Chapter 2

I drove to the apartment complex and quietly watched the dark, gaping entrance.

What kind of woman would be inside?

The kind who could change Caleb, the man who once offered to die for me.

The kind who could transform his countless pities for me into endless indulgence and tolerance for her?

The roar of an engine shattered my thoughts. A familiar car pulled up to the apartment building.

It was Scott, Caleb's friend.

The door opened, and Scott fist-bumped Caleb as he got out.

"Told you you were lazy! You even need a ride from your buddy for a hookup? Am I your chauffeur? Come on, I'm coming up for a drink."

I gasped, my knuckles white as I gripped the steering wheel. If the car hadn't stalled, I might have crashed right into Scott's.

Two weeks ago, when Caleb drove me to the office, the GPS directly showed this address.

I asked him, curious: "Whose place is this?"

He laughed then. "Scott's place, that jerk. You wouldn't believe it, he brought back a ton of stuff from his hometown, heavy and awkward to carry. He keeps asking me to help him move it."

Later, that address disappeared from the GPS.

If I could still tell myself to take that chance earlier.

But now, the truth was laid bare before me, stark and brutal.

Even after being discovered, even though I was only staying home for one night, he was so eager to see her.

I thought, the Caleb of our youth was dead.

Now, it was a stranger wearing his skin.

I called Caleb. "Caleb, where are you?"

His end of the line was quiet, but then I heard the sound of two breaths intertwining, just like ours used to.

"Eleanor, I'm working late at the office. I'm on my way now. Did you get home?"

"Yeah... I'm home."

I hung up, let out a shaky breath, and as I opened the car door, my legs felt weak, and I stumbled. But I quickly steadied myself.

I decided to go up and see for myself.

I had to see how rotten this relationship had become, so I could finally let go of the reluctance in my heart.

And never give him another chance.

As I went upstairs, Scott's voice drifted down.

"Dude, honestly, I still don't get what's so attractive about this woman. Eleanor isn't bad, after all. You two have been through so much over the years."

I hid downstairs, my heartbeat exploding in my ears. Right, why?

The click of a lighter, then Caleb's slightly hoarse voice.

"You know Eleanor has bipolar disorder, right? I asked the doctor about her condition, it's hereditary. If she has a child and it turns out like that, I don't think I can handle it."

Scott voiced the question in my mind. "Holy crap, didn't you two say you were DINKs? Why are you talking about kids now?"

"I'm a man, after all. I need an heir."

I couldn't listen anymore. I turned and left, hiding in my car, like a wounded animal licking its wounds.

Before we got married, I asked him countless times, "But I have bipolar disorder, and if you marry me, I won't have children."

He held me, promising solemnly, "I love you, the person. In sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, it's you I love. Don't listen to gossip. I'm a sugar baby, aren't I?"

Was the sincerity then real? Is the sincerity now real?

I wiped away my tears and messaged my trusted attorney. "Please draft a divorce agreement for me."