Chapter 2

I sat in the coffee shop across from our apartment complex for an hour.

I waited until they‘d dispersed before finally heading home.

When Ethan saw me return, he set down his phone and came over to take my luggage:

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? I could have picked you up.”

He took the suitcase with one hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist.

Tender and considerate, exactly like always.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

He nodded, then seemed to remember something: “Oh right, there‘s something I need to discuss with you.”

I set down what I was carrying and turned to look at him.

He sighed and pushed a document toward me: “The company’s run into some trouble lately. We need to separate our assets. The lawyer suggested we file for divorce first—just as a formality.”

I looked down—divorce papers.

In such a short time, he‘d already prepared everything.

“Once things blow over, we’ll remarry.” He gripped my hand, his tone sincere. “It‘ll only be a few months.”

I fell silent for a moment.

“I know this is sudden,” he squeezed my palm, then suddenly lowered his voice with a hint of indignation, “but Xavier and Mason called today and kept needling me. They said when you helped them, you didn’t hesitate, but with me it‘s somehow a problem.”

“They even said that after divorcing twice, a woman wouldn’t dare divorce a third time. They said you definitely wouldn‘t be able to handle it.”

“I’ve already thought it through—tomorrow happens to be April Fool‘s Day. We’ll choose that day to file, then wave the certificate in their faces and scare the hell out of them. Let‘s see if they ever dare look down on you again.”

“After all, it’s April Fool‘s Day—anything can be passed off as a joke. Once the company situation settles down, we can legitimately get our certificate back. No one will say anything.”

He looked at me, his eyes filled with both grievance and anticipation: “You won’t let them look down on me, will you?”

I looked into his eyes for a long time.

These flawless, devoted eyes had just been toasting with those two men, saying “she won‘t make a fuss.”

“I won’t.” I gave him what he wanted.

He visibly relaxed, though he quickly disguised it as surprised delight: “Then you should rest first. Tomorrow‘s the first of the month. After we sign the papers, we’ll go—”

I took the pen, flipped to the last page, and signed my name cleanly.

“Call them,” I said with a smile as I set down the pen. “Tell them to stop nagging.”

Ethan froze, apparently not expecting me to agree so readily.

He smiled, put away the papers, then leaned in to kiss me. “You‘re the best wife.”

I let him kiss me, my heart as calm as stagnant water.

He took the agreement to his study to make a call. His voice wasn’t loud, but through the door, I could still hear.

“She signed.”

Xavier‘s voice came faintly through the phone:

“See? I told you—Sophia’s the easiest to handle.”

“Alright, you guys keep Vivian steady on your end. I‘ll head over once I’m done here.”

I sat in the room for a long time.

My phone vibrated. It was a message from Mason:

Haven‘t seen you in a while. Want to get together?

I stared at that message for a long time.

Before, I would have replied “sure.”

I would have carefully considered what to wear, how to do my makeup.

I would have thought about how to preserve Ethan’s dignity in front of them, to let them know I‘d married well.

To make sure they wouldn’t hold grudges against Ethan.

After all, one side was my childhood companions, the other was my beloved husband—both were people I valued deeply...

I didn‘t want them to remain adversaries for life.

But now, I couldn’t even be bothered to reply.

I simply turned my phone face-down on the coffee table and stood up to collect the laundry from the balcony.

As I passed the study, Ethan was still on the phone.

His voice was very low, but carried a kind of relaxed ease I‘d never heard before.

That ease sounded like he no longer needed to pretend or perform.

I suddenly realized that in all our time together, he’d never spoken to me like that.

The wind on the balcony was strong.

I took the clothes off the hangers one by one, folded them, and placed them in the basket.

As I finished with the last piece, my phone lit up again.

This time it was Xavier:

Heard you‘re getting divorced again?

Ethan’s such a jerk. He doesn‘t deserve you. Don’t be sad.

Your grandfather‘s eightieth birthday banquet is in a few days. Mason and I will attend together. Let’s have a proper reunion!

I laughed dryly. How nice of him to say.

As if he weren‘t the one strategizing in the living room earlier.

I pressed the power button and shoved my phone in my pocket.

I suddenly wanted to know what kind of person Vivian Lane was.

To be worth the three of them scheming so elaborately to keep a promise.

To be worth them treating me so casually as a tool to achieve their goal.

But then I thought—there was no point.

It didn’t matter anymore.

I picked up the laundry basket and turned to go back inside. My steps didn‘t pause as I passed the study.

Warm yellow light spilled through the crack in the door.

This lamp, this home, this man—

Starting tomorrow, they’d have nothing to do with me.