Chapter 1

I'd been married for nine years, and to the outside world, Kevin and I were the perfect couple.

He loved me, kept me in the loop wherever he went, and never locked his phone.

I thought I was the happiest woman in the world until my birthday gave the game away.

Kevin had been away on a two-week business trip, too busy even to make a video call, yet he rushed home just before midnight to celebrate with me.

"Happy birthday, babe," he said, holding a huge bouquet of roses, as if he'd stepped out of a fairy tale.

"Thank you. I love it." Overwhelmed, I took the flowers, tiptoed, and leaned in to kiss him.

However, he turned his head, dodging the kiss after half a month apart.

We both froze.

Later, I stumbled upon a post from one of his female patients. [Kevin is the only one who can make me this happy as a woman.]

When I called to confront her, Kevin snatched the phone and snapped, "Nora, stop imagining things. Ashley was ill, so I went to check on her.

"You know what? Forget it. You're menopausal. Believe whatever you want. I don't care."

That was when I realized my happy marriage had long since gone rotten.

*****

When Kevin Sanford came home from work, I was going all out, decorating the place, getting everything ready for a romantic dinner for just the two of us.

After nine years together, what started out as romance faded into indifference.

He didn't mind romance. He just dismissed everything I did as childish "rituals", telling me I was too old to imitate some young girl and should put my energy into something useful instead.

When Kevin stepped inside and saw the balloons and candlelight filling the room, he frowned.

He marched straight over and knocked over the flowers I'd arranged so carefully. The stems and damp soil were scattered across the floor.

"Nora, look at this mess you've made. It's all over the place and has zero taste," he snapped. "We've been married for years. Why are you still doing all this pointless romantic nonsense? Aren't you embarrassed?"

He flung a gift box onto the table. "You're just bored and always messing around with this pointless crap.

"Look at Ashley. She's so considerate. She knew you might be upset, so she bought you a gift as an apology. If I hadn't stopped her, she would have come over herself to say sorry."

I bit down hard on my lips, refusing to say a word.

He gave me a rough push, clearly annoyed. "I'm talking to you. What's wrong with you?"

That was when he finally noticed my eyes were red.

When he shoved me, my hand caught the edge of the table and got scraped, blood oozing out.

He froze for a moment, lifted his hand as if to help, but let it fall, and asked awkwardly, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "I'll go take care of it."

I walked into the bathroom, rinsed my wound under water, and stared at myself in the mirror. Tears streamed down my face before I could even hold them back.

I'd spent the whole afternoon decorating, but before I could enjoy any of the happiness I'd hoped for, he crushed it all in an instant.

It was the same as our marriage, all hollow gloss on top and nothing but damage underneath.

When I came out of the bathroom, Kevin was already standing there with the gift box open, wearing an awkward grin.

"Babe, don't be upset. Take a look at what Ashley got you," he said.

Kevin lifted the lid, revealing a pair of yoga pants inside.

"She's really thoughtful." Kevin eyed the brand-new yoga pants Ashley had picked out for me and couldn't help but admire her choice.

I picked up the yoga pants, but all I could think about was all the little ways Kevin had been criticizing me lately.

I stood in front of the mirror, sizing myself up.

Sure, I wasn't as slim as I was in my twenties, but I still looked alright.

However, these days, Kevin wouldn't stop mentioning how I'd let myself go, saying I wasn't as attractive as before.

A pang of grievances hit me, and my grip loosened. The yoga pants slipped from my hand and dropped to the floor.

Kevin frowned, raising his voice. "What's your problem? She was just being thoughtful, and you didn't even appreciate it. You just get more and more unreasonable with age. I'm so done with you."

As he spoke, he suddenly shoved me, and I nearly lost my footing, almost falling over.

I steadied myself, took a deep breath, and was just about to talk about leaving him when his phone suddenly rang.

Kevin looked flustered, his eyes avoiding mine as he subtly stepped back. In his panic, he accidentally hit the speaker button.

Ashley's voice came through, shaky and on the verge of tears. "Dr. Sanford, someone broke into my place. I'm so scared."