Chapter 1

474words2026-03-04 09:29

On the second day after I gave birth to our baby, my husband Ryan told me he had an urgent business trip.
His childhood friend Chloe posted a photo on Instagram.
It was a cozy family picture with the caption,

“From our little getaway—a happy family of three.”
I stared, stunned, at the image of my husband smiling brightly beside her.
I commented simply, “?”.
Ryan immediately called me, furious,
“She's a single mom with no one to help her out. All I did was take a simple photo with her.Do you have to be so jealous?”
That evening, Chloe posted again, this time flaunting a set of dazzling diamond jewelry,

“After our family photo, he insisted on buying me these stunning diamonds~”
I knew he'd bought them to keep her happy.
But this time, I'd had enough.
…

As if sensing my mood, our baby suddenly started wailing.
It took me two hours to finally calm him down.
Throughout that time, Ryan didn't call or text once.
Chloe, however, kept updating her Ins.
She posted three more close-ups of the diamonds, sending her followers into a frenzy.
Her comments exploded—everyone was gushing with envy.
My eye caught one reply from Ryan himself,,
“Today I buy them for you, and twenty years from now I'll buy our daughter a set too.”
“Best husband ever, love you~~”
Their sickening sweet exchange felt like a knife.
I turned to look at our son, asleep in his bassinet.
I guess Ryan had already forgotten he had a six-day-old son.
Then again, on the day I went into labor, he'd said he was too swamped with work to be there.
I found out later he was actually busy celebrating the third birthday of Chloe's daughter.
“Your gallstones are too large to ignore. We recommend surgery tomorrow,” the doctor said, reviewing my chart.
I'd developed them during the pregnancy. After a moment, I texted Ryan,
“Come back tomorrow. It's important.”
A long time passed before he replied.
He sounded annoyed,
“I'm busy. Stop bothering me with every little thing.”
“Keep this up and I'm filing for divorce!”
I stared calmly at my screen.
I'd lost count of how many times Ryan had threatened divorce.
Ever since Chloe reappeared, any time I reacted to their closeness, he'd use divorce to shut me down.
“All wives have to put up with something in marriage. If you can't handle it, leave.”
Before, I used to always be the one to back down.
Not this time.
“I need surgery—that's why I asked you to come. If that's how you feel, then let's get divorced.”
A few seconds later, my phone rang.
Ryan's voice was suddenly softer,
“Why didn't you tell me you were sick? What time's the surgery? I'll be there.”
Frowning, I glanced at our sleeping son and replied,
“2 PM.”
“Okay.”