(Emily's POV)
1:00 AM
I couldn't help but notice a new post from Sophia's ins as I scrolled through my feed.
"Thank you, Mr. Carter and Caleb, for the lovely gift. Caleb even made this cup himself!"
I clicked on the photo.
A necklace and a DIY cup appeared before me. As I looked closely at the cup, I could just make out the words "Happy Birthday, Mom" engraved on it.
My gaze shifted to the dining table, where the food had long gone cold, and the birthday cake remained untouched, the candles still unlit. A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
It was my birthday today.
It was also the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Ethan.
But instead of celebrating with me, it seemed like Sophia was the one being celebrated.
Not only had my husband and son spent my birthday with her, but they'd also given her the gifts that should have been mine.
I wasn't surprised. I had already grown used to this.
Sophia was Ethan's first love, and she claimed to be terminally ill, with only a year left to live. Her dying wish was to see him one more time.
Ethan said he wanted to do something for her, something she would understand.
I didn't want to understand, but I knew I couldn't stop him.
He had told me with such seriousness, the kind of look he had never given me before.
My heart felt like it had been hollowed out, a painful emptiness filling the space where my love for him once was.
I didn't know how long I had been sitting in the dark, lost in my thoughts, when I heard the sound of the door opening.
Ethan and Caleb walked in.
Ethan froze for a moment when he saw me sitting at the dining table. He seemed to have forgotten what day it was, his gaze turning confused as he looked at me.
"Why aren't you asleep?" he asked.
I looked up at him, my voice calm. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
Ethan frowned slightly and turned to Caleb.
"Caleb, go upstairs and rest."
Caleb rubbed his eyes and yawned as he passed me. Then, he stopped for a moment, looking back at me.
"Mom, happy birthday."
He looked up at me, his eyes strikingly similar to Ethan's.
"We didn't mean to forget your birthday, Mom. But, you know, we still have so much time as a family, and pretty aunt Sophia only has six months left."
"Don't be mad at us for something so small, okay?"
I didn't know what hurt more — being forgotten, or being remembered but still ignored, like it was an afterthought.
After Caleb left, the silence in the room deepened. Ethan was the first to break it.
"What did you want to talk about?"
He stood there, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black pants, his features as sharp as ever, his presence cold like the moon on a winter night.
A silent, distant air surrounded him, his demeanor unchanged from the man I had come to know.
I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts.
"Ethan, I want a divorce."
His eyes momentarily flickered, a ripple of something hidden beneath his usual composure, before it vanished entirely. However, he didn't seem surprised.
"Emily, I didn't forget your birthday. I've already prepared your gift."
"Gift?" I laughed bitterly. "Isn't my mother's necklace the one you gave to Sophia?"
That necklace had been a keepsake from my mother when she passed away. I had lost it the day Caleb was born, and Ethan promised he'd help me find it.
It was found, alright... but instead of returning it to me, he had given it to Sophia.
Ethan's expression remained unchanged, his eyes betraying no hint of embarrassment, though they seemed darker than usual.
"It was just a temporary loan to Sophia. She'll return it soon."
"How soon it would be?" I asked coldly. "The day she dies, maybe?"
"Emily!" His voice was sharp. His usual calm demeanor was replaced by an anger I hadn't seen in him before. "Enough."
Enough.
Yes, enough.
I had endured enough — of having a husband who was never truly mine, of a son who grew distant, of being looked down upon by his family.
"She has only six months left, and even Caleb understands that," Ethan continued. "Why do you have to be so petty?"
And then, I couldn't take it anymore.
I heard myself speak with a coldness I didn't recognize. "How much time she has left doesn't concern me. She's not my family. Why should I tolerate this?"
Ethan seemed taken aback, clearly shocked that I, the usually docile Emily, was saying such harsh words.
His eyes grew cold. "I thought we had already reached an understanding."
I chuckled bitterly. "She wants to relive her first love, so I should just watch you fall in love with her all over again?"
"She wants to experience marriage, so you give her the wedding I had spent months preparing?"
"She wants to see the world, and you take her on the trip we had planned for years?"
"And if she wants the moon, would you go and fetch it for her, too?"
We had been married for five years, but we had never had a proper wedding. When Caleb had once asked me about my wedding dress, Ethan promised me that we would have a ceremony, that everything would be how I wanted it.
I had spent months preparing for that wedding, only for Sophia to steal it away with a single comment.
Ethan's eyes grew colder than ever. "Emily, you've crossed the line."
Crossed the line...
My heart ached, and I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of disappointment pressing down on me.
For years, I had tried to be a good wife and mother.
But no matter how hard I tried, Ethan remained indifferent.
I thought he was just cold by nature.
It wasn't until his "first love" returned that I realized, this man, who everyone described as cold and unattainable, was capable of such burning passion.
I picked up the divorce papers that had been sitting on the table, already signed.
"I've signed it. You should sign it too. If you can make Sophia the true Mrs. Carter before she dies, I'm sure she'll be much happier."
Ethan's lips tightened.
That was his way of showing his displeasure.
"What about Caleb?" he asked.
My voice was quiet. "He stays with your family."
Before he could respond, his phone suddenly rang.
"Ethan, it's bad! Sophia suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the emergency room!"
"I'll be there in a minute." Ethan's voice was tense as he hurriedly muttered those words. Without another glance at me, he turned and walked out, his footsteps echoing in the hallway.
I watched him go, my expression blank.
How many times had I watched him walk away in the dead of night, rushing off to answer another "emergency" call from Sophia?