Chapter 3

Possessed by some dark impulse, I tapped accept.

Almost the instant I approved the request, a flood of photos and videos bombarded my screen.

The first few were intimate selfies of Julian and Stella at an amusement park.

In one photo, he was giving her a piggyback ride, both of them laughing into the camera like a pair of high school sweethearts.

My brain went completely numb.

I had begged him countless times to take me to the amusement park.

He had always dismissed it with disdain, saying it was childish and stupid.

Even when our son cried and begged him, pulling at his jeans, he remained completely indifferent.

Then came a group photo.

Julian, Stella, her mother, and my father were sitting around a dinner table, smiling warmly.

Stella leaned affectionately against Julian's shoulder, while my stepmother smiled and piled food onto his plate.

To anyone else, they looked like a perfect family.

I had begged him so many times over the years to take a simple family portrait of the three of us.

He would only snap impatiently, "Why waste time on that? It's pointless."

Following that were screenshots of his social media posts.

He had been updating his feed constantly over the last few days, documenting every "sweet moment" with Stella.

But every single post had been hidden from me.

The last file was a video.

Brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky behind them, lighting up the night.

Stella looked up at him, her eyes shining.

"Julian, if Chloe weren't in the picture, would you have chosen me?"

My heart lodged in my throat. I even stopped breathing.

I waited for his answer like a death row inmate waiting for the final verdict.

Just as the fireworks began to fade, he finally spoke.

His voice was soft, but every single word pierced my ears with brutal clarity.

"I don't know."

"Chloe... she isn't vibrant and passionate like you. She's like a glass of plain water. You need it to survive, but drink it long enough, and it becomes completely tasteless."

"So, my mind is in a mess, Stella."

I remembered when he proposed to me for the third time, his eyes overflowing with deep, unyielding devotion.

He had said with absolute certainty, "I only want you, Chloe. I don't want anyone else."

But now, he said his mind was in a mess.

As the video ended, a text from Stella popped up on Snapchat.

[You idiot. The last person in this world who loved you doesn't want you anymore.]

[You're destined to have nothing. Just get lost already.]

[I gave you so many clues, and it took you this long to notice? You really are stupidly slow.]

As if that wasn't enough, she sent another text.

[Oh, I forgot to tell you. We've been together for three years. I really have to thank your pathetic postpartum depression. Otherwise, I would've never had the chance.]

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Three years ago, right after giving birth to my son, I was deeply tormented by severe postpartum depression.

During that dark period, Julian would rush home from work every day to be by my side.

He would hold me, gently whispering that everything would be okay.

When would he have had the time to cheat?

[You think he was actually comforting you? All those times he said he was working late, he was with me.]

[On his way home, he would always stop by to see me for half an hour. He said it was the most relaxing part of his day.]

She triumphantly sent an audio clip.

My hands shook as I tapped it.

It was indeed Julian's voice—a voice I knew better than my own.

"She's crying again. Cry, cry, cry, all day long. It's making me sick. Honestly, I just want to plug her mouth shut."

"It's so annoying. I just want to escape. I don't want to look at her depressed face for even a second."

"If it weren't for the kid..."

I couldn't hear the rest.

A sharp pain stabbed my chest. I gasped for air like a dying fish.

I couldn't believe it.

The husband who had gently encouraged and held me during my darkest days...

Secretly detested me this much.

"Mommy, why are you crying?"

My son's innocent, worried voice pulled me back.