I grabbed my daughter Dulce and disappeared into the darkness. Who cared about being married to some big-shot CEO? I was done with all that.

"Mommy, where's Daddy?" Dulce asked, her voice soft and sleepy.

"We don't want him anymore," I replied, her tone gentle but firm.

Everyone in Astrella knew Jeffery was cold and ruthless, but he only ever showed a hint of warmth to me.

But ever since that woman who was the spitting image of his 'sweetheart' appeared, he became a different person.

"Mollie, you're not even good enough to be her stand-in!" Jeffery yelled at me.

After signing the divorce papers, I disappeared without a trace for a whole year. Jeffery went out of his mind searching for me, obsessed and relentless.

It wasn't until I showed up on the front page of the global financial news that he finally found her, his eyes bloodshot, desperate.

"Mollie, I was wrong... Please, don't leave me," he begged.

My phone buzzed.

The screen lit up with the name "Mr. Fox."

She took a deep breath and answered.

"Hello?"

"Mollie, I'm not coming over tonight," Jeffery said.

His tone was as cold and formal as ever.

"Today is our seventh wedding anniversary," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I know. But Nessa's not doing well. She's alone by the beach, and it's dangerous," Jeffery replied.

Vanessa was Jeffery's new assistant, and she bore an uncanny resemblance to his late sweetheart.

I clenched the phone tighter in my hand.

"So?" I asked, my voice flat.

"I have to look after her. We'll make up for our anniversary tomorrow," Jeffery said.

Make up for it tomorrow?

Was that even possible? Could he just reheat an anniversary like it was yesterday's leftovers?

"Jeffery," I said, keeping her voice steady, "is every woman who's a mess more important to you than me?"

"Mollie, stop being unreasonable!" he snapped, his tone full of impatience. "Nessa... she's fragile. Not like you, always so calm."

Right, I was not the fragile one.

So I was just supposed to be left all by myself on our anniversary?

Was that what I get? To be ditched over and over again?

"Suit yourself," I said, her voice flat.

I hung up.

Inside, it felt like the string I had been holding onto for seven years finally snapped with a sharp twang.

The red wine on the table had been sitting out way too long. It had gone sour.

It was just like the love I'd clung to for seven years, now nothing but bitterness.

I picked up the glass, ready to dump it out.

"Mommy..."

Dulce wandered out of her room, rubbing her sleepy eyes, her little face flushed red.

"Dulce, what's wrong?" I asked, crouching down to her level.

I pressed my hand to her forehead.

She was burning up.

"Mommy, my head feels funny..." Dulce whimpered, her voice barely a whisper.

She melted into my arms, her breath hot and ragged.

Panic shot through me.

I scooped Dulce up into my arms.

I grabbed my car keys and phone and bolted out the door.

The elevator inched down, slow as a snail.

I kept hitting call on my phone, dialing Jeffery again and again.

The first time, there was no answer.

And the second time, still nothing.

Third time, it went straight to voicemail.

Out of nowhere, it started pouring outside.

Rain hammered the car windows, loud and relentless.

The wipers were frantically swiping back and forth, barely keeping up, just like my heart, totally a mess right now.

*****

I took Dulce to the ER late at night.

"103.6°F, she's burning up with a high fever. We need to get her on an IV and keep a close eye on her, right now," the doctor urged.

I scribbled my signature, my hand trembling so much I nearly dropped the pen.

When the nurse put in the IV, Dulce's cries were heartbreaking, echoing through the ER.

"Mommy... I want Daddy... When is Daddy coming..." she sobbed, her voice shaking with fear and pain.

I held her tight, my throat felt like it was blocked, words stuck inside.

"Daddy... is busy," I managed to say.

What was he so busy with?

Busy standing by the stormy seaside, comforting another emotional wreck of a woman.

After what felt like forever, I finally managed to get Dulce to sleep.

She was still burning up, her little face dazed and flushed, streaked with tears.

I sat by Dulce's bedside, watching the rain outside that just wouldn't stop.

I took out my phone.

The screen lit up, our wedding photo, me and Jeffery, frozen in happier times.

Those smiles were too bright, almost mocking me now.

I scrolled through my phone and opened up my gallery.

I tapped, then hit delete, one photo, then another.

One photo, then another.

Until every trace of him was wiped from my gallery, nothing left, just blank space where he used to be.

The hospital room was so quiet that it was just the sound of rain and Dulce's ragged breathing.

Suddenly, she whimpered in her sleep, her voice trembling as she murmured, "Daddy... does he not want us anymore?"