Liam married me in a fit of pique with his ex-girlfriend. Five years into our marriage, they unexpectedly ran into each other at a college reunion. They embraced, a long, lingering hug, overflowing with a passion that had never truly faded. Seeing them, everyone started whispering, saying I was nothing more than their pitiable backup. I didn’t get mad at the gossip. I just smiled, calmly covering up their awkwardness. But then, when I accidentally got pregnant, I made a silent, solitary decision to get rid of the baby without telling him. When he found out the truth, he blew up, demanding to know why I was so ruthless. I kept my smile, my voice soft. “Because… I don’t love you anymore.” Everyone knew it. Liam married me only because Stella, his first love, had already married someone else. In the messy fallout of their breakup, Stella, in a fit of rage, chose another man. Liam didn’t try to stop her. Instead, he proposed to me. I put on that wedding dress, one that wasn’t meant for me, and walked down the aisle with the man I’d secretly loved for ten years. The rumors never stopped. Everyone said if Stella ever came back, Liam would kick me out in a heartbeat. But over our five years of marriage, I started to feel Liam’s heart softening towards me. He drove me to work every morning, made me warm breakfast, and sometimes, he’d even get a little soft with me. Our nights were filled with sweetness and passion. Our life was simple and happy, just like countless other ordinary couples. One day, he whispered, “Audrey, let’s start a family.” I didn’t hesitate. “Okay.” I could never say no to him. After a lot of trying, I finally got pregnant. But just as I was filled with joy, ready to share the news, I walked in on him and Stella tangled up together. In that instant, I knew. There was no going back for us. Stella and Liam’s reunion happened the day she divorced her husband. I heard her marriage had been hell, filled with his abuse and insults. That day, Liam was holding my hand as we left the office for lunch when we saw Stella and her ex-husband walking out of the family court. Stella’s ex was threatening her, saying he’d take drastic action if she didn’t hand over half a million dollars within a week. Stella was trembling with fear but nodded helplessly. When her eyes met Liam’s, a complicated flicker crossed her face, then she hurried away, tears in her eyes. Liam squeezed my hand so hard it hurt. I cried out. He quickly let go, looking at me with a flicker of apology in his eyes. I tried to hide the ache of jealousy. “Let’s go check on Stella,” I suggested. “She might be in trouble.” He looked at me, a hint of a playful smirk on his face. “Audrey, aren’t you jealous?” How could I not be? I’d loved him for ten years, and he and Stella had been tangled up for just as long. My heart felt heavy, but he just chuckled. “Babe, I was just kidding. I only love you now.” Our colleagues came out, hearing his words, and started cheering, saying how lucky I was. They had no idea I’d made him a special packed lunch, which I never got to give him because Stella showed up. I raised my hand, gently cupping his face. “I trust you,” I said softly. “Let’s go see Stella together.” Stella hadn’t gone far. She was sitting around the corner, tears welling up. “I’m so sorry,” she choked out. “I really didn’t expect to run into you both.” Before she could finish, the tears spilled over. She buried her face in her knees, accidentally revealing a stark knife wound on her wrist, a chilling reminder of a suicide attempt.
Liam’s brows furrowed. The raw pain inside him was clear, and I knew his heart was breaking. A male colleague behind me quietly asked, “Audrey, who’s that?” “She just got divorced, huh? Man, I never would’ve thought someone that pretty would end up divorced.” “Audrey, if you know her, you should introduce her to me. I’d treat her right, I swear!” Both Stella and Liam heard him loud and clear. Stella sobbed, “I’ll only ever love one man. Without him, I’d rather die alone.” Her gaze shifted to Liam, and his hand, which had been holding mine, suddenly slipped away. Mark looked a bit awkward, laughing it off. “Just kidding, I don’t think I could handle someone like you.” Stella stood up and bid us goodbye. “See you.” Just as she was about to leave, Liam couldn’t hold back anymore. He rushed forward, grabbing Stella’s hand tightly. So tightly that her wound split open and bled, making her wince in pain. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she let him hold her injured wrist. Just then, Stella’s ex-husband appeared. Before he could say a word, Liam punched him, knocking out a tooth. Bystanders whipped out their phones to record. I quickly grabbed Liam, trying to stop him from doing something rash. He turned his head, his voice cold as ice, like a demon’s whisper. “You dare to stop me?” I froze, letting go of his arm. Stella rushed over, shielding Liam, crying as she begged, “Liam, stop! Don’t be foolish for me.” “Liam, he’s a bad guy. He’ll cling to you. Get out of here!” Stella used her slender body to protect Liam, just like she used to protect him. Liam’s heart stirred, and he pulled her close, embracing her as if she were a precious treasure he’d lost and finally found again, holding her so carefully. He carried Stella away in front of everyone, leaving me standing there all alone. That night, Liam didn’t come home. And Stella’s Ins, which hadn’t been updated in five years, suddenly had a new post. “He said, from now on, we’ll face the world together, our hearts beating as one, perfectly aligned.” The accompanying picture was a kissing photo. I didn’t need to guess who the back was in the photo. It was Liam. If your hearts beat as one, then what am I? The post was quickly flooded with comments. Friend A commented: “Wow, congrats to our campus queen on finding happiness!” Friend B said: “Campus queen is campus queen! She just pulled out the ultimate power move!” Friend C confusedly asked: “Doesn’t that back look like Liam? Didn’t he marry Audrey?” Somehow, my finger slipped and I accidentally liked it. Before I could undo it, Stella hastily deleted the post. But it was too late. A classmate had already screenshotted it and posted it in our Whatsapp group. Instantly, the group chat absolutely exploded.
I scrolled through my photos, only to find that pictures of Liam and me together were painfully few. Finally, I picked a really old one. I sent the photo to the group, claiming they were talking nonsense and that we were doing great! Only then did they say they must have been mistaken, that it wasn’t Liam, the campus king. Everyone was curious about who this man in Stella’s post was. Some guessed it was an old classmate who used to have a crush on her, others thought it was a younger guy. After a long discussion, they all started tagging Stella, begging her to satisfy their curiosity. Stella didn’t pop up, but a few minutes later, Liam appeared in the group. He tagged Stella: “Am I someone to be ashamed of?” He openly admitted they were together, completely tearing down my flimsy facade. He had abandoned me for Stella, again. The group was flooded with congratulations: “Congrats to campus queen Stella and campus king Liam on rekindling your romance!” Liam generously sent out a massive amount of cash to the whole group. Only my former deskmate, Chloe, didn’t grab any. Instead, she privately messaged me: “Audrey, sigh! You’ve been married for five years, and he still puts Stella first. Maybe it’s time to dump him! You deserve better!” Yes, I deserve better! Dump him. I don’t want him anymore. I deleted every photo of him from my phone. I wanted to leave. The next morning, I went to work alone. I had just arrived, and Liam walked in right after me, with Stella. He probably couldn’t bear to leave her alone at home after being apart for so long, so he brought her with him. The moment she saw me, she grabbed my hand, acting all sweet. “Audrey, I’m so sorry. Last night, Liam and I hadn’t seen each other in ages, and we drank too much, just messed around.” “He always looks out for me, you know? So he must have caused you some trouble. I’m really sorry, I’ve already told him off.” “And, Audrey, as a good friend, I truly want to thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of Liam all these years, really, thank you…” She smiled at me, tears welling up in her eyes again. I returned a polite smile. “No need to thank me. I’m his wife now; it’s my duty to take care of him.” “Stella, if you still consider me a friend, come directly to me if you’re in trouble…” My unspoken meaning was clear: stay away from Liam. Her expression froze. She looked me up and down for a long moment. “Audrey, you’ve had Liam for five years. Isn’t it time to give him back to me?” “Liam and I are truly in love.” With that, she knelt before me. Her slender body knelt perfectly straight on the floor, her hands clutching the hem of my clothes, her eyes flashing with humble pleading. I felt a surge of annoyance. I stepped back two paces and pulled my clothes away from her hands. Maybe I used too much force; she stumbled back and fell, scraping her wrist. Tearfully, she said, “Audrey, I’m sorry, but Liam and I are truly in love, everyone knows that. Can you please just let us be together?” “You can hit me, scold me, anything! Go ahead! As long as it makes you feel better!” She stood up and rushed at me, grabbing my hand and trying to slap her own face with it. In the struggle, I pushed her away, and she fell again. Just my luck, Liam saw me push Stella. He quickly ran over, gently picking her up, his face filled with concern. Seeing the blood on her wrist, he was furious. He glared at me, his voice icy. “Audrey Knight, did I give you permission to do this? How dare you lay a hand on her!” Stella, her eyes filled with tears, clung to him and sobbed, “Liam, no, it wasn’t her. I just fell.” She was crying so beautifully, Liam was completely heartbroken. He gently stroked her hair, comforting her. “Stella, you’re just too kind. I saw everything. Are you still going to cover for her out of some misguided sense of sisterhood?” He turned to me, his attitude completely changed, looking as if he could devour me whole. “Audrey Knight, apologize to Stella!” I met his gaze, my eyes cold, as if nothing concerned me. I turned to walk away. Liam was enraged by my indifference. He took three quick steps and landed a solid slap across my face. It stung, but I stubbornly refused to let the tears fall. I suddenly envied Stella so much. She had been gone for so long, yet Liam still loved her deeply. He looked at the five-finger mark on my face, a little lost. It was my assistant, Maya, who couldn’t take it anymore. She closed her eyes, pointing at me. “Mr. Hayes! My boss is your wife! Are you blind? Hitting our boss for some green tea bitch!” “What does our boss lack compared to that green tea bitch?” “Have you forgotten how harmonious you were with our boss before? Forgotten how you said you wanted a simple family life with her, just the three of you?” “The way you are now, our boss wouldn’t even want to have your baby!” “Apologize to her! Maybe she’ll still forgive you!” I instinctively touched my stomach. My period hadn’t come this month. Could I really be pregnant? Liam scoffed, his gaze sweeping over me dismissively, devoid of any emotion. “Audrey, maybe I did like you these past few years, but now Stella’s back.” “You know how much Stella means to me. Whether it’s you, or anyone else, you all have to step aside.” I could feel the difference between love and not love, between liking and not liking. He might have liked me once, but with Stella back, his entire heart had no room for me. I stared at him, pulling the ring from my ring finger, slowly, deliberately. It was never truly mine; it was time to give it back to Stella. Liam’s face turned stone cold. He watched in silence as I tossed the ring onto Stella. Maya, my assistant, was furious. “Boss, why are you making it easy for that green tea bitch!” Stella ignored Maya’s outburst. She reached down and picked up the ring. She slipped it onto her own finger, and it fit perfectly. With a delighted gasp, she showed it to Liam. She was so overjoyed she burst into tears, clinging to Liam and playfully whining, “Liam, this is the ring from before, right? Look, it’s back on my hand!” Liam, I don’t want you anymore. Liam didn’t answer, just stared at me. He knew how much I cherished that ring. I didn’t want to argue anymore. Without looking at him, I turned and walked away. It took a long time for the ache in my heart to subside. As lunchtime approached, my assistant, Maya, knocked on my office door, carrying my lunch.
“Boss, time to eat!” she chirped sweetly. I said I wasn’t hungry, but she insisted that food was fuel, and I had to eat. I couldn’t argue with her. As soon as I opened the container and caught a whiff of the food, my stomach churned. I drove myself to the hospital. Just as I expected, I was pregnant. I stared at the confirmation of pregnancy, silent for a long time. At the worst possible time, he came. Was fate trying to make Liam and me work things out? But would Liam agree? Would he abandon Stella for me and our child? I wanted to go home and tell Liam about my pregnancy, but I couldn’t even get inside. Standing at the door of my own home, unable to enter—how pathetic was that? Suppressing the nausea, I called Liam. One call, two… ten. He finally picked up, but the voice that came through was Stella’s. “Audrey, Liam isn’t coming back. He’s living with me now.” “We went to take wedding photos today, it was so much fun. You’ll bless Liam and me, right?” “Everyone said today that we’re a match made in heaven, perfectly suited.” “Oh, right, the password is my birthday. Just go in and get your stuff. Liam’s selling the house…” Hearing the password, I hung up decisively. I opened the digital lock, typed in Stella’s birthday, and the door clicked open. Inside the house, all traces of his life were gone. Our wedding photos lay shattered on the floor, in a thousand pieces… I tried to pick them up, but how can something broken ever be put back together? The vast room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the atmosphere incredibly heavy. The ring of my phone in my bag broke the oppressive silence. I looked at the caller ID: “Mom.” It was my mother. She told me to go to the hospital with Liam tomorrow; she had something to say. My mother had late-stage liver cancer, and her time was running out. She only agreed to fight the illness in the hospital because she wanted to live for me. Mom loved me deeply, and because she loved me, she adored Liam, too. Sometimes, she seemed more like his mother. These past few years, Liam had always used my mother to get to me. He’d say, “Audrey, if you don’t eat properly, I’ll tell Mom.” “If you keep working late, I’ll tell Mom you kept me up all night…” We were so happy back then. But Stella came back, and I became irrelevant. Liam, if you still care about me, please pick up this call. I prayed to fate. This time, it didn’t disappoint me. Liam’s voice came through on the other end, but it was filled with impatience. “Audrey Knight, aren’t you annoying? Why are you calling me all day long?” I swallowed the bitterness in my heart. “Liam, Mom wants to see us tomorrow. Can you come?” There was silence on the other end. I continued, “Liam, please.” “Okay, I’ll be there.” Then he hung up. It was the first time I’d ever begged him, and it would be the last.
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