Anniversary of a Lie

The little girl was sent to Harvey's parents, only to be awkwardly brought back. On this matter, they sided with me. They already felt sorry for how I had been treated, and to bring home his ex-girlfriend's child was pure absurdity.

Wendy spent the past two days soothing me. She had scolded Harvey and even tried to beat some sense into him, but he remained unmoved. His family members were decent people, and Harvey was the only one who wasn't.

My heart was already cooling. Deep down, I wondered if I should resign to this and treat marriage as nothing more than a partnership. After all, it was rare to find such kind in-laws.

I even tried to console myself that this way, I could become a mother without having to go through the pain of childbirth. Children were an agony to bear, and with this little girl all grown up now, not much effort was required.

At the door, Harvey kneeled to change the little girl's shoes. When he looked up and noticed my bare fingers, panic crashed over him. He scrambled up and tried to reach for me, but I pulled away.

"Where's your ring, honey? Did you… lose it again?" His voice was shaking.

But I hadn't gone anywhere these days, and there was only one possibility he couldn't bring himself to say out loud.

My gaze shifted to the top part of the shoe cabinet, where the ring had sat alone for days. He'd been fussing around the little girl since he brought her back, so wrapped up in her that he hadn't even noticed.

I couldn't help but find everything so absurd. What had I been hoping for?

The last time we lost the ring, we had searched through shops for weeks. Whenever my patience wore thin, he'd catch me and kiss me, saying that wedding rings shouldn't be chosen carelessly. And we finally settled on the current pair.

But maybe nothing that came after the first ring ever shone as brightly as it did.

Harvey's eyes followed mine, and he saw the ring. His face drained of color as he staggered up to grab the ring, only to drop it onto the floor. After crawling on his knees to snatch it up, he fumbled to slip it back onto my finger.

I took a deep breath and stepped back to keep some distance. "No need. Harvey, let's get a divorce."