Goodbye to the Stand-in

"Mr. Flanagan, the draft of the divorce agreement is ready. Shall I send it to you now?"

In the dead silence of the study, Carter Flanagan paused before replying, "No. Keep it with you for now."

He hung up and trudged out of the study. Misty Lawrence was putting on a facial mask outside.

"Misty." Even when Carter was so close to getting a divorce, he still wished to have a talk with Misty and do what he could to save the marriage. After all, he had spent half of his life being in love with Misty.

To his dismay, Misty turned around and asked, "Carter, why haven't you made dinner?"

He reluctantly entered the kitchen and started cooking, but he was too distracted and accidentally got scalded when the hot oil from the pan splattered all over. He tried to dodge the hot oil, only to knock a bowl onto the ground.

The sound of the bowl shattering echoed in the kitchen, causing his heart to drop.

As expected, Misty barged into the kitchen the next moment. When she saw the pattern on the shattered bowl, her eyes widened in anger. She yelled at him, "I've never allowed you to use this bowl! Are you an idiot?"

Following that, her eyes teared up. One would have thought a life was lost from her disproportionate response.

Carter watched the scene unfold with conflicted feelings. The bowl wasn't even worth that much. It was only valuable to Misty because Zach had bought it for her.

"I'm sorry." Lips pursed, he bent down to pick up the pieces, but Misty pushed him away.

She hissed, "Get lost! I don't want you around for now."

She pointed at the door without noticing the burn on Carter's hand.

Carter could no longer contain his disappointment. Before he left, he stopped for a while and whispered, "Misty, it was just a bowl."

The bowl, along with many items in the kitchen, was labeled with Zach's name.

But Misty refused to accept reality. Carter's audacity shocked her as well. "What do you mean? Just a bowl?"

Shocked and enraged, she snapped, "Don't you know Zach and I carefully selected and bought this bowl on the 23rd of August, 2015, when we traveled to a pottery town? Carter, did you do this on purpose?"

Carter closed his eyes. He was overcome with a deep powerlessness.

Every time, Misty would lose her temper and become hysterical when they breached the topic of Zach.

Misty and Zach were childhood sweethearts. Not only were they close, but their families had agreed on an engagement. They were slated to get married as adults. On the other hand, Carter was just one of many admirers of Misty with a one-sided crush.

But no one could see what was coming. Three days before Misty and Zach's wedding, he tragically lost his life in a car accident, leaving behind a grieving Misty. Had her parents not begged her to stay strong, she would have gone through her few attempts to take her life.

After that incident, Misty met with Carter and begged the latter to help her up. It was a long time ago, but never had Carter forgotten the despair and pain in her eyes.

She begged, "Help me forget Zach, will you?"

To Carter, it felt like hitting the jackpot. On one hand, he grieved the loss of Zach's young life, but on the other hand, he was thrilled to be offered a chance to come into Misty's heart.

Misty and Carter hosted a shotgun wedding. After they were married, Carter spent the following eight years trying to make Misty fall in love with him but to no avail.

Carter smirked and said nothing more. Misty could remember the date on which Zach bought a random bowl, but she had forgotten about Carter's birthday—which was today.

The burn on his hand spread to his heart. Soon, his heart became numb. He turned around and stared at Misty with an unusually calm expression.

He announced, "Since we've been married for eight years now, I shall give our marriage eight more chances."

If Misty put him before Zach even once, he would stay in this marriage.

A frown crept onto her forehead. Confused, she wanted to ask him about the remark, but they were interrupted by the doorbell. An expert had arrived to repair the broken bowl.

Misty's attention instantly shifted. She hurried over to answer the door.

Carter stared at her from behind. She had just wasted one chance.

He thought, "Misty Lawrence, do you know I'm so close to giving up on you?"