Chapter 4

When I got home, I tossed my bag on the floor and sighed deeply before washing up.

Two hours passed. Evan still wasn't home.

Out of habit, I picked up my phone to ask where he was.

Opening the chat, I realized it wasn't hard to guess.

Late at night, a man and woman alone—what might happen wasn't hard to imagine.

Just like in our five years of marriage, Evan treated me well in every way.

Except he refused to acknowledge our marriage in front of classmates, refused to tell them I was his wife.

The reason wasn't hard to guess either.

I opened my photo gallery to a hidden album containing a screenshot from Evan's phone.

On our wedding night, Evan was distracted, standing on the balcony with his phone for a long time.

He said he had wedding jitters, but I knew.

He was looking at Madison's social media.

I'd secretly taken that screenshot that night.

He wrote: "When are you coming back?"

She replied: "Give me another five years."

This year marked exactly five years.

I touched the photo with my finger, then deleted it.

I removed the wedding ring I'd treasured for five years and placed it on the bathroom counter.

I scheduled an appointment with a divorce attorney my friend had recommended, turned off my phone, and went to sleep.

That night, I slept restlessly.

In my dreams, I kept remembering high school—Evan and I secretly sharing earbuds to listen to music, hiding from Mr. Wallace.

And the moment of shock and delight in his eyes when he received Madison's love letter.

Tears fell onto my pillowcase.

The next morning, I put on makeup and changed into the blue dress from my closet.

Evan didn't like blue, so I'd never worn this dress after buying it.

As I was about to leave, Evan came home.

Seeing the blue dress, he paused:

"Madison had too much to drink last night. She was alone, and I was worried something might happen, so I slept on her couch."

I looked up at him, somewhat surprised.

I hadn't expected him to explain.

Evan took off his jacket and approached me, his tone casual:

"Why'd you dig out this dress? Didn't you used to dislike blue?"

I walked past him and changed my shoes.

"I've always liked it. You just never knew."

Evan watched me, the ease in his eyes fading.

"What's wrong?"

"Why are you so angry this early?"

"You were never like this before."

My movement paused for a moment.

Before, I wasn't like this because I hadn't completely lost hope.

Now, things were different.

"Look, stop being mad. What happened yesterday wasn't intentional. You know Madison—she's sensitive. If I hadn't responded, she would've felt terrible."

"I'll make it up to you. How about we travel somewhere next week? The Maldives? I saw it on Madison's feed..."

"Evan."

I interrupted him.

He froze slightly, a rare confusion in his eyes.

I looked at him and said softly:

"We..."

Before I could finish, Evan suddenly grabbed my hand and demanded:

"Your ring? Where's your ring?!"