Thirty Days to Freedom

I pushed the door open and when Ayden saw me, he seemed a bit startled, with a furrowed brow.

　　"Why are you here, or are you following me?" he questioned.

　　I raised my phone and gestured. "You sent me the message."

　　Leticia pouted and tugged at his arm, acting coquettishly. "Mr. Baldwin, I made a joke and asked Krista to bring yogurt over. You won't be mad at me, right?"

　　Ayden's tense frown relaxed.

　　Strangely, Leticia's teasing and Ayden's indulgence left me ice-calm. No hysterics this time, just a silent nod of acknowledgment.

　　However, Ayden rarely wanted to explain to me. "Krista, Leticia's just accompanying me for a social event..."

　　I interrupted his explanation by reaching out and handing him the yogurt.

　　Ayden drank and couldn't drive.

　　He settled Leticia and returned with me.

　　The taxi was across the road.

　　As I was walking forward, Ayden suddenly reached out and pulled me. It was only then that I noticed a speeding car almost brushing against my body.

　　If it weren't for him, I would have been hurt.

　　"You didn't even watch out for cars while walking."

　　Ayden blamed me urgently and tightly held my hand.

　　In a daze, I remembered that every time we crossed the road before, he would hold my hand.

　　It seemed like it had been a long time since I had such an impression, so long that I felt a bit unaccustomed.

　　After crossing the road, I discreetly withdrew my hand.

　　The next morning, I packed my things and got ready to go to work.

　　Ayden suggested taking me to work.

　　"I will take you there."

　　Stayed up late because of his strange behavior yesterday, and now I was racing against time to catch the subway for my morning commute, with no time for second thoughts as I was ready to get in the car.

　　The moment I opened the passenger seat door, a sweet, sugary scent rushed out.

　　Inside, a pink cushion and a Hello Kitty plushie greeted me.

　　On the dashboard, a sticker blared "Spot Reserved for Princess Leticia" in bubbly letters, its bold declaration of ownership impossible to miss.

　　Ayden, who had always been known for his strictness and efficiency, surprisingly allowed such a cute thing to appear in his car. It was truly ironic.

　　A trace of unease flashed across Ayden's face as he explained, "Leticia is just a child, so don't pay too much attention to that."

　　Was she a child who was good at taking couple photos?

　　I didn't ask. Ayden posted a couple of photos on social media the day after our divorce filing, captioned "Catching every blush you try to hide."

　　Whether revenge for the divorce filing or something else, his heart had already drifted where my eyes couldn't follow.

　　I smartly walked to the back seat and said, "I'll sit in the back."

　　"You skipped breakfast." Ayden offered a milk carton, slicing through the thick silence.

　　I looked up and found that there was a snack box, filled with a variety of cookies and all kinds of dried fruits and jellies.

　　I remembered that Ayden had a serious case of mysophobia and did not allow anyone to eat in his car.

　　Back then, I had a sudden hypoglycemic episode in his car. My lips turned pale, my vision became blurry, and I didn't even have the strength to speak. I wanted to sip milk tea, but he didn't allow it.

　　But, Leticia could easily obtain his indulgence.

　　It was easy to tell whether he loved me.

　　I shook my head and politely declined, then turned my head to gaze at the vehicles outside the window.

　　Fortunately, I arrived at the company quickly and promptly returned to my post.

　　In theory, Ayden and I were getting divorced, so I should have submitted my resignation.

　　But I had two more projects on hand, so I wanted to finish them before leaving.

　　From dawn till noon, I was swamped. A sleepless night left me running on fumes.

　　I was just about to make myself a coffee when a delivery guy brought in a large box of milk tea and small cakes.

　　Then came the cheers of my colleagues.

　　"Mr. Baldwin is buying afternoon snacks? When did he get so generous?"

　　"Clueless! It's for Leticia's new diet. We're just lucky to get free snacks!"