Chapter 1

Today is our ten-year wedding anniversary.

I wanted to surprise Joseph. 

I took an earlier flight and waited for him at the airport. 

As his plane landed, the crowd at the arrivals gate grew. 

Joseph's tall. I spotted him instantly. 

Just as I was about to wave- 

The woman and child sitting next to me jumped up first. 

"Daddy!" 

The little boy shot forward like a rocket, throwing himself into Joseph's arms. 

Joseph caught him effortlessly, lifting him high with a warm smile. 

With his other arm, he pulled the woman close. 

It felt like someone had reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart in a death grip. 

Then, in the boy's sweet little voice- 

"Daddy, you forgot to kiss Mommy!" 

Joseph was just about to lean in when he saw me. 

For a split second, he froze. 

But the woman beside him had already tiptoed up and kissed him. 

I just stood there, numb. 

A voice in my head rang loud and clear. 

What a perfect little family. 

A few minutes later, the four of us stood there, facing each other. 

"You're here?" 

"You didn't tell me you were coming." 

Joseph's voice was hoarse.

He gently put the child down, then slowly met my gaze. 

His eyes were calm.

Too calm. 

No panic. No guilt.

Just an eerie, emotionless stillness. 

I had prepared myself for this moment, but when I heard his voice, my knees still went weak. 

So now, I need an appointment just to see my own husband? 

My fingers trembled as I hid the gift I'd brought behind my back. 

Forcing the words out past the lump in my throat, I asked, 

"You know exactly what you're doing, don't you?" 

Joseph didn't answer. 

So I turned to the woman. 

Unlike his indifference, her eyes were bold. Defiant. 

I only had to look at her once to understand. 

"And who are you?" 

The second the words left my mouth, Joseph instinctively stepped in front of them. 

His expression finally changed.

Now, there was something else-guardedness. 

"Marie, don't do this to them." 

"This is my mistake. I'll take responsibility for it alone." 

Chapter 2

Joseph pulled me into a quiet corner.

His grip on my wrist was tight, almost painful.

It took effort to yank my hand free. 

He glanced back at the woman and child, his voice laced with frustration. 

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to overthink."

"Back in college, I… donated, you know. Olivia found me later." 

Olivia. So that's her name. She owns a coffee shop. 

And the little boy clinging to her, glaring at me like I was an intruder? 

That's their son. 

Olivia deliberately nudged the boy forward. 

"Daniel, say hi to the lady." 

Daniel. 

All the blood in my body turned to ice. 

"Dan… Daniel? Joseph, how could you?" 

That name. 

That was the name we had chosen for our own child. 

I still remember Joseph's face, smiling as he wrote it down- 

"Daniel. It means 'God is my judge.' It's strong, timeless… perfect." 

But our baby never got the chance to have that name. 

None of our babies did. 

And now- 

Did he really have to rip my heart out like this? 

Joseph's face paled. He looked down, avoiding my eyes. 

"Marie, I… I didn't think about it like that." 

"Olivia only reached out to me because Daniel was sick."

"She needed my help finding a doctor." 

A chill crept up my spine. 

So, that meant- 

The year I had my surgery.

While I was still in the hospital, recovering. 

He was already sneaking around, doing this behind my back. 

No wonder.

No wonder he always had to travel this time of year. 

He sighed. 

"It's just one month a year, Marie."

"Do you really have to make a big deal out of this?" 

I reached for his phone. 

He instinctively pulled it away. 

But I'd already seen it. 

The lock screen. 

It used to be our wedding photo. 

Now, it was a picture of the three of them. 

Their happy little family. 

Red-hot rage surged through me. 

Without thinking, I raised my hand- 

And slapped him. Hard. 

Chapter 3

"Daddy?" 

Daniel came running toward me, screaming and struggling to break free, ready to hit me to avenge his father.

But before he could even touch me, he fell hard to the ground.

Blood trickled from the corner of Daniel's mouth-more and more.

A dramatic scream followed.

The next second, someone shoved me to the ground.

Joseph pulled Daniel into his arms, then turned and shouted at me,

"Marie, you're heartless! Daniel is just a kid!"

"He has leukemia-any injury could kill him!"

Without another word, Joseph and Olivia hurriedly carried Daniel outside to flag down a car.

I was left standing there, alone, drowning in the judgmental stares of the bystanders.

I didn't take the first flight home.

Instead, I checked into a hotel.

After a shower, I lay in bed, my thoughts muddled.

Two years of dating.

Ten years of marriage.

Twelve years together in the blink of an eye.

Maybe even Joseph himself had forgotten how hard he fought to marry me back then.

He loved me so passionately, so sincerely, that I truly believed he would cherish me forever.

Back when we were long-distance, he used to sneak home two or three times a week.

Chasing the stars at night, racing the sunrise in the morning.

It broke my heart.

He'd stroke my hair and say he couldn't rest easy knowing his little crybaby was waiting for him at home.

Then he got promoted. Work got busier.

I got used to the distance.

Until one night, he rushed in, exhausted, and dropped to one knee, pulling out a diamond ring.

"Marie, from now on, I'll be by your side every single night."

And just like that, we got married.

I stood by him as he built his business, through the hardest years.

I only stepped back when I got pregnant.

But I lost the baby.

Then another.

Until finally, I lost even the ability to have children.

Saying it didn't shake me would be a lie.

I even brought up divorce once.

But Joseph held my hand, eyes overflowing with love and guilt.

"Marie, it's my fault-I didn't take care of you."

"I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, treating you like my own child."

I sobbed in his arms, thinking I was lucky to have found someone so good.

But I still told him, "Joseph, if you ever change your mind, promise me you'll tell me."

He swore he would.

And yet, today, I finally understood.

The day I miscarried for the third time, when Joseph sat by my hospital bed promising to take care of me forever-

Olivia was in another hospital, giving birth to his child.

All these years, I never doubted his love.

But trust is like sand in a sealed glass bottle-once it cracks, it scatters.

It was late when Joseph finally found me in the hotel, nearly unconscious from crying.

When he walked in, he still smelled of hospital disinfectant.

He didn't bother taking off his coat-just pulled my freezing feet into his lap, trying to warm them.

For a brief moment, I almost thought we were back in time, ten years ago.

Back when we had nothing but love.

Back when I'd cry in our tiny basement apartment, and Joseph would rush home to hold me in silence.

I gently pushed his hands away, my heart aching.

"Joseph, let's get a divorce."

He looked at me, lost, biting his lip so hard it turned white.

Finally, he snapped back to reality.

Tears welled up and spilled down his face.

"Marie, no matter what you say, I will never divorce you."

Joseph stubbornly wrapped his arms around me, refusing to let go.

"Baby, let's go home tomorrow, okay?"

"If you want, we can adopt a child. Or two."

"Why?" My voice trembled.

"You promised me."

"You said if you ever changed your mind, you'd tell me."

"You swore you wouldn't lie to me."

The heavy silence that followed hit me like a hammer.

I slowly lifted my gaze, dazed, and saw his phone screen light up with a text message.

[Joseph, can you come over? Daniel says he really misses you.]

[On my way.]

Joseph didn't even hesitate.

He unwrapped his arms from around me and stood up.

"Joseph, you promised me-you said you'd be by my side every night."

"Did you forget?"

He frowned and pulled his wrist from my grasp.

"Marie, be reasonable. Why are you fighting with a child?"

"Get some sleep. I'll be back soon."