Chapter 1

At dawn, I treated a female patient.

Sophia, 22. She had something stuck into her vagina.

The girl on the hospital bed looked a bit like me. Her skin was covered with whip marks, love bites, and some dried white fluid.

I sighed at how little she valued herself.

But when I removed the foreign object, I froze.

It was the bracelet I had bought for Ethan last year.

The name on it was engraved by my own hand.

The girl smiled at me. "Mrs. Parker, your husband says his life needs a little excitement."

Joanna POV

Two o'clock in the morning. I treated a female patient.

Sophia, 22. She had something stuck inside her.

This kind of situation was quite common.

The girl on the hospital bed was young and beautiful. Her skin was covered with whip marks, love bites, and other marks I couldn't identify.

She looked directly at me, without a trace of shyness or embarrassment.

I sighed to myself. Young people these days really don't value themselves.

I quickly refocused and got back to removing the object.

But the moment it landed in the tray, I froze.

It was the bracelet I had bought for Ethan last year.

It still showed his name, which I had engraved myself.

I instinctively glanced at Sophia. The girl was smiling at me.

My throat felt blocked by something.

Professional discipline forced me to finish the procedure, and then I rushed into the bathroom to dry heave.

Walking out of the operating room, I saw my husband, Ethan, who was supposed to be working overtime at the company.

The man's tall figure had lost its usual composure. His eyes were anxious, and he walked briskly past me without a sideways glance.

He didn't spare me even a single look.

I stood there, hearing something inside me snap.

Back in the duty room, I washed my hands for a full hour, as if punishing myself.

I didn't stop until my fingers were peeling and bleeding.

Today wasn't supposed to be my shift.

A colleague who was on duty got sick and switched with me, giving me the chance to witness this scene.

Ethan and I were college classmates.

Ethan was famous in the finance department, the wealthy heir to Parker Group, handsome, and good-natured too.

Yet he only had eyes for me.

I studied medicine. The coursework was heavy, and I often stayed in the library until closing.

Every night after closing, he would silently escort me back to my dorm without disturbing me.

When I was bedridden with a 104-degree fever, he was the one who carried me all the way to the hospital.

"Joanna, be with me."

Back then, I thought he must be the kind of person written about in novels.

After all, he was so outstanding.

After we got together, his family disapproved, thinking we weren't a good match. Ethan begged his parents, and we finally got married.

Three years after graduation, we married.

Four years into our marriage, he treated me very well.

When I came home from night shifts, there was always a light on at home, and a glass of warm milk on the table.

When I had my period, he would take care of me attentively and buy me painkillers.

When we made love, he was always gentle, and afterward he would ask if it hurt.

Once I quietly asked him if he wanted to try something different.

He pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead.

"Joanna, I can never be too careful with you."

Four years of marriage, and we'd barely fought.

Even these past two years, when Ethan took over the company and became increasingly busy, often not coming home all night, I never complained and supported him wholeheartedly.

In others' eyes, I was the enviable Mrs. Parker.

At colleague gatherings, everyone said I was lucky to have a good husband who adored me.

Until tonight, I too thought I was the luckiest woman in the world.

My phone vibrated.

An Ins friend request popped up. The profile picture was a young woman's silhouette. I recognized Sophia immediately.

I clicked accept.

She didn't say a word, just quietly sat in my friend list, waiting for me to come to her.

I opened her posts.

The earliest post was from two years ago.

This account had many posts, but they all shared one theme: Ethan.

I scrolled down.

How could I not recognize that hand holding a fork?

The man's wrist still wore the watch I gave him when we got married.

That sapphire necklace was from the same brand and series as the birthday gift Ethan gave me last year.

Except my birthday gift was a pair of earrings, worth less than one-tenth the price of the necklace.

Last month my car went in for maintenance. After my night shift, I was caught in a rainstorm. I called Ethan three times. He kept saying the company was busy and told me to catch a ride with a colleague.

Yet Sophia's post showed he was holding her at that trendy boutique hotel.

Tears blurred my face.

Sophia wrote in her post, "He says his marriage is too boring. He needs some color."

So to him, I was just a boring person.

I sat numbly in the duty room chair all night.

Just before dawn, I got off work.

When I got home, the house looked just as it had when I left yesterday.

Ethan hadn't come home all night.

At this moment, he was probably still holding that woman.

I stood at the door for a long time, laughing bitterly.

Our marriage had already rotted away.

Only I still thought he loved me.

I pulled out my phone and dialed my good friend's number.

My good friend Elena specialized in divorce cases.

"Joanna?"

"Elena, help me draft a divorce agreement."