When Hendrick Sam got Xena Carter’s call, I had just come out of coronary bypass surgery. The doctor told me my health was in critical condition, and things might not turn out so well next time. He advised me to avoid any kind of stress.

Without even looking up, Hendrick turned and walked out of the room.

I lay in bed, quietly listening to the nurse’s instructions and her complaints about Hendrick. It felt like a knife was twisting in my heart.

I had chased after him for a year before we got married, and we had been married for two. I always knew Hendrick had someone he had loved for many years, his one true love.

Three years ago, Hendrick fell critically ill and was hospitalized. The hospital issued several critical condition notices and Xena had left the country. To prevent the Sam family from being left without an heir, his parents turned to me, the one who had been pursuing him relentlessly.

With his true love gone, his condition worsening, and his parents’ constant persuasion, Hendrick agreed to marry me that very day.

Fortunately, the day after our wedding, Hendrick’s surgery was a success. He gradually returned to a normal state.

Everyone believed I was Hendrick’s good luck charm. Even his parents said so, urging him to treat me better. But he stayed distant and indifferent.

I lay in bed from morning till night as the nurse changed my IV three times, but Hendrick still had not come back.

When the anesthesia wore off, the pain in my surgical wound was excruciating, like it was being torn apart.

“Can I get a pain pump, please? The wound really hurts.”

I had always been afraid of pain.

“Your body’s too weak right now, so a pain pump isn’t an option.

“I’ll get you some painkillers. If it gets unbearable, take one.”

Next to me, the husband of a young woman who just had a C-section, brought in some food and a bouquet of fresh flowers.

She complained that he always bought unnecessary things and said it would be better to save the money for their daughter.

But she accepted the flowers with a playful pout, unable to hide the smile at the corners of her mouth.

The man just grinned sheepishly. Once she took the bouquet, he gently said,

“No matter what, even with our daughter here, you’re still the one I love the most.

“I promised you, even after marriage, I’d make it feel like we’re still dating.”

They laughed and joked as they opened the container, filling the room with the delicious aroma of chicken noodle soup.

It wasn’t until I caught the scent that I realized I hadn’t eaten all day.

I turned on my phone, which had been off the entire time, only to see an empty screen. There wasn’t a single message from Hendrick.

I dialed the number I had memorized long ago. It rang for what felt like forever before someone finally answered.

“Hendrick, can you come and be with me? I’m in so much pain.”

I wanted to say, “Hendrick, it’s so cold in this hospital. The wound hurts so much. My body can’t handle the long-term pain anymore. Everyone else has their loved ones by their side. But I’m always alone. Hendrick, could you stay with me? Just this once.”

“If it hurts, call the doctor. I’m busy. Don’t call me unless it’s urgent.” His cold response cut off everything I wanted to say.

Just before he hung up, I heard a faint woman’s voice in the background.

“Didn’t you promise to keep me company? Who are you talking to?”

It was Xena.

Her voice was sweet and gentle. She pretended to be upset in that playful way only she could pull off. Hendrick always fell for it.

I opened my social media feed and saw that Xena had posted a new update.

“Some people have company late at night, while others are left gazing at the sea.”

The photo showed the back of a man, tall and well-built, wearing a warm camel-colored wool coat.

Above him was a sky full of stars and beside him was the vast blue sea. There were two slightly overlapping figures, clearly a man and a woman. The image was blurry, yet suggestive.

Beneath the post, her friends’ comments were filled with envy and teasing. It was their private circle.

That coat was a birthday gift I had given him. Just a few days ago, Hendrick wore it to a friend’s birthday party.

Everyone had complimented my taste, saying that Hendrick looked great in it. Even Hendrick himself often wore it.

I stared at Hendrick’s figure in the photo for a long time before giving it a like.

……

It was raining heavily the day I was discharged from the hospital, and Hendrick came to pick me up.

I never thought he would actually show up.

The temperature had dropped today, and Hendrick was wearing that same coat. He looked tall, vibrant, and full of life.

Camel really was his color and he loved it.

Meanwhile, I had lost a lot of weight. My face was pale, my eyes sunken, and the oversized clothes hung off me, only adding to my worn-out appearance.

When Hendrick saw me, there was a brief moment of confusion in his eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.

We sat in the car without speaking. I stared blankly out the window as raindrops trickled down the glass, blurring my view.

It had been raining like this the first time I met Hendrick, too.

I did not realize the car was heading in the opposite direction of home.

When we stopped at “Club Flamingo,” I thought Hendrick had forgotten I was still in the car.

I followed him into a private room filled with flashing lights and blaring music that made my heart ache.

Inside were Hendrick’s friends, and sitting at the center of it all was Xena.

"Chloe, you’re here," they greeted me in a chaotic chorus, not a shred of respect in their tone.

Their eyes swept over me from head to toe.

I was wearing an oversized coat over a plain white T-shirt, and I still had on the slippers I hadn’t had time to change, now muddy from the rain.

“It’s my birthday today. If you really didn’t want to come, you could’ve just said no. You didn’t have to… show up like this.”

All eyes were on me, filled with disdain and contempt. Xena’s eyes welled with tears as she looked at Hendrick, as though she had been deeply wronged.

I turned to Hendrick and softly asked, “Hendrick, what do you want?”

Hendrick completely ignored me standing by the door and walked over to sit beside Xena.

He gently comforted her, “If someone upsets you, just snap back at them. I’ve got your back. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“Hendrick, I know you don’t want to see me hurt, but she’s still your wife,” Xena replied.

Realizing she might have said too much, Xena gasped and quickly rushed over to my side, linking arms with me in an overly affectionate, sickeningly sweet gesture.

“Chloe, please don’t be mad at Hendrick. He just can’t stand to see me upset. After all, we...”

“I’ll talk to him. Hendrick is so clueless.”

Xena's innocent expression and the subtle hints in her words were all too clear.

She was obviously showing off.

Pulling me further into the room, she dug her sharp nails deep into the arm that still had the IV mark. I held back a cry, trying desperately to pull my arm away.

Just as I managed to free myself, Xena suddenly staggered backward, knocking over a glass on the table as she fell.

Hendrick rushed to her side in an instant, his face full of concern.

Meanwhile, I lost my balance and hit my forehead hard against the corner of the table. Blood trickled down, bright red against my pale skin, making the scene even more startling.

Hendrick turned around angrily, but when he saw my face covered in blood, he froze.

His brows furrowed, and a flicker of worry crossed his eyes.

“How could you be so careless? Didn’t the doctor say your health is fragile and you need to be more careful?

“I’ll take you to the hospital.”

I was stunned for a moment, then grabbed some tissues and pressed them against the wound. It hurt so much that tears stung my eyes.

So, you did hear what the doctor said that day. You knew all along.

“Hendrick, the cake hasn’t been cut yet,” Xena called out.

Ignoring her, Hendrick took my hand and led me out.

I glanced back at her with a faint smile on my lips.

Xena glared at me. Her eyes were full of hatred.

Outside, the rain kept pouring down, harder than before. But with Hendrick’s broad frame shielding me, I did not feel the cold at all.

I glanced down at our intertwined hands, feeling a little dazed. It had been so long since Hendrick and I spent time together like this, without any arguments or harsh words.

In the beginning, Hendrick was very polite to me.

He never let me do any heavy work, always remembered every holiday, and gave me gifts. Sometimes it was clothes, other times jewelry or bags. It was always the latest style that girls loved.

He even deposited over a million into my account every month. He would always address me politely as “Miss Fisher.”

When did things change?

It probably started when I stood up to Xena for the first time.

A wife without love could never matter as much as the woman he truly cared about.

I wanted to tell him that if we could always be like this, it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Hen...”

“Hendrick, wait for me!” Xena’s voice cut off my words as she came rushing over.

Hendrick turned to me. “What were you going to say?”

“Nothing.”

“Chloe, the rain’s really coming down, and Hendrick’s been drinking. Let me drive you both.

“And I should get my hand looked at. I cut it on the glass earlier.”

Hearing this, Hendrick asked anxiously, “Is it bad? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“It’s nothing, just a small cut. Chloe’s injury is much worse.

“I know she didn’t do it on purpose, so don’t be upset with her, Hendrick.”

Her words, laced with insinuation, instantly darkened Hendrick’s expression. Even the way he looked at me turned cold.

“She’s always causing trouble for herself and others. But you’re still so kind.”

Just like that, Hendrick believed her without question and condemned me without a second thought.

The rain continued to pour, growing heavier by the minute. What should have been a thirty-minute drive had turned into an hour, and we still had not arrived.

My head wound had been hastily bandaged, but the pain still lingered with a dull, constant throb.