Chapter 1

On my birthday, I suffered a gastric hemorrhage and begged Ethan to take me to the hospital.

But when his secretary casually mentioned that she wanted an apple, he shook off my hand without mercy.

“What else do you want? I already agreed to marry a cripple like you.”

“I’m begging you. Stop getting in the way of me finding true love, okay?”

I froze and instinctively looked at my ring finger, which was missing its upper half.

Suddenly, I didn’t want to tell him that I had lost my finger because of him.

The next day, I asked him for a divorce.

“Ethan, I won’t bother you anymore. I hope you’re happy.”

But he was convinced I was only throwing another tantrum. He scoffed at me.

“Can you even survive without me?”

At one in the morning, Ethan came home smelling strongly of alcohol.

The moment he saw me, his brows drew together.

“Why are you wearing a wedding dress in the middle of the night?”

I completely ignored the lipstick stain on the collar of his white suit.

I walked up to him and calmly said, “I wanted to see if it still fit.”

Ethan took off his jacket, as though he was afraid I would see the obvious mark on it.

His reply was full of impatience.

“It fits fine. It’s late.”

“I’m going to bed.”

I watched his back as he walked away, then removed the oversized ring from my half-missing finger.

“Ethan, let’s get divorced.”

He stopped and turned around in disbelief.

His gaze fell on my right ring finger. A flash of disgust crossed his eyes.

“What are you throwing a fit about now?”

The look in his eyes made my chest tighten.

From beginning to end, he had always believed I was being unreasonable.

But there were so many reasons why I had finally lost my temper.

I had drunk until my stomach bled to help his beloved secretary handle business drinks.

I had undergone surgery in the hospital while he flew from city to city with that same secretary to negotiate deals.

One thing after another had told me the truth.

Ethan didn’t love me anymore.

“You want a divorce just because I didn’t take you to the hospital?”

“Claire, you’re thirty years old, and you’re still missing part of your hand. I’m the only one willing to marry you.”

“You should know how to weigh your options.”

His expression was cold as he calmly explained the facts to me.

He was always like that. He used the same calm, detached attitude he used in business whenever he dealt with me.

“What about the ring?” I asked. “You had Mia customize the size and design, but neither one matches what we came up with.”

Mia was a college student Ethan had sponsored. After graduation, she had gone straight to work as his secretary.

Young and beautiful, she naturally attracted attention—including Ethan’s.

She was confident, gorgeous, and studying to become a translator.

She could confess her love to Ethan in eight different languages right in front of me.

The two of them were inseparable every day, and the company’s performance had soared.

Even the ring Ethan and I had designed together when we were teenagers had been ordered by Mia.

No one had asked me for my opinion—not even taken the time to measure my finger.

Ethan avoided my eyes. The impatience in his voice grew more obvious.

“If it doesn’t fit, get another one.”

“How can you not tolerate something this minor?”

I gave him a bitter smile.

After all this, I still had expectations left for him.

Early the next morning, I packed my luggage.

To my surprise, Ethan had actually made breakfast.

When he saw the suitcase beside me, his previously gentle expression turned dark.

“Come here, Claire.”

It was a warning. He always called me that right before he got angry.

I ignored him and placed the divorce papers on the living room table.

“Remember to sign them.”

His remaining patience vanished instantly. The dishes in his hands clattered loudly.

“I’m busy every day. Put this childish attitude away as soon as possible. I’m not going to indulge you.”

I looked at the man I had loved for ten years and calmly opened the front door.

Behind me, I heard the violent crash of him flipping over the table.

“Claire, if you walk out today, don’t even think about coming back!”

The night I decided to divorce Ethan, I had already prepared myself to never speak to him again.

But when that day truly came, my eyes still burned with tears.

Ethan and I had grown up together.

Back then, my mother had worked as a housekeeper for his family, before the Dalton family went bankrupt.