It Ended on the Decade

When I woke up, it was already morning.

Samuel's personal assistant, Scott, stood by my hospital bed with a bag of supplements. He wore a polite smile on his face. "Mr. Moore asked me to buy these for you, Ma'am. You need to build your strength back up."

He set everything on the bedside table. "He... he still cares about you."

However, just then, two nurses who were doing their rounds passed the doorway, speaking in low voices.

"Rachel next door is so lucky. Her husband stayed up all night to take care of her and did everything himself."

"I know. He's handsome, rich, and devoted. I'm so envious!"

Scott stiffened, and he instantly did not know where to look.

My lips curled into a slightly mocking smirk, but my chest hurt from it.

To break the silence, Scott pulled out a drawing from his briefcase. "Ma'am, I went to your house this morning to pick up some documents, and I saw this on the couch. I believe Morgan had drawn this, and I thought it would make you happy just seeing it."

He handed the drawing to me with three little stick figures holding hands in crayons with smiles on their faces.

Scott thought it was the three of us.

I thought so too… Until I saw the date in the lower right corner.

That date was the day my parents had died in that car crash.

My voice shook. "How did you get this drawing?"

Scott looked confused and answered honestly. "It was on the living room couch. I picked it up without thinking..."

I burst out laughing, my laughter sounding like it was laced with despair as my tears rolled out.

Oh, I was the dumbest fool in the world!

On the worst day of my life, my husband and my son had been with another woman!

I cried until my chest felt torn open, and Scott got scared and left.

I did not know how much time had passed before the door opened.

Samuel walked in.

When he saw me, he stopped.

My face was pale, my eyes were swollen red, and tears were still welling in my eyes.

He wanted to speak, and he gulped a few times. In the end, he said it in a low voice. "Rachel's out of danger."

I said nothing as I stared at the gray sky beyond the window.

After a long time, I finally found my voice again as I said dryly, "Samuel. Let's get a divorce."

It was the third time I had said it.

His patience finally snapped. "How long are you going to keep this up?!"

I turned my head slowly and met his furious eyes. "Shouldn't you be happy that I want a divorce? You have liked Rachel for years, so now, you can finally be with her openly."

Samuel's eyes narrowed. He did not expect me to figure it out. Then, he smiled coldly. "Fine, a divorce it is! Don't regret this, Cindy!"

My heart went numb.

Regret?

My only regret was loving him in the past.

On the day I was discharged, Brenda came and picked me up.

She teared up when she saw how weak I was as she held me and cursed Samuel and Rachel under her breath.

I leaned against her shoulder in silence and let her rage burn itself out. Then, I boarded the flight to Floraland.

When the plane lifted off, I watched the city shrink beneath me.

I felt nothing.

-

Soon, it was Morgan's eighth birthday.

His birthday party was held at the Moore family estate, and it was packed with guests. Rachel held Samuel's arm as though she belonged there, and Morgan was grinning from ear to ear.

"Mr. Moore, why is your wife not here today?" A familiar guest asked.

Samuel's smile thinned as his tone turned sharp. "She had something to do. If she comes, she comes."

Morgan pouted. "It's fine if she's not here. Having Rachel with me is enough!"

Rachel stroked his hair gently. "Don't say that, Morgan. Your mom must be busy. She wouldn't miss a day like this."

Before Morgan could answer, a server rolled in a huge present box. "Excuse me, Mr. Morgan. This is a birthday gift from Ms. Cindy Wright."

That caught everyone's attention.

Morgan copied the grown-ups and said with sarcasm, "She's finally figured it out and knows to buy what I like. It must be the limited-edition race car model I have wanted forever!"

He ran and tore the present's wrappings open.

However, there was no race car model.

Instead, there was a massive photograph inside.

It was the photo of Samuel, Rachel, and Morgan under the snowy peaks of Wintercrown, with a card sitting beside it with one line. "Congratulations on getting a new mom, Morgan."