On our wedding anniversary, my wife claimed she had left an important document at her childhood home.

Without hesitation, I drove back to retrieve it. But halfway there, my phone rang; it was my mother. Her voice trembled as she told me that my father had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and needed 300,000 dollars for emergency surgery.

Panic gripped me. My hands shook as I dialed my wife, desperate for help only to be coldly hung up.

Her childhood friend posted a photo of a cake worth 200,000 dollars with the caption on social media. [A token from my childhood sweetheart. Tonight is our exclusive sweet night.]

Fury boiled in my chest, but I decided to stay calm and dialed his number. I tried to explain my father’s condition, hoping for even a sliver of decency.

But instead, it was my wife who answered.

She snatched the phone and spoke in a voice that chilled me.

"I didn’t know you were so competitive. I spent 200,000 on Dawson, and now you want 300,000?"

"He finally came back to the country, and I can’t even come up with an excuse to send you away? Can’t you just give me some peace for once?"

Afraid I’d ruin her night, she yanked out her SIM card and powered off her phone, severing our last connection thread.

That same night, Dawson posted again. [Where the money is, the love is.]

I booked the first flight out of the country.

I gave her the peace she wanted.

——

By the time I scraped together the 300,000 and called back, my father had already been wheeled into the morgue.

My mother collapsed on the spot, and I had to handle all the funeral arrangements alone.

It wasn’t until I returned from the hospital that I saw my wife again after she had vanished for an entire week.

She frowned the moment she saw me, then lashed out without hesitation.

"I thought you weren’t coming back! Where did you take the documents? You didn’t care at all about what I said!"

Staring at the furious woman before me, my heart turned cold as stone.

We had known each other for seven years. She had always treated me kindly, never once dismissing my feelings.

I once believed this marriage would always stay warm, sweet, and lasting until Dawson Pierce appeared.

All because he once saved her life, she gave him everything without question.

I never cared about the past, but what I couldn’t forgive was that she had caused my father’s death for Dawson.

If she hadn’t sent me away just to celebrate his birthday, I would’ve never gone back to that house.

If I had still been in Roseville, my father’s condition would never have been delayed.

Seeing the frost on my face, Blair Emerson grew even more irritated.

"You’re making such a fuss just because I celebrated Dawson’s birthday?"

She placed a boxed cake on the table with a cold snort.

"Dawson still remembered you liked cake, so he asked me to bring you a piece. I didn’t expect you to be so ungrateful."

I was allergic to mango; just a single bite could stop my breathing and shock me.

And on top of that cake sat a thick slice of mango, clearly bitten into by someone else.

I let out a cold laugh, my voice dripping with disdain.

"How thoughtful of you to bring me someone else’s leftovers."

Blair’s expression froze for a beat before she lifted her chin and snapped back. "Didn’t you use to eat other people’s leftovers back when you were scrubbing dishes at the hotel? Dawson and I don’t have any diseases; why are you acting so precious?"

Her words pierced through me like a blade, sharp and ruthless. I stared at her, stunned, unable to believe what I had just heard.

My parents had always been frail. Since I was young, I worked part-time jobs to pay my way through school.

But in my sophomore year, the tuition I had painstakingly saved vanished overnight because of a single click.

The police said it was a new kind of scam. The money was gone for good.

I had no choice but to start working at a hotel. When I couldn’t afford meals, I survived on customers’ leftovers.

A classmate once caught me and mocked me, calling me garbage. I didn’t dare respond; I couldn’t risk losing that job.

It was the darkest, most humiliating chapter of my life.

When I told Blair everything back then, she cried in my arms, trembling with sympathy, swearing she'd always stand by me.

But now, she used that same memory, the one that shattered me, to cut me even deeper.

She realized too late that her words had crossed a line. "That’s not what I meant; I just..."

Drained and numb, I shook Blair off. “No need to explain. Let’s get a divorce.”

“Just take it as me begging you, let me go.”

Blair froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. “What did you say?”

With my father lying cold in the cemetery and my mother still in the hospital, I didn’t have the strength to argue anymore.

“Let’s end this here.”

Blair stood there, stunned, unable to grasp why I had suddenly brought up divorce.

To her, even when she openly embraced Dawson right in front of me, I hadn't made a scene.

After all, this time, it was just Dawson’s birthday, nothing more in her eyes.

Her gaze drifted downward and landed on the report in my hand. The moment she read the words, her shoulders relaxed, and she let out a long sigh.

“So it’s because your mom’s sick and in the hospital. I knew you wouldn’t get angry over nothing.”

Blair gently took my hands in hers.

“I know it’s been hard on you, looking after Mom all by yourself. That was my fault. But this was Dawson’s first birthday since returning to the country, and he’s lost his entire family. I couldn’t just turn my back on him.”

“Mom only fainted from too much stress; it’s nothing serious. I’ll come with you to the hospital tomorrow, okay? Don’t stay upset.”

She wrapped her arms around me with practiced affection, but the unfamiliar scent clinging to her made my stomach turn.

I suddenly shoved her away and stumbled toward the trash can, retching uncontrollably.

The mango cake she had brought fell to the floor, splattering into a sickening mess.

Her face twisted, both embarrassed and angry. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I work hard every day to support this home. Can’t you stop throwing tantrums over nothing?”

“Do you even know what people are saying about you out there? That you’re a freeloader? That I’m the one keeping this family afloat! Can’t you just wake up and face the truth?”

I stared at her, my voice cold. “Blair, you caused my father’s death.”

She suddenly laughed, sharp and mocking. “Do you take me for a fool? The report clearly says it was your mom who was hospitalized, and just for some minor emotional stress. Who knows who upset her? What does that have to do with me?”

Then her tone softened again, trying to sound gentle.

“I know you’re upset I missed our anniversary. I also know you’ve always wanted to compete with Dawson. How about this, his birthday party cost 360,000. I’ll transfer you 500,000. Is that enough?”

I gave her a cold smile. “Get out.”

Realizing I wasn’t falling for her fake sweetness or subtle threats, Blair dropped the act.

“Suit yourself. Go cool off on your own!”

The door slammed behind her with a loud bang.

I laughed.

I laughed until the sound broke into silence, and tears slipped down my face.

I remembered how she once said I was the only one in her heart, remembered how she had wiped out all my debts like some kind of savior, and remembered how we clung to each other through the darkest times.

But that once tender girl now stood opposite to the cold figure who turned her back on me without hesitation.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and several messages came from an unknown number.

It was a screenshot.

The other person had simply texted that they had a stomachache, and Blair replied instantly. [On my way.]

There was also a photo of Blair and Dawson leaning close together.

The shirt Dawson wore was the one I had given Blair as an engagement gift.

Then, two more messages appeared. [If I hadn’t gone abroad back then, do you really think she’d have chosen you?]

[Her own father-in-law died, and she didn’t flinch. But I say my stomach hurts, and she runs straight to me. Don’t you feel pathetic?]

I thought of how Blair had told me to calm down just moments earlier, and suddenly, the whole thing felt like a cruel joke.

So that’s why she was in such a rush. She wasn’t escaping the argument. She was running to Dawson.

I submitted my application to go abroad; then I headed to the hospital to see my mother.

The moment she saw me, Blair immediately smiled. “Go chase your dream. Pick it back up. The caregiver will take care of me.”

Only parents loved like that, unconditionally. I collapsed into her arms, tears spilling freely.

I had finally made the decision to leave Blair.

Even after my application had been approved, Blair still hadn’t come home.

I sent her the divorce papers and began clearing out my things from the villa.

Once everything was gone, I realized the villa felt different; maybe I had been the intruder all along.

While I was on the phone with a professor overseas, Blair suddenly walked in with Dawson.

Dawson looked around, gave a little “Oops,” and awkwardly asked, “Did we interrupt? Were you talking to Senior Landers?”

Blair snatched my phone from my hands, her face clouded with frustration.

Seeing the number wasn’t even saved in my contacts, she smirked.

“To piss me off, you’re talking to some random woman?”

This “Senior Landers” Dawson had mentioned, and I had only exchanged a few words during the student council days. But to Dawson, it was something much worse.

I clenched my fists, trying to reclaim my phone, but Blair hung up on the call and looked at me with a smug grin.

“I didn’t even bother to check what you sent. Stop with these games. Dawson and I are just regular siblings.”

My gaze fell on the hickey on her neck, and a bitter sneer escaped my lips. “Siblings?”

No blood relation, yet doing everything lovers do, hiding behind the disguise of siblings.

She never allowed me to speak to any woman, yet shamelessly flirted with Dawson, her hypocrisy was maddening.

Blair sighed in frustration. “No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. What do you want me to do?”

“Do I need to cut ties with Dawson to make you happy?”

“How can you be so cold-hearted? Dawson’s family saved my life, and now he’s alone. I can’t just turn my back on him. Can’t you understand that?”

Every word she spoke accused me of being unreasonable, blind to her “sacrifice.”

Once, I would have yelled and begged her to see things from my side.

But now, I just stared at her calmly. “If you can bring my dad back to life, then maybe I’d understand.”

She rubbed her temples in frustration, her anger palpable.

Dawson wrapped his arm around Blair’s shoulders possessively and spoke, his voice dripping with condescension.

“Blair and I both went to the hospital. Your mom is there, your dad isn’t.”

“If you want pity, fine, but there’s no need to curse your own father as dead.”

My mother’s condition couldn’t bear any emotional stress. She didn’t even know about Blair and Dawson.

I grabbed Dawson’s hand, my voice trembling with alarm. “What do you mean? You went to the hospital to see my mom? What did you tell her?”

Dawson cried out in pain, and Blair shoved me away with a sudden force.

I slammed into the table with a sickening crash, my lower back hitting the edge hard. The sharp pain drained the color from my face.

Blair instantly scowled at the faint red mark on Dawson’s arm and snapped at me.

“What are you doing?! I’m your mom’s daughter-in-law; what’s wrong with visiting her? Do you think I’d curse her to death like you?”

I didn’t want to fight. All I wanted was to get to the hospital and see my mom. But then my phone rang, its urgent tone slicing through the tension.

I answered quickly, a cold dread washing over me.

“Is this Mr. Maddox? Your mother’s in critical condition! She’s been calling out for someone named Dawson. Was she calling for you? Please, come right away.”

The blood in my veins seemed to freeze. I could hardly believe what I’d just heard.

I could barely find my voice as I repeated, “What did you say?”