Where Stars Don't Follow

When my husband once again chooses to abandon me to celebrate his true love's birthday, I finally let go.

He takes his true love stargazing; I don't cause a fuss.

He buys her an expensive scarf, but all I do is smile. I even tell him to buy another hat—it's pretty cold.

He thinks I've finally learned to be obedient. However, he has no idea I've secretly renounced my citizenship to join Doctors Without Borders.

By the time he comes to his senses, I've vanished without a trace.

I was thrilled and elated when I received the call saying that my application got through.

"Rest assured. I'll definitely show up and report for duty on the third of next month!"

After ending the call, I placed my hand over the necklace I wore around my neck. My eyes felt hot. The necklace was a memento from my late parents.

Both of my parents were doctors that served in a non-governmental organization to provide medical humanitarian assistance. My dream was to be like them and join the same field.

However, when I married Sean Chandler four years ago, I decided to put my dreams and passion aside since Sean felt that the job would be too dangerous. It was finally time for me to realize my dreams since there was nothing holding me back now.

I wiped my tears off. Just as I turned my head, I spotted Sean, who had just come out of the bathroom.

He was drying his wet hair with a towel. He frowned slightly when he noticed how the corners of my eyes were red.

"Were you crying?"

I shook my head. "Some dust fell into my eyes."

"Mm," he responded curtly. Sean did not even bother to point out how flimsy my excuse was. Perhaps it was because he was in a hurry to leave. So, he could not even be bothered.

Sean changed his clothes, and something slipped out of his pocket. I picked it up and saw that it was a receipt from a restaurant.

He froze for a moment. Then, he took the receipt, crumpled it up, and threw it into the dustbin. "I had a meal with the director recently. It was my treat."

I smiled wryly. The meals sold at that restaurant were designed specifically for couples. Customers who were not couples were not even allowed to enter the shop.

The college director Sean was referring to was a middle-aged man in his 50s. He could not even be bothered to come up with a more convincing lie. It seemed like he truly did not care anymore.

Sean was about to elaborate and explain when he did not get any response from me. Yet, his phone rang.

I saw the name "Evelyn" on the screen out of the corners of my eyes.

Sean moved out of my hearing range by going out to the balcony and closing the sliding floor-to-ceiling window.

The icy expression he always had on his face