Everyone in the city’s elite circles knew the Sterling heiress, Eleanor, only dated college guys who were exactly eighteen. They were like ripe, green fruits on a summer branch, radiating a fresh, vibrant energy. Then I met Eleanor. I was eighteen, delivering food in a faded uniform, but she couldn’t take her eyes off me. Soon, everyone was saying, “Eleanor Sterling has gone completely insane.” She chased me for two whole years, showering me with flowers, cars, and even a house. She even quit drinking for me. The craziest part? She actually married me, and after that, she devoted herself entirely to me, no longer seeing anyone else. Five years into our marriage, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. Without a moment’s hesitation, Eleanor poured a fortune into sponsoring a financially struggling college student, Kai, just to find a bone marrow match for my father. But on the day of the surgery, Kai had vanished into thin air. My father lay on the operating table, his vital signs fading. I fumbled for my phone, calling Kai fifty-two times before he finally picked up. “Hello? Mr. Hayes?” Kai’s voice sounded panicked. “Kai! Where are you?!” I practically screamed into the phone. “The surgery’s been delayed for two hours! My dad, he…” “I’m so sorry…” His voice trembled. “I, I’m just so scared. I can’t come…” I was about to speak again when a familiar female voice drifted from the background of the call. “It’s okay, it’s okay. If you’re scared, then don’t donate.” It was Eleanor’s voice. I felt like I’d been struck by lightning. My phone clattered to the floor. I stumbled out of the hospital, rushing to the furthest corner of the parking lot, where I saw Eleanor’s familiar black Maybach. The window was half-open. I saw Kai leaning on Eleanor’s shoulder, his eyes red. Eleanor’s hand was gently stroking his back, a gesture so tender it made my eyes burn. “…Don’t be afraid. We can always postpone the surgery for another month. I’ll use every resource in the country to find another suitable donor during that time.” Eleanor’s voice came through clearly. “Don’t worry.” “But Mr. Hayes’s father has already had several critical condition notices, hasn’t he?” Kai raised his pale face. “He’ll be fine,” Eleanor reassured him, pinching his nose. That intimate gesture used to be exclusively mine. “Don’t overthink it.” Kai broke into a tearful smile and hugged Eleanor tightly. “Thank goodness for you, Elle. I truly don’t know what I’d do without you. I accepted your sponsorship, so I should be donating bone marrow to Mr. Hayes’s father, but I’m just so afraid…” “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to,” Eleanor’s voice was soft enough to melt. “No matter what, I’m always your rock.” The roar of an engine starting jolted me out of my daze. I ran forward and pounded on the car window, but I only managed to catch the cold outline of Eleanor’s profile before the car sped away, leaving me trembling, alone in the parking lot. My phone rang again. It was the hospital. I pressed the answer button, only to hear the doctor’s heavy voice. “Mr. Hayes, has the donor arrived yet? Your father can’t wait any longer. Just a minute ago, he passed away due to multi-organ failure, and resuscitation efforts had failed… Please accept our condolences.” My world spun out of control. I collapsed onto the cold concrete, everything went black, and I lost consciousness. I had a very long dream. In the dream, I went back five years, to when I was eighteen. Eleanor was still the most prestigious heiress in our city’s elite circles, and I was just a poor student trying to make ends meet by delivering food. That day, I went to a high-end club to deliver wine and accidentally bumped into a woman. When I looked up, I met a pair of deep, dark eyes. “I’m sorry,” I apologized hastily, but froze when I clearly saw her face. Eleanor Sterling. The Sterling heiress, famous for her sky-high standards and only dating eighteen-year-old college guys. She stared at me for a long time, then suddenly smiled. “What’s your name?” Everything that followed felt like a dream. The city’s most respected woman fell for me at first sight and began pursuing me relentlessly. She’d park her Maybach next to my delivery scooter, waiting for me to finish work. If I casually mentioned wanting pastries from the south side of town, she’d drive halfway across the city in the middle of the night to buy them. She even quit drinking for me, just because I said I hated the smell of alcohol. The most unbelievable part was that she defied her family’s objections to marry me. At our wedding, in front of everyone, she placed a priceless ring on my finger. “Liam, I’ll only love you, and only you, for the rest of my life.” After we married, her devotion to me became legendary. She’d wake up early every day to make me a loving lunch, despite never having lifted a finger in the kitchen before. She’d leave important work functions early just because I texted her, “Miss you.” My phone wallpaper was my photo, her password was my birthday, and all her social media bios read, “Liam Hayes’s wife.” Even when my father was diagnosed with leukemia, she used all her connections to find a match, eventually zeroing in on Kai, a student from a financially struggling background. She paid for Kai’s tuition and living expenses, personally took him for all his medical exams, and even arranged for the best nutritionist to keep him healthy. “Why are you so good to him?” I once asked uneasily. Eleanor kissed my chin. “Silly, are you jealous? I’m just making sure he stays healthy enough to donate his bone marrow.” I believed her. Until Eleanor started frequently accompanying Kai shopping, buying him designer clothes and jewelry. Until she abandoned an important meeting for one of Kai’s calls. Until she remembered all of Kai’s preferences, but forgot our wedding anniversary. I slowly began to understand everything. My eyes red, I confronted her. “He’s eighteen, in his prime. So you’ve fallen for him, haven’t you? All that talk about settling down for good, it was just a joke, right?” What did Eleanor say then? “What nonsense are you spouting? I’m just being kind to him as compensation. Donating bone marrow is a serious matter; I need to keep him in a good mood.” But now, every single thing she did proved she was lying. When I woke, I numbly signed document after document. My father lay there peacefully, as if sleeping. I held his large hand, the one that used to lead me to school, that taught me to write. Now, it was cold and stiff. “Dad, I’m so sorry…” I choked up, but no tears would fall. My heart felt hollowed out, leaving only a dull, aching numbness. Three days passed. Eleanor hadn’t appeared, not even a single call. I opened Ins. The first post was a nine-picture photo dump from Kai. It was a photo of him and Eleanor by a lake. In the picture, Eleanor had her arm around Kai’s shoulder, her smile blindingly bright. The caption read: “Thanks for the company, Elle. Feeling much better now.” I mechanically liked the post. Less than a minute later, my phone vibrated. A message from Eleanor popped up: 「Liam, Kai’s emotional state is unstable, so he can’t donate bone marrow temporarily. I’ve contacted the best specialists, both locally and internationally. We’ll reschedule the surgery for next month. In the meantime, I’m taking Kai to relax and get him back in shape.」 I stared at the screen and suddenly laughed. She didn’t know my father was dead. She also didn’t know I’d already overheard everything in the parking lot, that her heart had long since strayed. I closed the chat window and dialed another number. “Mrs. Sterling, I know you’ve always disapproved of me. I’m now willing to sign the divorce papers and leave Eleanor forever, with the money.” There was a noticeable pause on the other end. “But you always said you two had true love and refused to let go?” I was silent. Yes, I had once naively believed Eleanor would love me forever, just as she did in the beginning. But love is never black and white. Hearts change, vows expire, and human nature never truly alters. She only loved eighteen-year-old boys, and I was no longer eighteen. “Mrs. Sterling,” I finally said softly, “please send me the divorce papers.” Mrs. Sterling seemed to understand something from my silence, her tone suddenly lighter. “Alright. Once you sign, just wait for the mandatory one-month divorce cooling-off period to end, then leave. The money will be deposited into your account on time.” “Remember, once you leave, never appear in front of Eleanor again.” I hung up and quickly received the digital divorce papers. I read them word for word, then clicked print. The printer slowly whirred as it spat out the papers, the sound eerily clear in the empty room. When I picked up the pen, my hand was steady, without a single tremor. “Eleanor,” I whispered to myself, “this time, I’ll make you disappear from my world completely!” The next day, I went to the office. Pushing open Mr. Davies’s office door, I directly handed him my resignation letter. “Why the sudden resignation?” Mr. Davies looked surprised. “Don’t you love this job? I even approved your leave for your father’s serious illness. By now, he should have had the surgery and be recovering, right?” I shook my head. “My father is gone. And I… I plan to divorce and leave this city.” Mr. Davies was silent for a moment, then finally sighed. “…Alright, I respect your decision.” My colleagues had always liked me. When they heard I was resigning, they gathered around to say goodbye. “Liam, keep in touch!” “Your wife is so devoted to you, being a stay-at-home husband isn’t so bad either.” I didn’t explain, just smiled, then quietly packed my things. Everyone walked me down to the company’s ground floor. Suddenly, someone gasped. “Liam, your husband-obsessed wife is here to pick you up!” My body tensed. Through the glass door, I saw the black Maybach parked at the company entrance. I took a deep breath, nodded goodbye to my colleagues, then carried my box out and opened the car door. Inside, Eleanor was leaning over, fastening Kai’s seatbelt. Her hair brushed his neck, one hand on the seatback, the other around Kai. They were close, their breaths mingling. Kai looked down at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing, his ears flushed crimson. The moment the car door opened, they both turned, their expressions frozen. Kai hastily sat upright. “Mr. Hayes, please don’t misunderstand, I just didn’t have my seatbelt on. Eleanor was just helping me…” “I don’t misunderstand.” I cut him off, my voice calm, without a ripple of emotion. I didn’t want to hear explanations, nor did I want to watch their pathetic performance. Eleanor finally looked at me directly, her gaze falling on the box in my arms. Her brows furrowed slightly. “You resigned?” “Yeah, I’m tired,” I said dismissively. “I have other plans now.” Eleanor stared at me for two seconds, seeming about to say something, but ultimately just said coolly, “Get in the car.” I forced a smile. “Why did you suddenly come to pick me up?” “A new restaurant opened; the dishes are very good for recovery,” Eleanor said casually as she started the car. “I’m taking Kai to try it, and you can taste it too. If it’s suitable, we can get some for your father later.” My fingertips curled inward. It felt like a dull blade slowly carving into my chest. My father was dead. Yet she hadn’t even come to see him one last time. But I said nothing, just got into the car in silence. In the restaurant’s private room, Eleanor ordered a table full of nutritious dishes. “This rich, healing stew is excellent for post-surgery recovery.” She scooped a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Kai. “You try it first.” Kai took it, flattered, and took a small sip, his eyes lighting up. “It’s delicious!” Eleanor’s lips curved upward. She picked up a piece of steamed fish, carefully deboned it, and placed it in his bowl. “Fish is high in protein. Eat more.” Kai’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Eleanor, you’re so good to me…” he said softly. Eleanor smiled and added a sweet red date pastry to his plate. “This is good for blood.” Throughout all of this, I sat quietly opposite them, like an outsider. I watched Eleanor patiently wipe soup from Kai’s lips. I watched her softly ask him, “Is there anything else you want to eat?” I watched the gentle light in her eyes, a light that once belonged only to me. “Eleanor is so good to me, Mr. Hayes, you’re not jealous, are you?” Kai looked at me, flustered. “Please don’t misunderstand, this is all for your father…” “No, I know,” I said, looking down. My forks gently poked at the food in my bowl. I hadn’t eaten a single bite. The meal was a drawn-out, agonizing affair. When it finally ended, Eleanor took a work call. “You two go downstairs and wait for me,” she said, frowning at her phone. “I’ll be right there.” Kai and I went into the elevator together. The moment the elevator doors closed, Kai suddenly grinned, his voice boisterous. “Mr. Hayes, you’re so magnanimous. Eleanor is so good to me, yet you’re not even a little jealous.” I ignored him. But Kai persisted, leaning close to my ear and lowering his voice. “Actually, you’ve known for a long time, haven’t you? Eleanor has already fallen for me.” My fingertips trembled. “She said you’re too boring, like a block of wood,” Kai chuckled smugly. “And me…” Before he could finish, the elevator suddenly jolted! The lights flickered twice, then went out completely. “Ah—!” Kai shrieked, grabbing my arm in a panic. “What’s happening?!” I quickly pressed the emergency call button, my voice calm. “Elevator malfunction.”
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