I'm Her Husband, but He's Her Man

I sat in the study and read through the divorce agreement again. The terms were listed clearly on paper.

Under the property division section, I didn't ask for anything. The premarital house and the car would go to the woman I was married to, Eva Burnham. The shares in the company had nothing to do with me, either.

I only had to take my own savings with me.

I signed my name, Jeremy Holden, on the agreement.

Three years ago, I had hoped that even though our marriage was just a transactional agreement, something good might come out of it if I put in enough effort.

I was so stupid back then.

I slid the document into an envelope and placed it on the coffee table. Then, I grabbed my phone and pulled up my conversation with Eva.

I sent a message. "Please come home early today. There's something I want to discuss with you."

A few minutes later, a reply popped up. "Okay."

I turned off my phone and tossed it onto the couch.

Turning around, I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water.

The kitchen was huge. It had a side-by-side fridge, a built-in oven, and imported top-grade utensils all neatly arranged.

But I rarely used them.

Back when we had just gotten married, there were several occasions when I tried making dinner so Eva could have hot food waiting for her when she came home.

The first time, I made pork chops and gravy. She had one bite and said it was fine.

Then, a call came in. After taking the call, she went back out the door, saying something came up on Charlie Springer's end.

The second time, I made clam chowder, but she didn't even come home.

The third time, I prepared a whole feast, and I toiled from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Eva came back this time, but with Charlie in tow. The two were chatting as they entered the house. When Eva saw the feast on the table, she was stunned for a moment. Then, she said, "We already have plans to eat out."

Standing behind her, Charlie looked at me and smiled. "That must've been a lot of work."

Even now, I felt my stomach churning when I recalled that smile.

After that, I never made any meals.

The clock struck seven, but Eva didn't come home.

At 8:00 pm, she still wasn't home.

It was already 9:00 pm when I received a notification.

I glanced at my phone. It was a message from Eva. "Something came up with Charlie, so I'll be home late. Go get some sleep. Don't wait up."

I stared at the message for a long time. There it was again. "Go get some sleep. Don't wait up."

I had gotten quite familiar with those words over the past three years. Every time it happened, it always had something to do with Charlie.

There was always something going on with Charlie, and Eva always had to do something about it. She had to be there for him when he got sick, got upset, moved houses, and even when he got a cat.

Once, Charlie was craving cakes from a bakery on the other side of the city. Eva drove 40 minutes just to get those cakes. Then, she brought them to his apartment and only went home when he had finished eating.

It was already 1:00 am by then.

I had asked her, "Did you have dinner?"

She had replied, "Yes, at Charlie's place."

After that, she took a shower and went straight to the study.

I should have figured it out that day, but I didn't.

I thought that since we were married, we should give each other some time.

Maybe one day, Eva would realize that I wasn't too bad after all. Maybe if I did well enough, she could find it in herself to turn around and focus on our marriage for once.

Now that I thought about it, if she never cared about me, everything I did, no matter how well I did it, would be in vain.

She wouldn't like me just because I was outstanding in any way. She would only think that my success had nothing to do with her.

I didn't reply to her message.

In the past, I would always respond to indicate that I got the message. Sometimes, I would even tell her to take care. I believed I would look gracious and understanding if I did that.

But today, I wanted to do none of that.

Either way, in a few days, I wouldn't have to receive any messages from her anymore.