Signed, Sealed, Sold: Divorce Papers Over Wedding Anniversary Novel – I sold the house filled with memories of my relationship with Nathan Rivers. The buyer looked at the photos and was pleased, then curiously asked how I could bear to sell it for a loss of one hundred thousand. I smiled lightly and said casually, “My husband cheated on me, and his mistress is his childhood sweetheart.” “We’ve been married for ten years and have been childfree for ten years. Six years ago, behind my back, they got married overseas and even had a child.” “Now the child is old enough to go to school, but there’s no spot available, so they’ve set their sights on my school district home.” The buyer froze for a moment, and sympathy flashed in their eyes. Just then, Nathan’s childhood sweetheart,Charity Lee, sent me a picture of a pregnancy test.
[Madison, if I’m not mistaken, he said he’s going on a business trip, right? Guess where we are now?] I looked at the pregnancy test, which clearly said “City’s First Hospital.” I sneered and replied, [Anywhere works, even the morgue.] There was no response from Charity for a while. Just when I was about to lose interest, I suddenly received a call from Nathan. “Madison, Charity was just joking with you. Why did you curse her?” “That pregnancy test was something she picked up casually. You should apologize to her right now!” I coldly retorted, “Do you know what today is?” Nathan almost immediately replied, “We’ve been married for years, why are you making a big deal out of this? Isn’t it because I haven’t been there for you? I’ll spend time with you when I get back from this trip!” Before I could speak, the call was abruptly ended.
He probably thought that once he spoke, I would always listen. But this time, he was wrong. I didn’t want him anymore, so why would I care if we missed our anniversary? *** My phone kept ringing. I glanced at it and switched it to silent. It had been ten years, and it was always like this. Whenever Charity provoked me, he would always dismiss it as a joke. If I objected, I was told I was being petty, that I was overthinking, or that I doubted his loyalty. When others discussed our relationship in front of us, he would just brush it off casually, “We’ve known each other since we were kids, so what’s the deal between us? If there was anything going on, would it have come down to you?” If this had been ten years ago, I might have believed such nonsense. I didn’t pick up the phone, so Nathan turned to iMessage. [Madison, I told you, Charity was just joking.
Why are you being so petty?] [Apologize to her right away, and I’ll forgive you!] [You’ve been complaining that I care more about my work than you, right? When I get back from this trip, I’ll take a long vacation and spend it with you.] Before I had the chance to reply, another message from Charity popped up. It was a blurry bed photo, and from the furniture layout, it seemed to be from the house I was selling. [Madison, I never expected you to put up with this for so long. All these years, watching me and him flirt right in front of you without saying a word—what does he have on you that makes you bow down to him like this?] [Seeing how much you can tolerate, I might as well tell you something about Nathan from six years ago.] [Six years ago, he told you his company was sending him abroad for a year of training, but it was actually when we registered our marriage overseas.
He even made excuses to spend the whole year with me!] [You didn’t just believe him, you kept calling to ask if he was tired…] [Did you hear him panting over the phone? Complaining about how hard the studies were?] [Haha, of course, he was tired. Can you imagine how exhausting it must have been for him with me?] [And there’s more…] Charity seemed to get more into it, but I was too tired to keep reading. Three years into our marriage, we still didn’t have children. Nathan told me he had a low sperm count and that it was hard for us to conceive. He was afraid I would dislike him for it, so he kept it from me. Now that everyone around us was pushing for children, he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Seeing the pain on his face, I comforted him, then turned to others and explained that it was my health issues that had been preventing us from having children.
During that time, people were eager to shower him with praise, calling him a good man. “It’s no big deal. Madison and I are still young. We’ll have children eventually.” “Besides, even if we don’t, I’ll always take good care of her.” “Our marriage won’t hit a bump over this.” To the outside world, what man wouldn’t want his own children? For a man like Nathan to stay devoted to a woman like me, he was already considered an exceptional man. Many people told me I should appreciate my fortune—marrying such a man was a blessing. Later, he told me the company was sending him abroad for another year of training. I didn’t think much of it, just helped him pack and sent him off to the airport. When his plane landed, I called to check on him, but it was Charity who picked up. “Nathan’s taking a shower, he can’t take the call right now.” At that time, I didn’t think much of it. I assumed Charity had gone with him because that’s what the company had arranged.
But not long after I hung up, I received a wedding invitation. From Charity. And she used her French name. The groom’s name was “Étienne,” which was suspiciously the same as Nathan’s. I couldn’t help but sigh and thought nothing of it. I just replied, [Congratulations on your wedding.] Three months later, I received another message from Charity—a photo of a pregnancy test. The soon-to-be father’s name was Étienne Rivers. It could have been a coincidence that their names were the same.
But the surname too? I stared at the photo of the pregnancy test, my nails digging deep into my palm. It wasn’t until I felt a numb, tingling sensation in my wrist that I realized blood was dripping down. I let out a long sigh and blocked Charity’s number. After finishing my conversation with the buyer, I went back home. As soon as I sat down, the doorbell rang. “Ms. Lane, this is the anniversary gift from Mr. Rivers.” I took it and opened it. It was an Italian, handmade dress. I couldn’t help but remember the first wedding anniversary, the first time I received such a gift. “Clothes make the man. When you put on this custom dress, you’ll look just like those powerful women!” Back then, I looked at Nathan with admiration in his eyes and smiled, “Wasn’t your goal to become the top at your company? We already have one big boss at home. I’ll just stay at home, supporting you and taking care of the family.” Hearing this, Nathan seemed taken aback for a moment, then quickly reassured me, “Is someone telling you that you don’t deserve me? Madison, don’t listen to those people. You’re the best!” “From now on, for every anniversary, I’ll get you a new custom dress, just to show those gossiping people that you are the best!” Every year since then, I received an Italian, handmade dress. But from the fourth year onward, while the dresses were still handmade, they weren’t new anymore. By this year, I had six identical dresses.
My phone buzzed with a new message. In the family group chat, Nathan had just posted a photo of a beautifully packaged gift box, followed by several angles of the dress. [Anniversary gift for our 10th anniversary. @Madison Lane, I know you’ve been busy with work, and I can’t accompany you this year. But I spent a long time picking this gift, do you like it?] I didn’t reply. Instead, I saved his photo and uploaded it to a secondhand marketplace. After I finished that, I was ready to take a break when another call came in. [Ms. Lane, the buyer for your house wants to see it. When would be a good time for you?]