I was stunned.
Disgusting?
"No," I shook my head with a bitter smile. "Victor, you are the one who makes me sick."
"Don't argue," Vanessa Bright cut in, her voice choked with sobs. "It's my fault. Sister has every right to blame me."
Victor immediately stood in front of her, shielding her, his eyes now filled with even deeper disappointment. "Look at Vanessa. Doesn’t that make you feel ashamed?"
Suddenly, I wanted to ask him something.
"Do you remember what you said to me when you proposed?"
Victor’s face went blank for a moment.
That moment made everything feel absurd. I shook my head and gave a small, self-mocking laugh. “You said I was more important than your life.”
He averted his gaze. “But you weren’t like this back then.”
“So, you changed your mind?”
“I didn’t!” His voice rose sharply, as if trying to convince himself. “Claire, of course I love you, but Vanessa’s parents saved my life, and I promised them…”
“Enough.” I turned around with Ethan in my arms. “It’s been six years. I’ve heard enough.”
At the hospital, the doctor’s expression turned grim.
"What were your parents thinking? Even if a child this young isn’t allergic to seafood, you can’t crush shrimp and mix it with milk! If you'd arrived a minute later, the child might not have made it!”
My head spun. “Shrimp?”
The doctor heard my tone and sighed. “Find a new nanny immediately. I doubt that woman has good intentions.”
Vanessa Bright.
My legs buckled as I sat down, gasping for breath.
I had almost lost Ethan.
I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Can you give me a copy of the test report?”
After getting home, I typed up the divorce agreement. In the living room, Victor hovered nervously around Vanessa Bright. “Your injury hasn’t healed yet, don’t push yourself.”
Vanessa Bright smiled as she waved a shovel. “I’m just loosening the soil around the tree. I’m fine.”
"That’s the intertwined tree you planted for me. I want it to grow strong. That way, even if I can’t stay by your side, I’ll still have it.”
Victor held her shoulders. “Don’t say that! I planted that tree for you—it means we’ll be together forever. Don’t you believe me?”
My mind went blank. A sharp ache gripped my chest.
There was a seedling growing in the best part of the garden.
Not long ago, a tree had stood there—Albizia Julibrissin—which we planted the day we got our marriage certificate. It symbolized “eternal love.”
After Ethan was born, Victor said he wanted to plant a tree for him in that spot, hoping he'd grow strong like it—so he moved the Albizia away.
It turns out that was a lie.
What he wanted wasn’t eternal love with me or a healthy future for our child.
He wanted to be with Vanessa Bright.
I drew in a deep breath, walked over, and flipped to the signature page of the divorce agreement. “I want to get an insurance policy for Ethan. Sign this.”
“Why are you here?” Victor cleared his throat awkwardly. “Don’t you already have insurance? Why get another?”
He reached for the document to read it.
Just as I moved to stop him, Vanessa Bright tugged at his sleeve. “Victor, you two go ahead—I’ll wait outside.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.”
“No need!”
Victor shoved the agreement into my hands. “Leave it in the study. I’ll sign it after I’ve read it.”
I grabbed his wrist. “I’ve read it already. Just sign it.”
He frowned, glanced nervously at Vanessa Bright, who had already opened the door.
Then he quickly scribbled his signature and ran toward her without another word.
“That’s it.”
I stood there in a daze. Just like that, our six-year marriage came to an end—so casually, so disgracefully.
I walked into the baby’s room and kissed Ethan on the forehead.
“Baby, we’re free now.”
