The Royal Orchid Residence sat smack in the heart of Beicheng's most high-end district. Every inch of land here cost a fortune. The penthouse? All hers. Floor-to-ceiling windows blocked out the city noise, but the silence inside was so deep it felt like a ghost town.

On the bed, a woman slowly stirred. Her long lashes fluttered before her eyes opened. Instinctively, her gaze shifted to the other side of the bed—neatly made, not a wrinkle out of place.

Ethan Walker hadn’t come home. Again.

For the past three months, his returns had become more and more rare. Elena Hayes tried to recall—had it been nearly a week since she’d last seen him?

After getting ready, she stepped into the living room—and froze. The very man she’d just been thinking of was sitting right there on the couch, elbows on knees, a cigarette burning low between two fingers. The room was thick with smoke; God knows how many he'd gone through.

When he heard the door open, he looked up. His eyes were shot red with fatigue.

Without a word, Ethan stubbed out the cigarette, sank deeper into the couch, and said hoarsely, “Come here.”

Elena glanced at the time on her watch. “I'm gonna be late for work.”

That seemed to amuse him. The corner of his mouth twitched, like he was about to smile, but then it faded just as fast. His face settled back into that distant, unreadable calm.

"I need to talk to you."

She didn’t move. Just stood there, as if trying to make sense of what he really meant.

The tension between them stretched thick for a few seconds before she gave in and walked over to sit down. “Go ahead.”

She’d called him last night.

A woman had answered.

“He’s asleep,” the voice had said. “Try again later.”

And that was all it took. One sentence. The moment she recognized the voice on the other end as Lila Turner, his first love, she knew what was coming.

It wasn’t really a shock. Not fast, not slow, just... right on time. Their third wedding anniversary was coming up in a month.

Ethan sat across from her, visibly restless. He tugged at his tie like it was choking him, then ran his fingers hard through his hair.

Elena finally broke the silence. “You want to talk about divorce, don’t you?”

She watched how his face froze for a second, like her words had hit too close. But then he responded with a quiet, "Yeah."

"It’s about Lila, isn’t it?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

After a long pause, he replied, “Yeah.”

And just like that, the air sucked out of her lungs. It felt like something sharp and cold sliced right down her chest. Her whole body hurt.

If it weren’t for her fists clenched so tight at her sides, she would’ve fallen apart right there.

Elena took a deep breath, swallowing her pain, and asked, “When do we deal with it?”

Dragging this out was pointless, and a clean break was easier than pretending things could ever go back.

She knew him too well—ruthless in business, never second-guessing his choices. For him to bring this up, he'd already decided. This was it. No turning back.Ethan Walker frowned. “The sooner the better. I’ll make it up to you—whatever you want, just say the word.”

Elena Hayes saw him light a cigarette, but he just held it between his fingers without taking a drag.

She turned her head to look out the window. “I don’t want anything. Anytime is fine.”

Her fingers trembled as she pulled out her phone. To avoid letting him notice, she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and turned her back. Ethan’s indifferent voice came from behind.

“This apartment’s yours. The villa in the south suburbs too. Pick whichever you prefer. And…”

Elena didn’t want to hear another word. She spun around and cut him off. “I don’t need any financial compensation. I have a place to stay.”

She pretended to glance at the time. “Sorry, I’ve got something to deal with today. Just have Lawyer Zhang send over the agreement when it’s ready.”

She didn’t give him another look—it only hurt more the longer she stayed. Grabbing her bag, she walked straight out.

“Elena…”

She didn’t turn back. Just slammed the door behind her. Outside, she leaned against the wall, unable to say a word.

Inside, Ethan finally brought the nearly burnt-out cigarette to his lips, took a deep drag, then tilted his head back and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

Elena really did have something to take care of. When she picked up her phone, her first instinct was to request leave—but she hesitated, and ended up sending in her resignation instead.

She just couldn’t stand being in that office for another second. After wrapping up her exit paperwork and returning home, Mrs. Collins greeted her with a smile. “Sir just left, you two missed each other.”

Yeah. Missed again.

Ethan didn’t come home that night, just like always.

That evening had been on the calendar for two weeks—it was time for dinner at the Walker family’s old house. Elena didn’t want to go, not at all. But they weren’t officially divorced yet, so she couldn’t skip it.

In that whole house, only Mrs. Walker liked her. Ethan’s parents and sister couldn’t stand her.

Maybe she had married too far out of her league. Her mom was just a normal salaried employee, while Ethan? He was the star of North City.

She once thought marrying Ethan meant building a home together. Turned out, all of that was just her wishful thinking.

It was almost five when she finally gave up on calling him and caught a cab to the estate by herself.

Of course, he didn’t show.

At the table, she sat properly, waiting for the usual round of snide comments from Ethan’s mother.

Surprisingly, not a word. No one even asked why Ethan didn’t come.

The usual nagging about carrying on the family name was nowhere to be heard. The dining table was strangely quiet—except for Grandma Walker, smiling lovingly as she picked out food for Elena.

“Elena, eat more, sweetie. You’ve gotten even skinnier lately. Don’t worry so much about your figure—being healthy is what really matters, okay?”

Elena nodded with a soft smile. “Got it, Grandma.”Elena Hayes wasn’t clueless—one look at the atmosphere told her the truth. Aside from Grandma, it seemed like everyone else already knew about their upcoming divorce.

Dinner was strangely quiet. Halfway through the meal, Ethan Walker showed up.

He walked in loosening his tie, shrugged off his suit jacket and handed it to a maid, then sat down right beside her like nothing happened.

The moment he joined, the vibe got even weirder. His parents looked at him like they were scared but also held some weird kind of emotion Elena couldn’t quite place.

It wasn’t the usual parent-child dynamic, and honestly, it had always been a little off in this house.

This upper-class family in Beicheng? Definitely hiding some skeletons in the closet.

A faint scent of perfume on him wafted over, hitting her nose and instantly killing her appetite.

She started absentmindedly poking at her half-finished bowl of rice when all of a sudden—a slice of fish landed in her bowl.

She turned her head. Ethan didn’t even look at her, just kept eating like she wasn’t there.

They'd known each other ten years, married for three, and he still didn’t realize she hated fish? Without a word, she pushed the piece to the edge of the bowl, quickly finished the rest of her rice, and stood up.

"I’m done. You guys enjoy."

“Sit down.” Ethan’s voice cut through the air.

She paused mid-step. Everyone turned toward her. Ethan didn’t even glance up, just said in a flat tone, “Eat the fish.”

That wasn’t a request—it was a flat-out order. Typical Ethan.

Grandma chimed in with a smile, “Elena, darling, don’t be picky. Fish is good for you.”

So basically, no fish, no leaving. Elena pressed her lips together, picked up the piece, and popped it into her mouth, chewing fast. Then she exaggeratedly opened her mouth like she was showing him “See? I ate it.”

Ethan turned his head slightly, lips twitching into a smirk. “Want more?”

She immediately shut her mouth and stood up to leave.

The night breeze outside was cool, and the garden sat in a hush. She sank into the lounge chair, listening to the laughter spilling out from the house, her lips curling into a bitter smile.

See—that right there. She was always just an outsider. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never really belong.

“You don’t have to come here anymore. You don’t need to keep trying to win them over.”

She turned and saw Ethan standing in the shadows, a cigarette flashing dimly in his hand. The light flared only when he took a long drag, barely illuminating his face.

He’d been smoking more and more lately.

“I wasn’t trying to win anyone over,” Elena replied coldly.

Sure, once upon a time she had tried. Tried pleasing his parents, his sister, all those relatives. But whatever she did, it was never enough.

Eventually, when she realized some hearts just stay cold, some people would never like her, she gave up.

Ethan snuffed out the cigarette and walked toward her. His face finally caught enough light to show off those good looks—like someone straight out of a fashion mag. Just… without the warmth.

“Let’s go.”

She stood. “I’ll grab my bag.”

He followed behind her. “I’m not coming home tonight.”