Chapter 1

Three years after returning from my teaching post in the rural mountains, I ran into my ex-husband at the hospital.

We exchanged brief pleasantries, his eyes scanning the prescription in my hand with a look of recognition.

"Stomach acting up again?"

I nodded politely. "The usual."

"Here, take this chicken soup. I was going to give it to Skylar to help her recover, but..."

He kept rambling, and I instinctively cut him off. "No, thank you."

The sound of his voice died away, replaced by a heavy sigh.

"If you had just compromised back then, you wouldn't be all alone now."

I just smiled and said nothing.

A small figure came running toward me from a distance, tears streaking his face.

I opened my arms and picked up Leo. My ex's gaze drifted over to us.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Mommy, Daisy wouldn't let me have any chocolate."

The hand holding the thermos suddenly went limp. Caleb's voice shook.

"Elara... you have a child?"

1

A sharp clang echoed through the lobby as the thermos hit the floor, soup spilling everywhere.

Always the composed businessman, Caleb Thorne didn't even notice the stain on his expensive trousers. He just stared at me.

"Yes," I replied simply.

He pressed his lips thin, firing off a string of questions.

"What does he do for a living? Did you have a shotgun wedding right after we split?"

"Where are you living now?"

I gave him a cool, detached look. "It's none of your business."

"Elara, we were married once. I'm just... worried you made another mistake."

Realizing how that sounded, he softened his tone.

"Caleb, we got divorced a long time ago."

"And since I already wasted my heart once, I won't be making that mistake again."

I grabbed my bag, wanting nothing more than to leave.

He hesitated, reaching out to stop me.

His hand brushed the jagged, brown scar on my left arm, and his expression crumbled.

"Does it still hurt?"

"It's fine now."

I stepped back, pulling my sleeve down to hide it.

He was the one who pushed me into that construction site to protect Skylar.

A piece of rebar had nearly snapped my bone, and I bled for hours.

The wound kept getting infected. I spent months on painkillers just to survive the nights.

I once thought I'd never live a normal life again.

But even a hole in your flesh eventually heals.

Except for a dull ache when it rains, there are no more side effects.

Love is the same way.

Ripping a decade of affection out of your soul is agonizing, like pulling out your own bones.

But once you finally let go, it's just... nothing.

"It was my fault. I was too extreme back then," he muttered, a flicker of regret in his eyes.

"You and Skylar could have lived together in harmony."

"After all, you stood by me through the hard years. I know it wasn't easy."

My smile was thin and cold. "The past is the past. There's no need to bring it up."

"And I have nothing left to say to you."

I held Leo tighter and walked away without looking back.

He stood there, still murmuring something under his breath.

I didn't care enough to listen.

As I walked, I suddenly remembered the way he used to call her "sweet girl" in that doting tone.

After Skylar Reed appeared, he always told me:

"Elara, give her a break. She's just a young girl who doesn't know any better."

But now, there was no ripple in my heart.

I was so calm that I almost forgot the days when I felt like I was dying.

I forgot how every last spark of hope was crushed into dust.

Love or hate, it didn't matter.

After fifteen years together, all that remained was indifference.