A Game Called Forever

My fiancé, Jim Smith, had always been the kind of older brother who spoiled his younger sister. Harriet Smith, his adopted sister, was the first person he thought of whenever anything happened. When the craze for seasonal drinks swept through town, he was quick to buy Harriet the first one of the season. When he bought his first car outright, he saved the passenger seat for her to try first. Even when a fire broke out in our house in the middle of the night, his first instinct was to rush into Harriet's room and carry her downstairs. Only after he knew she was safe did he call to wake me. After I was injured in that fire, I finally lost my temper and demanded that he choose between Harriet and me. He looked genuinely confused. "Cecilia, Harriet and I have been through everything together since we were kids. She's just a kid. Why are you comparing yourself to her?" Then, as if he were offering me some perfectly reasonable solution, he added, "How about this? From now on, I promise I will treat you both equally. Okay?" I hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing. I had no idea that, later, the first wedding ring Jim had custom-made would go to Harriet. Even the wedding dress was no exception. Today was the day we had agreed to go to the county clerk's office and make our marriage official. Harriet came with us. The moment we arrived, she looked at Jim and said, "Jim, it's your first time doing this, so I wanna do it too." Chapter 1 Jim Smith let out a helpless laugh, rubbed the top of Harriet Smith's head, and told her this time was different from before. She refused to listen. She clung to his hand and begged him again and again. I watched Jim slowly start to give in. The moment he turned toward me, I could not help laughing. We met in high school, and he was my first love of eight years, yet this was what it had come to. What a joke. Before Jim could say a word, I pulled the documents from my bag and handed them to him. I tilted my chin toward the county clerk's office. "Go ahead." My easy acceptance clearly caught Jim off guard. "Cecilia, you…" He never got to finish. Harriet impatiently tugged on his sleeve, urging him to get in line. Jim quickly swallowed whatever he had been about to ask and slipped into his usual routine of soothing me. "Cecilia, Harriet is young and doesn't know any better. Just think of it as her fooling around. Once she gets bored with this in a couple of days, I'll come straight back and file for divorce. Don't worry. I promise I'll marry you." However, I did not want to marry him anymore. Watching the two of them walk away with their shoulders practically touching, I felt my eyes sting. I quickly looked away, turned around, and hailed a cab. The moment I got into the car, I called the wedding company. "I'd like to cancel my wedding reservation for next Saturday. I will pay the cancellation fee in full." Once everything was settled, I opened my email and replied to a project invitation I had originally planned to turn down. [Thank you, Mr. Chapman. I will be there on time for the Frisia documentary shoot next week.] After taking care of everything, I saw that Harriet had posted a new update on social media: [My first time getting married, with my brother.] The photo showed a marriage certificate. The name beside Jim that should have been mine showed hers. I gave a bitter little smile and quietly liked the post. Right then, messages from my best friend came flooding in. I was not surprised to find that she had already started cursing Jim out. She also sent me photos of my potential next boyfriends. My best friend, Yvette Lawson, worked as a professional matchmaker. She knew more single men than I could count. I used to joke that the day I finally dumped Jim, I would have her pick someone I liked and spend one wild night with him just to celebrate. However, now that the day had actually come, I could not bring myself to feel even a little excited. Still, when I saw how enthusiastically she was introducing me to all those 'eligible bachelors', I could not bring myself to ruin her fun. [Fine. I'll take the best-looking one.] My best friend immediately agreed, then she cautiously asked if I was still coming to the celebration party that night. I knew exactly what she was really asking. She was worried that if I did not go, she would not be able to get in either. The party that night was arranged by Jim. He had recently been promoted to general manager, and the people he invited were all well-connected members of our social circle. Yvette wanted to use the party to expand her pool of potential matches. I could not let her get her hopes up for nothing, especially since I had helped pay for the party too. Hence, I gave her a definite answer: [I'm going.] Maybe Jim also felt that things had gone a little too far that day. In a rare display of conscience, he came to pick me up before the party started. It was also the first time he had not gone to pick up Harriet first. Instead, he made her wait outside the company she was interning for 20 minutes. Harriet was furious. She did not say a single word to Jim during the entire drive to the club. I had no interest in getting involved in their little lovers' quarrel. The moment the car stopped, I opened the door. Jim suddenly grabbed my wrist. His voice was full of helplessness. "Cecilia, are you still mad?" I was about to say no when a soft sob came from the back seat. The warmth around my wrist vanished instantly. The driver's door opened and closed, and Harriet was already being gently pulled into his arms. I stared at the two of them in the rearview mirror. They looked more like a real married couple than anything else. A mocking laugh slipped from my lips. I slammed the car door and walked away. Ten minutes later, the two of them finally arrived. The moment I saw their fingers intertwined, I tightened my grip around my wineglass. I was about to turn and look for my best friend, hoping for a little comfort, when I remembered that she had been called away on a last-minute business trip and could not make it. I froze for a second, then lowered my head. Jim noticed where I was looking and immediately let go of Harriet's hand. He took a few steps toward me and opened his mouth to explain. Someone cut him off, "Jim, you two are already married. How about a kiss for the crowd?" Chapter 2 One sentence was all it took to send the already noisy private room into an even bigger frenzy, and suddenly, dozens of eyes turned toward me. I said nothing and just glanced at Jim, who was standing a few steps away. He did not look at me. Instead, he glanced at Harriet beside him, almost as if he were silently asking her permission. Something tightened painfully in my chest. My lashes trembled as I awkwardly looked away. How could I have forgotten? The one who married Jim was Harriet, not me. With everyone staring at me expectantly, I quickly brought the excitement to a screeching halt. "Why are you all looking at me? I'm not the one who got married. You should be looking at Harriet." The room fell silent. Everyone knew what kind of relationship Harriet and Jim had. Jim's expression darkened. "Cecilia, why would you say something like that? I already told you, Harriet and I were just playing around. She's only my little sister. Are you seriously jealous of her too?" His eyes were filled with irritation, as if I were the one making a scene for no reason. However, after all these years, was I really the unreasonable one? He said Harriet was only his little sister, so apparently, it was perfectly normal for him to wash the underwear of a 22-year-old woman with his own hands. It was perfectly normal for him to hold her hand whenever they went out, even when people mistook them for a couple, and he never once bothered to explain. It was perfectly normal for him to give her his first wedding ring, her first wedding dress, and even his first marriage. What would count as not normal, then? Was I not allowed to be petty? Was I not allowed to feel hurt and wronged? Now, apparently, I was not even allowed to tell the truth. What a joke. Feeling the heat gathering in my eyes, I quickly turned my head and blinked. I was about to speak when Harriet cut me off, "Jim, did I do something wrong? Did I make Cecilia upset?" Her eyes widened, already red from crying. "I did not mean to. I just wanted to give you all my firsts. If Cecilia does not want me to, then we can go right now and…" Before she could finish, Jim spoke with obvious concern. "No. You did nothing wrong. I promised you three days, and three days it is." Then he sighed and looked at me. "Cecilia, you agreed to let Harriet experience this. Now, you're making sarcastic comments and making her feel bad. Just apologize to her, and we can put this behind us, okay?" The way Jim said it made it sound as if allowing me to apologize was some enormous favor he was generously granting me. I could not help laughing. This was not the first time he had asked me to apologize to Harriet. In the past, I would always get angry and argue with him for a long time, making sure he understood that Harriet was not the only one who could feel hurt. Every time, we went around in circles, and he would eventually pull me into his arms, apologize, and promise that he would never take Harriet's side again. Then the next time, he would do exactly the same thing. After eight years of arguing, I did not want to do it anymore. I pressed my lips together, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up. Then, in a calm, steady voice, I said, "Fine. I was wrong." I was wrong for not realizing sooner how much he favored Harriet. I was wrong for believing, again and again, that he would change. Fortunately, I still had a chance to right things. Yet Jim froze for several seconds when he heard those words. This was exactly what he had wanted, so why did he suddenly feel so uneasy? While he stood there in a daze, I grabbed my bag and headed for the door. He immediately snapped back to reality and started after me, but Harriet caught his arm. "Jim, everyone is still waiting to see us…" I did not hear the rest. Something made me turn around, and that was when I saw Harriet rising onto her toes. Jim did not push her away. My hand froze halfway into my bag as a loud buzz suddenly filled my head, drowning out everything around me. When I finally came back to my senses, it felt as if something had punched straight through my chest. Even breathing hurt. Jim suddenly stepped backward. The confusion in his eyes vanished the moment he saw me. He hurried toward me. "Cecilia…" I quietly stepped away from his outstretched hand. Just hearing his voice made me sick. When I put down the bank card he had given me, I did it with enough force to stop whatever else he was about to say. "Take it." It was the wedding fund Jim had given me. Now, I was returning every cent of it. With that, I fled the venue. The moment I stepped outside, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over. Behind me came the sound of hurried footsteps. "Cecilia!" Chapter 3 I did not stop. I only quickened my pace, but Jim caught up and grabbed me. "Cecilia, what exactly are you trying to pull?" Jim was usually calm and steady, but this time, there was a rare flash of anger in his eyes. I had no idea what he meant. I was about to ask when he continued, "I thought you actually realized you were wrong. I didn't expect you to say one thing to my face and do another behind my back. "You know perfectly well that Harriet and I are completely innocent. In the end, you'll be the one I marry. So, what did you mean by bringing up the fact that she and I got married, then returning the wedding fund I gave you? "Do you really have to let your jealousy ruin the relationship between my sister and me? Do you want everyone to think something inappropriate is going on between us and ruin Harriet's reputation?" His accusations hit my heart like a hammer, and my eyes immediately began to sting. I had thought he had chased after me to explain why he had not pushed Harriet away. Instead, he did not care about that at all. He was only worried about whether Harriet's reputation would be ruined. I lifted the corners of my mouth in a bitter smile, mocking myself for still holding on to such foolish hopes. I should have been used to it by now, should I not? Whenever Harriet was involved, Jim always cared about her first. It did not matter who else was standing beside her. He simply stopped seeing anyone else. Just like that time when he rushed to rescue Harriet behind the university campus. Harriet had somehow gotten into trouble with a group of local troublemakers and ended up trapped in an alley. When Jim and I arrived, her face was already swollen from being slapped. Jim went completely crazy with rage. He charged into the crowd alone and pulled Harriet behind him, shielding her with his body. The group was made up of students. They were too afraid to attack once they realized Jim knew how to fight. However, they did not want to back down either, so they turned on me instead. I was shaking from head to toe and cried out to Jim for help. He acted as if he did not hear me. He was too busy checking Harriet from head to toe, making sure she was not seriously hurt. It was as if he had completely forgotten I existed. Worried that Harriet might be injured, he hurried her straight to the hospital. If I had not called the police before we arrived, I had no idea what would have happened to me. That night, Jim secretly cried for hours out of guilt and swore that he would never leave me alone again. However, when Zephyr was hit by a flood, he still drove an hour to pick up Harriet, even though I was only a mile away from him. Harriet was in no danger at all. Later, when Zephyr was on lockdown because of an influenza outbreak and Harriet was stranded on campus, he gave her every medicine and face mask we had at home. I was left with nothing to treat even an ordinary high fever. I experienced lasting damage to my lungs from it. There had been too many moments like that. I had lost count, and I did not want to count anymore. I certainly did not want to keep waiting for the day Jim might finally remember that I existed. I yanked my hand free from his grip. I had so many grievances, so many questions I wanted to throw at him, but suddenly, I felt too exhausted to say any of them. I closed my eyes for a moment, sighed, and finally said, "Fine, Jim. Whatever you say." Jim felt as if he had punched a pillow. His throat tightened, leaving him at a loss for words, and when his gaze finally dropped to my face, he seemed to snap out of it the moment he saw how red and swollen my eyes were. A flash of regret crossed his face. "Cecilia, I didn't mean to blame you…" He hesitated for a long moment before carefully choosing his next words. "And about what happened with Harriet just now... Don't take it to heart. She's still just a kid. She doesn't realize she's too old to act like that anymore. When we get home, I'll talk to her. Just don't hold it against her. You'll only make yourself miserable." Listening to Jim make excuses for Harriet with the same practiced ease as always, I did not feel angry or hurt like I used to. I only wanted to laugh. He had said those exact words countless times over the past eight years. When Harriet turned 18, she wanted to take couple photos with him. I objected, but Jim did not care at all. He simply told me not to hold it against a kid. Later, when the three of us lived together, Harriet secretly wore my pajamas and slept in our bedroom with one of Jim's shirts clutched in her arms. I was disgusted and told Harriet to move out. Jim said I was making a big deal out of nothing. Harriet only missed her big brother. Why was I making things difficult for a child? Now, the two of them had openly gotten married and kissed each other, yet he was still telling me, the woman who was supposed to marry him, not to take it to heart. I could not help laughing. Maybe even when they had grandchildren running around, Jim would still be saying the same thing. "Harriet is still young. Don't hold it against her." That was how Jim saw her. A 22-year-old college graduate was still just a child in his eyes. Fine. This time, I really was not going to hold it against her. I swallowed hard. My throat felt painfully dry, and when I spoke, my voice came out rough. "Jim, forget about the wedding." Chapter 4 The moment I finished speaking, Harriet's voice came from somewhere in the distance. "Jim, Joshua wants you to hurry back." Jim immediately turned around, his feet instinctively carrying him toward Harriet. After taking a few steps, he seemed to remember that I was still there. He froze for a second, then turned back and tried to make up for it. "Cecilia, what did you just say?" Before I could answer, he gave a careless little laugh. "Whatever it was, you can decide. You're going to be the lady of the house from now on anyway." As he spoke, he pinched my cheek, and his words came strangely fast. "I know you don't like crowded places, so why don't you go home and wait for me? Just let me know when you get there so I know you're safe. I won't walk you home, okay?" His tone sounded like he was asking for my opinion, but there was no intention of discussing it with me. The moment he finished speaking, he turned and walked away without a second thought. I watched his back disappear, my heart slowly growing colder as I finally understood the truth. Those sweet, thoughtful words had never been meant for me. He had only wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible so that he could hurry back to Harriet. He did not care how I felt, what I had just said, or even whether I made it home safely. To him, it was nothing more than a task to check off. It was just a few words he had to say because that was what a boyfriend was supposed to do. Once he had said them, he could hurry back to Harriet. When I actually texted him to let him know I had made it home safely, he never replied. After all, when Jim was with Harriet, he never looked at his phone. Thankfully, I had no intention of humiliating myself by chasing after him. I had said everything I needed to say. Whatever happened next had nothing to do with Jim anymore. … Neither of them came home that night. They did not even send me a message. Just as I expected, Jim did not care whether I had made it home safely. As for where the two of them had gone, I did not care anymore either. I spent the entire next day sorting through my belongings. Anything I did not need immediately, I packed up and shipped away. It was only then that I realized just how little of this house actually belonged to me. When we first rented the place, Jim had immediately given the biggest bedroom to Harriet. She had a huge four-door wardrobe and her own private vanity. Meanwhile, the closet in the room Jim and I shared was small to begin with, and most of the space was taken up by his formal clothes, leaving my neatly folded clothes crammed into one tiny corner. My few cheap, no-name makeup products were piled on the nightstand, and there was not even a mirror. I had never thought much about it before. I simply accepted it as the way things were. Sometimes, I would even marvel at how much Harriet could afford to buy. Whenever I mentioned it, Jim would always grumble, "She just loves buying useless junk. One of these days, I'm going to throw all of it out." Only now did I realize the truth. He might have complained about Harriet's shopping habits, but whenever she wanted something, he could buy a hundred of the exact same thing for her without hesitation. That kind of favoritism was something I had never experienced. My eyes suddenly filled with tears. I quickly lifted my head and blinked them away. One thing was clearer to me than ever before—if I could not have something, then I did not want it anymore. After checking the house one last time to make sure I had not left anything behind, I scheduled a pickup. The moment the delivery driver took my things away, my phone rang. "Is this Ms. Carter? I'm Lucy, a real estate agent with Brighton & Co. You previously asked me to help you find a suitable interior designer, and I…" I listened to her enthusiastic explanation, but my mind suddenly went blank. So much had happened lately that I had completely forgotten the new home I had just bought for our wedding was still waiting to be renovated. The house belonged to Jim and me. However, I had paid for most of it. Back then, I was naive enough to think that since we were getting married soon, it did not matter if I contributed a little more. It was the first time I had ever spent that much money on anything, yet I had not felt the slightest bit of pain. Whenever I imagined the two of us moving in together after our wedding, my heart had been filled with nothing but excitement. Now, the more I remembered how excited I had been when I bought that house with my own hands, the colder my heart felt. The wedding was canceled. There was no reason for me to keep the house either. "I'm sorry, but I don't need the interior designer anymore. As for the house… Please help me sell it. The sooner, the better." The endless stream of words on the other end suddenly stopped. I thought I had put her in a difficult position. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Ms. Carter, is that what the homeowner wants as well?" I froze. What did she mean? Was I not the homeowner? At the time, I had even refused to put Jim's name on the deed because I had wanted to treat the house as my contribution to the marriage. I quickly asked what she meant. A few seconds of keyboard tapping came through the phone, then she spoke again. "Ms. Carter, the registered owner of this property was changed to Harriet Smith last month. If you want to sell the house, we'll need to get the homeowner's consent." Chapter 5 The agent's words left my mind completely blank. For a moment, I wondered if I was being scammed. I had personally gone to the land office to collect the property deed for that house. How could Harriet possibly be the owner? The agent seemed to sense my suspicion and gave a helpless laugh before sending the electronic property transfer agreement to my phone. I opened the file and scanned the pages, which were packed with tiny lines of text that made my eyes swim. Then, almost immediately, I spotted a familiar signature. I froze. I racked my brain, searching through every memory I had, but I could not remember ever signing anything like that. Then my eyes landed on the date of the agreement, and suddenly, a memory came rushing back with crystal clarity. It was the day before Harriet's graduation ceremony. Jim had suddenly handed me a stack of documents. "Cecilia, I need you to sign these. Don't forget." I had been busy editing a video and did not bother reading the documents carefully. I assumed they were the purchase papers for the new car he had promised to buy me. Because it was Jim, I signed without a second thought. I never imagined my trust would be repaid with such complete deception. At Harriet's graduation ceremony the next day, I was actually surprised. Jim was always so obsessed with spoiling his little sister. Why had he not given her anything? When I asked him about it, he simply said, "I already gave her something. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours, right?" At the time, I thought he had listened to me and decided to keep some distance from Harriet. I took his words at face value and assumed whatever I gave her was basically from him too. I had forgotten one thing. There was no way Jim would suddenly change his habits. In his heart, Harriet had always mattered more than anyone else. When he said he had already given her something, he really meant it. He was not saying that my gift counted as his gift too. He had simply handed over something that belonged to me. I stared blankly at the agreement in front of me, feeling as if every ounce of strength had been drained from my body. I used to admire Jim's ability to handle words so skillfully in the workplace. I had never imagined he would use that same talent to play word games with me. Over the phone, the agent continued explaining exactly what Jim had done that day, clearly trying to prove that she was telling the truth. Every word felt like a needle stabbing into my heart. I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Okay. I understand. I'll get the homeowner's consent." After hanging up, I immediately hailed a cab to Jim's company. I ignored the strange looks from his employees and kicked open the door to his office. I never expected the first thing I would see to be Jim and Harriet locked in a tight embrace. Jim immediately let go of Harriet. Almost instinctively, he pulled her behind him, shielding her with his body. My chest tightened when I saw how practiced the movement was, along with the faint wariness in his eyes. Just how terrible of a person did Jim think I was? What had I become in his eyes for him to see me and immediately worry that I might hurt Harriet? He stood firmly between us, protecting her like I was some kind of threat. I gave a bitter laugh and looked away. I had no interest in asking questions or arguing. I simply opened the electronic agreement and tossed my phone onto his desk. "Jim. Explain." That was clearly not what Jim had expected. A flash of surprise crossed his face as he picked up my phone. The moment he saw the agreement, his expression relaxed. He barely seemed to care. "So, this is what this is about? Cecilia, I'm Harriet's brother and you're her sister-in-law. We're the only family she has. Does it really matter whose name the house is under? "And besides, did I not discuss this with you at the time? You signed it too. Harriet's graduation was a big deal. A young woman needs a house of her own to fall back on. Why are you suddenly throwing a fit about it now?" Jim looked at me with genuine confusion, wearing the same expression he had given me every time I clashed with Harriet over the past eight years. He never understood why those little things could hurt or anger me, never understood where my tears came from, and never seemed to realize just how much he favored Harriet. Most of all, he never cared how much I had been forced to endure. My hand hung tightly at my side, my fingers clenched so hard that my nails had already dug bloody crescents into my palm, yet I did not even feel the pain. He thought a young woman needed a house to fall back on. Had he forgotten that I was a woman too? Unlike Harriet, I did not even have a big brother looking out for me. I was an orphan with no family to rely on, no one to stand up for me. That house was not just some random piece of property. It was supposed to be our home, the place where we would build our life together after we got married. I struggled to draw a breath as I stared at Jim, unable to look away. The longer I looked at him, the more unfamiliar he seemed, as if I were seeing him for the first time. We had not always been like this. Harriet had been part of our lives from the beginning, but Jim had not always been the person standing in front of me. Even so, it was true that Harriet had always been the first person he thought of. When we went shopping, he would buy her ice cream before he bought me any. Whenever he opened a sealed bottle of water, she would be the first person he handed it to. Whenever we entered a haunted house, he would immediately pull her in front of him to protect her. However, he never forgot me. He would still stand in the longest line just to buy me the vanilla ice cream I loved. He would only want to share the same bottle of water with me. Whenever I was scared, he would hold my hand tightly and refuse to let go. I did not know when it happened. Somewhere along the way, Harriet became the only person Jim could see. As I was the older one, I was apparently expected to give way to her in everything, even if it meant giving up my lover, even if it meant giving up my home. I let out a bitter, mocking laugh. At this point, I had no desire to argue with him anymore about who the house belonged to. I only wanted to get away from this disgusting display of sibling affection as quickly as possible. "Jim, I'm not throwing a fit. Since you think Harriet needs a house to fall back on, then I don't want the house anymore. Just transfer my share into my bank account. It's 960,000 dollars. Please do it as soon as possible." Chapter 6 With that, I ignored Jim's tightly furrowed brows, turned around, and walked away. I had barely taken a step when Harriet blocked my path. "Cecilia, it's just a house. I'll give it back to you. Why are you making things difficult for Jim?" Her eyes were wide and filled with pitiful tears, but I was not moved in the slightest. I looked at her coldly. "Move. You were perfectly willing to ask for the house back then, so why are you pretending to care about Jim now?" Harriet's face went deathly pale. I knew I had hit the mark. If she had not wanted the house, Jim would never have given it to her. Her tears immediately spilled over, and someone suddenly grabbed my wrist. I was about to pull free when Jim violently shoved my hand away. I had no idea how much force he had used. I stumbled backward several steps just to keep my balance, and my lower back slammed straight into the corner of the desk. "Ah!" A sharp cry escaped me. Before I could recover, Jim's angry voice rang out. "Cecilia, when did you become so aggressive? Why are you talking to people like this? "You signed the property transfer yourself. We only changed the name. No one said you can't live there. How long are you going to keep targeting Harriet just because of what happened with the marriage certificates?" The moment he finished, he turned around. He carefully wiped the tears from Harriet's face, treating her like something precious. The tenderness in his expression was completely different from the man who had just shoved me. His gentle reassurance only made Harriet cry harder. She sniffled and said, "I'm sorry, Jim. I was never really your sister anyway. If Cecilia doesn't like me, I'll move out right now. I don't want to make things difficult for you." She pulled open the door and started to leave. He grabbed her and pulled her back. "Harriet, are you really going to break my heart like this? Don't ever say things like that again. The person who should leave is someone else, not you." Those words, 'someone else', cut deeper than anything. He did not have to say my name. I knew exactly who he meant. Sure enough, the next second, he grabbed my arm and shoved me outside. "Cecilia, you have gone too far this time. I have to give Harriet an explanation." He looked down at me from above. His gaze was ice-cold, completely empty of affection. Yet my heart did not hurt anymore. There was only an endless calm. I gave a relieved smile and got to my feet. I did not want to spend another second with him. I was just about to leave when I heard the crackling sound of electricity beside me. I turned toward the noise. Before I could even see who it was, a stun baton struck me and knocked me to the floor. A painful, numb tingling sensation surged through my entire body. Then I heard the security guard's trembling voice above me. "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith. I'm so sorry for the disturbance. I'll remove Ms. Carter immediately." Jim's eyes hardened. His next words cut straight through me. "This is a workplace. As far as this office is concerned, she is an unauthorized person causing a disturbance. If something like this happens again, you can find another job." The security guard immediately bowed and nodded. "Yes, Mr. Smith. Of course, Mr. Smith." He roughly dragged me toward the elevator. My lower legs scraped against the floor, leaving them burning with pain. All around me, I could hear the whispers of more than a hundred employees. So, this was the explanation Jim wanted to give Harriet. He was willing to trade my pain for her satisfaction. I wanted to laugh, but my lips would not move. Through my blurred vision, I thought I saw a flash of reluctance in Jim's eyes. However, the door closing firmly behind him without a moment's hesitation told me it had only been my imagination. The security guard certainly did his job thoroughly. Even though it was raining, he still dragged me outside and left me on the street. … I did not know when I lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I was already lying in a hospital bed. Someone was holding the hand that hung over the edge of the bed. "You're awake, Cecilia?" I turned my head. Jim's exhausted face came into view. There was still dark stubble along his jaw. I had no idea how long he had been sitting beside my bed. If this had happened before, I would have been worried sick. I would have complained about how badly he was treating his own health and insisted that he go home and rest. However, now, I did not even blink. I calmly pulled my hand out of his and stared silently out the window. Jim stared at his empty hand for several seconds before smiling with relief. "Still mad? Don't worry. I've already filed for divorce from Harriet, and the property transfer is being processed too. Are you happy now?" His lowered voice and careful tone sounded as if he were making a great sacrifice for me. However, underneath it all was an accusation that I had been unreasonable. I gave him a faint smile. Even being angry felt like too much effort at that point, so I merely hummed softly to let him know I had heard him. Jim, however, did not seem satisfied. His brows furrowed as his expression slowly hardened. Something clearly felt wrong to him, although he had not figured out what it was yet. Then someone knocked on the hospital room door. "Mr. Smith, your wife's egg retrieval procedure is complete. You can get ready to go to the sperm collection room." The well-meaning reminder plunged the entire room into an eerie silence. Even though I had long since stopped expecting anything from Jim, my fingers still tightened around the blanket when I heard those words. Every single word was familiar. Yet somehow, when they were put together, they sounded completely foreign. I looked up at Jim, but he avoided my eyes. Only after walking the doctor out did he come back and grab my hand, his expression completely sincere. "Cecilia, listen to me. Please do not get angry yet. "Harriet just wants to know what it feels like to have a baby. She doesn't have a boyfriend, so she asked me to help her. The doctor doesn't know about our relationship, so when she called me her husband, she was just making assumptions. Don't take it seriously." Jim really was explaining himself. He genuinely thought this was no big deal, as if what he had done was perfectly reasonable. I simply stared at him, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. I had thought my heart was already completely dead, that nothing could hurt me anymore. Yet I had never imagined that the one thing I had once dismissed as my wildest fear would actually become reality. In that moment, all the emotions I had buried for so long finally came crashing to the surface. I raised my hand and slapped Jim hard across the face. "Why?" Jim was stunned for a moment. He was just about to speak when the hospital room door opened again. It was Harriet. He immediately forgot that he had even been about to question me. His face tightened as he stood and headed for the door. When he reached it, he still stopped and looked back. "Cecilia, calm down first. We'll talk once you have cooled off." The door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang. With it, my heart finally shattered into pieces. The truth was, I was not angry. I was disappointed. I was hopeless. Jim would never live to see the day I calmed down. My sobs continued until nightfall, and only then did I finally run out of tears. After completing my discharge paperwork, I went home to pack my things. This time, I still took the bank card Jim had given me—880,000 dollars. I would consider it his way of buying back the share of the house that belonged to me. I had just reached for the drawer when something slipped out from the hidden compartment. It was a diary. I slowly opened it. The more I read, the more shocked I became. By the end, I could only smile as if I had finally accepted my fate. I did not put the diary back where I had found it. Instead, I left it in plain sight in the living room, where Jim could not possibly miss it. It was my final little surprise for him before I walked away for good. From that moment on, I would have nothing more to do with Jim or anyone in the Smith family.