When the first rays of morning sunlight fell on the floor, Julian opened the door and walked in.

He stood over Xena and looked down at her. His indifferent gaze was cold and distant. “Do you know now what you did wrong?”

Xena softly said, “I do.”

She truly did.

The moment she fell in love with Julian had been the biggest mistake she made in her life. Then, she made mistake after mistake and decided to marry him.

Julian’s expression softened slightly. He turned and walked out. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”

They did not speak on the way. He dropped her off at the entrance to the house.

As she got out of the car, he suddenly said, “Don’t do such senseless things from now on. Xena, what I promised you will never change. As long as you are a good wife and a good mother, no one will take away your position.”

“I understand.”

Xena’s voice was calm. She walked straight inside.

When she passed Zayden and Yannick’s room, she heard voices coming from inside.

“Ms. Jensen, will our plan work? Will Mom really move out and stop controlling us all the time?”

“Ms. Jensen, once Mom is gone, I won’t have to do homework anymore. I want to eat lots of snacks and watch TV all the time.”

Xena paused for a brief moment. Then, she smiled bitterly and went back to her room.

She packed her bags and returned to her parents’ house. She explained everything to them, said goodbye, and left.

She planned to go to the city hall to collect the divorce certificate, then head straight to the airport.

The sunlight was gentle as she walked slowly along the greenway.

Julian’s car was parked nearby. The window rolled down. Moon sat in the front passenger seat. She held a bouquet of flowers and stared at Xena provocatively.

Julian said firmly, “Get in the car.”

Xena did not move.

Julian stepped out of the car and walked over to her. He frowned and took the luggage from her hands.

“Where’re you going with the luggage?”

When he put her luggage into the car, Xena had no choice but to get into the back seat.

“I’m going home for a few days.”

Julian fell silent for a while, then started the car. “That’s fine. Go back and reflect. Take some time to calm down.”

What was ironic was that he did not notice she was heading in the opposite direction from the Xander family villa.

Xena was quiet and thought about an excuse so that he would let her out of the car.

They had not driven far when a taxi coming from the opposite direction suddenly lost control and rushed straight at them.

Honk! Honk! Honk!

The sharp sound of the horn rang out. Julian yanked the steering wheel hard. It sent the car spinning aside.

The sound of shattering glass filled the air. A sharp pain tore through Xena’s arm and forehead. Warm blood flowed out.

As her consciousness began to fade, she saw Julian get out of the car in a panic. He rushed to the front passenger seat and pulled Moon out.

His voice trembled in fear. “Moon, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Moon smiled to comfort him. “The glass just cut me a little. It’s nothing serious.”

Xena saw Julian pull Moon into his arms with teary eyes. He held her tightly, as if he wanted to press her into himself. “Thank goodness you’re okay! Moon, I can’t lose you again.

“I’ll take you to the hospital. I’ll have someone handle the car.”

He kissed her on the forehead, then wrapped an arm around her and helped her walk away.

He never once looked back at Xena.

Perhaps he had already forgotten her.

…

Xena woke up in the hospital.

Bandages wrapped her forehead and arm. Her luggage was beside her bed.

She let out a quiet breath of relief. The nurse told her that the driver who caused the accident had brought her to the hospital.

Xena took her luggage and completed the discharge procedures despite the medical staff’s advice.

She rushed all the way to the city hall and finally got the divorce certificate before the place closed.

She kept her own copy and left Julian’s behind, along with the phone number of his workplace. She said to the staff, “Please notify him to come and collect it when you can.”

When she stepped out of the city hall, the sun was setting at the edge of the city. The shadows of people on the street stretched long across the ground.

She stood at the entrance for a while and watched. A young couple had just finished work and were walking home with two children carrying their schoolbags. Their laughter drifted down the street.

She suddenly collapsed onto the ground and cried until she had no strength left.

…

In the early hours of the morning, a plane bound for the south slowly took off.

Xena sat by the window and looked at the dark city below. She let out a soft sigh.

The chains that had bound her for sixty years were finally gone.

In this life, she would live only for herself.

Meanwhile, Julian, asleep over Moon’s hospital bed, suddenly dreamed of Xena walking away with a determined look.

He woke with a start and felt a strange emptiness in his chest.

His eyes fell on Moon, sleeping peacefully, and then on the small bed beside her.

Zayden and Yannick had insisted on staying to watch over Moon after they learned she had been hurt. They were both sleeping soundly in the little bed.

It was the scene Julian had pictured countless times with Moon: being together with the woman he loved and having two adorable children. It was a family full of love that he had wanted.

He let out a long sigh and smiled. He felt happy.

Then, Xena’s image suddenly appeared in his mind. Julian suddenly remembered that she had also been in the car during the accident. He did not know if she was hurt.

She was probably fine.

When his assistant came in the afternoon to report on the accident, there was no mention of Xena.

Maybe she had left on her own and gone back to the Xander family villa.

She had been impulsive lately because of Moon. It was probably good for her to go home to calm down.

As soon as she figured things out and decided to be a good wife and mother, he would bring her back.

Thinking that, Julian finally felt at peace and went back to sleep.

Two days later, Moon was ready to leave the hospital.

The young nurse who helped her remove the bandages looked at her with envy. “Ms. Jensen, your partner and the kids are amazing. You’re really lucky.

“Your arm would have been fine with just some ointment. But they insisted you stay in the hospital and took care of you the whole time.”

Moon smiled. Pride shone in her eyes.

Julian walked in with the two boys. He handed her the bouquet he was holding, and a warm smile spread across his face.

“Your discharge papers are ready. The boys picked these flowers this morning. Congratulations on getting out of the hospital!”

Zayden and Yannick leaned in on either side. “Ms. Jensen, look! There are still dewdrops on the flowers!”

“Ms. Jensen, these flowers are as pretty as you!”

Julian took Moon’s hand. The two kids stayed by her side as the four of them left the hospital room. The nurse watched them go with admiration.

At home, the kids ran straight to Xena’s room. “Mom, Ms. Jensen got hurt! Come out and take care of her!

“Her arm shouldn’t get wet! You have to do her laundry and cook for her!”

The room was empty.

They ran downstairs to Julian. “Dad, where’s Mom?”

Julian helped Moon onto the couch. “She’s staying at your grandmother’s for a few days.”

“Yay!”

The kids jumped up in excitement. “Then, we get to live with Ms. Jensen all by ourselves!”

Julian laughed. “Ms. Jensen got hurt. You two need to take good care of her.”

Julian cooked lunch. After they finished eating, he washed the dishes and helped Moon back to her room to rest.

Suddenly, his assistant arrived. He said there was a problem with a research project, and he needed to return to the institute.

Julian packed two sets of clothes, left a note for Moon to watch the boys, and hurried back to the research institute.

Moon was woken by the kids shouting and bouncing a ball around. She narrowed her eyes and pushed down the anger and frustration in her chest before heading to the living room.

The two ten-year-old boys were running around everywhere. The living room was a complete mess.

When they saw Moon, they shouted excitedly, “Ms. Jensen, you’re amazing! We really did it! We got Mom to leave!”

“We don’t want to go to school anymore! We just want to play all the time!”

Moon took a deep breath. The noise was making her head pound. She grabbed a ceramic cup from the side and threw it hard onto the floor.

The cup shattered, and the two boys went quiet. When they looked over, Moon was crouching down to pick up the pieces. There was a cut on her hand that bled.

She cried out in pain, and tears streamed down her face.

Zayden and Yannick ran over in concern.

Moon seized the chance and said, “My hand’s hurt, so I can’t do any chores. Will you two take care of me for the next few days?”

The boys immediately agreed. They felt proud to be needed this way and took it upon themselves to handle all the housework.

Every day after school, they washed, cooked, and cleaned. With no one supervising their homework, they got scolded by their teachers at school for not doing it.

Soon, the teachers started calling the house with complaints.

After Moon hung up, the boys ran over to her. “Ms. Jensen, didn’t you say that once Mom left, we wouldn’t have to go to school or do homework?”

Moon said gently, “Zayden, Yannick, you have to wait until I become your new mother before I can decide that you don’t have to go to school.”

They listened and tried even harder to please Moon.

A week later, Julian returned home late at night.

As he stepped inside, he froze.

No matter how late he came home before, there was always a light on in the living room waiting for him.

Xena, a light sleeper, would hear him come in, get up to make him a bowl of noodles, and sit with him until he finished. She would fuss over his health and talk about trivial everyday things.

But tonight, that familiar presence was gone. The dark living room felt especially cold.

Julian stood in the doorway. The emptiness that had lingered in his heart hit him again, stronger than ever.

He suddenly panicked and started calling her name, checking every room in the house, but she was nowhere to be found.