His late and deep affection, I don't want it anymore

Even I found my own mother suffocating. I could only imagine the hell Amy endured for four years.

"When I wasn't home, this is how you spoke to her, isn't it? Calling her a jinx? Mocking her for being barren?"

I stepped forward, voice hardening to steel. "I won't be back for a few days. Move out before I return. Don't make me say it twice."

Ignoring their stunned faces, I grabbed the diary and walked out.

This book was Amy's most treasured possession. I'd already lost her. I couldn't lose this too.

Behind me, my mother's shock curdled into hysteria.

"You unfilial wretch! Just because that bad luck charm died, you're abandoning your own mother?"

"Don't pretend you're some heartbroken lover now! If you loved her so much, why didn't you treat her better when she was breathing?"

"And don't try to fool me! I'm not uneducated! A man can't be infertile! You owe me a grandson!"

I didn't look back.

I just kept walking.

I hadn't lied to them.

Years of stress, late nights, and heavy drinking had destroyed my body. My sperm count was virtually zero.

Amy knew. But she also knew how fragile my ego was. So she took the blame. She let the world think she was the broken one.

She swallowed every insult, every mocking glance, and answered with a gentle smile.

The elevator doors closed. In the polished metal, a hollowed-out man in a wrinkled suit stared back at me.

*Dominic Delgado, you really are a monster.*

My mind was a chaotic wreck. I stumbled out of the residential complex and hailed a taxi.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

The words left my mouth before I could think.

"Jiangcheng University."

Thirty minutes later, I stood at the familiar gates. Evening air washed over me—street food, chatter, the careless laughter of students who still believed the world was kind.

I opened the diary. New sentences had appeared.

*"My Amy is the best girl in the whole world. I feel like I'm with her every moment, even when we're apart."*

*"If I'd known earlier, I would've applied to her university. Then I could see her every day. But being in the same city is enough—at least I get weekends."*

*"Amy said she was craving the little wontons from the stall by the gate. Silly girl. She thinks I don't know she just wants to save me money."*

A sad, wistful smile tugged at my mouth.

I remembered writing this. Freshman year.

We were at different schools, separated by an hour-long bus ride. Every Friday, I crossed the city to see her.

I was broke back then. Amy knew it. She claimed to love those cheap wontons so I wouldn't blow my meager allowance on expensive meals.

And every Sunday, before I left, she'd secretly stuff cash into my pockets.

As I stood there lost in memory, ink bled onto the page again.

*"I've thought about it. I believe you. You really are Dominic from the future."*

*"Forget the nonsense you wrote earlier. I won't hold it against you. We're the same person, after all."*

*"Now, tell me the truth—did Amy and I get married? Is she my wife in the future?"*

My smile vanished. The words blurred as my eyes stung.

*Is she my wife?*

Yes.

And I killed her spirit before her body ever gave out.

I hesitated for a long time, pen hovering over paper. Finally, I wrote:

*"Yes. You married her. She is your wife."*

The reply came instantly, handwriting jagged with excitement.

*"See?! And you told me not to confess! If I didn't confess, how would I land such an amazing wife?"*

*"Listen to me, Old Man. You'd better treat my Amy like a queen. If you hurt her, I won't let you off the hook!"*

*"Oh, right—Amy loves that wonton shop by the gate. Buy her a bowl for me. Even if you've been married for years, you have to keep winning her heart every single day."*