I instinctively pulled away, creating distance between us. "I get it. You should go back to your room. I need to sleep."

He noticed my rejection and laughed bitterly, a sneer twisting his lips. "Don’t flatter yourself. You're a woman who just gave birth—your body's completely out of shape. It’s not like I can’t find someone better."

I bit back a response.

During my pregnancy, the doctor had warned that I wasn’t getting enough nutrition. I forced myself to consume countless supplements to ensure the baby’s health, gaining just enough weight to meet the normal range.

Now, post-pregnancy, soft flesh still clung stubbornly to my waist.

I glanced at him, didn't say anything, and lay back down with my back to him, thinking that I would ask my mother-in-law tomorrow.

In the middle of the night, I woke up in a daze, and no one was around me anymore.

Reaching for my phone, I noticed a message from Sean’s secretary sent three minutes earlier.

The photo attached showed him driving, his profile illuminated by the dashboard lights.

Her text read:

[So, what if you have a child now? If he doesn’t love you, he just doesn’t love you. I only missed him for a bit and called—he left with me right away.]

[Aria, you're the only one who took this ridiculous marriage seriously. You’ve lost.]

She was right. I had lost completely.

But what Sean would never know was that the first time I met his mother, she told me about him.

He would never discover that we had attended the same school since middle school.

I had secretly admired him for years, silently following his life without ever intruding.

So when his mother proposed that I marry him after graduating from college, I was so thrilled I couldn’t sleep all night.

But my happiness had been built on his misery.

Since that was the case, it was time to set us both free.

I didn’t reply to the secretary’s message.

At home, I ate well, rested well, and cared for myself.

Soon, the final day of my postpartum confinement arrived.

During dinner, my mother-in-law, true to her word, placed a divorce agreement signed by Sean in front of me. Her voice wavered with reluctance.

"Tomorrow is your baby’s one-month celebration. Could you stay and attend it before leaving?"

I shook my head firmly. "No, I’ve already booked a ticket for tomorrow morning."

"What about—"

"Mom, I'll leave this family to you from now on."

I cut her off gently, smiling softly.