When the Clouds Finally Break

When I returned to the hotel exhausted, Bella dashed straight into my arms.

After the divorce, I'd spiraled into a severe depression. It was after I met my husband, Nathan Rothchild, that I began to heal. And it wasn't until Bella was born that I truly stepped out of the dark abyss.

"Mommy, when are we going home?" Bella asked.

I kissed her chubby cheeks. "As soon as I finish attending my professor's birthday party, we'll head back to Helvetgard."

On the day of the birthday party, Nathan took Bella to the hospital for her final follow-up appointment, while I grabbed my gift and headed to my professor Emmanuel Reed's house.

The courtyard smelled of lilies, just as it had during my student days.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard Emmanuel's familiar voice. "Aly's here!

"Come in and take a seat. As husband and wife, why did you arrive at different times?"

Following his gaze, I saw Zachary sitting in a corner of the couch. He was visibly stunned when our eyes met.

"The gifts you both brought really hit the mark. Let me introduce y'all to everyone—the 'Golden Couple' of our school back in the day."

Emmanuel smiled and patted both our shoulders. His voice was full of pride and relief as he continued, "I remember being the witness when you two got married, and I couldn't have been happier seeing the most talented pair in our faculty tie the knot!

"And look at them now! They're still going strong after all these years!"

The smile froze on my face as it struck me that Zachary hadn't told anyone we were divorced.

Childhood sweethearts? The enviable pair? Our marriage, which I once took pride in, now felt like an ironic joke.

Zachary and I grew up together. When Mom and Dad divorced, he was the one who stayed by my side and pulled me through the gloom.

In college, he'd ride me across the sycamore-lined avenues on his bike and reserve my favorite seat in the library. He'd stay awake all night by my bed whenever I was sick.

Who would have thought that our marriage would end up in such an ugly way, when the man I loved cheated on me with the one person I hated most?

"Professor Reed, we're div—"

Just as I was about to explain, Zachary cut me off. "We're doing great, Professor Reed!"

He looked at me with a flicker of hidden plea in his eyes, as if trying to stop me from exposing the truth.

Emmanuel kept pulling me into memories of the past.

"Aly, do you remember when your graduation thesis was swapped? Zachary almost missed his own defense, trying to gather evidence for you. I told you back then that he had eyes only for you."

I forced a smile, but what surfaced in my mind was the day we divorced.

Zachary had slammed the divorce papers in front of me, and his eyes were cold and devoid of warmth.

"Let's get divorced. I don't want my son to have a mother tainted by a plagiarism scandal."

To force me to sign quickly, he went as far as to fabricate evidence of medical malpractice, so I lost my marriage and career all in one day.

"What's wrong, Aly? You look pale," Emmanuel asked with concern after noticing the odd look on my face.

"How's your mother? I haven't heard from her in a while. Just like her, you started building a family and left the field too early. Otherwise, you'd be a top-tier neurologist by now!"

Colors drained from my face. I was silent for several seconds before saying, "My mother… passed away seven years ago…"

Zachary's face was a ghostly white as he remained frozen to the spot, while Emmanuel was visibly shocked. Then, his expression quickly shifted to one of deep regret.

"What a tragedy! I'm so sorry, Aly." He patted my shoulder, and his voice was thick with sympathy.

I shook my head and forced a small smile. "It's fine. It's all in the past now."

When I looked up at Zachary, the guilt in his eyes was vivid.

He opened his mouth to speak, but a dainty, feminine voice suddenly rang out from the gates in the yard.

"Zach, I'm here!"