Chapter 1Sunk the Boat, Never to Meet Again

On the day my husband, Gideon, gave our son's life-saving meds to his childhood crush's cat, I stopped being the wife he hated.

Overnight, everything he disliked about me disappeared.

He stayed out all night; I didn't ask. His flirty texts; I ignored them.

Even when we buried our son and he claimed a work emergency, I simply replied, "Okay," and buried Jamie alone.

His assistant watched my pale face with unease. "Mr. Pierce is swamped, ma'am. He'll rush over after the meeting."

I remained silent, placing our son's urn into the cold niche.

Just before sealing it, Gideon's car screeched to a halt. Drenched from the rain, he rushed over. "Sienna! Why didn't you wait? I'm Jamie's father!"

My voice was flat. "Your work is important. Jamie would understand."

His heart clenched at my calmness. He reached for me, but whispers from onlookers stopped him.

"Mr. Pierce only has eyes for Ms. Holloway. If she'd accepted his proposal, Sienna would've never married him."

Gideon turned back, urgent. "Tessa and I are just friends! I swear!"

I handed him my umbrella. "I know. It's raining. Use this." I turned to leave.

He grabbed my wrist. "If you're angry, hit me! Why make it so damn unbearable?"

Unbearable?

He used to hate my tears, saying men can't stand women who make scenes.

Now that I was calm and understanding, why was he so upset?

* * *

I was about to shake his hand off when his phone blared, a jarring interruption in the heavy silence. Gideon frowned but answered.

“I’m busy. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.”

A tearful voice crackled through the speaker.

“Gideon, Mochi is throwing up again. Can you please come see him? Please?”

Mochi. That was the cat’s name.

Gideon’s eyes flickered to me. When I offered no reaction, he immediately replied to the call.

“Okay. I’m on my way.”

He hung up. I pushed myself to my feet. My knees, numb from kneeling for so long, buckled beneath me.

“Careful!”

He lunged to steady me.

I regained my balance and gently pulled my arm from his grasp.

“Go,” I said. “A sick pet needs care. Drive safely.”

I even retrieved his coat for him, holding it out with a steady hand.

Gideon took it, a sharp, unidentifiable pain twisting in his chest. He walked to the door, then turned back suddenly.

“I’ll be home for dinner tonight.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

Of course, he never came home.

I made four dishes and a soup. I waited from seven until eleven. I reheated the food three times before finally scraping it all into the trash.

At two in the morning, Tessa posted a new photo online.

【With you here, I’m not afraid of anything. Thank you, my guardian angel.】

The picture was of Gideon’s profile. He was frowning in concentration, giving a shot to a small cat, his expression focused and gentle.

I liked the post.

Then, I sent a message to my parents overseas.

“The cooling-off period for the divorce ends in seven days. I’ll accept the arranged marriage you mentioned.”