Chapter 2

When I was twenty-two, I secretly came back from overseas to have some fun.

At a friend's party, I fell for Ethan Vance at first sight and pursued him.

At first, he thought I was too young.

Later, I relentlessly pursued him, laying my heart bare.

I sent him flowers, gave him jewelry, and even proposed to him.

People gossiped, saying I was too bold, too eager.

But I didn't care. Shouldn't you be brave when you love someone?

Later, we got together.

We dated for a year before getting married.

For four years of marriage, every single day, I was the one carefully giving my all.

He'd respond with just a little bit, and I'd feel like my whole world lit up.

It wasn't until I got pregnant that I noticed he seemed happy, even giving me more attention than usual.

But deep down, I suddenly started to feel uneasy.

I kept pestering him, asking if he loved me.

Though he never said "I love you," he'd gently reply with "I'll come home early."

Until this time, his private phone, which he never even let me touch, was taken and used to send multiple messages.

Only then did I understand.

He'd never truly cared about me, not once.

But it was fine; it was over now.

I was tired of loving him.

Seeing that I remained silent, he probably thought I'd given in. He walked over to me, bending down as if to hug me.

"Alright, don't overthink things. The housekeeper made you some soup; drink a little and get some rest. Tomorrow's the weekend, I'll take you shopping..."

"I aborted the baby."

My words were barely a whisper.

He froze.

His arm was still in mid-air, poised to hug me.

The living room was so quiet you could hear the wall clock ticking.

One tick, two ticks, three ticks.

Then he straightened up, looking down at me, as if he hadn't understood.

"What did you say?"

I looked up, meeting his gaze, and said, word for word:

"I said, the baby's gone."

"After you sent those messages, I went to the clinic and had the procedure done."

Ethan Vance's face gradually turned white.

In the five years I'd known him, I'd almost never seen him lose his composure.

He was always in control in front of everyone, emotionally stable like a finely tuned machine.

But at this moment, that machine had jammed.

I found it oddly refreshing and kept watching him.

"You aborted the baby without consulting me?"

My lips remained curved. "Yes."

"Aria." He called my name, his voice trembling: "That was my baby too."

I shrugged indifferently.

"I know."

"You know?" His voice suddenly rose, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot: "You knew, and you still went to the clinic by yourself and aborted the baby, without even telling me!"

"Aria! Do you even see me as your husband?"

He had never yelled at me like this before.

In our occasional arguments, he would at most just go silent with a cold expression, waiting for me to back down first.

At that moment, I suddenly laughed: "Ethan, so you *can* get angry? You *can* get red-eyed? You *can* have moments like this when you lose your composure? I thought you were only capable of giving me the silent treatment."

Ethan Vance froze, then instantly clamped a hand on my jaw, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Aria! What exactly are you trying to pull? I told you those messages weren't from me. Why won't you just believe me!"

"And that wasn't just your baby, it was mine too. How dare you get rid of it by yourself without consulting me?"

"Since you're so capable of aborting my child on your own, then you better make me another one!"