5
Ethan woke up late, the sun already high. He
rubbed his temples; last night’s antics with
Jenny had left him exhausted.
Suddenly, he remembered my tear–filled eyes
from the previous night, a pang of unease in
his chest.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar
number, only to hear the automated message,
“I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is
currently unavailable.”
He checked my profile picture on his Messenger app, it was now dark.
“Where are you?” The message was sent, instantly followed by a red exclamation mark. Ethan shot up from bed, angrily throwing his phone onto the mattress. Jenny, clinging to him, was shoved away.
“Lily!” He raced downstairs, barefoot, finding each room empty.
The basement was thick with dust, making
him cough. It looked as if no one had lived
there for years.
Outside, a knock. A delivery.
Ethan tore it open; divorce papers and a note.
“Ethan, let’s divorce. I’m tired.”
A wave of panic washed over Ethan.
Eight years, no matter how much he’d played
around, Lily had always quietly waited at
home. Now, she was gone?
く
Jenny came downstairs, seeing Ethan’s
distraught state.
She glanced at the divorce papers, a flicker
of glee in her eyes, before sweetly saying, “Lily’s probably just throwing a tantrum. Ethan, weren’t you supposed to be…”
“Get lost!” Ethan snatched his keys and
stormed out, leaving Jenny seething with
resentment.
He searched everywhere she might be: her
usual cafes, the library, her favorite flower
shop. Nothing. By dusk, he remembered the
forgotten old house.
From afar, he saw the white funeral banner.
An elderly neighbor sighed, “The old lady
passed suddenly, a fall… The girl stayed for a
while, then disappeared.”
Ethan’s blood ran cold. It was the night he’d
sent Lily out for condoms to be with Jenny.
He found Ethan’s mother, who said, “Good
<
riddance. You were going to divorce her
anyway. You never liked her.”
Ethan erupted, smashing his teacup. “I’m not
divorcing! Why should we divorce?! I didn’t
even file for divorce, why is she filing?!”
Days later, a high–end club.
Ethan finished drinks with a client, pausing
when he overheard a conversation from a
nearby room.
“Jenny, long time no see! What? Found a rich
guy?”
6
“That fool is so easy to manipulate!” Jenny’s
sweet voice was laced with malice. “I casually
mentioned wanting to see her dance, and he
made his pregnant wife dance on ice! I said I
wanted to play racing games, deliberately
crashed into her, and she lost her baby, but she didn’t dare say anything!”
Ethan’s breath hitched. He saw my pale face.
<
Baby? What baby?
“You’re a sly one, sweetheart!” a lecherous
voice chuckled. “What if I want you later?”
Jenny giggled. “Mr. Wang~ I’m all yours~”
The sound of fabric rubbing together,
followed by nauseating laughter. Ethan’s
knuckles turned white, veins bulging on his
hands.
When Jenny returned to the mansion, Ethan
was sitting in the dark living room, a mountain
of ash in the ashtray.
She felt a chill, but still rushed over, “Ethan!
Feel that, the baby’s kicking!”
She grabbed Ethan’s hand, pressing it against
her stomach, but was thrown away violently.
“Aah!” Jenny fell, her hair askew.
She watched Ethan rise slowly, eyes wide
with terror. “E–Ethan…” she trembled,
backing away. “What are you going to do?”
Ethan grabbed Jenny’s hair, dragging her out
L
of the mansion like a dead dog.
She knelt in the middle of the racetrack,
watching Ethan get into his souped–up car,
finally understanding what he was about to
