Chapter 4

I took out the evidence I had collected from my bag.

He reviewed each piece, his expression growing darker with every item.

He put down the last memory card and looked up at me.

"Do you know what I admire most about you?"

I shook my head.

"Eight years ago, when you carried me for those six kilometers, you never once complained about being tired."

"I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Every time I opened my eyes, I saw you pushing forward, rain streaming down your face, and you'd just wipe it away with the back of your hand and keep going."

He paused.

"Back then, I thought, this soldier carries a mountain in her heart. She doesn't need anyone to shelter her."

I lowered my gaze.

"But General, I forgot that later."

"No, you didn't forget," he said, pushing the evidence back towards me.

"You just put it aside for a while. Now you've picked it up again."

He didn't ask about my marriage, or how I'd spent those seven years.

He just picked up the phone and dialed an internal line:

"Roberts, get me Peterson, my lawyer who specializes in financial cases. Also, check if there's a family member named Chloe among the active-duty officers in our command, whose husband is deployed long-term."

He hung up and looked at me.

"I'll investigate the military marital interference aspect for you."

"As for rejoining the unit, you can finalize it after May 1st. Your old scout platoon has expanded, and they need experienced leaders."

I stood up, wanting to salute, but it didn't feel enough.

Finally, I just said, "General, thank you."

He waved his hand.

"Don't thank me. You saved yourself."

It started snowing as I walked out of the office building.

I stood at the doorway, reaching out to catch a snowflake.

My phone rang. It was a message from Mark.

【Honey, I won a massage chair. It'll be delivered next week.】

【Oh, do you remember Chloe? The one who used to live downstairs from us. I heard her husband came back, and they're going through a divorce these days.】

【I really didn't expect such a seemingly honest woman to do something like that.】

I stared at the screen and didn't reply.

Half a month later, the court summons was delivered to Mark's company.

His face went stark white on the spot, and he knocked over his coffee.

At three in the afternoon, he called me like a madman.

The first call, I didn't answer.

The second, I hung up.

The third, I blocked.

He called again from a different number.

"Alice! Are you crazy? What are you accusing me of? What did I do for you to treat me like this?"

I leaned back on the sofa and spoke, one word at a time:

"What did you do?"

"When you bought Chloe her apartment, you used my card."

"When you took her to Japan for a vacation, you used the vacation days I earned from my military transfer."

"When you bought insurance for your illegitimate son, the insured was his name."

"In these seven years, you took four million two hundred thousand dollars from our home. All of it was our joint marital property!"

Silence on the other end of the line.

After a long while, his voice changed.

No longer angry, no longer accusatory, but pleading:

"Alice, I know I was wrong. Give me a chance; let's talk this through properly."

"Withdraw the summons, and we'll settle this privately. I'll give you all the assets, the house, the cars, everything. I don't want anything."

"Think about Lily; can you bear to let her grow up without a dad?"

I scoffed. "Mark."

"Listen closely."

"Whether Lily has a dad or not isn't up to me."

"It's what *you* decided seven years ago when you walked out of our wedding reception to go find Mistress #1."

I hung up.

Then I blocked all his numbers.

At eight in the evening, Mr. Peterson sent a message:

【Chloe's husband's identity has been verified.】

【He is an active-duty Major in a field unit, deployed long-term, with twenty days of family leave per year.】

【He arrived in the city this afternoon and has fully entrusted us with representing him in court. The evidence for criminal interference with a military marriage is complete.】

I put my phone aside and continued reading a picture book to Lily.

She snuggled in my arms, pointing at the bunny in the book.

"Mommy, where did Daddy Bunny go?"

I paused.

"Daddy Bunny went to a place where he needs to correct his mistakes."

"Will he come back?"

"No."