I've been married to my husband, Kaison, for three years.

He never spent any anniversaries with me. Instead, he traveled to countless countries with his idealized love, Alexis. On my birthday, he once again abandoned me, saying, "I have a business trip for a week. Be good and wait for me to come back."

I silently watched him leave, knowing this trip was just an excuse to spend time with Alexis. He thought I would quietly accept it, relying on my calm demeanor. But this time, he was unaware of my plan.

By the time he returned, I'd already be on a plane, leaving the country for a fresh start.

Two months ago, I kept asking Kaison for a special surprise for my birthday. He agreed, and I was filled with anticipation. But when he came out of the bedroom, dragging his suitcase, he told me, as he did every year, "I got you a topaz necklace, so I won't be with you for your birthday this time."

I felt a sharp pain in my heart. He didn’t notice my distress and continued to the living room. I remembered how I painstakingly selected every piece of furniture during the renovations, hoping to create a cozy home. But Kaison was never satisfied, frequently praising Alexis's taste to my face.

There was a time I wanted to hang our wedding photo on the living room wall, but he disagreed, insisting that the painting Alexis gave us was a better fit for the space. My heart ached, and all I could do was lower my head and swallow my endless sadness.

Seeing my silence, he gently took my hand and said, "Be good, and I'll make it up to you when I get back." I'd heard these promises too often, yet my eyes still filled with unshed tears. I looked up at him with a glimmer of hope, asking, "Could you stay with me for this birthday?"

He released my hand, irritation flashing across his face. "You're getting more unreasonable by the day. I'm buried in work; do you expect me to drop everything for you?"

"Would it make you happy if I just lazed around all day?"

"Just wear the topaz necklace for your birthday party. I'll be away for a week; be good and wait for me."

He spoke as he moved toward the door. As if remembering something, he turned back to remind me, "Oh, and don't forget to water the roses in the garden."

Those roses were a gift from Alexis, and I was allergic to pollen, a detail he never cared to remember. Anytime I got near them, my nose itched, I'd sneeze constantly, and red rashes would appear all over my body, making me feel awful.

Once, when I was already feeling unwell, I lay on the sofa struggling to breathe, overwhelmed by the fragrance of the flowers. I endured the discomfort and softly pleaded when he returned, "I feel really unwell. Could we move those flowers elsewhere for now?"

His face immediately darkened, his expression filled with impatience. "It's just a few pots of flowers. Why can't you be less petty?"

"Alexis went out of her way to send them. Can't you tolerate it a bit longer?"

I opened my mouth to argue but found myself speechless. He always sided with Alexis without question, and over time, I grew accustomed to it.

Looking back over these three years of marriage, I poured my heart into preparing for each anniversary, but I always ended up alone in an empty house. Every birthday, the only company was a topaz necklace.

To me, this cold necklace wasn't a gift; it was a mockery. For the past two months, I'd been dreaming about that surprise—would it be watching the sunrise on a beach or stargazing on a mountaintop?

I canceled my birthday party just to be with him, but now, all my hopes had turned to dust, leaving only resentment and disappointment. I silently watched him go, knowing he was off to indulge in happiness with his idealized love.

Unconsciously, my mind drifted to the plane ticket for my departure in seven days. I forced a faint smile and bid farewell to Kaison, who left me year after year, saying, "Goodbye."

I was determined to leave Kaison's world behind for good, leaving our signed divorce papers on the nightstand as my final gesture. As soon as I got to the hotel, my best friend Amelia whisked me away to her place.

While we were having dinner, she delicately asked, "Did Kaison and Alexis go on that trip to the Alps?"

I shrugged, "I have no clue."

In the past, whenever Kaison and Alexis traveled together, I'd be glued to Instagram, silently crying. But not anymore.

I had told Kaison countless times how much I wanted to bike along the shores of the Alps with him. He'd always find reasons to brush it off, yet now, without a hitch, he and Alexis were heading to the place I had longed to visit.

Amelia looked at me in surprise, "Girl, have you finally come to your senses?"

I replied with a bittersweet smile, "I decided to divorce him."

"Am I hearing this right?!" Amelia practically soared across the room to hug me, her voice brimming with excitement, "It’s about time you snapped out of it! I’ve been telling you to leave him ever since he started showing interest in Alexis!"

"What did you say back then?"

Amelia mimicked me, raising her voice to mimic mine, "He promised me he'd always love me, and I believed him!"

"Yeah, well, if you could trust a guy's sweet talk, pigs would fly!"

Hearing those familiar words, an image of my younger self flashed before me.

I grew up poor, relying on grit and hard work to earn a scholarship to an elite private school. It was my ticket to change my destiny, but also the beginning of a nightmare.

When I first arrived, my classmates ridiculed and bullied me because of my modest background.

Once, a group cornered me, taunting mercilessly.

Kaison was the one who stepped in.

He spoke to me gently, "Don't worry, I'm here."

From that moment, he became my protector. It felt natural for me to fall for him.

But when I finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings, his response was a cold reality check.

"I have a girlfriend," he said calmly, cutting through me like a knife.

That was when Alexis's name entered my life for the first time.

I remember feeling so humiliated and foolish back then.

After repeatedly assuring Amelia that I was fine, she finally let me return to the hotel. Deep down, I knew that this marriage had been a mistake from the start.

Years ago, Kaison and Alexis had a heated argument, and Alexis stormed out of the country in anger. I was there for Kaison, helping him drink his troubles away, and in that foggy state, I confessed my feelings to him again. He responded with a passionate, heartfelt kiss. The next morning, without needing words, we both understood what this meant, and our relationship officially began.

On our wedding day, he held my hand tightly and promised, “Elaine, I'll spend my life protecting you.” I believed him wholeheartedly.

But everything changed on my first birthday after our marriage when Alexis suddenly reappeared in Kaison’s life. My phone chimed with a message from him: "Why did you cancel your birthday dinner? Didn't you like the gift?"

I was a bit surprised, not expecting that even while he was with Alexis, he'd remember his wife in name. Perhaps my delayed reply prompted him to send another message shortly after: "Didn't you always love emeralds?"

I stared at his words for a moment, finding them rather amusing. The first gift Kaison ever gave me was an emerald necklace. He had said, "Emeralds are bold and vibrant, just like you." Although I didn’t like the color green, I developed a special fondness for emeralds because it was from him, which eventually led to my love for jewelry design. However, I later discovered that Alexis had majored in jewelry design in college, and emeralds were her favorite.

Coming back to my senses, I instinctively typed a message on my phone’s keyboard: "You gave the gift to the wrong person; I hate green." Hesitating for a moment, I deleted the message, retyped, and sent a different one: "Enjoy your time with Alexis."

After sending the message, there was no response from him. I laughed at myself, feeling a mix of irony and resignation.