Chapter 1

1.

On the day of our seventh wedding anniversary, my husband, Julian, gave me an orange kitten.

I had just woken up from anesthesia.

I called him and calmly asked for a divorce.

The next day, his assistant, Sienna, showed up at my door.

Her eyes were red and puffy.

She was holding a basket of organic fruit from Whole Foods.

"Nora, I am so sorry," she said, biting her lip, looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"Julian said you just lost the baby... I thought a pet might help you feel a little better..."

I leaned against the doorframe, watching her performance in silence.

Julian appeared behind her out of nowhere.

His face was dark.

He walked over and didn't hesitate to pull Sienna into his arms.

He looked at me cold and hard.

"If you’re angry, take it out on me. Don't make things difficult for Sienna."

With that, they left together.

When Julian came back later, the only thing left on the table was the divorce papers.

This time, I didn't want him, and I didn't want the child anymore either.

...

When the pet courier delivered the orange kitten with its innocent, blinking eyes, I didn't feel much.

The nurse who came to check on me frowned.

"Ma'am, pets aren't allowed in the hospital. Please have it removed immediately."

The cat seemed to sense it was being abandoned again and started meowing anxiously.

My heart softened for a split second.

I told the courier to take it to the Sterling family estate in Greenwich.

"Give it to my son, Liam."

"Don't tell him I sent it," I added automatically.

After all, my child has hated me since he was born.

He rejects anything I give him.

After the courier left, I finally turned on my phone, which had been off for two days.

The screen was empty.

Not a single text.

I called Julian.

"That divorce you mentioned? I agree."

There was silence on the other end for a long time.

I could only hear his heavy breathing.

And in the background... the giggle of a woman.

It sounded like they were in a loud bar.

I waited a moment, but he didn't respond.

I took his silence as agreement and hung up.

I used to scoff at the idea of the "seven-year itch."

I thought Julian and I had a love that was bulletproof.

I didn't expect to lose to time in the end.

After discharge, I dragged my exhausted body back to our apartment on the Upper East Side.

I found Julian, who hadn't been home in two weeks, sitting on the living room sofa waiting for me.

"Why are you back so late?"

Julian frowned.

He was clearly annoyed that he didn't see me busy in the kitchen like usual.

When he saw my pale face and wrinkled clothes, his frown deepened.

"Go take a shower," he said with disgust.

I nodded faintly and walked past him.

When I came out of the shower, he was still on the sofa.

There was a pile of luxury shopping bags on the coffee table―Cartier, Chanel.

He gestured toward them with his chin.

"I bought these for you while I was away on business."

They were all trendy seasonal items.

It looked like he just told a sales associate to bag whatever was expensive.

He bought them to shut me up.

I didn't bother to look.

I dried my hair and asked, "Have your lawyer prepare the agreement. Contact me whenever you have time."

Julian is busy.

He travels five days a week.

Lately, he’s been busy getting cozy with someone else.

So busy that his assistant had to pick out my anniversary gift.

I don't mind accommodating his schedule for the divorce.

"Stop making a scene, Nora," he said, using my full name.

His tone was impatient.

"You're still pregnant with my child. Do you want him to be born without a father?"

Julian casually opened a jewelry box nearby.

It was a diamond necklace from the Tiffany mother-and-child collection.

"I lost the baby."

I cut him off before he could continue.

Julian froze.

His eyes instantly turned red.