Late Blooms, Early Goodbyes

I gave up everything to become a housewife—all for Tristan Fowler and our daughter. But ever since his first love got divorced, everything has changed.

Tristan despises me, and my daughter orders me around like a maid.

Crushed, I sign the divorce papers, give up everything, and leave for a faraway place.

So why are they the ones now full of regret?

"Ms. Sterling, please review the divorce agreement carefully. Once you sign, your marriage will officially end in a month," the lawyer said calmly.

Madeline Sterling stood in the bathroom, phone pressed to her ear. When the lawyer finished speaking, she replied softly, "Alright. I understand. Thank you."

She ended the call and looked at herself in the mirror. A visible scar marked her right cheek. Just the sight of it made her feel insecure.

Right then, her phone chimed. She unlocked it and saw that her daughter had sent her a family photo.

Yet, Madeline's expression remained blank as she stared at the screen.

In the photo, Tristan Fowler was grinning from ear to ear. It was a look she had never once seen during their marriage.

Beside him, Annabelle Fowler—the daughter she had poured her heart into raising—looked radiant with joy.

But the woman standing where Madeline should have been wasn't her at all. Instead, it was Regina Jenkins, Tristan's first love.

In fact, Annabelle had sent the photo on purpose. It was meant to mock her.

Ever since Regina came back three months earlier, newly divorced, Madeline had felt like an outsider. In the eyes of Tristan and Annabelle, she was the one who no longer belonged.

That day was supposed to be meaningful. It marked Madeline and Tristan's eighth wedding anniversary and her birthday.

However, Tristan had picked a fight over a meal, claiming her cooking didn't sit right with him. Then, he took Annabelle with him and left Madeline alone in the house.

She only learned where they had gone through Regina's Instagram story. As it turned out, the three of them had spent the day together at a marine-themed park.

There were a dozen short clips, each around 30 seconds long. Madeline watched them all in silence. But the last one shattered her.

Tristan, the same man who had always recoiled from physical touch, was carrying Regina on his back. At one point, he even wiped the whipped cream from the corner of her mouth with his index finger before licking it off.

A cold numbness spread through Madeline, like her body had been hollowed out from the inside.

She had given everything to this family, working herself to the bone day after day. And in the end, it had all been handed to someone else. She couldn't help but feel pathetic.

Madeline sank into a chair and stared at the strawberry cake on the table. It was already starting to melt.

With every passing second, her heart seemed to sink with it.

…

Minute by minute, time crawled by.

At 3:00 am,