Chapter 1

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I carefully selected a luxury sports car as a gift for Jack.

Just after completing the payment, I happened to see an Instagram update from Lily Reed, the scholarship student I was sponsoring:

"Celebrating my birthday with my beloved, enjoying the most beautiful scenery."

In the photo, her sunglasses inadvertently captured the reflection of a familiar male figure.

I smiled, liked the post, and left a warm wish.

Not long after, Jack called in a hurry, his voice filled with displeasure and reproach:

"We're not what you're imagining. How can you be so narrow-minded? Are you jealous of someone young and beautiful?"

"Stop doing things that make people look down on you."

When Jack walked in, I changed my mind.

I slowly put the fifth anniversary cake I was about to throw in the trash back on the table.

He saw the cake on the table and frowned, "It's not anyone's birthday, why are we having cake?"

I remained silent and opened the packaging in front of him.

The cream was covered with fruit. When he saw me insert the "5th Wedding Anniversary" topper in the middle, his mocking expression instantly froze.

In just a moment, he quickly regained his composure, but his guilty eyes didn't dare meet mine.

"I... I was too busy. I forgot about such an important day. I'm sorry..."

I dodged his attempt to touch me and cut a piece of cake, putting it on a plate and shoving it into his hands.

"Eat up, at least you made it in time."

He was displeased.

"Opal, what do you mean? I just forgot, do you have to give me the cold shoulder? We celebrate our wedding anniversary every year, what's wrong with missing one?"

Since I had put effort into preparing the cake early in the morning, I decided to cut a piece for myself as well.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, he snatched the knife from my hand, and due to using too much force, he cut my palm.

I cried out in pain, clutching my bleeding wound, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Jack frantically searched for gauze and antiseptic to stop the bleeding.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

I walked to the third cabinet on his right, took out the first aid kit myself, and proceeded to treat the wound step by step.

I winced in pain.

He tried to help me disinfect with a cotton swab, I avoided him.

He tried to help me bandage, I avoided him.

He tried to check how I was treating it, I avoided him.

This time he finally frowned, "Is this about what happened earlier today?"

"Is it really necessary? I was just helping take a few photos."

How could it not be necessary?

My husband had time to help someone else celebrate their birthday and enjoy beautiful scenery, but forgot our own wedding anniversary.

How ridiculous?

I finished cleaning up and continued eating the remaining cake.

He grabbed my wrist, advising, "It's dirty, don't eat it."

Following his gaze, I finally saw the spots of red plum on the cake that I had stained.

What a pity, I hadn't even taken a bite.

If it's dirty, let's throw it away.

Before I could act, Jack beat me to it and put the cake back in the box, "Don't move, sit and rest, I'll go throw it away."

Bang.

The sound of the door closing behind me came, separating my world from his.

I sat at the table for a long time, long enough for Jack to leave and not return.

The next day, I indeed saw Lily's update on Instagram again.

"Glad to have you by my side."

It was a side profile of Jack listening intently to a doctor's instructions in the hospital room.

Last night, Lily's mother had a cancer relapse, and he was urgently called to the hospital.

I very generously liked the post.

Jack's call this time came a bit late, probably because he had to run errands for everything at the hospital, and Lily hadn't had time to "pour out her troubles" to him yet.

"Opal, can you stop making a fuss? Lily is young, and it's only right that I help take care of her a bit in this unfamiliar city? Don't be so cold-hearted?"

Lily was also on the other end, begging me not to misunderstand.

Her affected voice irritated me to no end.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and said, "Jack, I got hurt yesterday too."

I thought I could use his causing my injury as a reason to evoke his guilt.

He should be taking care of me, not some irrelevant person.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly flared up: "Is that little injury worth constantly dwelling on? Lily's mother has cancer, you should be able to distinguish what's important, now is not the time for you to make unreasonable demands."

I fell silent.

He noticed my lack of response and realized his attitude had been a bit too harsh.

So he softened his tone: "Does your hand still hurt? Be good, I'll come home early today and we'll..."