On the night of the SAT exam, my childhood sweetheart, Walter Sterling, eagerly coaxed me into sleeping with him.

At the height of passion, his wild and unrestrained motions hurt me.

Later, thanks to a ten-points difference on the exam score, we ended up in a four-year-long-distance relationship.

Walter spent all his allowance on flight tickets to see me.

Whenever we got together, he would physically live out the words, “absence made the heart grow fonder.”

On his birthday, I bought a flight ticket and carried a cake to surprise him.

But when I entered his rental apartment, I saw him and a strange girl intensely doing the deed.

The cake in my hand fell to the floor with a thud. Then, I ran out crying.

Walter’s expression changed dramatically. He chased after me like a madman.

To keep me, he deleted all her contact information in front of me and even dropped out of school.

My heart softened, and I forgave him.

After we got married, he treated me even better than before. The improvement was so drastic that I was constantly on cloud nine.

But when I became pregnant, I once again saw the girl he had completely cut ties with. She was his new secretary.

My husband, Walter Sterling, angrily explained himself to me, “Belle got here because she’s qualified. The company has policies. They can’t just fire people who haven’t done anything wrong.

“She and I are just coworkers. There’s nothing else.”

During his university days, Belle Helm was the girl he had an affair with.

For the sake of the baby growing inside me, I caved again and believed him.

Little did I know that this moment of weakness would later hurt me many times.

After Belle’s aggressive dog chomped down on my thigh, Walter and I had another argument.

Walter glared at me and said, “Scruffy was just playing with you. Why are you making such a big deal over a dog?”

Once again, he ignored my injury and the baby in my belly. He took Belle’s side without hesitation.

This happened countless times. For once, I had enough.

I looked at the man I had loved for nearly a decade and said calmly, “Walter, I want a divorce.”

He snickered and said, “Zara, don’t keep threatening me with divorce. You just want me to pamper you, don’t you? Why don’t you just say so?”

He pulled me into his arms with a playful smile and planted a loud kiss on my cheek.

“Fine! You’re my wife, aren’t you? If I don’t comfort you, who will?”

The bite mark on my thigh hurt so much that I broke out in cold sweat.

I instinctively tried to break free from his embrace, but he held me even tighter.

“Come on, stop being mad already. Didn’t we say we were going to the hospital for your prenatal checkup? I’ll take you there now.”

After we got into the car, Walter could tell I was still upset. He kept trying to chat with me the entire drive.

“Zara, can we actually see what the baby looks like with the 4D ultrasound? Do you think the baby will look more like you or more like me?”

Mentioning the baby subconsciously made my heart soften.

Even so, I did not respond. Instead, I turned to look out the window.

The weather was dark and gloomy. I could hear thunder roaring. Soon after, torrential rain poured down.

The window was not fully closed. The rain and cold mist blew in. I shivered.

Just then, Belle called.

“Mr. Sterling, the power has gone out at home. I’m so scared.

“Please save me!”

Her voice was whiny and coquettish. She hung up right after speaking.

Without hesitation, Walter slammed on the brakes.

His expression turned grim. He handed me his coat and gave me a cold glance.

“Belle has nyctophobia. I have to go to her right now.”

Stunned, I yelled at him in disbelief, “Walter, are you crazy?! It’s impossible to get a cab around here! What am I supposed to do if you leave me?!”

Walter glanced sideways at me. His tone was terrifyingly cold when he spoke.

“I can’t worry about that right now. You’ll only have cab troubles, while Belle’s life is on the line. You have to be more understanding.”

With that, he stepped on the gas, and the car sped off.

The rain soon soaked me through. My mind went completely blank.

I quickly took out my phone and called Walter.

I only got a cold, electronic voice in response.

“Sorry, the number you’re calling is currently busy.”

I was drenched in rain. The cold wind was so harsh that every inch of my skin stung.

I tried calling him multiple times, but every single one went unanswered.

I hugged my knees. The freezing rain mixed with my tears and streamed down.

I took my phone and called the man who had been waiting for me for five years.

“You once said you’d marry me if I got a divorce. Do you still mean it?”

After checking in at the hospital and getting my tetanus shot, I sat on a bench waiting for my prenatal ultrasound.

Seeing me completely soaked and coming alone, a pregnant woman next to me laughed and teased me. “Your husband must be out of town, right? If he saw you this pregnant and soaking wet, he’d be freaking out with worry.”

I shook my head, then looked at my phone.

Belle had just posted on her Instagram.

[My CEO fixed my light bulb himself. I’m making him a candlelight dinner to say thanks. Mr. Sterling is so handsome!]

My chest seized up with a sharp, aching pain.

I gently touched my lower belly and turned off my phone with trembling hands.

After the 4D ultrasound, I walked home with unsteady steps.

When I arrived home, it was empty.

While showering, the water heater suddenly broke.

When the sudden cold water hit my body, I finally broke down.

I squatted down, held my belly, and sobbed loudly.

Walter and I were childhood sweethearts. Our families had been close friends for generations. When we were kids, our grandfathers made vows that we would get married.

In my senior year of high school, my grades were better than Walter’s. To get into the same university as him, I deliberately skipped the last math question on the SAT exam.

But fate had other plans.

Walter performed exceptionally well for that particular exam. As a result, we missed going to the same university by just ten points.

During our long-distance relationship, Walter insisted on video chatting with me every day.

Once when I was too busy to answer, Walter stayed by his phone all night.

The next day, he had asked with teary eyes, “Zara, are you dumping me?”

I had comforted him and said, “Just hang on a little longer. We’ll get married after we graduate.”

On his birthday, my surprise turned into shock.

The boy who was head over heels with me was intensely doing the deed with another girl.

Walter and I should have ended long ago.

After showering, I lay in bed. My high fever made me drowsy and dizzy.

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

Walter saw my flushed cheeks and pressed his palm against my forehead.

He frowned and said, “Why are you burning up so badly?”

Then he smirked, leaned closer to me, and whispered, “The doctor said the baby is stable now that you’re in the third trimester. Don’t worry. Let me give you a shot of fever medicine. I promise it’ll knock it right out.”

Soon after, he went all the way in. I was burning up and out of it. I held him on instinct, and we got lost in the heat again.

Afterward, I noticed a glaring red mark on Walter’s neck.

My muddled brain finally cleared. At that moment, it all clicked.

How ridiculous.

If Walter truly loved me, how could he bear to vent his own desires while I was five months pregnant and burning with a high fever?

When I woke up again, Walter was nowhere to be found.

I took the drafted divorce papers and went to Walter’s company. From his lounge, I heard overlapping cries and moans.

Walter’s guttural groans were mixed with Belle’s high-pitched gasps. The sound was so loud it hurt my eardrums.

My hand trembled on the doorknob. Through the blinds, Belle shot me a cold, quick look.

I could not hold back anymore. I slammed the door open.

Walter instinctively shielded Belle behind him and quickly threw a jacket over her.

He turned around and roared at me, “Zara, you have a fever. Why aren’t you staying home? What are you doing here?”

I yelled at him hysterically. “Walter, is this what you keep calling a ‘work relationship’?!

“You cheated on me while I was pregnant. What do you take me for?”

Walter just let out a careless, dismissive laugh. He put on his clothes while smiling and said, “Zara, you need to understand this. We’re thirty years old now. Stop obsessing over the meaningless kind of love that only exists in fairy tales.

“Look, we have financial freedom, and that’s the truth. Just look the other way and live a worry-free life as Mrs. Sterling.

“Honey, believe me. Every guy cheats when his wife’s pregnant. If you truly love me, could you really stand to leave me hanging?”

Walter’s shameless justification for cheating made me so sick that I actually gagged.

I stared at him intensely. My lips trembled as I said deliberately, “Walter, you can go find yourself a wife who’ll put up with your cheating. That’s not me. I can’t even stand having a speck of dirt in my eye. I’m done.”

Walter’s phone suddenly rang. He gave a scornful, cold laugh and brushed me off.

“Honey, you don’t have your youth to fall back on anymore. That body you were so proud of is wrecked from pregnancy. Besides me, who else would even want you?

“Be good. I’m going to step out and take this call. You should think this over.”

With that, he answered the call and left the room.

He had barely stepped out when Belle brought her aggressive dog inside.

That large dog bared its teeth and barked nonstop at me. My whole body jolted with fear.

Belle covered her mouth to laugh dramatically.

“Don’t think that just because you’re carrying his child, you’re on the same level as me.

“You know, we’ve been together for four years already. Every single day you couldn’t reach him, Walter and I were busy having the time of our lives in bed.

“Why don’t you take a good look at yourself in the mirror? You’re as fat as a pig. Do you really think Walter is going to give you a second look?”

I pursed my lips and stayed silent. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would start to sob uncontrollably.

For four years, all those days when Walter used excuses like business trips and overtime, he was actually with Belle.

Every time I caved, I just made myself look like a complete joke.

Belle became inexplicably angry when I remained quiet.

She glanced at her dog. The next second, that large dog charged at me with a bark.