Chapter 4

I hadn't answered the phone because I had just finished nursing my daughter at the maternity center when Felix's mother, Ashley, burst into the room.

"Vivian, why haven't you been answering my calls? Ryan is losing his mind at the embassy!

"You need to come home right now with Felix's documents to go to the embassy."

Listening to Ashley, I calmly replied with six digits, "666313."

She paused, taken aback. Taking a moment to adjust my daughter's blanket, I explained, "I'm not in a good position to go right now. That's the code for our home; you can grab whatever you need there."

Ashley's hand trembled slightly. "Vivian, how can you be so heartless? Felix is in a war zone, and we don't even know if he's alive!

"Did you not see the distress message Felix sent to everyone? He said he got shot in the leg and is hiding in a stranger's house.

"I know you're in the postpartum period, but this is an emergency. Can't you just come to the embassy with me for a sec to check things out?" she insisted, her body shaking with urgency.

I replied calmly, "I understand Felix's situation. Before he sent that group message, he texted me several times for help, but I chose to ignore him."

Ashley stumbled backward, clearly shocked. Seeing her expression tugged at my heart. After seven years of marriage, she had always been good to me, filling the void left by my late mother. But now, everything felt shattered because of Felix.

I calmly handed her the recording of my conversation with Felix from that night. "Ashley, don't think of me as cruel. This is all Felix's doing."

Trembling, Ashley accepted the recording, and once she finished watching, she crumpled to the ground. She struggled to find her voice. "Vivian, listen to me, Felix and Megan... they really don't have anything going on."

I still felt a pang of sympathy. Even though my C-section recovery was painful, I got up and helped Ashley to her feet—much like how I had seen Felix leave home when my water broke, softly handing him his passport and bank card.

"I know there's nothing physical between Felix and Megan, but the fact that he's willing to abandon his family to go find her shows he doesn't value our little family. He's okay with my daughter losing her father and me becoming a widow just to chase after her, so he needs to accept the consequences of that decision."

Ashley turned pale at my cold tone, and she fumbled with her words, struggling to find the right thing to say. Perhaps she couldn't even bring herself to convince me.

Ultimately, Ashley gave up, shivering as she stood. "Take care. I'll leave you to your recovery."

With that, she seemed to age a decade as she rushed out the door.

I felt a pang of guilt, but just as she was about to leave, I called after her, "Ashley, can you and Ryan find some time this week to move out of my apartment?"

Ashley hesitated, turning back. "Can't you just wait a little longer?"

I shook my head. "Didn't Felix leave without waiting to make sure I got to the hospital after my water broke?

"I just want to sort out all our shared assets before he comes back."