Chapter 5

After hanging up, I decided that once I got back to shore, I would change my number.

The Arctic was breathtaking, the towering glaciers impossible to describe with words.

On a calm day, the crew lowered a kayak into the water. A foreign tourist next to me asked if I wanted to join them in diving into the sea.

I put on my life jacket and stood on the makeshift platform. With a leap, I plunged into the icy water.

The cold was intense, but the exhilaration was worth it.

In the distance, I could hear the excited chatter of other tourists. I ducked my head underwater, where the noise was muffled.

Once back on shore, I dried off and went to check out the kayaks again.

By the time I returned to shore, it had been half a month since I’d started this journey.

When I landed at the airport, it was already midnight.

I got home and fell into bed, sinking into a deep sleep.

I woke up in the afternoon, still in a dreamlike state.

In my dreams, Mrs. Monroe’s voice echoed, saying how fortunate I was.

Then the scene shifted to whispers behind my back, mocking me—"A sparrow can’t become a swan."

Finally, the image settled on the first time Elijah saw me. He stood in the sunlight, wearing a crisp white shirt, each strand of his hair glistening in the light. The moment he looked at me, he held the hand of another girl and promised, "Don’t worry, I’ll never love her."

Elijah really did manage to never love me.

When we first got married, Mrs. Monroe pressured me to quickly have a child with Elijah.

Under her coercion, I wore embarrassing outfits to seduce him.

But that day, in Elijah's cold gaze, I felt like an ancient courtesan desperately seeking favor. I hurried to get dressed and fled to my room, and from that moment on, I stopped expecting any affection from him.

Even on that night when he took traditional medicine, he didn’t call my name.