The day my husband’s parents Jason Gibson and Leila Gibson were in a car accident, I, Gabriela Reeds, called Everett Gibson with trembling hands, my voice choked with tears as I begged him to transfer money for the surgery fees. But all I heard from the other end was his cold mockery: “If you want money, just say so. Why do you always come up with these pathetic excuses?” Staring at the disconnected call, I swallowed my hurt and dialed again, only to hear a familiar female voice: “Everett, I squeezed out too much sunscreen. Can I rub it on your abs?” He laughed indulgently, “You’re being silly.” That night, Jason and Leila died abroad despite all efforts to save them. ***** It’s been over half a month since Jason and Leila’s accident. I couldn’t let their bodies go unattended. But Everett still wouldn’t answer his phone or come home. I had to handle all the arrangements alone and organize the cremation. Just the day before the accident, they were still hoping for a grandchild. Now they lay in cold coffins. I don’t understand how life and death could be separated in a single night. Even less do I understand what could make Everett completely cut off contact for half a month, ignoring his parents’ life and death. I heard rustling sounds—he was home. I looked up, only to see Grace walking in, along with that Grace Lewis who had been sickly since childhood and whom Everett treasured like a precious gem. She was wearing my silk nightgown, the neckline slightly open, revealing several intimate red marks on her neck. The sight stung my eyes and made my stomach churn. “Everett and I have been waiting for you, Gabriela. Were you out having fun? I ordered takeout—want to eat together?” she asked sweetly. Everett stood by the dining table, not even glancing in my direction. Thinking about how Jason and Leila were still unburied while Everett brought Grace back to our marital home, letting her wear my clothes and sleep in my bed— I felt sick and turned to rush to the bathroom. But Grace blocked my path. She said, “Gabriela, don’t fight with Everett. He’s been so busy with work and has no time to spend with anyone. I saw how exhausted he was, so I took him away to relax. After all, unlike you, not everyone can skip work and go shopping for luxury goods every day, right?” She stood too close, her heavy perfume overwhelming me. I suddenly bent over and dry-heaved, even bringing up some acid. Grace screamed and stepped back, but still got splashed a little. “Do you have to be so disgusting?” These were the first words he’d spoken to me in half a month. He didn’t explain why Grace was wearing my nightgown, didn’t ask where I’d been all this time, and didn’t care whether I was sick or holding up. Once, if I so much as frowned slightly, he would anxiously ask if I was feeling unwell. I’d forgotten when exactly he started changing, but it seemed like it had been a long time. I straightened up and met his indifferent gaze coldly. Even though I was prepared, my heart still ached sharply. I said, “I’m the one being disgusting? Everett, you’re the one who’s truly revolting.” “Can you stop being so unreasonable? I came home, didn’t I?” he interrupted irritably. Grace immediately chimed in, “Gabriela, Everett only went on that trip with me because I was heartbroken. Don’t blame him.” Everett said coldly, “You have nothing to apologize for. She’s the one looking for trouble.” Watching him protect her without hesitation, I suddenly found everything utterly absurd. I silently walked to the corner, picked up those two heavy urns, and walked up to him: “These are your parents’ ashes. You take care of them. Also, let’s get divorced.” He laughed coldly, “You just grab two random boxes and claim they’re my parents’ ashes? Gabriela, have you lost your mind? And you want to divorce me?” He casually tossed the urns aside and mocked, “You won’t sleep with me, so now you’re putting on this act with my parents? You just want a child, don’t you? Your plan failed so now you’re threatening divorce? If you really want one, just say so. It’s not like I can’t give you one.” I really wanted to ask who exactly was being dishonest in this marriage. Who took his first love on a million-dollar spending spree on our wedding anniversary? Who claimed to be working overtime while actually holding her hand at amusement parks? And who lied to me over and over again for her sake, leaving me alone in an empty house time after time? I don’t know when this marriage became meaningless, but I know it’s time to end it now. So I said calmly, “Divorce. I’ll move out as soon as possible to make room for you two.” Grace opened her mouth but was silenced by Everett’s icy glare. He stared at me, his voice menacing: “You’re threatening me with divorce again? If you walk out that door today, we’re done for good. Don’t expect me to come after you.” I nodded gently, then turned around without hesitation, opened the door, and walked out. Everett felt an inexplicable sense of defeat rise in his chest, but quickly suppressed it. After all, her parents died long ago—she had nowhere to go. She’d come back eventually.
After renting the apartment, I returned to the villa to collect my belongings. I placed the divorce papers I’d printed earlier in front of Everett. He signed without even looking, but when I reached for the documents, his hand pressed down on the paper. “Gabriela,” he said, “haven’t you thought about what Jason and Leila would think if they found out we’re getting divorced? Aren’t you afraid of breaking their hearts?” I finally understood—Everett didn’t believe a word I’d said. Perhaps Jason and Leila’s ashes had already been carelessly discarded in some forgotten corner. “Everett,” my voice trembled, “I’ve told you countless times—Jason and Leila are dead! What I gave you last time were their ashes. Where did you put them?” “Gabriela, stop talking nonsense.” He frowned, his tone cold. “You’re being completely unreasonable,” I said. “You’re the one being unreasonable, Ms. Reeds.” Grace suddenly appeared, slamming her phone on the table. The screen showed a social media activity log. “Leila was still liking posts online last night! I understand you want Everett’s attention, but making up such ridiculous lies is pretty low, don’t you think?” I was close enough to clearly see that at eleven PM last night, Leila’s account had liked a post. But I had watched Jason and Leila’s bodies being pushed into the crematorium with my own eyes. How was this possible? “I’m being polite to you out of respect for Everett,” Grace sneered. “But I’ve never acknowledged your status, much less this marriage. To get your hands on Gibson Group’s assets, you actually made up lies about Jason and Leila dying in a car accident abroad. What exactly are you trying to pull?” Since when did our marriage need her approval to be valid? “My purpose?” I looked coldly at both of them. “I just hope you two stay together forever, so you won’t harm anyone else.” I turned to Everett. “You believe whatever Grace says? You’re the CEO of a public company—don’t you have a phone? Whether what I’m saying is true or false, your secretary could verify it in five minutes. Why won’t you check?” Grace said, “Then how do you explain this like record? Are you going to say someone found their phones?” Jason and Leila had indeed been in a car accident abroad, and their phones were never found among their belongings. Everett suddenly spoke, his voice ice-cold: “You married me for money, didn’t you? Don’t think you can take a single cent through divorce. You’ll leave with nothing.” “Don’t worry,” I laughed bitterly. “I won’t take a penny of yours. If you look down on me so much, why did you pursue me so relentlessly in the first place? When someone’s heart changes, their face sure follows suit.” He always interpreted my every word and action in the most malicious way possible. I didn’t want to argue anymore and turned to go upstairs to pack. Behind me came Everett’s furious voice: “You came here with just one bag, and now you want to take things when you leave? Letting you walk out in those clothes is charity enough.” I clenched my fists, suppressing my anger, wanting only to retrieve my parents’ belongings—the things that truly belonged to me. “Ugh, what’s that smoky smell? Is Leila burning the trash we cleared out yesterday?” Grace pinched her nose, feigning disgust. She always liked stirring up trouble, and at her words, my heart sank. In a roaring fire, all of my birth parents’ belongings were being consumed—yellowed photographs, old letters, and the necklace Mom had given me on my tenth birthday, her last gift to me. I rushed forward to save them, but Grace deliberately blocked my way: “Such a big fire—be careful you don’t hurt yourself.” She wore a malicious smile, mocking my desperation. Everett said, “Just a pile of junk. If someone wants to treat it like treasure, who cares?” Once, Everett had called these items “your parents’ final mementos.” Now, in his eyes, they were nothing but disposable waste. Just as my hand was about to reach the necklace in the flames, Grace suddenly swayed and fell toward the edge of the fire! Everett shoved me aside and threw himself forward to shield Grace in his arms. My head struck the stone beside me hard. Sharp pain shot through me, my ears rang, my vision blurred, and the world seemed to spin. Grace raised her arm, revealing slightly burned skin, and began to sob: “It hurts so much. I was just trying to get her away from the fire, but she pushed me!” “Don’t cry, I’ll take you to the hospital right away.” Everett lifted her up, and before leaving, he turned back coldly: “I thought you were just a liar, but I never imagined you could be so vicious—actually pushing her into the fire.”
I couldn’t make out what Everett was saying at all. The servant standing nearby hesitated, wanting to step forward but not daring to move. As for me, I simply reached toward the pile of flames still burning. Warm, thick blood trickled down my forehead, blurring my vision. I fumbled several times before finally picking up that necklace from the ashes. Unfortunately, it had already been burned beyond recognition, twisted and deformed. It was just a plastic necklace—cheap and fragile. Yet I still clutched it tightly in my palm, letting the scalding embers burn blisters into my skin, refusing to let go. To ten-year-old me, wearing it meant I could become a princess from a fairy tale. To me now, it was the only keepsake my parents had left behind. And now, this precious memory had been destroyed right before my eyes by his own hands. I didn’t understand why Everett had suddenly become a different person. If he no longer loved me, why not just say he wanted to leave? How could I possibly cling to him then? I understood even less why Grace, who clearly liked him, wouldn’t simply be with him. Instead, she chose to torment me on one side while flirting with him on the other, playing these ambiguous games. Looking down at the divorce papers he had signed in my hand, I suddenly felt it was time to leave this land where I had lived for over twenty years. I walked aimlessly, my vision growing increasingly blurred. I wiped the blood from my face with my hand, but my sight remained cloudy and unclear. When I opened my eyes again, a familiar figure stood before me. The hospital corridor was cold, white, and silent. Noah Howard handed me a test report. He said, “How could you not know you were pregnant? Look at the state you’re in. If I hadn’t run into you on my way to a house call, you might have been hit by a car the next second.” Noah was a classmate from the class next door in high school who had pursued me for a while. After I got together with Everett, we lost touch. I never expected to run into him here after all these years, and he had become a doctor at this hospital. Being seen in such a disheveled state by an old acquaintance made me feel inexplicably embarrassed, though I didn’t know what to say. In the end, I just kept thanking him and transferred the exact amount for the medical fees to him. Just as I turned to leave, a questioning voice came from behind: “What are you two doing?” Everett stormed over in a rage, grabbing my arm with such force that I nearly lost my balance. When he saw the gauze wrapped around my head, he paused for a moment. But he immediately demanded, “So that’s why you suddenly wanted a divorce? You already had someone else, didn’t you? You two have been in contact all along!” “Noah, how can you be so shameless, always going after other men’s wives? Have you no dignity!” His words grew increasingly vicious, not only slandering me but also insulting Noah. I forcefully shook off his grip and straightened up. “Everett, we’re already divorced. The divorce papers have been signed.” “I take it back!” he practically roared, his eyes filled with disbelief and fury. “You want to be with this man, don’t you? Answer me! Gabriela!” Grace, her arm wrapped in gauze, tried to hold him back, but he shoved her aside. I suddenly found it almost laughable. “The way you’re acting, I’d think you still had feelings for me.” “Don’t flatter yourself!” he sneered. “We haven’t even gotten the divorce certificate yet, and you’re already out there fooling around while still carrying my wife’s title?” At that moment, Grace spoke up casually, “I remember Dr. Howard pursued Ms. Reeds back in college, didn’t he? You two seemed pretty close back then.” Everett’s expression instantly darkened. Grace realized she’d said the wrong thing and stuck out her tongue awkwardly. “Sorry, Dr. Howard, maybe I remembered wrong.” Before Noah could respond, I said, “It’s fine, I can handle this myself. Dr. Howard, you should get back to work.” I quietly hid the report behind my back and met Everett’s gaze. “You could carry on with other women throughout our marriage without a care in the world, but I couldn’t do the same. Don’t worry, I would never cheat.” “Ms. Reeds,” Grace suddenly narrowed her eyes, and quick as lightning, snatched the report from behind my back. She glanced down at it, her expression changing dramatically before quickly returning to calm. “Don’t tell me that because Everett wants to divorce you, you got your classmate to fake a report? If this gets exposed, it could ruin Dr. Howard’s entire career.” Everett let out a scornful laugh, his face full of disdain. “We’ve been married for three or four years, and you never got pregnant. Now suddenly overnight you’re expecting? How long has it been since I even touched you? If you’re going to fake something, at least make it logical.” I reached out to grab the report back, but Grace nimbly dodged away. Everett actually stepped in front of her protectively, like some kind of instinctive reaction. I laughed coldly. “What, are you planning to push me again for her sake?” Everett’s gaze fell on the gauze around my head again, but in the end, he said nothing. He snatched the report and threw it hard into my arms, coldly dropping the words “enough is enough” before turning to leave with Grace, their retreating figures resolute. Over a month ago, Everett came home from a business dinner, completely wasted. He stumbled into the bedroom, held me close, and kept calling my name over and over, saying he loved me so much. At the time, I thought Everett must love me, that there had to be some misunderstanding between us. But the next morning when he woke up, he remembered nothing. When he saw me, his eyes were as cold as if he were looking at a stranger, even filled with disgust. I was driven back by that look. The child was probably conceived that very night. Now, it’s probably for the best that he doesn’t acknowledge this child. He doesn’t even care about his own parents’ deaths, so he certainly wouldn’t care about this child. Since the marriage has reached its end anyway, an unwanted child shouldn’t come into this world. I just wondered if someday, when he learns that I terminated his child and discovers I wasn’t lying, that his parents are both dead, and that he bears some responsibility for their deaths, would he break down completely? At this thought, I felt an almost cruel sense of anticipation. So I quietly scheduled an abortion.
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