Chapter 2
For a moment, I thought he might stay.
But instead, he stuffed the card and passport into his bag and swore
again:
“I promise I’ll be back before the baby comes.”
a
Then he slammed the door and left in a rush.
I listened to the echo of the door slamming shut in our now–empty
home and calmly called the maternity ward and a postnatal care
center.
A man who didn’t even notice my water had broken dared to swear
he’d return in time for the birth.
1/4
How laughable.
Eric and I met through a mountaineering club.
Back then, I worked at a tech company under intense pressure. I
regularly worked overtime, and the only time I could breathe was on
weekends when I hiked to recover some energy.
He joined the club in my second year there. At first, we were just
regular teammates, but we always charged ahead together, always the
first to reach the summit. Over time, we grew close.
He worked in investment banking.
Chapter 2
I worked in internet tech.
He liked hiking, running, and working out.
So did I.
2/4
When we summited our hundredth mountain, he confessed his love to
- me.
No fancy words, no over–the–top romance.
Just one sentence: “Freya, let’s be together.”
I agreed.
a
Not because he was especially charming–my father was the king of
romance. When he pursued my mother, he lit up half the city with
fireworks and even got arrested for disturbing the peace.
But that passion ultimately destroyed my mother. When she was
pregnant with their second child, my father’s mistress showed up,
deliberately provoking my mother who was about to go into labor–and
it killed her on the operating table.
So I’d long since realized: romance is cheap. Reliability is what matters.
And Eric was reliable.
He was never late.
His gifts were always cliché, but he never forgot a single occasion.
He wouldn’t pick me up when it rained, but the moment I called, he’d
Chapter 2
come without hesitation.
So, after three years of dating, we got married.
Married life wasn’t much different from before.
3/4
We split chores equally. On holidays, we took turns choosing vacation
spots–one trip to a place he liked, one to a place I liked.
It was calm, orderly, and uneventful.
I once believed I was made for this kind of life.
Until three years ago, when one of his college friends got married, and
he brought me along to the wedding.
At the bachelor party, one of his very drunk friends pulled him aside
and cried:
“Eric, seeing you like this–with no spark in your eyes–breaks my
heart.”
“I’m getting married tomorrow. I’m finally stepping into happiness. But
you… you’re like someone who’s locked his heart away.”
“If Aria hadn’t insisted on becoming a war reporter, you wouldn’t have
ended up like this.”
I saw Eric glance at me, instinctively.
He quickly explained, “He’s drunk. Don’t listen to him.”
I just smiled and said nothing.
Chapter 2
4/4
On the way home, leaning in the passenger seat, I said calmly, “I don’t
ask for much in a partner. But the one thing I need is for him to be over
his ex.”
He stood where the hallway light couldn’t reach, so I couldn’t see his
expression.
But from that night on, the name Aria vanished from our lives.
Until now.
