While Sophia Carter was being held for ransom on her fifth wedding anniversary, her husband ignored her calls to celebrate another woman’s birthday.

“Sweetheart, you’re finally back! What took you so long? Everyone’s been waiting for that cake.”

Sophia Carter stopped at the villa gate, holding a melting cake in her hand.

Her hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled and stained, shallow cuts burning along her arms.

Ethan Bennett stood just inside the open gate in snow-white dress pants and a smart gray plaid vest.

His eyes swept briefly over her before dropping to the cake box.

“Did something happen on the road?” he asked, frowning slightly. “The cake looks… Babe, you know everyone’s been waiting, right?”

“Babe, I just—”

Sophia opened her mouth, ready to explain.

An hour earlier, she had been on her way home after picking up the cake when four men grabbed her and bundled her into a van.

They dragged her to some dingy underground cellar out in the suburbs and shoved her inside.

One of them shoved a phone into her hands.

“Call someone who’ll pay.”

Sophia dialed Ethan without a second thought. He was her husband.

The call rang out.

“Again.”

She called a second time. Still nothing.

She tried again. And again.

By the fifth call, the man beside her was already losing patience.

“Your husband always this hard to reach?”

“He’ll pick up. He’s busy. Today’s our fifth anniversary. He must be preparing something…”

Sophia’s lips trembled.

She kept trying.

By the time she had called more than ten times, Ethan still hadn’t answered.

The kidnapper finally ripped the phone from her hand.

“We’ve heard that one before, lady. Wives always make excuses for husbands who don’t show up. He’s in a meeting. He’s out of town. Meanwhile, he’s probably with another woman.”

He laughed.

Sophia’s fingers curled into her palm.

That wasn’t Ethan.

Ethan had never ignored her calls like this before.

There had to be a reason.

“Sophia?”

Ethan’s voice pulled her back.

She looked at him.

Even after all that, she had still believed Ethan had a reason.

Now, standing in front of him, she tried to say, “Babe, I just—”

The sound of music floated out from the yard.

Sophia paused.

Beyond Ethan, the courtyard was filled with flowers, balloons, and warm golden lights. Laughter and clapping echoed from inside. From the sound of it, the place was packed.

Her tense shoulders loosened for one short second.

Two weeks ago, she had found out Ethan was secretly working on a surprise for their anniversary.

Just a week back, someone told her he’d flown in roses all the way from Provence.

Three days ago, she heard he dropped a fortune at a charity auction for a top-grade jade stone.

Everything added up in her head.

Maybe this was it.

Maybe the reason he had ignored her calls was because he was busy putting all this together.

Sophia’s lips curled into a little smile. The fear from earlier faded just a little as she stared at him, heart swelling with hope all over again.

She held the cake tighter and stepped forward.

Before she could speak, an overly cheerful voice piped up from behind Ethan.

“Ethan, is that the cake? I just got back and you already pulled off such an amazing birthday surprise for me? You’re the best!”

It was Clara Fitzgerald. Ethan’s cousin, the woman he had always treated like a younger sister.

The word “birthday” hit Sophia like a slap.

Sophia stared past Ethan.

Only then did she see the massive banner hanging under the lights.

**Happy Birthday, Clara.**

The party wasn’t for their anniversary.

It was for Clara.

She froze.

Then, with a soft thud, the cake slipped from her hand and hit the ground.

The lid cracked open. Cream spilled over the stone path.

Clara walked over in a delicate white dress, her eyes bright with excitement. She glanced at the ruined cake and covered her mouth.

“Oh no, Sophia… how could you drop it? We were about to light the candles.”

Ethan’s face tightened. “Sophia, what are you doing?”

Sophia slowly looked back at him.

“What… what is this?” Her hand trembled slightly, her voice catching in her throat. “Today’s our anniversary. How did it turn into this?”

Ethan looked a little flustered.

He quickly took her hand and pulled her to the side, lowering his voice. “Babe, I’m sorry. I really did plan something for tonight. But Clara showed up last minute and said she wanted a birthday dinner with the whole family. She just got back. I couldn’t exactly turn her away.”

Sophia’s eyes stung.

“You couldn’t turn her away,” she repeated.

“It’s just one dinner,” Ethan said, like he was trying to be patient. “Our anniversary can be made up tomorrow. Clara’s birthday only happens once a year, and everyone was already here.”

Sophia looked at the bright courtyard.

Guests were waiting.

Clara was waiting.

The candles were waiting.

She was standing there with blood under her sleeve and dirt on her dress.

Ethan followed her gaze and seemed to finally notice the state she was in. His brows drew together.

“Wait. Why are your clothes like this?” he asked. “And your arm…”

Sophia opened her mouth again.

She was ready to tell him everything.

The van. The basement. The knife. The calls he never answered.

But Clara had followed them over and already looped her arm through Ethan’s.

Her eyes swept over Sophia’s stained dress and scraped arms.

“Sophia, you look awful. You can’t go into the party looking like this.” She glanced at the ruined cake. “And now the birthday cake’s ruined. You’re Ethan’s wife. Everyone’s inside waiting. At least go clean yourself up first.”

Ethan’s gaze flicked to Clara.

It was just a glance.

But Sophia saw the decision forming before he even spoke.

When he looked at Sophia again, his tone left no room for argument.

“Go upstairs and get changed first. We’ll talk after I finish this part.”

Ethan turned and walked back toward the party with Clara, leaving Sophia standing there alone.

---

It was almost eleven when the last of the guests’ laughter finally faded from the courtyard.

Sophia never went back downstairs.

She pulled off her stained, ruined clothes and tossed them straight into the trash.

In the shower, she lowered her head and watched the gray water swirl down the drain.

For one brief moment, she remembered what had happened after every call to Ethan had gone unanswered. A man had pulled her out of that dark room. His face had been hidden, and she had been too shaken to ask his name.

All she remembered clearly was the steady grip that kept her on her feet and the faint scent of pine on his clothes.

She had never even thanked him.

Sophia sat curled up in the corner of the bedroom after changing into a loose set of pajamas, staring blankly toward the window.

The bedroom door creaked open.

Sophia knew Ethan was back.

But instead of jumping up to greet him like she usually would, she just sat there, still as a statue.

Ethan quietly hung his suit jacket and walked over, smelling faintly of alcohol. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, his voice soft and sugary.

“Happy anniversary, babe. Take a guess. What did I get you?”

“What were you doing when I called you?” she asked instead.

Ethan let out a breath. “Oh God, Sophia. Are we really still doing this? You saw what was going on. It was Clara’s birthday. I had a lot to deal with.”

“I called you more than ten times.” Sophia turned to look at him. “Didn’t you once wonder why? Your wife could’ve been in danger and you didn’t even—”

“What danger?” Ethan cut her off. “You’re home. You’re standing right here.”

Sophia went still.

“I know throwing Clara a party upset you,” he continued, “but you don’t have to turn this into something bigger than it is. Can we just leave it tonight? You’re tired. I’m tired. I don’t want to fight with you, especially not on our anniversary.”

Sophia’s fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.

Especially not on their anniversary.

How considerate.

Suddenly, Sophia wanted to laugh.

To Ethan, as long as she had made it home in one piece, nothing had really happened. The torn clothes, the cuts on her arms, the ruined cake—none of it had been enough to make him stop and ask what she had been through.

Ethan took her silence as agreement.

He reached out and tucked a strand of damp hair behind her ear. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

Then he opened the velvet box he had brought with him, took out the jade heart pendant, and fastened it around her neck.

“See? I didn’t forget.”

Sophia lowered her eyes to the pendant resting against her chest.

He leaned closer, his tone turning coaxing again. “Babe, I’ve been thinking… let’s have a baby, yeah?”

Sophia’s stomach twisted.

Was that what he thought she was? A wife he could ignore, then smooth everything over with a baby?

For five years, she had always been the one expected to understand, to wait, to let things go.

Tonight, for the first time, she didn’t want to.

Ethan gave a teasing little smirk. “No worries. You don’t have to do anything. Just lie back and let me handle the rest.”

Sophia looked straight into his eyes.

The room was warm, but her voice was ice-cold.

“Ethan, let’s get a divorce.”

The smile froze right on his face.