At six in the morning, Jack Thompson came home after working overtime. He looked drained, but still managed to bring me a bouquet of flowers. Gently, he set the roses by my pillow. As usual, he leaned in to kiss my forehead.

But this time, I quietly pushed him away and asked for a divorce. Jack stared at me, shocked.

“Why? Just because I worked overtime too late?”

I shook my head. “Because at five in the morning, you sent me a message.”

——

The message was simple, just one line. [Wife, I love you.]

It was sent at 5:07 a.m.

The location showed: his company.

For a moment, my heart fluttered. I almost replied, but then a thought I’d read online popped into my mind.

[When someone leaves a cat café, they bring home a can of cat food—out of guilt.]

[A cheating man is the same. After an affair, he’ll send his wife an ‘I love you’ out of guilt.]

I had always believed Jack would never cheat.

He loved me so much that whenever I got hurt, he’d shield me with his own body.

He was always busy with work, so busy he barely had time to eat or drink. Someone like that couldn’t possibly cheat. He didn’t even have the time.

That’s what I kept telling myself.

But still, my hands moved on their own.

I started checking Jack’s social media on his WhatsApp, Discord, Amazon and Slack. Everything seemed normal.

Until six in the morning, I noticed a new girl on his follow list.

An intern who had just joined his company was Audrey Quinn.

Jack had mentioned her before. He said she was dumb, clumsy and couldn’t do anything right.

At five in the morning, this so-called “dumb beauty” posted an update. [The most romantic thing in the world is watching the sunrise with the one you love after intense exercise.]

The morning light lit up her young, radiant face. Around her slender waist rested a long, bony hand.

If that hand hadn’t been wearing the same wedding ring Jack and I shared, I might’ve even sighed and thought youth was beautiful.

But at that moment, I already knew the truth.

But eight years of love made me choose self-deception.

I wasn’t ready to let go. So, I kept digging, holding onto the hope that maybe this was all a misunderstanding.

A woman in love would become a natural Sherlock Holmes.

Through Jack’s bank records, WhatsApp step count and fuel logs, I pieced together the timeline of his night.

At 7 p.m., Jack told me he had to work late and left to meet a client.

By 8 p.m., the deal had reportedly fallen through and he returned to the office to revise the proposal.

At 3 a.m., Jack took Audrey to a five-star hotel near the company.

By 5 a.m., their passion ended.

Audrey, satisfied, looked at the sunrise and sighed.

Out of guilt, Jack sent me that message.

Just like the line I’d read online.

The person who had returned from the cat café, feeling guilty, had opened a can for the cat at home.

The man who had just fooled around, out of guilt, had sent his wife an “I love you.”

That bouquet of flowers was the cat food Jack brought home for me.

When I uncovered all of this, I felt shattered.

I was in pain, furious and broken.

For a moment, I even considered pretending I hadn’t seen anything, to quietly continue life with Jack.

After all, we’d spent eight years together and we had two beautiful children.

But the moment Jack stepped through the door, I caught the scent of sickly sweet perfume on him.

In that moment, I understood.

I knew I couldn’t swallow this half-hearted lie. Even more, I couldn’t bear a man who could betray me so easily.

So, without hesitation, the word divorce slipped from my lips.

Jack, unaware of what had just unfolded, frowned and glanced at me.

He rubbed his temples before collapsing onto the sofa, exhausted.

“Can you stop being unreasonable?”

“I’ve been working all day. I’m exhausted.”

I didn’t massage his shoulders or bring him breakfast like I usually did.

Instead, I calmly opened Audrey’s profile and held my phone up in front of Jack.

In over twenty videos, Jack's presence was everywhere.

There were shots of the two of them walking together at sunset, as well as photos of them holding hands in a hot spring.

Although his face was never shown, our years of closeness allowed me to recognize him instantly; that was Jack. Alongside that were countless flowers and luxury gifts.

The first post was from just ten minutes ago.

Audrey stood in a sea of flowers, flashing a peace sign. She wore a full set of ruby jewelry, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight.

The caption read, [Stupid fool. Every time we meet, you always bring flowers. I’ve long grown sick of them. Better to give them to someone who needs them.]

At that moment, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

I grabbed the wilted, yellowing roses and threw them at Jack’s face.

“You think I’d be touched just because you gave me flowers another woman tossed aside?”

“You think I wouldn’t recognize you just because your face isn’t in the photos?”

“Jack, I’m not a fool and I don’t need your leftover trash!”

He yanked off the ruby bracelet and held it up in front of me.

“Stop throwing a tantrum!”

“Look at yourself! Everything you eat, wear and use is bought with my money! Without me, could you even afford this bracelet?”

“My job is stressful. So what if I unwind once in a while? It’s not like I’m not coming home.”

“If you really have that much pride, then get out of this house without taking a single cent!”

The sharp edges of the bracelet dug into my wrist, bright red blood dripping onto the carpet.

Staring at everything around me, I suddenly found it all laughable.

That bracelet had once been Jack’s wedding gift to me.

I still remembered that day. He had kissed the back of my hand so gently and smiled as he said, “Wife, thank you for staying by my side all this time.”

“I promised you I’d give you the best of everything. Now I can finally make that happen.”

Back then, I had truly believed I was the happiest woman in the world.

Now, I understood. I had always been just like that little cat in the story.

Eating leftovers someone else had grown tired of.

Wearing a bracelet that someone else had discarded.

And still, I dared to believe I was deeply loved.

Rage surged through me and my tears flowed uncontrollably.

But my last bit of dignity wouldn’t let me back down.

I charged forward and slapped Jack hard across the face, over and over.

I shouted furiously, “What right do you have to throw me out? This house is my premarital property; if anyone’s leaving, it’s you!”

“If it weren’t for me back then, would you even have the family business you have today?”

“Now you’re trying to kick me out to make room for your mistress? Keep dreaming!”

In the chaos, Jack’s shirt was accidentally torn open.

Those faint red marks felt like a giant axe, cleaving us apart.

Jack, flustered and guilty, hurried to close his shirt.

He tried to speak but fell silent. His eyes had fixed on the photo of the four of us, frozen in happier times.

He shoved me aside, sneering coldly, “What right do you have to talk to me about divorce?”

“In this world, who else but me would want a piece of trash like you, someone who killed her own son?”

That one sentence silenced me.

The wound I had buried deep inside, the one that would never heal, was torn open again, bleeding all over.

I stood frozen, the pain so sharp that I couldn’t find the words to speak.

A satisfied smirk curled at the corner of Jack’s lips. After calling me a shrew, he slammed the door and walked out. And I couldn’t hold on any longer.

I collapsed into the chaos around me, sobbing uncontrollably.

Until a timid voice broke through the silence, Ruby clutched her little bunny, her eyes wide with fear.

“Mommy, did you and Daddy fight?”

“Are you going to separate? Will Daddy still come home?”

The fear in her eyes pierced straight through my heart.

I pulled her tightly into my arms.

“I’m sorry, Ruby. Mommy scared you.”

“Go back to bed now. I’ll take you to school later.”

Ruby shook her head, her eyes fixed fearfully on my phone.

After a long pause, she gently tugged at my sleeve.

“Mommy, I’ve seen that lady before… a long time ago… on the day Brother died…”

“What did you say?”

My breath caught and my eyes widened instinctively.

“Ruby, do you know something? Tell Mommy, what happened that day?”

Ruby stepped back, her innocent eyes filled with deep fear.

Then, all at once, she broke into sobs and threw herself into my arms.

“That day, Daddy brought that lady home.”

“He said they were going to play a game and told Brother and me not to bother them.”

“The lady gave us two pieces of chocolate with liquor in them, then locked us in the room.”

“After Brother ate the chocolate, he said it hurt and then he just fell to the floor and stopped moving.”

“I was so scared. I kept banging on the door, crying, calling for Daddy, but he just kept playing with the lady. He wouldn’t listen no matter what I said.”

“Later… Brother was gone. Daddy said it was our secret and we couldn’t tell anyone. He said if I told… he wouldn’t want me anymore…”

“Mommy, I’m sorry. Ruby’s not a lying bad girl… Ruby was just scared…”

I stood there, dazed, completely at a loss for words.

It felt like a knife twisting inside me, tearing through everything.

Aiden’s death had been the deepest pain of my life, of both our families.

Two years ago, the other party had pushed me to attend a meeting.

To help the company secure that crucial contract, I had no choice but to leave Aiden and Ruby with the nanny and drive off alone.

When I returned, the nanny was gone.

Only Ruby was there, crying uncontrollably and Aiden lay stiff and cold.

The doctor said Aiden had died from an allergic reaction after mistakenly eating chocolate with liquor in it.

If he had been brought in just ten minutes earlier, he could have been saved.

My mother couldn’t bear the shock and died of a heart attack.

My mother-in-law directed all her fury at me.

She grabbed me by the neck and slapped me over and over, calling me a murderer with every word.

“You wretched woman, how could you leave two such small children home alone? Are you even human?”