That evening, when Cameron and Juliet returned home and switched on the living room lights, they jumped at the sight of a figure sitting on the sofa.
Juliet recovered first, her brow furrowing in disgust. "What is wrong with you, Evelyn?!"
"Sitting here in the dark like a ghost, trying to scare me to death?!"
I calmly raised my head and met her gaze. "I thought you were afraid to go out. Afraid to socialize. Afraid to eat in a crowded restaurant."
A flash of panic crossed Juliet's eyes. "Where I go is none of your business!"
With that, she stormed upstairs without a backward glance.
Cameron walked over, loosening his tie. Every movement he made was stiff and unnatural. "I took Juliet to see a psychologist. We had a bite to eat on the way back."
"She needs help. She was on the balcony again today. And she said she wants Caroline to be her sister-in-law," I said flatly.
Cameron frowned and said impatiently, "She's been through a lot, her mental state is unstable. Just put up with it a little longer."
"Put up with it?" I stood up and looked him straight in the eye. "Cameron, how much longer do I have to endure it? She orders me around, forces me to kneel and scrub the floor, sends me out in the middle of the night for dessert, and even forces me to delete every memory we ever had. I—"
Cameron's face darkened as he cut me off sharply. "Enough! Whose fault do you think it is that she's like this?!"
His words hit me like a slap.
Two years ago, we had just parked outside a restaurant when Juliet texted Cameron, telling him to pick her up from the airport.
My fingers were intertwined with his. I leaned in to kiss his neck, pleading in a soft voice, "It's my birthday. Can't you stay with me? Just for this one meal? Can't you have your assistant pick her up?"
Cameron hesitated. Then, looking into my expectant eyes, he finally nodded. "Alright. I'll have my assistant go."
We hadn't even gotten out of the car when Juliet's call came through again.
"Let me just explain to her," Cameron said, reaching for his phone.
I snatched the phone and turned it off, my pent-up frustrations erupting. "She always has some excuse to call you away! She's twenty-two, not a child who needs you watching her every second! In your heart, she's always more important than me, isn't she?"
Cameron looked at me, sighed, and stayed for dinner.
But halfway through the meal, the driver called. "Sir! Something's happened! Miss Juliet was abducted by a group of men! They thought you were in the car!"
It wasn't until the next day that the police found Juliet in an abandoned warehouse.
She had been tortured all night by his family's business rivals. She was covered in injuries and had suffered a complete mental breakdown.
"Yes, I'm responsible for what happened to her," I said, my voice hoarse. "But for the past two years, I've done everything I can to take care of her. She has trampled all over my dignity. Am I supposed to let her torture me for the rest of my life?"
Cameron fell silent, his gaze shifting away, unable to meet my eyes. Then, in an unnaturally stiff voice, he said, "The psychologist says Juliet feels extremely insecure right now and needs more emotional support, so Caroline will be moving in tomorrow."
"What?" I stared at him in disbelief.
"It's only temporary. Caroline and Juliet get along well. Once Juliet is better, I'll have her move out," Cameron explained hastily.
I looked at the man I had once loved so deeply and suddenly felt he was a complete stranger. "Cameron, I went to City Hall today."
The hand Cameron was raising to unfasten his cufflink froze mid-air.
"They told me we're divorced," I said with a smile, though a single tear slid from the corner of my eye. "You planned this all along, didn't you? Just waiting for me to make room for Caroline."
Cameron rushed forward and grabbed my wrist, his tone urgent and tense. "Evelyn, it's not what you think! Juliet threatened to kill herself, I had no choice but to have the lawyer draft the papers! I never really meant for you to leave! Don't worry, Evelyn, once she's stable, we'll remarry. I swear, I'll never let you down again, okay?"
"Threatened to kill herself?" I yanked my hand away, my voice rising. "How many times has she pulled that trick? Haven't you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? She does this every single time, and you fall for it every single time!"
Cameron's temper flared too, the veins in his temples throbbing. "She's my sister! The only family I have in this world! What if this time she really jumped? I can't gamble with her life! I can't afford to lose!"
"Evelyn, why are you always pushing me?! Don't you know how hard this is for me, being stuck between the two of you?! Can't you just be considerate for once?"
I looked into Cameron's eyes and almost laughed. Considerate? Hadn't I been considerate enough?
The first time I met Juliet, she pushed me into the swimming pool right in front of him. He said, "Juliet is just spoiled. Just let her have her way."
On our wedding day, not only did Juliet not show up, she changed the code to our apartment door. I was left freezing outside in my wedding dress for half an hour. We ended up spending our wedding night in a hotel.
Back then, Cameron said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. Just give her some time. Juliet will accept you."
After Juliet was kidnapped, she took her anger out on me every day. If she couldn't see me, she would throw a tantrum, treating me like her personal punching bag.
Cameron had begged me with red-rimmed eyes, "Help me, it won't be for long..."
Every single time, I endured it.
But now, watching him lie to me for another woman, I didn't want to endure it anymore. "I'm tired, Cameron."
Cameron immediately pulled me into his arms. "Evelyn, I love you. You know I only love you."
He held me tighter, his voice almost pleading. "For me, just endure it a little while longer, please?"
I stood stiffly in his arms, not nodding, not resisting.
Legally, we were already divorced.
I let him hold me one last time, treating the embrace as our final goodbye.
