“Atonement! Either you pay with a leg for Emily, or we get divorced. I’ll be her legs, take care of her for the rest of her life.”

All I ever wanted was to save my marriage, protect this family.

But in his eyes, there was only one truth—

I had harmed Emily, and my sin was unforgivable.

That moment, my heart froze completely.

I bit down so hard on my lip that blood seeped out before I finally forced the words out.

“Divorce.”

His fingers jolted, as if he hadn’t heard me right.

“What did you say?”

I looked at him, all emotion gone from my eyes.

“I said, we’re getting divorced.”

Daniel froze on the spot for a full thirty seconds before a mocking smile twisted his mouth.

“Fine. I was already sick of you anyway.”

That was the truth, wasn’t it?

I lowered my gaze, saying nothing more.

Because I knew—no matter what I said, I would never win against Emily.

In his eyes, I was always the one in the wrong.

I deleted every contact, booked the earliest flight out of Seattle, and vanished.

For months I lived in a daze, until I met the man who is now my husband. We soon got our marriage license.

And I finally picked up my old profession again, finding a fulfilling job at a well-known design firm.

Life became peaceful.