Chapter 1

At the premiere, my wife's new film was praised by critics as the best romance movie of the decade.

But sitting there for almost two hours, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.

Because the entire plot was based on the sweet, bittersweet past she shared with her first love.

During her speech, her eyes never left a specific corner of the audience.

"I dedicate this film to the boy I once loved so deeply."

"And I hope no one here will ever leave with regrets in their love lives."

Following her gaze, I saw him sitting in the back row, his eyes brimming with tears.

At that moment, all the bitter and sweet memories we shared completely lost their flavor.

Perhaps, just like the movie, our seven-year marriage was finally meant to end.

1

On the way back, Sienna Prescott's smile never faded.

She kept rambling on about how her movie shined at the premiere.

But I didn't hear a single word.

She finally stopped her endless chatter when we drove past a certain restaurant.

She grabbed my arm and shook it hard.

"Oh my god! How could I forget something so important, stop the car."

Seeing her anxious face, my tight frown relaxed just a little.

I had booked that restaurant half a month in advance to celebrate our seventh anniversary.

I thought she had completely forgotten about it.

I pulled over at the intersection and checked the time on my phone.

It was less than five minutes before the restaurant closed, so it was already too late anyway.

I was about to call out to Sienna, but she got out of the car on her own.

She trotted across the street.

When she came back, she was holding a freshly ironed suit jacket.

"I forgot to return this jacket I borrowed from Zachary Yates last time, it's been at the dry cleaner for days, why didn't you remind me?"

Hearing those words, the last shred of hope in my heart completely vanished.

Sienna was really good at keeping secrets.

If I hadn't accidentally seen a message in her work group chat.

I would never have known that this movie was adapted from her personal experiences.

And an indie romance film at that.

The night before the official premiere, I was so excited I couldn't sleep a wink.

I even thought this was the seventh-anniversary surprise Sienna had prepared for me.

It wasn't until those completely unfamiliar scenes flashed on the screen that I finally understood.

This movie was simply a memoir of her romance with Zachary Yates.

The main characters perfectly matched them in both personality and background.

There was a scene where the female lead secretly went to the clinic alone to take care of the pregnancy problem after sending the male lead abroad.

She ran in the heavy rain with tears, screaming that she would only ever have his children.

I couldn't help but remember that before we got married, Sienna made it clear she wanted to be strictly child-free.

After the screening, the audience cheered and invited Zachary Yates onto the stage.

He hesitantly asked about the baby, but Sienna gave a vague answer.

But the tears welling up in her eyes had already betrayed everything.

The pattering rain blurred the front windshield.

Sienna looked out the window and let out a soft sigh.

Her right hand gently stroked that jacket.

What she was thinking about was beyond obvious.

If this was when we first started dating, I would have fought her to the bitter end over this.

I would have demanded a satisfactory explanation no matter what.

But our days after marriage were much longer than I had imagined.

It was so long that all my sharp edges were smoothed out, leaving me entirely numb.

After struggling for seven years, getting to the bottom of things had no meaning anymore.

I slowly stepped on the brakes and pulled over.

"Keep driving, we're only two miles away."

Sienna looked at me with suspicion, blinking rapidly.

"We don't need to keep going."

I decisively unbuckled my seatbelt, turned around, and pushed the door open.

"Sienna, let's get a divorce."