Chapter 9

"Where's Madam? She hasn't come back yet. She said she was going to see the ocean."

David suddenly remembered. He had seen Rose packing up earlier that afternoon. He chuckled at himself for being so oblivious. With a sigh, he waved Shelly off and went upstairs alone.

His heart raced as he pushed open the door to the study. Rose rarely prepared surprises for him, so what could it be? Why did it require him to open it himself? With anticipation, he flicked on the light and saw a thick stack of papers on the desk, neatly arranged vials, and syringes. He froze for a moment.

He stepped closer, picked up one of the vials, and realized it was a test tube.

A test tube. Why a test tube?

David had heard of couples using IVF to have children, but he had never imagined Rose would go down that route. It was a painful process, and he could never bear to see Rose endure it. Why would she do this?

His eyes caught the wedding band resting on top of the folder. His heart skipped a beat. With trembling hands, he opened the folder to reveal the words: "Divorce Agreement."

His face went blank.

An overwhelming sense of dread gripped him. He could barely bring himself to look further, his hand shaking as it held the folder. His eyes darted around the desk and landed on a phone, a spare phone he had given Rose when he bought it with the money from his first job. Rose had always cherished it, keeping it safe.

Shaking, he unlocked the phone. The first thing that appeared on the screen was a photo of him and Edith, taken outside a European maternity store.

His heart dropped.

Rose… knew everything.

Panic surged through him. He could hardly breathe. As his hand accidentally brushed against something, a pile of photos scattered across the desk. They were all pictures of him and Edith, kissing, embracing during checkups, along with a string of nasty insults from Edith directed at Rose.

David crumpled to the floor, the weight of it all crashing down on him. Then memories began to flood his mind. The time he had been drunk, mistaking someone else for Rose and kissing them in the club. Rose's red eyes, filled with tears, when she told him it was over. Him, on his knees in the snow, crying and begging her to come back. He had sworn over and over that she was the only one he would ever love.

And now…

He stared at the cold divorce papers and everything in the study, everything screamed that he was about to lose Rose for good. He couldn't believe it. Stumbling, he got to his feet and rushed into the master bedroom. His heart shattered when he saw that every photo of him and Rose had been taken down. Her belongings were gone, every last trace of her had vanished.

There was no Rose in the house anymore.

Rose… was truly leaving him.

In a frantic daze, David ran out of the villa, ignoring Shelly's concerned questions. He headed straight for the Reese family manor. But Patrick and Carla Reese refused to let him in. Carla stood in the yard, her eyes icy and unyielding.

"My daughter's biggest mistake in this life was marrying you! Don't you dare hurt her anymore!"

In that moment, David's world shattered. He cried, begging Carla to tell him where Rose was. But this time, it was no use. No one was willing to soften their heart, and no one was going to give him another chance to fix things.

I didn't change my number. I just blocked everything related to David. But he didn't stop. He kept calling, sending texts from different numbers. Once, I answered a call without realizing it was him. I heard his voice on the other end, broken and pleading, like a lost child.