After sending that message, I put my phone aside.

I didn’t block Mauricio.

I didn’t need to.

For the first time in three years, I no longer cared whether he called or not.

Outside the café window, the waves continued hitting the shore.

The sea was calm.

My heart was calmer.

Meanwhile, in Huai’an Alley, Mauricio’s world was falling apart.

“What do you mean I signed?”

His voice echoed through the administrative center.

The official remained professional.

“Mr. Chen, according to the registry, your signature appears on the co-ownership transfer documents.”

Mauricio grabbed the papers.

His hands trembled.

“No.”

“This is impossible.”

Bianca stood beside him, her face pale.

“Maybe there was a mistake.”

She forced a smile.

“Maybe someone entered the information incorrectly.”

The official shook his head.

“All documents were notarized.”

“According to the system, this property has been registered under joint ownership for two years.”

Two years.

Those two words hit Mauricio harder than anything else.

Because two years ago…

He remembered.

It was the year he started secretly seeing Bianca.

The year he began believing Natalia was only a temporary part of his life.

The year he told Bianca:

“Once I finish handling my marriage, everything will belong to us.”

He had forgotten one thing.

Natalia was never as unaware as he thought.

She was just silent.

“Where did this document come from?”

Mauricio asked.

The official looked at the file.

“Submitted by the property owner.”

“Who?”

The official glanced at the screen.

“Natalia Su.”

Mauricio froze.

For a moment, he understood.

This was not an accident.

It was a message.

Five days ago, he thought Natalia had surrendered.

He thought she left with nothing because she was tired.

He thought the woman who always compromised had finally accepted defeat.

But he was wrong.

She had simply stopped fighting where he could see.

His phone rang again.

The name on the screen was Natalia.

He immediately answered.

“Why?”

His voice was filled with anger and confusion.

“Why did you do this?”

On the other side, my voice was calm.

“I already told you.”

“I did nothing.”

“You did.”

Mauricio lowered his voice.

“You knew about the property transfer.”

“Yes.”

“You knew my name was there.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything during the divorce?”

I looked at the ocean.

“Because you never asked.”

Silence.

Then he laughed bitterly.

“You wanted to embarrass me.”

“No.”

My answer was immediate.

“I wanted the truth to appear naturally.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I didn’t put you in front of the registry.”

“You walked there yourself.”

Mauricio stopped breathing for a second.

Because he understood.

He had taken Bianca there.

He had proudly tried to register a new life.

He had personally placed himself in front of the evidence.

“Natalia.”

His voice softened.

“Let’s talk.”

“About what?”

“About this property.”

I smiled faintly.

There it was.

Not an apology.

Not regret.

Only the thing he cared about.

The house.

The money.

The asset.

“You still don’t understand.”

“What?”

“The problem is not the house.”

“It is that you thought you could erase me from your life and still keep everything I built.”

Mauricio became silent.

The Huai’an house was not just an old abandoned property.

It was the last thing my parents left me.

Before they passed away, they told me:

“Never let anyone convince you that what belongs to you is worthless.”

I had forgotten those words after marrying Mauricio.

Because I loved him.

Because I believed marriage meant sharing everything.

But he confused sharing with taking.

Two days later, Mauricio came to Xiamen.

He found me at the seaside apartment I rented.

When I opened the door, he looked different.

Not like the man who threw keys at me during the divorce.

Not like the man who walked away without looking back.

He looked exhausted.

“Can we talk?”

I stepped aside.

“Come in.”

He entered.

His eyes scanned the simple room.

A small table.

A sofa.

A few books.

No luxury.

No decorations.

Yet somehow…

It looked more peaceful than our old home.

“Natalia.”

He sat down.

“I was wrong.”

I waited.

“I shouldn’t have hidden things from you.”

I looked at him.

“You didn’t just hide things.”

“You replaced me before ending our marriage.”

His face changed.

“Bianca…”

“Don’t.”

I interrupted.

“I don’t want to hear her name.”

For years, I had heard enough.

“I want to know one thing.”

He looked at me.

“Did you ever love me?”

The question seemed to hurt him.

Because he had no prepared answer.

Finally, he whispered:

“Yes.”

I smiled sadly.

“That is the most painful answer.”

“Because someone can love you…”

“And still choose to hurt you.”

Mauricio lowered his head.

“I made mistakes.”

“Yes.”

“But mistakes can be corrected.”

I looked at him.

“Not all mistakes.”

He looked up.

“Why?”

“Because some mistakes show who a person truly is.”

The room became silent.

Then Mauricio took out a document.

“The house.”

“I will give up my share.”

I looked at him.

“You should.”

His expression stiffened.

“You don’t even want to hear my explanation?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because the woman who wanted an explanation was your wife.”

“She died when you chose another woman.”

Those words finally broke his expression.

For a long time, Mauricio said nothing.

Then he stood.

“I understand.”

But I knew he didn’t.

Not completely.

People like Mauricio only understood the value of something after losing the right to possess it.

A month later, the property dispute was resolved.

The investigation confirmed that several documents had been altered.

The co-ownership transfer was invalid.

The property returned completely to my name.

As for Mauricio and Bianca…

Their relationship changed after the truth came out.

The woman who believed she was receiving everything discovered something important.

Mauricio never loved her enough to lose everything for her.

He only loved the idea of starting over.

But starting over required admitting what he destroyed.

And he couldn’t.

One year later, I returned to Huai’an Alley.

The old house had been renovated.

The broken walls were repaired.

The garden my parents planted was alive again.

I stood at the entrance and smiled.

Five days after my divorce, Mauricio discovered that I was still connected to his life.

But he misunderstood something.

I was never trying to hold onto him.

I was only taking back what was always mine.

The house.

My dignity.

And my own future.