He frowned slightly, picked me up around the waist, and walked into the bedroom.

"Why are you up so early?"

I caught a strange sweet scent on him and slowly brushed his hands away.

"Chris, where did you go yesterday?"

He paused for a moment before explaining, "Something came up that needed handling. You were asleep, so I didn't wake you. It was quite late when I finished, so I just slept in the office."

He smiled and pinched my cheek, his tone affectionate. "Did you miss me, Hailey?"

I looked at him calmly.

After a long pause, I took off my wedding ring and gently placed it in his palm.

"Chris, let's get a divorce."

The air froze for a moment, and Chris's expression changed.

Emotion flickered in his eyes, and the hand holding the ring tightened into a fist.

"Hailey, this joke isn't funny at all."

I touched the cold hearing aid behind my ear.

I never regretted taking that blow for him.

I loved him, and I accepted it willingly.

But last night's words, "a deaf person who made him sick", felt like a sharp knife stabbing into my heart.

I closed my eyes wearily, struggling to suppress my trembling voice.

"Chris, I saw everything."

Meeting Chris's somewhat confused gaze,

I stared into his eyes, recalling word by word. "Something came up, what was it? Was it that you had to go to Jasmine's house to spend a joyful night with her?"

4.

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Time seemed to stand still.

I tried to find something in Chris's eyes.

Even a hint of guilt would suffice.

But there was none.

I only caught a fleeting glimpse of panic deep in his eyes.

Perhaps he was just flustered, because I saw him not because he did something wrong.

"A soulless deaf person really isn't worthy of you, Mr. Davis."

Recalling those words a night later caused my heart to ache.

Chris's face turned pale.

He struggled to call my name. "Hailey..."

My eyes stung, and I fought back tears.

This was my first time examining Chris from an observer's perspective.

His sadness and panic were genuine.

The little love in his heart might be real, but the disdain buried in his gaze was finally revealed.

So I remained confident with my decision. "I'll move out today and get the paperwork done as soon as possible."

Chris's expression stiffened.

The gentle mask he wore seemed ready to shatter.

"Stop joking around. Where else can you go beside here?"

As I spoke, I clearly saw a flash of contempt in Chris's eyes.

It disappeared after a split second.

5.

I looked up at Chris.

Suddenly, I felt how unfamiliar this man, whom I had loved for 12 years, had become.

Perhaps Chris had never hidden it very well.

He had long since grown to loathe me without realizing it.

Those feelings of disgust directed at me would sometimes slip out.

But my love had blinded me to the details of his indifference.

I loved him.

We had been together for 12 years.

I had thought his love was the same as mine, only growing stronger.

Naturally, I ignored the signs of his lack of love.

I lowered my gaze and walked straight into the bedroom to start packing my things.

Seeing I was serious, Chris suddenly kicked my suitcase.

His brows furrowed tightly, his voice laced with impatience.

"Stop this. I just made one mistake; I won't do it again."

I was so angry that I actually became calm.

I shook my head. "Chris, it's been 12 years. You should know me."

He hesitated, gripping my hand tightly.

His deep voice was tinged with a rasp.

"Hailey, I know I made a mistake, please forgive me this once."

I looked down at him, watching as sweat beaded on his forehead from tension.

After a moment of silence, I said softly, "I can't."

He stared at me, and seeing my resolute expression, his face darkened. "Hailey, can you not leave?"

I pushed him away and didn't look back.

Behind me came the sound of Chris's fist hitting the wall.

"Hailey, I hope you won’t regret this!"

6.

I just kept walking forward.

I only felt a dense, throbbing pain spreading from my chest outward.

Everything in front of me became blurry, and I suddenly lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, bright lights were blinding me, and the air was filled with a strong smell of disinfectant.

"Hailey, you're awake."

My best friend, Jane, was beside me, helping me sit up.

"How do you feel?"

I sensed a moment of hesitation in Jane's voice.

"What happened to me?"

Jane turned to me with a complicated look on her face and let out a heavy sigh.

"You're pregnant."

‘I'm pregnant? Fate really likes to play games with me,’ I thought.

Just when I discovered that Chris was cheating and decided to divorce him, I found out I was having his child.

"Hailey, did something happen between you and Chris? You fainted by the side of the road. If I hadn't happened to look for you, who knows what might have happened."

I slowly raised my head, my mind flooded with everything that had happened these past few days.

"He cheated."

Jane suddenly stood up, gritting her teeth and cursing, "What a bastard! I'm going to tear him apart!"

I reached out to stop her. "Jane, let it go. I don't want anything to do with him anymore. I'll head home first."

7

My documents and work files were still at his villa.

If I was cutting ties, I needed to do it thoroughly.

I couldn’t really keep the child.

Checking the time, Chris should still be at the office.

It would be convenient for me to pack my things and move out.

When I got back home, it had already been cleaned up, looking tidy and neat.

When Chris proposed to me, he bought this place as our future home.

Just as he said, he would make sure I lived a good life.

I looked around at everything familiar with a sense of loss.

Suddenly, I heard a long, lingering sound.

It was a mixture of pleasure and pain, yet familiar— a woman's scream— coming from the bedroom upstairs.

I could clearly hear my own heartbeat, each beat louder than the last.

It felt like something was exploding inside me.

A wave of immense panic enveloped me.

I stiffly made my way upstairs step by step.

On the familiar bed, there were two familiar figures.

"Isn't it thrilling to do it here?"

Jasmine was wrapped herself around Chris's arm, laughing seductively.

"Mr. Davis, open your eyes and look at me. Who do you prefer, me or her?"

The overhead light flashed, illuminating Chris's face filled with desire.

Jasmine straddled him, leaning down to kiss him softly.

"Am I better than her?"

A wave of nausea surged from my stomach.

I leaned against the doorframe and began to retch.

When I regained my composure, the room was deathly silent.

I lifted my head and locked gazes with Chris.

8

"Hailey..."

I clearly saw a flicker of panic in his eyes.

And a hint of an imperceptible thrill.

Expressionless, I took out my phone and recorded the scene.

"Hailey, what are you doing?" Jasmine shrieked, scrambling to her feet.

She hurriedly grabbed some clothes off the floor and lunged at me.

"Delete the photo!"

Her scent hit me as she drew closer,

and my emotions surged violently. I raised my hand and slapped her.

"Stay away from me!

Or don't blame me for sending the photo out."

Jasmine covered her face, glaring at me furiously but didn't dare to move.

"Hailey, just delete the photo."

Chris's obscure gaze was fixed on me.

I sneered. “What right have you got to ask me to do such a thing? Chris, do you still remember what you said to me here three years ago? You said that you will never let me down.”

Chris’s face was pale and his lips trembled, but no words came out.

I looked at his pale face and an indescribable sadness arose in my heart.

Loving someone was like creating a new belief. One would be protecting a deity that might fall at any moment.

When the belief collapsed, it would only leave you with ruins.

Jasmine walked towards me.

“We have done something we shouldn’t have, Hailey. We just had a little bit too much to drink. We didn’t expect things would turn out like this. We... we... just couldn’t control ourselves.”