Chapter 1

Wedding anniversary, my husband gifted me a necklace he designed, claiming it symbolized our unique love.

But there was a curly hair stuck on the chain.

He pretended to be annoyed: "The store clerk was careless, leaving a strand of hair."

However, he didn't know that I had already seen this necklace in his assistant's Snapchat two days before.

[She wore it for two days and got bored.

Just to acknowledge his effort, she posted a picture to praise him.]

She even set it so that only I could see it.

I pushed away his hand as he tried to help me put it on and casually tossed the necklace into the trash. Asher's face turned dramatically.

"You don’t appreciate my gift at all. Seems like I shouldn’t bother giving you anything in the future."

No problem, I'll buy my own gifts from now on. But a man who cheats on me, I won’t keep.

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After confirming tomorrow's abortion with the nurse over the phone, I turned and walked into the restaurant.

"The hospital just informed me about a check-up." I explained to Asher nonchalantly: "Where were we?"

The man across from me stared coldly.

"Eloise, are you really going to ruin our fifth wedding anniversary over a hair?"

The necklace he picked up again, with its sparkling bowtie, reflected the restaurant lights, stabbing my eyes from this angle.

"Asher, you forgot I really hate butterflies?"

His anger was first replaced by confusion, followed by embarrassment and awkwardness. Everyone who knows me knows I hate butterflies. My dad, who was my only family at that time, died falling off a cliff while trying to take a picture of a rare butterfly for me. Since then, I can’t stand anything related to butterflies.

Asher used to be more attentive to this than anyone else. Even when we went to a department store, he would scout ahead to avoid bowtie products. I didn’t expect him to forget all about this.

He awkwardly touched his nose: "I just thought the pattern suited you and forgot about your dislike."

"Eloise, you’re too sentimental, holding on to the past."

I laughed at myself; indeed, too sentimental. I almost forgot this necklace wasn’t meant for me. Imogen got tired of wearing it, and only then did I have the chance to receive this second-hand item. Do I have any right to be picky?

I dodged the question: "You’re right, it’s time to let go."

Seeing my mocking expression, a strange look crossed his face, but before he could think more, his phone alerted him to a new message. Seeing how anxious he was, I didn’t need to ask to know it was from Imogen.

He replied with a voice message in seconds: "Got it, I’m coming now."

I looked up at his anxious face. Before he could speak, I said calmly: "Is it work requiring overtime? Go ahead."

He immediately put on his coat, kissing my forehead as he left.

"Sorry, it’s really urgent at the office. I’ll make it up to you with a romantic celebration on your birthday."

"Thank you, honey, you’re so considerate. I love you."

I quietly watched his hurried back. The man who accused me of ruining our anniversary couldn’t even wait for the meal before leaving. He was in such a rush he left his phone on the table.

I lit up the phone to see Imogen’s message: "Red wine steak on the table, I’m in bed, waiting for you."

It was obvious Imogen did this on purpose. She’s Asher’s assistant and must know tonight is our anniversary. This blatant provocation used to make me cry, fearing losing Asher. But now, I feel nothing. Whoever wants this trash of a man can have him.

I asked the waiter to dump all the dishes and handed the necklace to a begging woman on the street as I left. She gratefully bowed to me repeatedly.

Back home, I dialed Gideon’s number: "Senior, about the scriptwriting job you mentioned last time, I’ve decided to join."

"That’s great, Eloise! Professor Griffin always said you were the best filmmaker. It’s a shame Asher ‘privatized’ you. When you decided to be a housewife, Professor Griffin even cried."

"Please tell Professor Griffin, Eloise took a detour, but Eloise is coming back."

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