Chapter 2

I gave a curt nod.

Then, I turned my gaze directly to Ethan.

"Come to the study. We need to talk."

Seeing my cold expression, the smile on Ethan's face instantly vanished, replaced by deep annoyance.

"Let's do it another day. Today is Lily’s birthday, and I don’t have time to argue with you."

"If you're really that bored, go cook in the kitchen. It’s almost lunchtime. Even if you're not hungry, Lily is."

I let out a dry laugh. The sheer absurdity of it all was mind-blowing.

"Does this house not have maids? Why does everyone have to wait for me to cook?"

"I’m tired. I'm not doing it."

With that, I pulled the divorce papers from my bag and handed them to Ethan.

"I came back today to get a divorce. Sign this, and we're done."

A flash of surprise crossed Ethan's face. He stared at the document in my hand but didn't reach for it.

Instead, he slapped the papers out of my hand.

He glared at me, furious.

"Sera, are you seriously doing this again?"

"You walk in the door with a long face, acting like a victim. So what if we didn't make it back yesterday? You have a birthday every year. We can just throw you a separate one next year. Threatening me with divorce? Who are you trying to scare?"

I didn't get angry. I calmly knelt down, picked up the papers, and brushed off the dust.

Then, I looked up at him.

"I'm not playing games, Ethan. I just realize our marriage is completely pointless."

"Divorce is a release for both of us."

Downstairs, my parents heard our raised voices and hurried up the steps.

Before they could ask what was happening, Lily suddenly grabbed my hand and began to sob.

"Please don't fight! It's all my fault."

"I'm so sorry, Sera. I shouldn't have been so greedy and said I wanted your lasagna. And yesterday, going to the beach was just a sudden idea of mine... I forgot to text you, and I made you wait all day. But why do you have to get a divorce over something so small?"

Hearing this, my parents' faces turned pale with anger.

They immediately started pointing fingers and yelling at me.

"I knew it!" my mom snapped. "You ignored me downstairs because you were still holding a grudge about yesterday. We are literally celebrating your birthday today too! What more do you want?"

My dad chimed in. "Fine, we’ll just let the maids cook lunch today. You really can’t handle even a little bit of compromise, can you?"

Even Ethan, who had been furious with me a second ago, softened the moment he saw Lily’s tears.

He completely forgot about the divorce papers and began to comfort her gently.

"Don't cry, Lily. It’s your birthday today. You’ll ruin your makeup."

"Sera just has a bad temper. Ignore her. She would never actually leave me."

With that, Ethan wrapped his arm around Lily and led her downstairs.

My parents followed closely, taking turns comforting her while she continued to sniffle.

I was ignored. Again.

Standing there with the divorce papers in my hand, I felt like an absolute joke.

I lowered my head, fighting back the burning tears in my eyes. I decided I would just file for a contested divorce through a lawyer.

But as I reached the front door, Ethan blocked my path.

Seeing my red, watery eyes, Ethan’s gaze flickered with a brief moment of guilt, but his voice remained harsh.

"You can't leave! Lily won't stop crying. She thinks she’s the reason we're fighting. Go back to the dining room and eat. Explain to her that it's not her fault. It’s her birthday, after all."

"I don't want her to be miserable today."

I snapped my head up. The tears finally spilled over.

I looked at Ethan with absolute despair and screamed, "What about me?!"

"You don't want Lily to be unhappy on her birthday. But what about me? I was stood up by my own husband and parents on my birthday! Did you ever stop to think about how I felt?"

Ethan fell dead silent. He couldn't find a single word to answer me.

I quickly wiped my tears, refusing to waste any more energy arguing.

I pushed past him and kept walking.

Behind me, Ethan's voice softened in defeat.

"Fine! I was wrong. I apologize, okay?"

I didn't stop.

Then, Ethan shouted, "Sera, stop!"

"If you go in there and explain things to Lily, I will sign the divorce papers."