Leaving in Full Bloom

I didn't even know how I got back to the yard.

Brandon happened to be bringing out some wine.

I forced a smile. "Where's Claude?"

He blinked. "He accidentally broke a bottle of wine just now. He's cleaning it up. He should be back soon."

My eyes burned and welled up, and my nails dug into my palm.

Just how many times had he lied to me before that he could do it with such a natural expression now?

I couldn't stay another second. "I'm tired. I'm going home."

Before getting in the car, I took one last look at the brother I'd raised with my own hands.

The moment the door shut, my tears fell.

On the way home, I got a message from Claude.

"Why did you go home by yourself? Next time, wait for me to drive you. Otherwise, I'll worry."

At the same time, a message came from Mabel.

"Claude just left you to be with me. He says you're too conservative and that you never bother trying anything new."

I didn't reply to either of them.

What hurt me most was the cover story Brandon sent.

"Brandon and I agreed not to go home drunk tonight, so we'll just sleep here. Don't worry about us, Angelina."

When I saw that, emotions surged in my chest.

One was the man I'd loved with all my heart for eight years, and another one was the younger brother I'd raised since he was a child.

Right now, I felt like a complete joke.

I wiped away my tears. People who weren't worth it didn't deserve my tears. That included Claude and my own brother.

When I got home, I organized all the evidence I'd collected of Claude's cheating over the past few days before sleeping soundly.

On our wedding anniversary, Claude got up early to make me a loving breakfast.

"Happy anniversary, honey! We're going to stay at Wildrose Estate today, where you'll finally get to see the sea of flowers I've prepared for you by tonight."

I smiled without saying a word. I took out the divorce papers I'd prepared and pushed them toward him. "Sign them."

I'd already flipped to the last page.

Claude took them and signed without hesitation.

I froze for a second. "Are you not even going to check what it is?"

Claude didn't seem to care. "Isn't it just an adjustment to the IVF plan? We've always signed something like this whenever it failed before."

I held the flash drive in my hand, feeling nothing but irony.

I'd been afraid Claude wouldn't agree to a divorce, so I'd held back for a week, gathering all the proof of his affairs, planning to show it to him if he refused to sign.

I didn't expect him to sign without even looking.

In the past, even with IVF adjustments, he would carefully read them before signing.

He said he had work to do at the office and would be back tonight to celebrate with me.

After watching him leave, I packed my things and went to the hospital alone.

I brushed my hand over my stomach, my throat aching.

"I'm sorry, baby. I gave your father so many chances, and he never took a single one."

After the examination, the doctor confirmed again. "The fetus is developing normally. Are you sure you don't want it?"

"Yes."

The doctor sighed. "It took you so many rounds of IVF to get pregnant. If you terminate now, it'll be even harder to have a child later. If it weren't for taking the wrong medicine during your first pregnancy, leading to the miscarriage, you wouldn't have suffered so much."

I looked up at the doctor in shock. "Did the first miscarriage happen because I took the wrong medicine?"

She nodded. "Didn't Mr. Frey tell you?"

Claude knew?

My mind went blank. All I could hear was the ringing in my ears.

During my first pregnancy, I'd been so careful with whatever I ate.

But Alicia would bring me prenatal medicine every week. It was bitter and hard to swallow, and Claude had to coax me into taking it every time.

I'd always thought the miscarriage was just an accident.

The induced labor damaged my body, and I had no choice but to go through IVF.

All these years, Claude had watched me struggle with guilt and self-blame over and over.

He said losing the baby wasn't my fault. But he never once told me it was Alicia's medicine that killed our child.

After the anesthesia, I fell asleep. When I woke up again, several hours had passed.

Walking past the OB-GYN department, I froze.

Not far away, Claude was walking out of a clinic with Mabel. "Claude, I was so scared just now when my stomach hurt."

Claude kissed her forehead. "I won't let anything happen to you or the baby."

Mabel leaned against him, locking eyes with me from across the hall. She looked smug and raised her voice. "Will you come stay with me tonight?"

He stayed silent.

She pouted. "You can spend plenty more anniversaries with Angelina. But our baby is going to be born soon. I'm scared something might happen."

After a pause, he agreed.

Watching them walk away, my eyes went cold.

Everyone knew Claude was supposed to spend our anniversary with me tonight, but he chose to leave me alone to be with Mabel.

I took out my phone and sent him one last message. "The surprise I have for you is ready."

Then, I called a car to the airport. Before boarding, I turned off my phone and placed it inside the gift box that was supposed to be my anniversary surprise.

I had someone return it to Claude.

It was the red ribbon he had picked out for me himself. Now, I tied it to a farewell gift.

That night, fireworks for our anniversary lit up the sky above Wildrose Estate.

Beneath that starry sky, the place was alive with voices and clinking glasses.

But I dragged my suitcase through security and into the boarding gate without looking back.

When the plane took off, the seat prepared for me in the Wildrose Estate remained empty.