By the time Zara woke up, several days had passed. Soren sat by her bedside and stared at her with a grim expression.
He said, “There was a ticket confirmation on your phone. Where are you planning to go?”
At that moment, Zara found it almost laughable. She had nearly drowned in that pond and had been teetering on the brink of death because of hun. And now, instead of showing guilt or concern, all he cared about was questioning her travel plans.
“Nowhere in particular. I just wanted to go on atrip for fun,” she said perfunctorily. She just brushed him off.
Then, she raised her head and met his gaze unflinchingly. “Are you here to make me apologize? Save your breath. If she dares touch my things again, I’ll hit her.”
“It’s just a necklace. Is this really necessary?” Soren questioned with a deep frown.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, her tears streamed down uncontrollably.
Her voice rose as she exclaimed, “Of course, it’s necessary! That necklace was a gift from the person I loved the most, and I treasured it with all my life!”
Zara no longer felt the need to pretend or hide her emotions. Upon hearing her response, Soren froze, and his expression stiffened.
After a moment, his demeanor softened slightly, though his tone remained somewhat awkward as he said, “That necklace was something I picked out casually. If you like it that much, I’ll buy you another one.”
Zara was taken aback after hearing what he said.
In all these years, he had only ever given her one gift, which happened to be a necklace. She quickly realized he had mistaken her treasured necklace for the one he had given her.
“Zara, I’ll let this go just this once. Winry is my friend. If you harm her again, I don’t know
what I’ll do,” Soren warned.
With that, he stood up and left without another word.
As he walked out, a nurse carrying fresh bandages brushed past him.
Upon spotting him, the nurse whispered excitedly to her colleague. “That’s the CEO who rented out an entire floor of the hospital for his girlfriend, right? I heard he insisted on running all kinds of tests even though it was just a few slaps. He dotes on his girlfriend so much!”
“That’s not all. According to the nurse in charge of that floor, he personally applies her medicine and feeds her every day. He treats her like she’s the most valuable treasure ever.”
Zara overheard their conversation. But it merely felt like listening to a story about strangers to her. She couldn’t care less what transpired between him and Winry. After the nurse finished changing her bandages, Zara quietly got up and completed her discharge paperwork.
In the following days, Soren didn’t return home. Yet, Zara was well aware of his whereabouts, thanks to Winry’s messages that were filled with yelled taunts.
One day, Winry bragged about how he had taken her to the seaside. The next day, she went on and on about fireworks. On another day, she gloated about him renting out an amusement park for her.
Each time, Zara read the messages without responding. She simply continued packing her belongings and studying the preferences of the man who had received Andy’s heart.
Once she reached Halcyona, she planned to start anew and find her way back to “Andy.”
On the final day of the divorce cooling–off period, Zara went out and collected the divorce certificate. When she returned home, she found Soren sitting on the living room couch. His tense expression relaxed slightly when he saw her.
“Where did you go?” he inquired.
Surprised, Zara blinked several times in response. She hadn’t expected him to return since he seemed to be busy spending all his time with Winry.
“Why are you home today? Aren’t you busy?” Zara asked absentmindedly.
“Have you forgotten?” Soren asked, his tone taking on a glacial edge much to her surprise.
Why did he seem so displeased by a casual question?
Her confusion only deepened as he continued, “Today is our third wedding anniversary.”
Her genuinely puzzled reaction irritated him. But recalling recent events, he suppressed his frustration and displeasure.
“I’ve made a reservation at a restaurant. Let’s go out for dinner.”
Zara intended to decline, but upon remembering the freshly obtained divorce certificate in her bag, she paused in contemplation.
After a while, she nodded. There was no need to refuse his invitation to have dinner. She’d bet leaving soon anyway. She decided to tell him about the divorce over dinner.
When they arrived at the restaurant, her phone vibrated as a message came in. She glanced at the screen and saw it was from Winry.
Winry wrote: “Today’s your wedding anniversary, isn’t it? I was just planning to tell Soren I’m ready to be with him. Do you think he’ll throw you out the moment I tell him?
