Chapter 1

I rushed home after two days away on a business trip, excited to celebrate the second birthday of my Call duck.

But all I found was a duck's head and a note from my husband, Ethan.

「Dada kept crying in the middle of the night. The neighbors complained about the noise, so I tied her beak shut for the night. I didn't think she'd actually die from it.」

I read it over and over again, refusing to believe what I was seeing.

Ethan and I had chosen not to have children. Dada was like our baby. How could he do something like that to her?

I went door to door, frantically asking every neighbor if they'd complained about Dada making noise.

At the very last unit, the door was slightly ajar. A pregnant woman was sitting on the couch, talking on the phone.

"My husband is so good to me. I told him I was craving roast duck, and he went right out and bought me this gorgeous, plump one. It's so tender."

The man beside her leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"As long as you're happy. You and the baby are all that matter."

When I got a clear look at that man's face, the box I was holding — the one with Dada's head inside — slipped from my hands and hit the floor.

That man was Ethan. My husband of five years.

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