Chapter 2

I simply couldn't tolerate her and her 'junior's' dirty "pure" relationship anymore!

I looked at her calmly. "If that's the case, then I guess you should stop embarrassing yourself. Let's just get a divorce."

My marriage to Mia was purely by accident.

A few years ago, I was selling masks on SnapChat.

Back then, Mia was my boss. She saw my post and asked me to deliver them to her place.

That day, as soon as I handed her the masks, an ambulance took away a few suspected cases from her apartment complex. She had no choice but to let me stay.

Over time, feelings grew, and we naturally got together.

But my nightmare was just beginning.

Mia had been divorced once before, because her ex-husband cheated. So after we married, she was very strict with me.

I couldn't even like or comment on posts from other women on SnapChat. Once, I helped a female colleague get a discount on Wish, and she yelled at me all night for it.

At first, I didn't pay much attention. I knew she'd been hurt by her ex-husband, and that's why she was so guarded.

Plus, I hadn't dated much and naively believed men should always defer to women.

Later, she complained that my parents weren't good at taking care of our son, claiming they weren't educated enough and were too permissive with him.

So she made me quit my job and become a stay-at-home dad.

When we got married, I promised I'd meet all her demands, so I agreed.

It was around this time that her college junior, Carter, came back to the States.

My wife casually invited me to dinner with him.

At the table, they talked about their college days, how my wife used to take care of him, and how he admired her.

Carter even said that if my wife weren't already married, he'd definitely pursue her now that he was back.

Afterward, I seriously told my wife that Carter's words were inappropriate.

But my wife retorted, "Is "he" out of line, or are "you" just oversensitive? It was just a joke, why are you making such a big deal out of it? We're going to be seeing each other all the time, so don't say such senseless things anymore!"

"Seeing each other all the time? What do you mean?"

"I've decided to hire Carter at the company. You quit to take care of our son, and the company is short-staffed right now. So Carter's timing is perfect; he can fill the gap your absence leaves."

In the following days, my wife and her junior frequently went out together.

She even forgot our wedding anniversary, only coming home the next morning.

I smelled the alcohol on her and asked her what she'd been doing. She looked at the food I'd prepared on the table and explained, "Carter just got back, right? His girlfriend abroad broke up with him, so I was comforting him and we had some drinks. What day was yesterday, anyway? You made all this delicious food?"

"You forgot our wedding anniversary just to comfort him?"

My wife paused, then actually said, "Good thing I forgot. If Carter's heartbreak happened on our anniversary, he'd be even more miserable."

I was furious. I immediately wanted to call Carter and yell at him.

But my wife stopped me, calling me petty and a small man who couldn't achieve anything significant.

I said, "Mia, you're becoming more and more like your ex-husband."

"William, what do you mean by bringing up my ex-husband? You've looked down on me for being divorced from the start, haven't you? I know you resent me. I won't burden you; I can divorce you!"

Faced with her emotional blackmail, I could only reassure her that I didn't mean it.

Then I apologized, silently enduring it, until this business trip she took with Carter.

I was genuinely fed up with this life. Anyone else who wants this, go ahead.

I'm only twenty-eight, and I already have gray hairs!

But the next morning, Mia knocked on my bedroom door.

To my surprise, she shed her usual high-and-mighty CEO persona and said, "Honey, yesterday was my fault."

Every time we argued before, she would be the one to bring up divorce, and I would apologize.

And every time, she would genuinely believe I was in the wrong.

But after a night of struggling with my thoughts, I knew what I wanted now.

"No, Ms. Mia, you're perfectly fine. It's me who's wrong. Actually, we never should have been together from the start. Let's get divorced while we're still young, so neither of us wastes any more time."

Hearing my words, my wife truly panicked.

She grabbed me and demanded, "William, I've already apologized to you. What more do you want?"

That's her. Even an apology had to be delivered from on high.

Besides, just because she apologized, did I have to accept it?

"I said, I want a divorce."

She clung to my hand, her voice agitated. "William, if we divorce, what about our son?"

I shot back, "When Carter was hugging you, did you think about our son then?"

At my words, Mia's expression changed dramatically. The muscles in her face twitched uncontrollably.

She finally realized why I was divorcing her.

"William, were you at the airport yesterday?"

"Yes, I was. I meant to bring our son to surprise you, but instead, it turned into a nasty surprise for me. You two are quite a match. If I stayed any longer, it would be me being inconsiderate."

The calmer I was, the more frightened Mia became.

Her voice trembling, she explained, "William, listen to me. Carter lived abroad for years. Maybe his thinking is a bit Westernized. A hug really means nothing to him! How about this: next time he does something like that, I'll stop him."

"No need. You two are basically having sex, and it has nothing to do with me anymore. Are you free today? We can make an appointment at the divorce court."

Every word I spoke conveyed my firm decision to divorce her. She realized my resolve.

She rushed outside, telling me, "William, you're just jealous right now. Once you calm down, you won't want to divorce me. I just got back from a business trip, and I have a ton of stuff to do at work. I don't have time to go to the divorce court with you!"

I knew she was deliberately trying to stall.

She thought if she waited for me to cool off, for me to "understand," everything would go back to normal.

But she didn't understand that the moment I saw her not resist Carter's embrace, my heart had already died.

First, I took our son to my parents' house, asking them to look after him for a few days.

My parents immediately knew something was wrong between Mia and me and quickly asked.

I didn't hide anything, explaining that I was planning to divorce Mia.

My parents initially tried to persuade me, but they also knew how dominant and demanding Mia was.

Faced with my persistence, they stopped pushing.

Considering that Mia had paid for everything we ate and used over the past few years, I was prepared to leave with nothing.

My next step, then, was to find a job.

Luckily, I'd graduated from a prestigious university and had only been out of work for a year. So, from finding a job to getting hired, it only took me a day.

That evening, I went home to pack my bags.

I was carrying three suitcases, ready to leave, when I bumped into my wife getting off the elevator.

And with her, was Carter.