He kept appearing in my life during my darkest times, leading me to mistakenly believe I held a special place in his heart. But now, it's time to face reality.

"Mom and Dad have invited us for dinner tonight. If you're feeling up to it, we should head out now."

Just as we were about to leave, Riley got a call from Natalia.

"Natalia's really shaken up by today's events and she's too scared to cook. I'm going over to help her make dinner."

After dining with Rosalie and Marcus, I was preparing to head home and rest when Rosalie's expression suddenly turned serious as she looked at her phone.

"Riley's gone to see Natalia again!"

She said this, noticing my lack of reaction, then handed her phone to me.

"Selena, didn’t you say Riley was caught up with something at work and couldn’t come? Did you know he went to see Natalia? You know the kind of influence she has... Ugh, what has she done to him!"

Natalia had posted a photo on Facebook of Riley diligently making dinner for her.

"That woman is married and still behaves this way, constantly clinging to Riley. And he believes her without a second thought."

Indeed, Rosalie and Marcus disapproved of Riley's involvement with Natalia because she was already married, a fact she managed to keep hidden quite well. They found out purely by accident. Her marriage was unhappy, which is why they didn’t want to tell Riley, fearing he might rashly confront her husband.

I learned this from Rosalie and Marcus, and knowing this was why I hadn’t considered divorcing Riley. I thought I was protecting him, but it only led him to resent me for eight years.

This time, I won’t get drawn into their drama. Riley and Natalia need to resolve their issues on their own.

"Selena, I'm sorry you’ve had to go through this," Rosalie sighed. "I hoped that after marrying you, Riley would forget about Natalia. After all, Riley once..."

At her words, I smiled, looking back at her calmly.

"Riley probably helped me out of kindness. I misunderstood his intentions. Forcing us together only makes us both unhappy, so it's better to part ways."

"Part ways?" Rosalie and Marcus looked at me, taken aback.

"Riley and I have signed the divorce papers. I’ll be leaving in a few days. I hope you’ll keep this from him. I don’t want him to regret his choices forever because of these circumstances."

Remembering how Riley looked at me with such cold eyes that evening on Thanksgiving, my heart ached deeply.

Together for over a decade, and it was the first time he felt like a stranger to me.

After explaining everything to Rosalie and Marcus, I returned home alone. Just as I was about to fall asleep, my bedroom door suddenly flew open.

I woke to find myself staring into a pair of furious eyes.

"Selena Jacobs, didn't you promise me you wouldn't go running to my parents? Do you want Natalia to suffer before you're satisfied?"

"It's because you tattled on me that my parents went to Natalia's place and had a confrontation. That's why Skittles escaped!"

Skittles escaped?

I clenched my fists instinctively, my heart sinking with dread. Despite everything I've done, have I really not changed the outcome?

"Selena, do you know how much Skittles means to Natalia? It's like her own child. Now that you're expecting, can't you imagine how painful it would be to lose your child?"

"If we can't find Skittles, maybe we should reconsider having our baby for now. I don't want Natalia to be upset every time she sees it."

Riley's cold words sent a shiver through me as if I had plunged into icy waters. I'd already tasted the agony of losing a child, but Riley didn't know that yet.

"I'll go look for Skittles."

As I started to leave, Riley sneered, "You should go find it. After all, this whole mess started because of you. Don't act like you care; you're no saint."

While searching for the parrot near Natalia's apartment, I noticed that the lights upstairs were still on. Two silhouettes were clearly visible, huddled together on the balcony.

It was a chilly night, and my body, still weak from the recent surgery, quickly felt lightheaded. But I didn't stop.

As long as I found Skittles, I would owe Riley nothing from then on.

Just as dawn was breaking, I finally found Skittles shivering in a corner of the bushes. A string tied it to the nearby shrub.

When I carefully carried it upstairs, I walked in just in time to see Riley wiping Natalia's mouth.

He froze for a moment when he saw me, then quickly came over and took Skittles.

"Natalia, it's our Skittles!"

Natalia took the parrot, and with Riley glancing my way, she suddenly burst into tears. "Riley, Skittles looks terrible. It must have been terrified and freezing all night. It might die! Let's take it to the vet, okay?"

Seeing my pale face, drained of color, Riley hesitated for a brief moment.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Go ahead. I'll make my way home."

After Riley and Natalia left, I could no longer keep from passing out.

When I came to, I found myself in a hospital, with Riley sitting beside the bed.

"Why didn't you tell me how bad you felt? Is there anywhere else you're still hurting?"

Knowing he wasn't aware of my miscarriage yet, I secretly let out a sigh of relief.

"Skittles is fine now. I should have helped you look for it yesterday, but Natalia seemed so off, standing on the balcony. I was afraid she might do something drastic if I left."

"This must have been hard on you."

Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh.

Riley's eyes filled with confusion.

"Riley, you're as soft-hearted as you were when we were kids. Back then, you helped me because you felt sorry for me, right? If you had known that helping me would lead to marrying me, would you have still done it?"

After a brief silence, Riley nodded without hesitation.

"Don't overthink it. I've never regretted helping you. I got you those ravioli you like. Why don't you have some?"

As he was opening the food container, Natalia appeared in the hospital room doorway, clutching her stomach with a pained expression.

"Riley, my stomach ache is acting up, and I really need something warm. Could I have those ravioli?"