---- Chapter 8 used to stubbornly keep a lamp lit, no matter how late it got, waiting for Mike to return before I could sleep peacefully. It was as if that warm, dim light could illuminate his way home and warm the heart that waited for him. However, things were different now. This time, I wasn't as foolish as I once had been. When Mike dragged his tired body back home, the clock had already silently ticked past 2 0'clock in the morning. The moment he pushed the door open, the house was pitch black and deathly silent. The warm light that used to be left on for him was gone, replaced only by the faint moonlight seeping through the window, outlining the furniture in vague, shadowy shapes. He instinctively furrowed his brows, seemingly unsettled by the unfamiliar darkness. ---- In the days that followed, I completely changed my old habits. It wasn't just that one night-I no longer lit that hopeful little lamp for him on any night thereafter. Nor did I wait expectantly in the living room for the sound of the door opening, for his return. For three full days, I treated him as if he were thin air, not uttering a single word to him. The atmosphere at home had become cold to the extreme. Perhaps, finally sensing this unusual coldness, Mike returned that day with a delicate gift box in his hands. He walked up to me, a slightly awkward look of apology appearing on his face, and said in a soft voice, "This is for you, Shannon." After a pause, he turned his head slightly and continued, "Oliver was a bit unruly the other day and caused some trouble. I'm apologizing on his behalf- to you and Melanie." ---- As he spoke, he gently opened the box. Inside lay a necklace, resting quietly on a velvet lining. The design was outdated -clearly from another era. He seemed oblivious to that, reaching in to take it out, and leaned toward me slightly with a hint of trying to please me. "Come, let me put it on for you." I gave the necklace a cold glance, then turned aside expressionlessly to avoid him. My tone was calm as ever. "No need." In fact, that necklace wasn't unfamiliar to me. I had seen it once in Jennifer's Twitter. Back then, she had mocked it with disdain, writing that the style was so outdated and cheap that keeping it was pointless-yet throwing it away felt like a chore. Without a word, I walked past Mike, returned to the room, and swiftly picked up Melanie.