Nothing Compares to the Sea in Your Eyes

Chapter 1

I gained sixty pounds after I got pregnant.

Using the excuse of pushing me to lose weight, my husband stopped giving me any money to live on.

Lose ten pounds, and I'll give you a thousand.

From now on, all your expenses come from your weight loss, until you're back to a normal weight.

The next prenatal checkup would cost 968 dollars.

To scrape together the money, I starved myself for half a month.

But I only lost three pounds.

"Have you even been trying seriously?!"

"If it's not ten pounds, you don't get the thousand!"

Inside me, the hunger clawed at me until it was unbearable.

I forced myself through three days without eating, and finally lost ten pounds.

I sent him a screenshot of my weight, and at the hospital payment window I anxiously urged him to send the money.

But all he sent was a one-dollar transfer.

Not until three hours later.

Only then did he add one more line.

"That earlier text was from my assistant. I'll transfer the money to you now."

I didn't yell, I didn't make a scene. I calmly accepted the money.

I didn't go through with the checkup. I scheduled the surgery instead.

If I want to lose weight, isn't this the easier way?

It went more smoothly than I'd imagined.

In one hour, the child I'd spent three years of injections and painstaking effort to conceive was gone.

I sat alone on a cold chair in the hospital for two hours.

Elijah didn't call me once.

My phone rang.

His assistant, Beulah, had sent a photo of herself holding a designer handbag.

Thank you, Mr. Swanson, for your generosity. I finally got the bag I've been dreaming of!

That bag costs a hundred thousand.

My checkup fee wasn't even a thousand.

The hunger in my belly clawed at me, sharp and merciless.

I used to want to eat like crazy, but now I couldn't swallow a single bite.

I got up and jogged five kilometers back to the villa.

I opened the door, out of breath, only to find a new electronic scale inside.

"Ma'am, you're back?"

"Miss Bell bought this scale especially to push you to lose weight."

"She said if you haven't lost weight today, you can't come in"

Nanette stood awkwardly in the doorway, blocking my way.

I looked up and inside.

Beulah stood beside Elijah, wearing the tight-fitting dress I used to wear before I got pregnant.

"Mr. Swanson, I'm so sorry, it's all my fault for staining my dress during my period."

"I've changed into your wife's dressshe won't be angry, will she?"

"Why would she be angry?"

"Could she even fit into this dress with her figure now?"

Elijah took off his rimless glasses, guilt in his eyes.

"Thank you for pretending to be my wife today. Otherwise, if I'd brought her to the investment conference, I'd have made a fool of myself and become a laughingstock."

When he finished, Elijah leaned back.

"Elijah Swanson's wife, a fat woman who weighs a hundred and sixty pounds?"

"I won't hand my rivals a chance to attack me."

Those two words, "fat woman," were like a knife driven into my heart.

It gouged out a chunk, leaving it dripping with blood.

I froze in the doorway, unable to move for a long time.

After I got pregnant, my reactions were always severe.

I vomited until I bled, and my whole body broke out in dark blotches.

The worst time, I ran a high fever that wouldn't break, for no reason at all.

I had thought about aborting the child.

It was Elijah who begged me with pleading eyes, asking me to give him a complete family.

To keep the child, I took the medicine and the injections.

My weight climbed out of control.

He had once promised.

No matter what I turned into, he would love me.

Now, "fat woman" was always on his lips.

"Mr. Swanson, your wife is back!"

"Oh no! What happened to her?!"

"It smells awful"

Beulah covered her mouth, her face embarrassed as she swallowed the rest of her words.

Elijah frowned and walked step by step to the door.

When he saw the state of me, a flash of disgust crossed his eyes, then vanished just as quickly.

"Dawn, are you doing this on purpose to get back at me?"

"Just because Beulah accidentally heard 'one dollar' instead of 'one thousand'?"

"Just because I transferred the money late?"

His voice was hoarse, and Elijah covered his mouth and gagged a few times.

"Mr. Swanson, are you all right?"

"Ma'am, Mr. Swanson closed a big deal at a business dinner tonight and they made him drink a lot."

"Don't be angryit's all my fault!"

Beulah hurried to hold Elijah up, her hands expertly loosening his tie and shirt buttons.

I watched quietly, and my heart gave a sudden, sharp ache.

Without thinking, I stepped inside.

Beulah suddenly stopped me, her voice sharp.

"Ma'am, step on the scale before you come in!"

Chapter 2

My raised foot froze.

I looked at Elijah before I could stop myself.

He spoke, cold and hard.

"Dawn, I'm doing all of this for your own good."

"You can't keep making excuses when you can't even lose weight."

"My wifeElijah Swanson's wifecan't manage even this much self-control."

"Do you want to become something people laugh at behind my back?"

Elijah's words were icy, cutting to the bone.

The corners of my open mouth closed, and I pressed the miscarriage surgery form deeper into my bag.

"Fine."

I said it softly.

I was just about to take off my shoes.

Beulah suddenly frowned and spoke up.

"Madam, isn't taking your shoes off a bit like cheating?"

"I heard from Mr. Swanson that before he started pushing you to lose weight, when you weighed in you'd cheat by not taking off your shoes."

"So now you have to weigh in with your shoes on too!"

My hand, reaching for my shoes, froze. I stepped onto the scale still wearing them.

"A hundred and fifty-five pounds?"

"Madam, you didn't cheat, did you?"

"You lost five pounds in a single afternoon?"

Beulah's disdainful, suspicious voice rang out.

I looked at Elijah.

His expression stayed cold.

My heart ached, but I said nothing and walked into the villa.

After running five kilometers, my mouth was dry and I felt awful.

I opened the refrigerator, only to find I couldn't pull it open at all.

"Madam, I forgot to tell you."

"The best way to lose weight is to not eat after noon."

"It's already eleven o'clock, so the refrigerator locks itself automatically. It won't open again until seven tomorrow morning."

Beulah walked over and finished calmly.

Then she took out a weight loss plan.

"Madam, this is a plan I had a professional weight loss coach put together just for you."

"Please follow the schedule on it exactly."

I took the weight loss schedule from Beulah's handevery inch of it crammed with exercise and dieting.

Almost every single minute was accounted for.

"I won't agree to this!"

"Elijah, my mother is still in the ICU after her car accident. I have to go see her every day!"

I crumpled the paper in my hand.

I looked up and met Elijah's eyes.

He frowned and was about to take the schedule from my hand.

Beulah suddenly cut in.

"Mr. Swanson, since you hired me to keep after your wife, you have to trust me completely."

"She's in the ICUgoing there won't do any good anyway."

"Madam, stop making excuses!"

"If you keep this up, you'll probably be dieting for the rest of your life!"

Elijah's outstretched hand stopped.

His phone suddenly rang.

He walked off with the phone, leaving behind only one line.

"Dawn, Beulah is right!"

"Don't forget, I'm the one paying for every last one of your mother's ICU bills..."

Clutching the weight loss schedule, I trudged back to the bedroom, exhausted.

My mouth was so dry I couldn't stand itI drank the water at the sink.

Elijah's words kept replaying in my head.

Bit by bit, my heart went cold.

Late that night I tossed and turned in bed, barely sleeping a few hours all night.

Just as I sank into deep sleep, my phone suddenly buzzed violently.

"Miss Delgado, your mother is in very bad shape!"

"She's suddenly become delirious and won't wake up!"

"Please come to the hospital right away!"

Chapter 3

I threw on my clothes and hurried downstairs.

I had just reached the living room when Beulah suddenly blocked my way.

"Madam, did you break into the refrigerator last night and steal the food inside?!"

It was such a bizarre accusation that I frowned and started to speak.

Elijah, in his pajamas, walked out of the kitchen.

In his hands were a roast duck gnawed to shreds and some fruit.

His eyes were impossibly cold.

"Dawn! Have you lost your mind?!"

"I told you to lose weight for your own good and for the baby's!"

"And this is how you go behind my back?!"

"You really disappoint me!"

His tone carried exhaustion and self-mockery.

Elijah threw all the ruined, bitten-up food into the trash can.

"Maybe I was wrong."

"I never should have made you diet. I should have just left you to fend for yourself!"

"If you drop dead from being too fat, at least it'll be easier for me to find a slim wife."

The words that came out of Elijah's mouth were cold to the point of cruelty.

My heart clenched, and I opened my mouth to deny it.

"Elijah, I didn't!"

"I didn't eat any of it!"

Shaking my head over and over, I stepped forward to take his hand.

Beulah suddenly pulled out a digital scale and shoved me aside.

"I knew you'd deny it, Madam..."

"So let's step on the scale and see the truth!"

The scale was set on the floor, and I looked at Beulah's utterly confident face.

Doubtful, I was about to refuse.

Elijah spoke coldly.

"Dawn, didn't you say you hadn't eaten anything?"

"Then step on it and prove your innocence!"

I thought of my mother waiting for me at the hospital, so I set down my phone and stepped on.

"Oh my God! A hundred and sixty-one jin!"

"Madam, and you still say you didn't sneak any food!"

I looked down at the number on the scale and froze.

"That's impossible...!"

"I didn't sneak any food!"

I looked up and met Elijah's eyes, then grabbed my phone in a panic.

"Elijah, the hospital just called. They said my mother suddenly went into delirium."

"The doctor said she might not wake upher life could be in danger."

"Let me go to the hospital first. We can look into the food thing when we get back..."

I never got to finish.

Beulah frowned and cut in.

"Madam, this wouldn't happen to be a lie of yours, would it?"

"Are you deliberately trying to cover the whole thing up?"

My eyes went damp, but I ignored what Beulah was saying.

I walked over and took Elijah's hand.

"Elijah, you have to believe me!"

"I would never joke about my mother's life!"

After a few seconds of standoff, Elijah frowned and nodded.

"Let's go!"

"I'll drive you there!"

Forcing a smile, I rushed to the garage.

I was just about to sit in the passenger seat.

Beulah stopped me.

"Madam, Mr. Swanson's business partners have always thought that I'm his wife."

"It wouldn't look right for you to be seen sitting up front now."

"It'd reflect badly on Mr. Swanson..."

My body stiffened, and I looked at Elijah.

He nodded calmly.

My heart went cold. I opened the back door and climbed in.

Not long after the car started, Beulah abruptly shoved her seat back.

I was crushed against it, and only when I looked up did I notice

Elijah and Beulah's pajamas were a matching couple's set.

My fingers clenched tight as the clawing hunger in my belly came surging back.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

The ill-timed sound rang out in the car.

In the passenger seat, Beulah suddenly covered her mouth and laughed.

"Madam, you really do have quite an appetite!"

"You ate all that and you're still hungry..."

"Oh, wait! I forgot, you're eating for two."

Beulah tacked the line on, as if to smooth it over.

I looked down at all the fat on my body.

My eyes reddened, and I couldn't help but snap back.

"How fat I get is none of your business!"

"Dawn! Show some respect when you speak!"

The car braked to a sudden stop.

Elijah turned his head, his eyes lowered dark and hard.

"My wifeElijah Swanson's wifeis not some third-rate nobody who runs her mouth without thinking and disrespects people!"

"Apologize! Now!"

Chapter 4

Elijah's sudden burst of anger left my mind buzzing.

My body froze beyond my control, and for a moment I couldn't breathe through my nose.

"Mr. Swanson, let it go."

"Your wife didn't do it on purpose. I can forgive her."

Beulah's voice drifted at my ear, impossible to hold onto.

It took me a long while to find my voice.

"Elijah, it wasn't my fault!"

"Why should I apologize?!"

My throat was dry and raw, and I fought to hold down my breaking voice.

Elijah suddenly spoke again.

"So you won't apologize?"

"Then get out of the car!"

The door beside me flew open, and the heavy rain kept blowing in.

Elijah drove me out of the car.

The cold rain struck my face as Elijah rolled down the window.

His expression was frighteningly cold.

"Dawn, I'll ask you one last time. Are you going to apologize or not?"

"No"

Before the word had even left my mouth, the car tore away.

Mud and water splashed up, and my body and face were smeared with a foul, muddy stench.

Standing there in a sorry state, I held my phone, dazed for a moment.

The phone suddenly rang.

"Miss Delgado, when exactly are you getting to the hospital?!"

"It's been a whole hour. You'd have made it even from the suburbs by now!"

"Is the woman in the ICU your mother?!"

The nurse's angry voice reached my ears.

I gripped my phone tightly, unable to say a single word.

I rushed to the hospital by taxi, and my mother had already come out of her coma.

She held my hand tightly, tears of heartache in her eyes.

"Dawn, why have you tormented yourself into this state?"

"You used to you always loved looking your best"

"Is Elijah treating you badly?"

My mother's words circled in my ears.

Looking at my heavy, bloated body in the ICU glass window, tears suddenly fell, one after another.

And they wouldn't stop.

Back home from the hospital, I sat quietly on the sofa until it grew dark.

Until the door opened.

Elijah walked in, reeking of alcohol.

Beulah stood beside him, her face flushed, a vivid kiss mark on her neck.

"Ma'am, please don't take it the wrong way."

"Tonight one of Mr. Swanson's business partners suspected we weren't a real couple and wanted us to prove it."

"So Mr. Swanson just"

Lowering her head shyly, Beulah tugged her collar even lower.

My heart ached.

Elijah, though, indifferently reached up to loosen his tie and walked step by step toward the bedroom.

"No need to explain so much to her."

I dug my fingers into my palm and took the miscarriage surgery form out of my bag.

Just as I was about to speak.

But then Elijah came back out carrying a suitcase.

"Ma'am, this time several partners are bringing their wives overseas to inspect raw materials."

"Mr. Swanson and I are going together, for about two months?"

Beulah's eyes gleamed with smug pride.

I turned my head and didn't take the miscarriage surgery form out of my bag.

I spoke calmly.

"Elijah, let's get a divorce"

"What did you say?!"

His tone was shocked, his eyes brimming with suppressed rage.

"Dawn, I work myself to death for this family, and all I ask is that you lose some weight."

"And now you want a divorce?!"

Elijah reached up, loosened his tie, and paced back and forth.

Finally, in his fury, he kicked the suitcase over.

"Fine!"

"You want a divorce? You can have one!"

"If you lose the weight in two months, I'll agree to the divorce!"

He forced out each word.

Elijah strode away.

I stood there in silence for a few minutes, then a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

The baby was gone.

No more pills, no more injectionshow could I not drop sixty pounds?

Two months later.

Elijah finished his trip and hurried home.

He took out his phone and checked it countless times.

Not a single message from me.

"Mr. Swanson, there's no way your wife lost the weight."

"But Mr. Sanchez's secretary contacted me and said he's only free tonight"

Beulah took out her phone, speaking with reluctance.

Elijah's brow furrowed.

A few seconds later, he said coldly.

"Turn around."

The car pulled up at the Sanchez family banquet in Kingsport.

Beulah proudly linked her arm through Elijah's and walked inside.

The next second, she froze.

She spoke in disbelief.

"Is that Dawn?"

"How did she lose so much weight?"

Elijah followed her gaze.

The moment he saw me, he was utterly stunned.

Chapter 5

"Dawn Delgado?"

He hesitated.

Elijah Swanson strode over, wanting a better look.

Then he stopped short.

"This can't be her..."

"How could she possibly lose the weight?"

"She just looks like Dawn."

As he spoke, Elijah took out his phone.

He dialed my number.

Not far away, I took out my phone at the same time.

"Hello? Elijah?"

A familiar voiceand it matched the person standing not far away.

Without a word, Elijah strode over.

"Dawn? Is it really you?!"

Stunned, Elijah was about to speak.

Beulah came over, her eyes full of suspicion.

"Ma'am, did you get liposuction?"

"Or did you have your stomach cut out?"

"You've actually lost this much weight?!"

I held my glass of red wine and took a small sip.

I didn't answer her, only looked at Elijah.

"I've successfully lost the weight. Let's get divorced, whenever you want!"

Elijah's brows lowered, knitting tight.

"Dawn, let's set the divorce aside for now."

"Do you even know what kind of place this is?"

"How dare you come here?"

"Did you plant a spy at the company? Did someone tell you where I'd be?"

His voice cold, Elijah grabbed me and started dragging me off.

"This isn't a place for you. Go wait for me in the car!"

"We'll talk about our business when we get home."

I struggled a few times, and my wrist stung with pain.

Elijah loosened his grip a little, rubbing the space between his brows with his other hand.

"I know you're still angry about what happened before, but that was all to push you to lose weight."

"Be good, go wait for me in the car."

"I brought gifts back from overseas for you and the baby..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

The next second, a man in a sharp suit came rushing over from across the room.

He yanked Elijah away.

"Who are you?!"

"Let go of Dawn!"

The cold, blunt words left Elijah stunned for a few seconds.

He looked at the man, anger held down in his eyes.

Then he froze.

"Mr. Sanchez?"

"What are you doing here?"

"You know Dawn?!"

Shocked, Elijah felt tonight was getting absurd.

"We met jogging two months ago. So you're Dawn's ex-husband?"

Edmund Sanchez bit down hard on the words "ex-husband."

Elijah frowned and shot back at once.

"We are not divorced. Mr. Sanchez, watch your tone!"

"Dawn is my wife!"

"Wife?"

"But Dawn told me the two of you would divorce as soon as she successfully lost the weight."

"Now that she has successfully lost the weight, when exactly are you two getting divorced?"

A smile at the corner of his mouth, Edmund mocked him word by word.

"No comment!"

Elijah's face was ugly. He didn't stay for the banquet.

He forcefully dragged me away.

When we reached the car, Elijah's chest was heaving violently.

"Dawn, you..."

He looked up at me, and a flicker of amazement crossed his eyes.

"Why didn't you contact me these past two months?"

"You didn't accept a single cent of the money I sent you. How have the baby's prenatal checkups been going?"

His eyes moved to my belly, a trace of doubt on his face.

"Shouldn't the baby be five months along by now?"

"Why can't I tell at all?"

Chapter 6

Calmly, I took the surgery record out of my bag.

"Because for the baby, I've already had a miscar"

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but before I could finish

Beulah suddenly squeezed in between us.

"Mr. Swanson, why are you leaving?"

"Aren't you going to discuss the deal with Mr. Sanchez?"

Elijah's brows knitted together, disgust in his eyes.

"There's no need."

"From now on, we won't be working with the Sanchezs at all."

His back teeth clenched the moment Elijah finished speaking.

Beulah let out an "Oh."

Her hands expertly tied Elijah's tie.

"Mr. Swanson, your tie's come loose again."

"How could you be so careless?"

She said it coquettishly.

After finishing the tie, Beulah slid her hand down along his collar.

Down to Elijah's suit trousers.

Then she slipped straight into his pocket and pulled out a pack of condoms.

"Mr. Swanson, the act is over."

"I'll take these condoms away, so your wife won't get the wrong idea."

Every word soft and cloying.

I watched in silence.

Elijah suddenly frowned and took a step back.

Putting distance between them.

"Dawn, don't misunderstand."

"Nothing happened between us. This was just for the act"

"You don't need to explain."

I cut him off, watching the rain that was slowly starting to fall from the sky.

I spoke calmly.

"We'll talk when we get home."

A trace of panic weighed in Elijah's eyes.

He took a deep breath and opened the passenger door for me.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

"No need."

"I'll just sit in the back."

"Wouldn't want your business partner to get the wrong idea."

Elijah's body went stiff.

He still wanted to explain.

But I'd already opened the back door and gotten in.

When we got home, I opened the car door and got out first.

Walking up to the door, I saw the electronic scale still sitting there.

I gave a self-mocking little laugh.

"Elijah, weigh yourself before you come in."

"I understand."

I put on my shoes and stepped onto the scale, then looked over at Beulah, who seemed a little guilty.

Looking down, I read out the number on the scale.

"A hundred and sixty-one pounds!"

"This scale really is amazing. I'm already this thin, and somehow it still says a hundred and sixty-one pounds."

"Beulah, you're the one who bought this scale. Why don't you come try it?"

I turned and stepped off, then pulled the stiff-bodied Beulah up onto it.

"Still a hundred and sixty pounds!"

"So it seems... it wasn't me sneaking food that night. Someone deliberately tampered with the scale's readings."

With a faint smile, I looked at Elijah.

His eyes froze.

Guilt and remorse seemed about to spill over.

"Dawn..."

I paid no attention to his words and walked straight inside.

In the living room, two copies of the divorce agreement lay on the table.

"Elijah, sign them!"

"Dawn, do you really want a divorce?"

His tone was frantic, his lips trembling.

"Everything I did was to push you to lose weight!"

"Now that you've lost the weight, isn't this a happy ending for everyone?"

Brows furrowed, Elijah looked utterly baffled.

"I admit what I did before was a little extreme, but it worked, didn't it?"

Elijah loosened his tie and sat down on the sofa.

He reached up wearily and took off his rimless glasses.

"Dawn, we're not young anymore."

"I can't keep coaxing you the way I did when we were dating in college."

"After all these years of building a business, I've learned one thing."

"No matter what the process is, all that matters is achieving the result."

I stared at Elijah in silence for a few seconds.

Trying to find some trace of the boy he'd once been in his face.

But I failed.

"Elijah, you've achieved your result."

"And it's time I achieved mine."

"Let's get a divorce!"

Chapter 7

When we got married, I never once thought about divorcing Elijah Swanson.

I gave him my most fervent, most sincere heart.

And walked into marriage with him.

I'd imagined that the daily grind of life might change our love.

I'd imagined, too, all the different hardships that might come between us.

But I never imagined this.

That our marriage would fall apart in a way this ugly.

"I've had a lawyer draw up the divorce agreement."

"Under marriage law, the property is split equally."

"I don't want your company sharesjust convert them to market value and give me that."

As I said it, I looked up and glanced around the villa.

"And I don't want this villa either."

Word by word, I finished, then bent down and signed.

Elijah suddenly snatched the divorce agreement and tore it to shreds in his hands.

"I won't agree to a divorce!"

"No way!"

The fury in his eyes couldn't be held back.

Elijah stood up, and all at once his face went white.

He collapsed straight to the floor.

It happened without warning.

I froze for a few seconds, then quickly grabbed my phone and called an ambulance.

"Who's family to Elijah Swanson?"

The emergency room doctor opened the door and asked.

Just as I was about to stand, Beulah suddenly rushed forward.

"I am!"

"Your name is Dawn Delgado?"

The doctor held the surgical form, frowned, and spoke.

Beulah's body stiffened.

She shook her head in denial.

"Nowhy are you butting in?!"

"This is a hospital emergency room. Be serious!"

The doctor scolded Beulah under his breath.

I stood up and stepped forward.

"I'm Dawn Delgado. How is Elijah?"

The doctor had me sign, his voice heavy with a sigh.

"So young, and yet his stomach is in such bad shape."

"Several perforations in his stomach. He's in surgery now."

"You're familyremember to keep a close watch on the patient from now on, and get him to quit drinking and smoking!"

"No matter how hard he pushes himself, he needs to be alive to spend it!"

I nodded silently.

I went back to the cold hospital chair.

Beulah suddenly spoke up, full of resentment.

"Mr. Swanson is the most perfect man I've ever met."

"At work, he pushed himself relentlessly to make money, sleeping only five hours a day."

"In his personal life, he never cheated on a single woman."

"What makes a fat woman like you deserve him?"

"The first moment I saw you, I knew you weren't good enough for him!"

"What makes him refuse to divorce you?!"

Growling under her breath, Beulah questioned me through her tears.

I didn't spare her a single glance.

Suddenly I remembered our college days.

The words Elijah said when he confessed his feelings to me.

"Dawn, I know I come from nothing."

"I grew up in an orphanage, with no parents to lean on."

"But please believe meI'll never let you suffer."

Those words came true five years into our relationship.

Elijah's startup succeeded, and he shot up to become one of Kingsport's new elite.

But his temperament turned harsh and grim.

Chasing perfection in everything.

And me, his hopelessly overweight wife, naturally became his burden.

Our steps had long since fallen out of sync.

When a husband and wife can't walk together, they're bound to part.

Once I understood that, there wasn't a trace of hesitation in me.

I texted the lawyer to draft a new divorce agreement.

I took the miscarriage surgery form out of my bag and laid it beside Elijah's hospital bed.

I turned to leave.

Suddenly my hand was caught by Elijah.

"Dawn, do you really want a divorce?"

"Give me one more chance, okay?"

I lowered my head and didn't answer him.

Elijah panicked, his grip tightening.

Blood crept slowly back up the IV line.

"I should have realized it soonerthat something had gone wrong between us."

"I kept trying to run from it, and that's how it ended up like this..."

"I'm begging you, give me one more chance."

"Give our baby a whole family..."

Word by word, his eyes full of earnest pleading.

I pulled hard and broke free of his hand.

I pointed at that miscarriage surgery form.

"Elijah, it's too late."

"Our childI already miscarried it."

Chapter 8

The ward was silent.

Elijah's eyes were red, his lips trembling.

He tried to speak several times, but no sound came out.

"What... did you say?"

"You aborted the baby?"

"When?"

Finally finding his voice again, Elijah forced the words out of his throat.

Refusing to give up, he reached out to grab me again.

"Dawn, that's a terrible excuse to use...!"

"You promised me before that you wouldn't get rid of the baby!"

And I had promised Elijah, before.

That was because we loved each other.

"Elijah, I really did lose the baby."

"If you won't sign the divorce agreement, then I'll file for divorce."

"There's no way we can go on like this..."

I said it calmly, then turned and walked out of the ward.

Back at the villa, I waited three days.

Elijah never contacted me.

Just when I thought it was going to end up in a divorce lawsuit.

The door was suddenly pushed open.

"Dawn, the villa is yours."

"I'm moving out."

Elijah, back from the hospital, looked much thinner.

He took out the signed divorce agreement and set it on the table.

His face looked calm, but his eyes were bloodshot.

"Even though we're divorced... you can still call me if anything comes up."

After saying that, Elijah simply packed a few clothes.

He turned and left.

The whole thing took less than ten minutes.

I stood frozen for a few seconds, then my phone suddenly rang.

"Dawn, honey, did Elijah agree to the divorce?"

Mom's voice came through the phone.

Before I could even speak.

She spoke again, her voice tinged with anger.

"Doesn't he have an assistant named Beulah Bell?"

"That woman clearly has bad intentionsshe actually came to the hospital and told me to keep you in line?!"

"Saying you don't know how good you have it, that you don't know how to be considerate of Elijah."

"I slapped her right then and there and called Elijah immediately..."

As Mom said this, her voice choked up.

"Dawn, honey, you and Elijah were having problemswhy didn't you tell your mother?"

On the phone, Mom let out a heavy sigh.

"I know once you've made up your mind, no one can change it."

"So as your elder, I pushed Elijah until he agreed to the divorce."

"I've been through it, and I know that once a crack forms in a marriage, no amount of mending will help."

"Dawn, honey, don't be sad. Look ahead."

I lowered my head and looked at the divorce papers on the table.

Two names, side by side.

Just like the way they looked back when we got married.

We had loved each other once.

Now we were parting.

I had no regrets.

The heavy feeling in my chest eased, bit by bit.

I chatted with Mom for a bit and then hung up.

I picked up my phone and sent Elijah a text.

Tomorrow, let's go to the county clerk's office together and register the divorce.

The next day, Elijah and I stood in line at the county clerk's office to pull our number.

"Number seventeen?"

Elijah murmured softly.

I looked down, and only then did I notice.

This number was exactly the same as the one we'd had back when we got married.

I said nothing and quietly waited for our number to be called.

Three hours later, the divorce was registered.

Once the cooling-off period was over, we could pick up the divorce certificate.

"Dawn, it'll take time to convert the company shares into cash, about a month."

"After that, the money will be transferred straight to your card."

"As for the properties in our names, I've already had the lawyer divide them up."

"The lawyer will send you the itemized breakdown later."

Elijah's face went pale as he said this.

He clutched his stomach and coughed.

"If you need money, sell the properties I've marked in green first."

"The others, I wouldn't recommend selling."

Having said all this, Elijah's eyes reddened slightly.

"Do you need me to drive you home?"

"I let Beulah go, and I had someone replace whoever's in the passenger seat too..."

Chapter 9

"No need."

I cut Elijah off, giving my phone a little wave.

"I already called a cab."

Once I'd said it calmly, I didn't look at Elijah's expression again.

But after I got into the car, I hesitated for a few seconds.

And I said one more thing.

"Elijah, don't push yourself too hard at work."

"Take good care of yourself."

The window rolled up, and in the rearview mirror the familiar figure kept shrinking.

Until it was gone.

I slid the ring I'd worn on my ring finger for seven years off.

And tucked it into the deepest corner of my bag.

A message came in on my phone from Elijah's lawyer, about the properties.

Several pages of them, densely packed, each with a detailed purchase date and address.

And just as Elijah had said.

A lot of them were marked in green.

After each one came his specific analysis.

I'd looked through a few before I noticed one striking red mark.

The old apartment where we used to liveElijah had actually bought that too.

And he'd flagged it in heavy red.

I stared at the familiar address for several seconds.

I randomly checked off a few of the green-marked properties to sell.

Then I sent Elijah a text.

I don't want the property at Havenwood Apartments.

On his end, the typing indicator kept going.

Until, a few minutes later, he sent a single word.

Okay.

A week later, the ten million from the property sales came in bit by bit.

I booked two plane tickets and took my mother on a trip abroad.

We saw a lot of places and met a lot of interesting people.

And I got hit on plenty of times.

With each blunt, enthusiastic compliment, I grew more and more confident.

I posted to my socials more and more often, too.

Elijah was always the first to like every post.

But he never once left a comment.

The other person was Edmund Sanchez.

He didn't miss a single one of my posts.

He even messaged me privately, eagerly recommending good local restaurants.

I'm an adult; I knew what he was after.

I'd told him tactfully several times that I had no plans to date anyone for now.

But he kept at it, relentless.

He even found out I was about to fly home to finalize the divorce.

And came straight to the airport to meet me.

"Dawn! Over here!"

Edmund waved eagerly.

My phone suddenly rang.

"Have you landed?"

"Give me a few minutes, I'll come pick you up right away, it's raining hard in Kingsport"

Elijah didn't get to finish.

I was already in Edmund's car.

The call in my hand was suddenly cut off.

Elijah held his phone, stunned for a few seconds.

"Mr. Swanson, do we keep waiting?"

The driver spoke carefully.

Elijah's face was pale.

"Let's go. Straight to the county clerk's office."

The car drove the whole way to the county clerk's office.

It was a half-hour drive, but to Elijah it felt impossibly short.

How he wished time could slow down.

Just a little slower.

But reality isn't some made-up dream.

In the end, he would have to accept the truth.