That night, Tony got on a video call with Hannah.
"Baby," she cooed.
"Are my legs pretty? Are they nice and pale?" Hannah asked, giggling.
"Pale and long, like something out of a comic. I could play with them for a hundred years."
The excitement in his voice was hard to miss.
A wave of nausea rolled through me.
Not morning sickness.
Just disgust.
The next morning, for once, Tony wasn't sleeping in. Instead he dragged me out to go shopping for clothes.
He walked into a menswear store, picked out an outfit, changed into it, and asked me, "Honey, how's this one?"
"It's fine."
Then I asked, "You never bother about how you look. Why the sudden interest in picking out clothes?"
"Tomorrow's our anniversary, isn't it? Of course I want to look good." Tony gave a little smile.
But I wasn't stupid.
I knew exactly what it was. He was getting ready to meet Hannah in person.
He kept at it until dark.
Tony finally settled on two outfits and went home thoroughly pleased with himself.
That night, he didn't stay up. He went to bed early.
Clearly saving his energy for the next day.
After all, when two people who'd only known each other online finally met, it was all sparks and heat. He couldn't very well show up worn out.
When I woke in the morning, Tony suddenly said, "Honey, I'm sorry. A client took an interest in one of my design proposals."
"She just asked to meet today to go over the details, so the camping trip is off."
"Next time, okay?"
He stared straight into my eyes, as if terrified I'd say no.
"Okay."
I nodded.
Tony visibly relaxed, broke into a huge grin, kissed me on the forehead, and left.
I turned, pulled the cloth off the canvas, and added a few strokes to the board.
Finishing this gift.
Soon the lawyer came for me.
"Miss Henson, the divorce agreement you asked for."
He hesitated, then asked, "It's just, are you sure about this? Mr. Gilbert seems to love you very much."
"Does he? Maybe deep down he's wishing I were dead."
I shook my head.
Huh?
The lawyer was stunned.
I said nothing more. I picked up the pen, signed my name on the agreement, and set it in front of the board along with the pregnancy report.
Then I blocked Tony on every channel, took my luggage, and walked out without looking back.
The car moved down the road.
Through the window, I happened to catch sight of Tony.
He and Hannah, fingers laced tight together.
In the sunlight.
What a lovely picture.
I murmured to myself, "Tony."
"You're free now."
No tears.
No grief.
Only relief, like a weight lifted off me.
……
That night, while Hannah was in the bathroom, Tony sent Bess a message: 【Honey, this design's pretty complicated. The client brought their whole team to go over it. It'll probably run until tomorrow.】
【Get some sleep tonight, don't wait up for me.】
The next second, a red exclamation mark popped up on the screen.
Tony's pupils shrank. He froze for a few seconds, then hurried to pull up the home security cameras.
And saw the moment I walked out the door with my luggage.
