On Christmas Eve, my husband, Antonio Kaufman, went to a hotel with his assistant, Alice Flynn.

"I need some time with Alice tonight," he told me. "You're pregnant, so stay home and rest. I won't be back tonight."

Antonio thought I didn't know about his affair.

He betrayed our ten-year marriage.

I decided it was time to let go.

I went to the hospital for an abortion.

Antonio didn't love me or the baby.

I didn't want a relationship full of lies either.

I woke up after the abortion surgery in the hospital.

Outside, fireworks lit up the sky, but my vision was blurry.

"Why are you crying?" the nurse asked, looking concerned.

I wiped my tears but stayed silent.

The nurse chatted with someone else and said, "Did you see the fireworks outside? Mr. Kaufman from the Kaufman Group sent them as a million-dollar gift to his girlfriend. How romantic!"

Antonio and I had been together for a decade, and he had never given me with fireworks.

He always said, "We don't need gifts. I married you. Doesn't that show I love you?"

Antonio never knew I loved fireworks more than anything.

He never knew what I liked or how I felt.

He didn't love me.

I called my university professor, Dora Boyle. "You once offered to take me abroad for further studies. I've decided to go."

Dora was excited. "Grace, you should have kept playing the piano! Too bad you married so early."

I gave up my piano career for Antonio. Once I became a stay-at-home wife, I never played again.

I never expected my marriage to bring so much pain.

After a week of recovery in the hospital, I went home.

To my surprise, Antonio was home. I thought he'd be busy with work.

He worked during the day and spent his nights with Alice, so he hadn't been home for a while.

He looked at me and snorted, "You were gone for a week. I spent Christmas Eve with Alice, and you left for a week because of it?"

I explained, "No, I was in the hospital for the last week."

Antonio paused, then snapped, "Why didn't you tell me?"

I used to share my schedule with him every day.

I didn't look at him and said, "I forgot."

Seeing my attitude, Antonio got upset. "Just because I didn't spend Christmas Eve with you? I've spent it with you so many times, but this was the first time with Alice."

I sneered, "Antonio, we've never spent Christmas Eve together."

He used to claim work kept him busy. Later, he said he was at parties with friends.

I was always alone at home, waiting for him to come back.

Antonio had forgotten that we'd never spent a Christmas Eve together.

He seemed to remember and hugged me with a hint of guilt. "I'm sorry. After the baby's born, I'll spend every Christmas Eve with you."

I had waited for him for ten years, but now, I didn't need him anymore.

I didn't say anything else to Antonio.

I went to the piano room to practice, but when I opened the door, I found the room in shambles. My piano was ruined.

This piano wasn't just a regular piano. It was the last thing my mom bought for me with all her savings before she passed away. It was my most treasured possession.

Antonio walked in casually and said, "Last time, Alice was playing the 'Moonlight Sonata', and the piano just broke for no reason."

The piano wasn't just broken. It was destroyed.

I knew it wasn't an accident.

Antonio knew how much that piano meant to me.

Apart from him, I would be livid if anyone else touched it.

Antonio noticed my anger and said with a dismissive tone. "I'll buy you a new one, but this isn't Alice's fault."

I lifted the piano lid, and the keys were completely unusable.

There, on top of the piano, was a pair of pink panties with a bow.

Antonio quickly grabbed them, his voice shaky. "Alice must have forgotten them last time. It's not what you think. Nothing happened between us."

They definitely had sex on my piano.

What else could explain the panties on it?

I stared at Antonio, disgusted. I almost felt sick.

His face was a mix of guilt and shame.

He took my hand, trying to change the subject. "I remember you haven't had your pregnancy checkup this month, Grace. Let me come with you to the doctor's appointment."

Antonio must have forgotten. I had just from the hospital. I didn't need a pregnancy checkup anymore.

He never asked me about what happened there last week.

And now, for the first time, he suddenly offered to accompany me to a checkup.

Every time I asked him to come with me, he would make excuses about work and tell me off for not understanding how busy things were in the office.

I just wanted the same thing other expectant mothers had—a husband by their side.

His company just once would have made my day.

But now, there was no baby. I didn't need him to come anymore.

Antonio reached out and touched my belly, frowning slightly. "You've lost weight. That's not good for the baby. I'll arrange for a nutritionist to make something healthy for you soon."

I shook my head and met his gaze. "Antonio, there's no need for that anymore.

"The baby is already..."

Before I could finish, his phone rang.

He quickly picked it up and stepped away.

When he came back, it was exactly as I had expected. "There's something urgent at the office. You'll have to handle the checkup yourself this time."

It was always the same. If Alice called, he would leave without a doubt. I had tried to keep him, but it never worked. It only made him more annoyed with me.

Suddenly, a sharp pain twisted my belly. It was a side effect of the abortion.

Antonio noticed me clutching my belly, my face pale with pain. His brow furrowed. "Grace, can't you stop with the dramatics?

"Do you think being pregnant means you're my priority every single minute?"

With that, Antonio slammed the door and left.

I took the pills the doctor gave me and lay down. After some sleep, I felt a bit better.

When I woke up, I checked my phone and saw Alice had posted something new on Instagram.

"Love means having someone by your side when you need him most."

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. To Antonio, I wasn't even as important as his assistant.

Then, unexpectedly, Antonio called.

I thought he might actually care. But he asked urgently, "Grace, what brand of pads do you use?

"Alice wasn't careful and forgot to buy some."

I froze. Antonio went to buy pads for another woman.

I remembered a time my period caught me off guard, staining my white pants.

I had no pads and the stain was super obvious. I asked Antonio to grab some from the store.

Antonio looked at me with disgust. "You want me, a man, to buy pads? How gross is that? Do you know how embarrassing that would be for me?"

But now, Antonio wasn't mad at all, just fretting over Alice.

Antonio continued, "Do girls always get bad cramps during their period? Alice is really suffering. Do you know what might help?

"Should I get her some painkillers?"

He sounded so worried about Alice.

Throughout my entire pregnancy, he had never once shown me this level of concern.

I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous all those years of love seemed. "Can't you just Google it?"

I hung up without waiting for a response.

The next morning, Antonio called again. He sounded angry, saying, "Grace, you're so rude! How dare you hang up on me without my permission?"

"Here's your chance. Come cook for Alice, and I'll forgive you.

"By the way, Alice loves your steak."

Antonio kept talking, but I couldn't focus on his words anymore.

I only felt sadness and heartbreak.

It finally hit me why Antonio had started loving the meals I made for him, especially the steak.

I thought it was because he liked steak, so I woke up early every day to marinate it for him.

But it turned out Alice liked it, and that's why he had me make it.

My heart broke. "Antonio, you could hire a chef to cook steak, why me?"

Antonio ordered, "Alice wants your cooking, so you need to come today."

He hung up.

With the divorce papers, I went to Alice's place.

It was time to end things with Antonio.

Alice said with a bit of guilt, "Your steak is perfect, thank you. I'll give you a tip later."

She sounded like I was just a maid.

I ignored her words and put the papers in front of Antonio. "Sign this, and I'll cook."

Antonio didn't even glance at the papers and just signed.

I asked, "Aren't you worried this might be a divorce paper?"

Antonio just snorted, "Who cares about divorce? As long as Alice is happy. You're pregnant. You won't dare leave me."

Seeing his attitude, I kept quiet and walked into the kitchen to cook.

This would be the last time I cooked for Antonio.

He always loved my desserts and steak.

That's how I became a housewife.

I couldn't even tell when it started, but he gradually began to look down on me.

The laughter of Antonio and Alice in the living room was unbearable.

After finishing the cooking, my belly started to ache again.

The doctor told me to rest for two weeks after the abortion.

But Antonio wasn't concerned. He blamed me, "I just asked you to cook steak, and now you're pretending to be sick.

"Alice has cramps and still goes to work. Can't you handle it like her?"

No matter what I did, Antonio wouldn't care.

All he cared about was Alice.

Alice came over to help me up. "Grace, thanks for cooking. Your clothes are dirty. Let me take you to change."

She led me to her room, and that's when I saw over a dozen used condoms on the table.

Alice blushed and apologized, "Sorry, I forgot to clean up.

"Grace, do you and Antonio still have sex?"

My face went cold. I realized why Alice had insisted on taking me to her room.

She was trying to provoke me.

I had thought Antonio was just tired from work. But it turned out, he just wasn't interested in me anymore.

Every time I tried, he rejected me and called me disgusting.

Even getting pregnant was an accident after he was drunk.

I looked at the condoms on the table and sneered, "Why would a man who cheats stay loyal to you?"

Alice's face darkened.

Back at the table, Antonio kept serving Alice, looking happy with her.

"Alice, have more," he urged.

Alice smiled sweetly. "You're always so thoughtful."

Then Alice offered me a slice of toast loaded with peanut butter. "Thanks for cooking today, Grace."

I was allergic to peanuts.

Seeing me not eat, Alice burst into tears. "Did I upset you, Grace? Why aren't you eating?"

Antonio gave me a dark look and slapped me. "Grace, that's rude! Alice is trying to be nice to you. Why don't you accept it?"

Then he grabbed my head and shoved the peanut butter toast into my mouth.

I couldn't stop him. By the time he was done, I was covered in hives.

Antonio had promised he'd remember my peanut allergy and never let me near it. And now, here he was, forcing it into my mouth.

Alice's smile faded, replaced by fear. "Mr. Kaufman, Grace looks scary. She doesn't have syphilis or something, does she?"

Antonio noticed the hives all over my body, looked at me with disgust, and shoved me outside. "Grace, you need to see a doctor."

I grabbed his pants leg, struggling to breathe. "Antonio, please, call an ambulance."

But Antonio kicked me away. "Don't infect us!"

Then he slammed the door, leaving me locked outside.