Part 3Seven Years to Ashes

Having decided on divorce, I made a long-overdue call to my parents.

"Son, if you've finally come to your senses, come home." My father had his secretary book a flight for me to the capital.

I returned home to pack my belongings. As I opened the door, I saw Seraphina sitting on the sofa, holding the baby.

"Where have you been? You didn't answer your phone. If you're out of credit, top it up! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?" Her voice was loud, as if she had come to accuse me. The baby, startled, began to wail.

"Weren't you supposed to be with your William? What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice calm.

"Arthur Sterling, don't think I don't know what you're thinking!" she retorted. "I explained it to you! The past few days were the anniversary of William's wife and child's death, and he has no family or friends here. What's wrong with me spending a little extra time with him?" She paused, pushing the crying child into my arms. "I'm back to give you the baby. William's not feeling well; I need to take him to the hospital. I don't have time to look after the baby!"

Her words were a command. She thrust the wailing child into my arms. I was utterly speechless. Once blinded by love, I now saw her for what she was: utterly shameless. To care for another man, she abandoned her own child, her own family.

Seeing my silence, she furrowed her brows, a hint of impatience in her voice. "Hurry up! Can't you see the baby's crying? Go check if he's wet! After you change his diaper, make a pork rib soup for William. He likes it tender, so remember to simmer it for a long time. I'll take it to the hospital with me later!"

Despite my extreme disappointment in Seraphina, hearing those words from her lips still brought a pang of bitterness to my heart. For seven years, I had pampered her like a queen. I handled all the housework; she never stepped foot in the kitchen. Even just a few days ago, when I fell down the stairs and injured my leg, she had demanded, "Arthur, I want braised pork hock! Go make it for me now!" And when I tried to explain my injury, "You hurt your leg, not your hand! Hurry, hurry, I want it now!"

With my leg in a cast, I was still cooking for her. Back then, I was so naive. I thought Seraphina was simply spoiled by me, incapable of caring for others. But now, I knew. It wasn't that she couldn't care; it was that I simply wasn't the one she wanted to care for.

My eyes welled up, tears threatening to spill. Seeing my emotional state, Seraphina, who had been so arrogant moments ago, panicked slightly, her tone softening unconsciously. "Arthur, I know I stood you up on our wedding day, and that was wrong. If you're upset about it, I apologize." She sighed, feigning helplessness. "But you know, I truly had an unavoidable reason that day. Look, to make it up to you, for the rescheduled wedding, I'll let you decide everything. Didn't you want a destination wedding on an island? Then we'll go! We have a child now, how can we keep talking about breaking up? Alright, let's just move past this. Now, go make that pork rib soup."

Seeing my lack of response, Seraphina was about to continue when her phone rang.

"William? What? You're having an allergic reaction?" Her voice was laced with urgent concern. "Don't worry, I'm coming right away. Ten minutes. Just wait for me, okay?"

After hanging up, her expression clearly showed her distress, and her voice became impatient. "Arthur, this is the last time I'm going to humor you. Don't be ungrateful! Are you really faultless? What exactly were you trying to achieve with that comment on my social media post? Don't think I don't know! I haven't even brought up your fault, and you're already throwing a tantrum?"

Seeing my continued silence, a truly agitated Seraphina finally couldn't hold back, pointing a furious finger at me and yelling. I looked at the woman before me, a veritable shrew, and calmly stated, "I don't need you to humor me. We're done." Then, holding the baby, I calmly closed the bedroom door.

Seraphina was left outside, shouting desperately, "Arthur! You'll regret this!"