Chapter 2

I had been on an IV for two hours in the hospital, and when I came out, I didn’t see Sera’s car.

I was feeling miserable and had no choice but to take a taxi home.

My phone had only just died two minutes ago.

In short, she hadn’t come to pick me up at all.

When did Sera, who used to care for me meticulously, start to become distant and cold?

“You blocked me; I couldn’t call you.”

Sera paused, her anger slightly fading:

“I knew you’d be hungry, so I brought you some late-night snacks—skinny rice porridge.”

I looked at the bowl of porridge.

It was just sprinkled with some scallions, hardly any rice or meat, more like leftovers from someone else’s meal.

Half an hour ago, I had seen Jazz’s post.

The picture showed Sera cooking porridge in the kitchen:

“Who says there are no good women in the world? Not only did she take me for a midnight ride in her Mercedes, but when I was hungry, she also cooked me porridge. It smells amazing!”

I stirred it self-deprecatingly, feeling a wave of nausea:

“Throw it away; I don’t want it.”

Sera’s expression darkened instantly as she glared at me coldly:

“What’s wrong with you? I brought this especially for you, and you just want to throw it away?”

“Am I wrong for being upset that I just transferred the house to Jazz today? It doesn’t mean you can’t live there.

His child has a place to go to school now, and all I got was a thank you post on Facebook. You went and left your sarcastic comments; did I hold that against you?”

My abdominal stitches were barely healed, and now my leg was re-injured; I felt utterly exhausted:

“You misunderstood me; I was just surprised that his property deed had our address on it…”

Sera interrupted impatiently:

“Misunderstood? Jazz is right about you!

You always fly off the handle over nothing, with no grace or tolerance. If I so much as talk to another man, you become paranoid! I think the issue lies with you!”

If it were earlier, I might have argued back, trying to get her to understand the real me.

Now I just stared at her coldly.

Once she finished her hysterical rant, I slowly said:

“Are you done? Could you please turn off the lights?”

She shot me a dark look and slammed the door on her way out, leaving the lights on.

Seconds later, the sound of another door slamming echoed from the living room.

In the past, when she would sleep at Jazz’s place after a fight, I’d lie awake all night.

Tonight, however, I fell asleep comfortably on my own.

The next day, I contacted a friend for a lawyer and consulted about divorce proceedings.

Since that door-slam, Sera had disappeared for three days.

The next time I saw her was in a travel photo shared by her friend Felicity "Flick" Hart.

In the picture, she and a few friends posed together, with Jazz standing beside Sera, both in matching outfits, Jazz's youthful face beaming with joy.

I quietly liked the photo.

Sera, who had been MIA, called me back in an instant:

“I’ll pick you up later to go to the beach and introduce you to my friends.”

After a pause, she added:

“Actually, I didn’t have to invite you; this is a reward for how well you’ve been behaving lately.”

“Sure.”

The divorce was already in motion; I didn’t want to stir things up with her.

Sera came to pick me up as promised, but strangely, Jazz didn’t show up to cause a scene today.

Once we reached the beach, Flick came over to greet me:

“Last time was my gathering, sorry for not giving you a heads-up. I’ll punish myself with three drinks later.”

Flick’s acknowledgment elevated my status in front of everyone.

I offered a perfunctory smile:

“Been busy with company matters recently.”

“I heard you managed to persuade some elite talents to open a branch in Willow Springs; congratulations!”

Flick continued to shower me with compliments.

I smiled slightly:

“That’s the plan, but it’s still uncertain.”

As I spoke, Sera marched over, glaring at me:

“You’re going to Willow Springs? Why didn’t you tell me? Did I permit you to go?”

I turned my head, calmly gazing at her furious face.

The atmosphere around us froze again.

Sera was still loudly questioning me, while Flick could only awkwardly attempt to lighten the mood, suggesting we head to the barbecue.

The server quickly set up the grill, and Sera sat beside me, a rare look of panic flashing across her pretty face:

“I’ve already told Jazz that once his kid graduates from elementary school, we’ll transfer the house back.”

“Don’t be upset; it’s my house, and I don’t have to explain it to you.”

“Oh.”

I nodded calmly.

Before long, a familiar handsome figure walked toward us, and my smile froze.

A girl I had never met but who was close to Flick and Sera jumped up, excitedly waving at Jazz:

“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, Sera’s here, hurry over!”

In an instant, everyone around us gasped.