Chapter 4

Mrs. Kerpan's eyes widened in shock. After receiving my confirmation once again, she brought out a ladder and took down all the wedding photos in the house.

A small fire was lit in the yard, and the photos in the iron basin emitted a pungent odor.

Just like my ill-fated marriage to Fitch, it was repulsive.

My phone vibrated from time to time as people chatted in the work group.

Colleagues were all sucking up, wishing the boss and his wife a happy wedding anniversary.

It turned out that Xanthe had posted those high heels on her social media, along with a sapphire necklace.

The caption was bookended by several red hearts:

"Honey, happy anniversary! I'll love you forever, mwah~"

I knew Xanthe frequently posted these things for me to see, but I still hit the like button before turning off my phone screen.

Fitch didn't come home all night and only returned the next day at noon.

After entering, he had only taken two steps when he frowned and said:

"Something feels off about the house... Where are the wedding photos on the wall?"

He hurriedly walked up to me.

I replied nonchalantly, "Seeing them every day, I got tired of looking at them."

Hearing this, his face changed dramatically. He scrutinized my expression, feeling that something wasn't quite right, but my face remained emotionless and ordinary. After a moment, he seemed to remember something and slowly relaxed his expression:

"Does seeing those photos remind you of how your legs used to be? I was careless. Let's take a new set of wedding photos soon."

Mrs. Kerpan came out of the kitchen and, seeing him return, asked:

"Sir, what time will you and madam finish watching the movie this afternoon? Will you be back for dinner?"

"We're not going anymore. Something urgent came up at the office," he said, then pulled a small object from his pocket and held it out to me.

"A gift for you. I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our plans for today."

"After tomorrow's reception, I'll find another time to take you to the movies."

In his palm was a very ordinary white gold anklet.

It wasn't even worth as much as the pair of high heels he gave Xanthe yesterday, let alone that sapphire necklace.

Moreover, I already had three similar plain white gold anklets in my drawer.

After I became disabled, he gave me my first anklet and said:

"Even though your feet can't move anymore, you're still the most beautiful in my eyes."

I was moved to tears.

But every gift after that was the same thin anklet.

Like iron shackles, keeping me trapped.

"For next month's art exhibition, swap the positions of Xanthe's paintings with Aria's works. I nodded, smiling bitterly to myself. So this was the reason behind his flattery.

However, he didn't know that Aria's paintings wouldn't be featured in next month's gallery exhibition at all.

"You agree?"

Perhaps because I had agreed too quickly, he seemed a bit incredulous. In an unprecedented move, he knelt on one knee, unfastening the ankle chain's clasp, intending to put it on me.

"Xanthe's paintings have a unique spirit. All she lacks is opportunity. Plus, she's our own artist, so of course we should reserve more resources for our own people."

"Speaking of which, we should have a new wedding ceremony just for us."

"How about this - there's a cocktail party tomorrow night. This time, you'll come with me, and I'll introduce you to everyone as my darling."

I looked down at him, wanting to take the chance to bring up the divorce, but before I could speak, his phone rang.

Xanthe's voice on the other end was sickeningly sweet, enough to make syrup:

"My stomach still doesn't feel good, and there's no medicine at home."

Fitch turned to look at me guiltily:

"Um... Xanthe hasn't fully recovered yet, and she doesn't have a man around to help. I should go check on her."

With that, he was gone for another day and night.

I placed the divorce papers on the table.

Since I was leaving, Mrs.Kerpan didn't want to stay either, so we moved out at the same time.

That afternoon, I boarded a plane bound for California.