Chapter 3

"Where did you hide the foot bath?" Angela asked.

I couldn't be bothered to respond. I pulled the blanket over my head, turned over, and went back to sleep.

…

Early the next morning, to my surprise, Angela didn't go to see her lover. Instead, she was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"You're up? Have some hot chicken soup to warm your stomach."

Angela urged me to drink the chicken soup, though her expression looked strained. I knew she was offering me a way out.

"Drink quickly. I still have to bring breakfast to Sam later. He's not as petty as you. He even told me not to argue with you and said you don't need to apologize to him. You should count yourself lucky."

Hearing that, I immediately set down my bowl and spoon. So the carefully prepared nutritious breakfast was meant for Samuel. I was just incidental.

That made sense. She had always been cold and distant. How could she possibly make breakfast on her own just to please me?

But now, I couldn't be bothered to say anything more to her. I simply handed her the divorce agreement I had already prepared.

"Before you leave, sign this," I said.

She pushed it back without even looking at it. "A contract? I'm going to the office later. We can sign it anytime. The chicken soup won't taste good once it cools."

As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up the lunch box and cheerfully headed for the door.

Watching her impatience, I said flatly, "It's a divorce agreement."

Angela stopped immediately. She turned around, wearing an expression that said she had finally seen through my trick.

"Are you still insisting you're not mad? I just accepted his proposal. That was just to lighten the mood. Besides, I'm already married to you. What's there to worry about?" she asked, looking completely indifferent.

"Let's get a divorce. I'll let you be with the one you love."

Angela braced her hands on her waist, her brows tightly furrowed. "How many times do I have to say it? We just have a normal superior-subordinate relationship. Ronald, why are you still acting all jealous like a kid at your age?"

Every time we argued, she used the same explanation. I used to argue back, but I had long since grown tired of it. "Yes, I get it. It's just a normal relationship."

This time I didn't make a fuss, yet she became angry instead. "Ronald, what kind of attitude is that? Haven't I already explained everything?"

My voice remained flat, completely devoid of emotion. "It's nothing. Hurry and bring him the food. It's not good for a patient to go hungry."

A loud bang echoed as the lunch box was slammed onto the table.

Angela stared at me, her face filled with anger and disappointment. "I'm already exhausted from taking care of a patient. If you won't help, can you at least stop making things difficult?"

My hand froze around the spoon. I thought my heart had long gone numb, yet at this moment, I still stared at her in shock.

I thought of the video Samuel had posted on Instagram, where Angela attended to him and fed him herself, her eyes filled with a tenderness I had never once seen. Our ten years together counted for less than the hundred days she had spent with someone else.

As Angela continued scolding me, I couldn't be bothered to waste my breath and stayed silent.

Angela was fuming. In the end, worried about wasting her precious time, she finally stopped lecturing me and stormed out.

Her secretary kept sending me one message after another, telling me to handle some work. I told her to go directly to Angela and then submitted my resignation to the HR department.

The HR manager rejected my request. "Mr. Pearson, Ms. Reed said that you need to talk to her in person."

Wasn't she busy accompanying Samuel? Where would she find time for my affairs?

I called her several times in a row, but none were answered.

I opened Samuel's Instagram account with practiced ease. Sure enough, I spotted signs of Angela. Samuel was discharged today, and Angela had personally picked him up and brought him back to the office to welcome him back.

I took a cab and rushed to the office.

Along the way, coworkers avoided me whenever they saw me.

"Ronald's in trouble. I heard he upset Ms. Reed's boyfriend so badly at the awards ceremony that he ended up in the hospital."