My heart froze.

She had promised me. She had promised we would get divorced. Why would she change her mind?

A wave of panic washed over me. I threw back the covers, ready to go find her and demand an explanation.

But Harrison suddenly rolled over and grabbed my arm, pulling me back down.

His face was serious.

“Don’t you know you can’t get a chill right now?” he scolded. “You’re a mother now. Can’t you be more careful?”

The concern in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

I instinctively pulled my arm away, shuffling to the other side of the bed.

“I… I know. You should go back to your own room. I need to sleep.”

He saw my revulsion and let out a bitter laugh, his face twisting into a sneer.

“Relax. You just had a baby, you’re completely out of shape. It’s not like I can’t find other women if I wanted to get laid.”

My doctor had told me during the first trimester that I was underweight.

That I had to eat more, or the baby wouldn’t get enough nutrients.

So, for the sake of a healthy child, I forced myself to eat every nutritional supplement, every high-calorie meal, until my weight was finally in the normal range.

Now, after the birth, a soft roll of flesh still circled my stomach.

I glanced at him but said nothing.

I just turned my back to him, deciding I would confront his mother in the morning.

I woke up in the middle of the night.

The space next to me was empty.

I reached for my phone to check the time and saw a new message, sent three minutes ago from Harrison’s secretary.

It was a picture of Harrison’s profile as he drove, his face illuminated by the dashboard lights.

The text below it read: “You may have his baby, but so what? A man who doesn’t love you will never love you.”

“I just missed him, so I came to see him. And he left with you, just like that.”

“Chloe, this sad excuse for a marriage is a joke, and you're the only one who didn't get it.”

“You lost.”

She was right.

I had lost, completely and utterly.

Harrison would never know that the first time I met his mother, she had already told me all about him.

He would never know that we went to the same junior high, the same high school.

That I’d had a secret crush on him for years, watching him from a distance, never daring to disturb his world.

So when his mother suggested I become her daughter-in-law after college, I was so happy I couldn’t sleep all night.

But it seemed my happiness was built on his misery.

Fine.

I’ll let you go.

And I’ll let myself go, too.

I didn’t reply to her message.

The next few weeks, I focused on myself. I ate well, I rested, I recovered.

Soon enough, it was the last day of my recovery period.

At dinner, his mother, true to her word, slid a document across the table.

It was a divorce agreement, already signed by Harrison.

Her voice was thick with emotion.

“Tomorrow is the baby’s christening. Please, just attend the party, and then you can go.”

I shook my head.

“No. I’ve already bought my ticket. It’s for tomorrow morning.”

“Then will you at least see him…?”

“Mom,” I said, cutting her off with a gentle smile. “The house is in your hands now.”

She understood my resolve.

She raised a hand to wipe a tear from her eye.

“Okay. I’ll raise the baby right. You don’t have to worry.”

I took the divorce papers.

Just then, Harrison came downstairs.

He saw the papers in my hand and frowned.

“What’s that?”

I clutched the agreement tightly and shook my head.

“Nothing.”

His eyes were full of suspicion, staring right at me.

But I kept my expression neutral.

Thankfully, he didn't press the issue.

He changed the subject to the christening.

“I have something to do tomorrow, so I’ll be late to the hotel,” he said. “If you need anything, just find Mom.”

His mother looked at him disapprovingly.

“What could possibly be more important than your own son’s christening? You…”

“It’s fine,” I said, stopping her. “If you’re busy, just go.”

Whether he was there or not would make no difference to the baby.

After all, since the day our son was born, he hadn't seen him once.

Just like me.

His mother wanted to argue, but I just smiled and shook my head.

The next day, the day of the christening, arrived.

But the atmosphere in the house was not as festive as you might imagine.

As his mother carried the baby out the door, a housekeeper asked, “Ma’am, shouldn’t we wait for Mrs. Blackwood to go to the party with you?”

She froze, her head turning to look back up at the second floor.

She choked back a sob and shook her head.

But she didn’t know.

I had lied to her.

The night before the christening, I was already on a plane, flying away.

By the time Harrison finished his “business” and rushed to the party, he searched everywhere, but he couldn’t find any trace of me.

He didn’t know why, but a crushing, painful feeling suddenly gripped his chest.

He rushed over to his mother.

“Where’s Chloe?” he demanded. “Where did she go?”