Chapter 3

Sylvia's POV

I began packing my belongings after I returned to my marital home.

Aiden and I had picked this house together. He told me that he felt happy just thinking about how I would be there to greet him whenever he returned from work.

The lights in the house would be switched on. There would be soup boiling on the stove, and the balcony would be filled with my favorite camellias.

However, at that moment, I realized that there were traces of Natalia all over our home.

The fridge was packed with her favorite peach-flavored sparkling water. The cashmere shawl she had left behind was draped across the couch. Her bridesmaid dress looked even more intricate than my wedding dress as they hung side by side.

I stared at the two dresses as I stood in the walk-in closet. An inexplicable bitterness bubbled in my chest.

It turned out that I had already been slowly replaced by Natalia in Aiden's heart even before the wedding.

I didn't cry. Instead, I just placed my identification documents, passport, and clothes into my suitcase.

I heard the sounds of the front door being unlocked when I was halfway through packing.

Aiden had returned. He was holding a jewelry store bag, and his words were colored with a coaxing tone when he said, "Don't be angry, babe. I saw this pair of earrings when I passed by the store earlier. I remember that you're fond of pearls."

He opened the box, revealing a pair of pearl earrings nestled within.

It was true that I liked pearls.

I had stared at the earrings for a long time when we passed by the store, but I hadn't bought them because they were too expensive.

At the time, Aiden held my hand and said with a smile, "I'll buy you something even better after we get married."

He had fulfilled his promise and bought the earrings for me. However, the earrings he bought were studs.

I never pierced my ears.

Natalia was the one who did.

Aiden approached me and pulled me into his arms. "Let's sweep everything that happened tonight under the rug, alright?"

I looked down at the earrings.

Another receipt slipped out from the jewelry store bag before I could say a single word.

The price on the receipt was extremely eye-catching. It was for a bag that cost ten times more than the earrings.

I recognized the brand of the bag.

Natalia had uploaded a post about it on her social media account about half an hour ago. In the photo, she was hugging the bag with a radiant smile.

The caption read, "A certain someone sent a celebratory gift to me after I secured a new project."

Tears streamed down my face as I stared at the receipt.

"Why are you crying?" Aiden asked, looking like he was reaching the end of his patience. "I'm getting tired of your behavior, Sylvia."

I was stunned upon hearing his words.

In the past, Aiden always panicked whenever I cried. He would clumsily wipe my tears before pulling me into his embrace and comforting me over and over again.

"Don't cry, Sylvia. I always get so flustered whenever you cry."

Once, I had jolted awake from a nightmare in the middle of the night with tears in my eyes.

Aiden immediately drove to my place after buying a tub of ice cream for me.

"I know that you didn't have anyone to comfort you when you were a child, Sylvia," he said. "I'll comfort you every time you cry from now on."

The Aiden of the past truly cared about me whenever I shed tears. However, at that moment, he only felt exhausted when he saw my tears.

It turned out that it was pointless for a person to cry when the other person had already shut them out of their heart.

I lifted my hand and wiped my tears. "I'm fine," I said softly.

Aiden seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He approached me and leaned down, trying to kiss me.

I reflexively moved my face away.

Aiden's expression turned glacial. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and said, "Forget it. I'll let you calm down."

He then turned around and headed into the study.

…

Later that night, I was just about to switch off the light when my tablet lit up where I had left it on the bedside cabinet.

Aiden was still logged into the chatting app on the device.

I was just about to lock the tablet when I noticed Natalia's name in the notification.

My eyes stung at just the sight of her name.

"Did you manage to coax her?" Natalia asked.

"No," Aiden replied. "She's getting more and more difficult to coax."

Natalia sent a laughing emoji. "Did you make it up to her tonight?"

A few seconds passed before Aiden replied, "Don't bring it up. She rejected me. But it's fine. It's been seven years. I lost interest in her body a long time ago. Fortunately, she pushed me away. I didn't have to force myself."

My eyes stung as I stared at his reply. However, I had already run out of tears.

It turned out that, from Aiden's perspective, he had to force himself to be intimate with me.

I switched off the tablet and put the pearl earrings back in the jewelry box. I then placed the jewelry box and my wedding ring on the cabinet next to the door.

It felt like I was finally waking up from a dream.

Just then, I received a message notifying me that the payment for my plane ticket had been processed.

I was scheduled to fly to Frostbelt at 3:00 am the next day.

I could fly to any city that I wanted to from now on. However, I would never land by Aiden's side ever again.