Chapter 1

On Mid-Autumn Festival, I set off a huge fireworks display for my wife on the mountaintop.

But I waited until dawn and only saw her go public with her relationship with the male designer at her company.

In the video, Logan knelt on one knee and slipped a uniquely designed pink diamond ring onto my girlfriend’s hand.

And the headline said it all: Top Designer Logan Wins Love.

The coworkers who knew nothing about the truth all sent their congratulations and said the office romance was so cute.

I liked the post with a blank face, and then my girlfriend called.

“It was just for show. Who are you being sarcastic for?”

“That pink diamond was designed by you anyway, wasn’t it meant to be given to me? Who gives it to me, what difference does it make?”

Before she finished speaking, I heard soft breaths from her end of the call.

I felt disgust rise in my chest and quickly hung up.

This five-year relationship was never worth it in the end. She simply didn’t deserve me!

......

I had not slept all night. When I dragged my exhausted body down the mountain and got home, Claire was sitting calmly at the dining table eating.

When she saw me come back, her face instantly changed, and she smashed the glass in her hand hard onto the floor.

“Mason, you’ve really grown bold now. You even learned to stay out all night?”

“Don’t forget you’re a married man. Do you even take me seriously?”

I silently changed my shoes and walked inside.

On the table sat a reimbursement receipt for a hotel king room, dated yesterday.

And the pink outfit Claire was wearing was the same one from last night’s official announcement video.

I said nothing, gave the receipt a flat glance, then looked at Claire’s face.

She seemed a little guilty and pressed her lips together before tossing me a slightly worn paper bag from beside her.

“It’s from Logan.”

“He heard that ring was designed by you and was afraid of stealing your credit, so he specially picked this out for you.”

A small red velvet box fell out, and inside was a pinky ring.

The crooked metal band had even started to fade. I was too lazy to pick it up and only gave a cold laugh.

“Didn’t expect he also has a habit of picking through trash?”

Claire, who had been fiddling with her hair, instantly looked ugly after hearing that.

She turned her head and glared at me unhappily.

“What do you mean by that? He’s apologizing to you out of kindness, and you still want to act all high and mighty?”

“Do you really think you’re such a big shot? You can go to tonight’s awards ceremony and see for yourself. There are plenty of people better than you!”

I didn’t say anything else. I poured myself a cup of hot water and drank it on my own.

But my silence only made Claire even angrier.

She grabbed the wooden comb in her hand and threw it at me.

The heavy comb hit my forehead, and my body swayed. I almost couldn’t stay on my feet.

With a bang, the cup in my hand shattered on the floor.

Claire seemed to realize she had gone too far. She hurried over to support me.

But the moment she touched my arm, she frowned again. “You have a fever? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Maybe I’d caught a chill on the mountain last night. My head felt foggy now, and I let her pull me out the door.

But halfway there, Logan’s call came in.

He sounded frantic, like he was about to cry.

“Claire, my design sketches are gone. What do I do? The show is tonight...”

Claire slammed on the brakes so hard that I felt like half my body was about to fly out of the car, and I forced my eyes open.

She gripped her phone with a nervous look and turned the car around as she spoke.

“Don’t panic. I’m coming right now.”

She didn’t care at all that I was in the passenger seat. She drove straight to Logan’s apartment building.

Before getting out, she gave me a cold look and said through tight lips:

“I’m going up to help him find a sketch. I’ll be back soon. Wait for me in the car.”

Without waiting for my answer, Claire turned and rushed upstairs.

I slept heavily in the car. My whole body felt like it was burning, and the pressure in my chest was so bad I could barely breathe.

In the end, I had to smash the window to get out.

I looked up at the curtains in Logan’s apartment, pulled tightly shut.

By then, I was too tired to keep wondering whether they had spent those two hours looking for design sketches or doing something else.

Eight years of marriage, and in that moment, all my love turned to ash.

So even true love could rot, and even if two people walked into marriage together, that didn’t mean they would love each other until the end.