Your Sky Has Fallen

1 Sebastian had changed. The man who used to greet me with a boundless, golden-retriever warmth now sat in cold silence on the sofa, legs crossed, holding a magazine he’d never read. His gentle face was a stony mask; his eyes glared as if I were a stranger—or worse. Just as I began to speak, my vision glitched. Lines of text floated before my eyes: 【THE MALE LEAD IS REBORN! DON’T LOOK BACK AT THAT TOXIC WOMAN!】 【LAST LIFE HE DIED ALONE FOR HER—NOW MAKE HER PAY!】 【TIME FOR REVENGE!】 I glanced from the floating comments back to Sebastian, still posed like a brooding CEO on our couch. So he’d been reborn. And I was apparently the villainess in his revenge story. How… amusing. A past life? If my memory served me right, Sebastian had a full physical just last week. He was as healthy as a horse; he didn't even have an ulcer, let alone stomach cancer. And me with my old flame, watching fireworks? My so-called "first love" was now a balding, pot-bellied man. Looking at him for too long was a genuine health hazard for my eyes. But clearly, Sebastian believed it all. As I approached, he didn't leap up to take my purse like he usually did. Instead, he coldly turned a page, the paper crackling under the force of his grip. "Aurora. You're back." Listen to that tone. It used to be "sweetheart," then "honey," and now it was the formal, dismissive "Aurora." I wasn't annoyed. I casually tossed my limited-edition handbag aside and gave him a smirk. "What, no dinner tonight?" The old Sebastian would have been scrambling to the kitchen, nervously asking if the soup was seasoned to my liking. But this new Sebastian closed the magazine with the grace of someone signing a billion-dollar deal—a grace slightly undermined by the fact that he was still wearing his pink apron with a teddy bear print on it. "I didn't cook," he said, lifting his gaze. His eyes were simmering with a carefully contained rage and disgust. "Aurora, I am not your maid. And I'm certainly not some tool you use to blow off steam whenever you feel like it." The comments above his head exploded. 【BADASS! THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT! SHUT HER DOWN!】 【HE’S FINALLY STANDING UP FOR HIMSELF! THAT DELIVERY, THAT PRESENCE! OSCAR-WORTHY!】 【ASK FOR A DIVORCE! NOW! LET THAT TOXIC WITCH REGRET IT!】 I raised an eyebrow and walked right up to him. Sebastian flinched instinctively, his body tensing like a cat about to hiss. This "rebirth" thing seemed to have some serious side effects, including a full-blown stress response. I reached out, my fingertips lightly tracing the hard line of his jaw. I felt a tremor run through him—a physical rejection—but deep in his eyes, there was a flicker of something else, something complicated and unreadable. "No dinner is no dinner. Why the attitude?" I pulled my hand back and turned towards the kitchen. "It's fine. I'm not hungry anyway." Sebastian froze. According to the script—or at least, according to the spoilers in the comments—I was supposed to fly into a rage. I was supposed to throw a cup of hot tea in his face and humiliate him for being a useless freeloader. But I didn't. I opened the fridge, took out a bottle of ice-cold water, twisted the cap, and took a long sip, my eyes tracking his reflection in the polished steel. Sebastian was staring daggers at my back. The comments were just as baffled. 【What’s happening? Why isn't she following the script?】 【Shouldn't she be having a meltdown? This is way too calm.】 【Wait… did she get reborn too? No way, this is a solo-reborn plot!】 I smirked to myself. Who said I was the villain? This silly pup was the one who'd cooked up this whole tragic melodrama in his head. When we got married, it was he who had chased me relentlessly, standing in the pouring rain for three hours, begging me to give him a home. I might have a short fuse and be a bit of a workaholic, but I had never, ever mistreated him. His monthly allowance was seven figures. I supported whatever he wanted to do—except for trying to burn down the kitchen. I spoiled him rotten. And this was my reward? The ungrateful brat wakes up from a nap, slaps the "toxic woman" label on me, and plots my downfall? I carried my water back to the living room and sat in the armchair across from him, crossing my long legs in the perfect picture of a heartless capitalist. "Alright. What do you want?" Sebastian took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for battle. From the depths of the sofa cushions, he pulled out a crumpled piece of printer paper and slapped it onto the coffee table. The gesture was powerful, though the grease stains on the paper kind of ruined the effect. "Divorce papers." Sebastian bit out the words, his voice trembling with either rage or excitement, I couldn't tell which. "Aurora, I want a divorce. I'll leave with nothing. I don't want a single penny of your money. All I want is my freedom." The comments erupted in celebration. 【FLOWERS! CONFETTI! THE DIVORCE IS HAPPENING!】 【THAT’S OUR GUY! HE’S GOT DIGNITY! NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE UNDERDOG!】 【FREED FROM THIS GILDED CAGE, OUR MALE LEAD IS ABOUT TO BUILD HIS BUSINESS EMPIRE!】 I glanced at the paper. The handwriting was a mess, like it had been scrawled in a hurry. The terms were brutally simple: he wanted nothing but a clean break, a quick escape from my clutches. I set down my water bottle, leaned forward, and looked him straight in the eye. He squirmed under my gaze but forced himself not to look away, the veins in his neck popping with the effort. "You're sure about this?" I asked. "I'm sure!" he declared, his voice ringing with conviction. "For three years, I've endured your coldness, your neglect! I'm sick of being your accessory! I'm a man, Aurora! I have my pride!" He sounded so passionate, you'd think I spent the last three years whipping him daily. "Fine." I pulled a pen from my purse, uncapped it, and signed my name on the document with a smooth, decisive flourish. "You want to leave? I'll let you." Now it was Sebastian's turn to be stunned. He'd probably expected me to shred the paper, to mock him and tell him he couldn't survive without me, maybe even lock him in the basement like the comments suggested. He never, ever imagined I would agree so easily. So quickly it was as if I were tossing out last season's clothes. Sebastian stared at my signature, his face draining of all color. His lips moved, but no sound came out. The comments went silent for a beat, then exploded with even more fervor. 【WHOA? That easy?】 【Something's wrong. This woman is definitely plotting something!】 【BE CAREFUL, SEB! IT’S A TRAP! SHE’S TRYING TO PLAY HARD TO GET!】 I capped my pen, stood up, and looked down at him. "Pack your things and be out by tonight. That work for you?" Sebastian's head snapped up, and his eyes were suddenly red-rimmed. That abandoned puppy look was back, but he quickly masked it, forcing out a stiff reply. "No problem! I'm leaving right now!" He ripped off the apron, threw it violently onto the floor, and stormed into the bedroom. Two minutes later, a symphony of crashing and banging erupted from the room, sounding less like packing and more like demolition. Meanwhile, the comments scrolled past in a triumphant wave of 【CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ESCAPE FROM HELL!】 The bedroom door flew open again. Sebastian emerged, dragging a massive suitcase, his spine ramrod straight as if he were marching off to war. As he passed me, he hesitated for a fraction of a second, almost as if he was waiting for me to say something, to ask him to stay. I didn't move. I just glanced down at my phone and said coolly, "Don't forget to close the door on your way out." SLAM! The front door slammed shut with enough force to shake dust from the ceiling. I walked to the window and watched his lonely figure drag the heavy suitcase down the street. The comments were still celebrating his glorious liberation. 【HE’S FREE! THE WORLD IS HIS OYSTER!】 【NEXT STOP: THE LOTTERY OFFICE FOR THE WINNING TICKET, THEN A HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF REED CORP!】 【CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THAT WITCH CRYING AND BEGGING HIM TO COME BACK!】