Just like the evening breeze leaves no trace

It was their seventh wedding anniversary.

Carolyn found the divorce agreement in Roger’s nightstand.

The pages were covered in scribbles and corrections, as if he’d agonized over them for years.

*"If, during the marriage, I fall in love with another person, I voluntarily relinquish all assets and leave with nothing. Asset details as follows…"*

His first impulse had been to walk away empty-handed.

But the asset section told a different story—a mess of revisions.

First, he’d crossed out the property he intended to give her.

Then, the fifty million earmarked for her was scratched out and replaced with five hundred thousand.

Finally, as if in penance, he had written a single line.

*"Better to have Carolyn leave with nothing. No choice, Catherine is pregnant."*

…

Carolyn sank onto the bed, disbelief washing over her.

On the agreement, Roger’s signature was clean and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

And the document had been drafted seven years ago—the very year they married.

That year, Roger had been willing to give up everything for her.

Yet every year after, he had crossed out another piece of their shared life.

Now, seven years later, the one leaving with nothing would be her.

Her phone buzzed abruptly. A message from Roger.

*"Urgent business. Won't be back."*

She called, only to find his phone already switched off.

Another notification flashed—a screenshot from a friend.

Catherine, the student she sponsored, had posted on social media.

*"Wow, got praised! To commemorate my first period without a leak, the big boss said we should celebrate properly!"*

In a nine-photo collage, Roger gazed at her, eyes crinkling with affection as he fastened a dazzling gemstone necklace around her neck.

The post was tagged at a couples-themed hotel.

Carolyn’s breath caught.

He couldn’t remember seven years of marriage, of weathering storms together—but he could find the energy to celebrate Catherine’s… leak-free period.

And that pendant… she’d seen it at an auction just last week.

It was her mother’s lost heirloom. She’d been ready to bid when her bank card was frozen.

She’d asked Roger why.

A long time later, he finally texted back, telling her not to waste money on such impractical things.

Clutching her bidding paddle, she’d sat helplessly in the auction hall.

In the end, she resolved to sell one of her own designs to raise the funds.

But someone on the phone swooped in with an unbeatable offer and took it.

For weeks afterward, Carolyn hated herself—hated that she couldn’t protect her mother’s last keepsake.

She never imagined the one who snatched it away was Roger.

He knew exactly how much that pendant meant to her.

Yet he gave it to Catherine.

Even on their seventh anniversary, Roger had lied about being busy with work, while wining and dining the girl she’d sponsored.

The anniversary gift he left her was a divorce agreement demanding she leave with nothing.

Seven years of marriage. Seven years of infidelity.

And Carolyn had known nothing.

She’d even introduced the other woman