Chapter 3

I said, "Let go, it's inconvenient."

But Liam held tighter. "I won't let go. I'm afraid if I do, I'll lose you."

I sighed.

He was just trying to reassure me, but he probably never imagined –

His words would become a chilling prophecy.

Seven days later, I would completely shed my identity, officially embrace my new name, and start a brand new life.

...And leave him for good.

After dinner, Liam sat with me on the couch, watching a reality show.

He peeled grapes and placed them all in a crystal dish, handing them to me.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He pulled out a few tissues to wipe his hands, then guiltily went out to the balcony to answer the call.

When he returned, he lightly kissed my cheek. "Honey, something urgent came up at work. I have to go."

It was Chloe, wasn't it?

Calling him to come be with her and the baby.

Even though I was prepared, hearing him lie directly to my face still stung my heart.

I nodded. "Go ahead."

Liam hugged me. "Be a good girl and stay home tonight. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

Liam grabbed his jacket and practically ran out of the house, driving away.

And I, on an impulse, opened my tablet and launched an app.

This app was linked to Liam's dashcam, allowing me to see his car's real-time status.

His car was driving normally on the road leaving our house, but his voice on the phone came through clearly:

"...I'm on my way. Just a little longer."

Chloe's voice was playfully coy. "Stella didn't notice, did she?"

"Don't worry, she won't."

"Then tonight... shall we do something exciting?"

Liam's breathing noticeably quickened, his voice husky. "You're still pregnant."

Chloe's voice was so sweet it could drip honey. "When we went for the prenatal check-up today, didn't the doctor say the baby's perfectly fine? And it's been three months; the baby is stable. Honey, it's been so long since we've been intimate since I got pregnant. I miss you so much..."

"My little temptress," Liam groaned, a dark promise in his voice. "Just wait! I'll take good care of you tonight!"

Liam's car drove all the way to his company building.

It turned out that sending Chloe overseas was also a lie.

Chloe had been living in his company building all along. He'd been seeing me every day at home, and her every day at work.

I suddenly laughed.

People really do laugh when they're speechless.

Liam had woven a beautiful, dreamy bubble, trapping me inside, making me believe I was the happiest woman in the world.

But outside that bubble, he had another family, and soon, he'd have a child.

I found it utterly meaningless.

The car's engine shut off, and the dashcam should have turned off with it.

But a few minutes later, the app flashed a notification: the dashcam was working again.

I reopened the app and witnessed a deplorable scene—

Liam and Chloe, right there in the car, passionately intertwined, lost in the moment.

Chloe's belly was already slightly rounded, and he had one hand protectively on her stomach while pulling her close with the other.

I saw Chloe's enraptured expression and Liam's face twisted with desire, and I turned my head and threw up.

I felt disgusted.

I didn't care to know how many rounds they went through. All I did was, in the early hours of the next morning, copy all the dashcam footage from the previous night onto a USB drive.

Five hours of content, sufficiently "exciting."

It would make a perfect breakup gift, a spectacular end to our decade-long relationship.

At nine in the morning, Liam returned.

He was carrying a bag of breakfast.

"Stella, why are you up so early? Didn't get enough sleep?"

I was on the balcony watering flowers.

These were rare Epiphyllum plants I had meticulously cultivated over the years. I'd nurtured them for seven years, and they'd only just bloomed for the first time this year.

But I used scissors to cut off the blossoms and threw them into the trash.

Liam looked surprised. "Such rare flowers, why did you cut them off?"

I said, "Epiphyllum only bloom for a moment. They bloomed last night; there's no meaning anymore."

"It seems I missed their most beautiful moment. It's all my fault; I shouldn't have gone to the company last night. I should have stayed with you."

I smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter."

Liam hugged me from behind, nuzzling my ear. "Since you're already awake, should we... continue trying for a baby?"

His implication was obvious.

I really wanted to ask, "You spent hours in bed with Chloe last night, are you sure you can go for another round now?"

But the words died on my lips. It felt pointless.

Anyway, I was already planning to leave. No use arguing.

"No, I got my period."

Liam's expression instantly changed. "How can that be? How could you get your period..."

Realizing he'd slipped up, he quickly corrected himself. "No, I mean, isn't it not time yet?"

I said, "Maybe it came early."

Liam said nothing, but his face darkened considerably.

"Stella, I need to make a call."

He turned and went back to the bedroom.

He called a doctor friend. "Stella's uterus was removed, wasn't it? How can she still be having a period? Was the surgery successful?"

The friend replied with certainty. "The surgery was definitely successful. I'm very sure about that."

"Then why is she bleeding?"

"It could be inflammation, or it could be that your intimate life is too intense, causing tears."

Hearing the latter, Liam's mood immediately brightened. "In that case, it's possible. Last time Stella and I... ahem, it was quite intense."