I sat beside Irene Qin during the entire dinner.

She talked.

She laughed.

She told stories about her years working with Daniel.

Stories I had never heard.

Memories that existed before me.

Every sentence reminded me of one thing.

Daniel had a whole world where I was not present.

And maybe I had spent too much time trying to enter a place where I was never invited.

“Captain Song was always like this.”

Irene smiled while looking at everyone.

“When he cares about someone, he doesn’t know how to say it.”

The men around the table laughed.

“That’s true.”

“Captain Song has always been bad with words.”

I lowered my eyes.

Because I suddenly wondered.

Was he really bad with words?

Or was he only silent with me?

A few minutes later, Daniel noticed my silence.

He leaned closer.

“Are you tired?”

I looked at him.

“No.”

“Then why don’t you talk?”

I almost smiled.

Because he was asking me that question now.

After five years of marriage.

After leaving me alone on our wedding night.

After spending the morning smiling at another woman.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Daniel frowned slightly.

He didn’t understand.

Of course he didn’t.

He never had to understand.

After dinner, everyone started leaving.

Irene stopped Daniel before we went downstairs.

“Daniel.”

He turned.

She held out a small box.

“I found this when I was organizing my luggage.”

The room became quiet.

Inside was an old military badge.

Something from their past.

Daniel looked surprised.

“You still kept this?”

Irene smiled.

“Some things are difficult to throw away.”

I stood there silently.

Nobody noticed my expression.

Except Daniel.

For a second, his eyes moved toward me.

Maybe he finally realized how it looked.

Maybe he finally understood.

But it was too late.

When we returned home, Daniel immediately noticed the papers on the table.

The divorce agreement.

Two copies.

His expression changed.

“What’s this?”

I took off my coat.

“You know what it is.”

He looked at me.

“No.”

His voice became colder.

“Explain.”

I looked at him.

“The divorce agreement.”

Silence.

“You went to a lawyer?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Today.”

His jaw tightened.

“Because of last night?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

“Because last night only showed me something I already knew.”

“What?”

“That I was never your first choice.”

Daniel became silent.

For years, he had always believed I was patient.

That I would understand.

That I would wait.

But this time, I wasn’t waiting.

He picked up the papers.

He read the first page.

Then the second.

“You want to leave?”

“Yes.”

“After one night?”

I looked at him.

“After five years.”

That sentence made him stop.

Five years.

Five years of marriage.

Five years of him keeping a part of his heart somewhere else.

Five years of me convincing myself that love could grow if I watered it enough.

“Clara.”

His voice softened.

“You know my job.”

“Yes.”

“You know emergencies happen.”

“Yes.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

I looked at the man in front of me.

The man who had run out of our wedding night for another woman.

“The problem isn’t that you left.”

“The problem is that you left because she needed you.”

Daniel’s expression changed.

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?”

Silence.

Because he couldn’t deny it.

“If it had been anyone else, you would have returned.”

“But it was Irene.”

“And suddenly our wedding night didn’t matter.”

He lowered the papers.

For the first time, he looked uncertain.

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

I nodded.

“I know.”

That surprised him.

“Then…”

“But people don’t need to intend to hurt someone to destroy them.”

Those words left him speechless.

The next morning, Daniel found out something unexpected.

The divorce papers were already submitted.

Not completed.

But started.

Clara Xia had not threatened him.

She had not created a scene.

She had simply begun leaving.

And that scared him more than anger.

Because anger meant she still cared.

Silence meant she had already accepted losing him.

That afternoon, Daniel went to the unit.

The same place where everyone celebrated Irene’s return.

But this time, he wasn’t smiling.

He found Irene outside.

“Daniel?”

He looked at her.

“I need to ask you something.”

She smiled.

“Of course.”

“Did you know?”

Her expression changed slightly.

“Know what?”

“That Clara was going to divorce me?”

The smile disappeared.

Only for a second.

But Daniel noticed.

“You knew.”

Irene looked away.

“I guessed.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She was silent.

Then she answered softly:

“Because I thought…”

She paused.

“Because I thought if she left, you would finally realize who you really loved.”

Daniel stared at her.

And for the first time, he felt something uncomfortable.

Not anger.

Not regret.

Fear.

Because he suddenly understood.

Irene had never needed to fight for his heart.

Because he had never protected Clara’s.

That night, Daniel returned home.

The lights were off.

The house was quiet.

On the table was only one thing.

The wedding photo.

Clara had removed her ring from the frame.

Beside it was a note.

Only one sentence:

“I waited for you on our wedding night.”

“But I won’t spend my life waiting for you to come back.”

Daniel held the paper tightly.

For five years, he thought Clara would always be there.

Now he finally understood.

The woman who loved him the most…

was the woman he had made the easiest to lose.

And the next morning, when Daniel opened the divorce file again, he discovered something that made his entire body freeze.

Clara had not asked for money.

She had not asked for compensation.

She had not asked for revenge.

She had only requested one thing.

A clean separation.

Because while Daniel was still deciding between his past and present…

Clara had already chosen her future.

Read the entire Part 3 below.