Chapter 2

Renee said, "Alright, alright. Stop being mad at me. I promise that we'll finally go public on our third wedding anniversary."

I paused for a few seconds, hesitating only briefly before prying her fingers off me.

I met her confused gaze and said, "There's no need to go public anymore. Let's just get a divorce."

Renee looked like she'd just heard a joke. "You're kidding."

I shook my head.

She pressed her lips together as her eyes grew cold. "All because of Aspen's slippers?"

My lips moved. I wanted to tell her that it was not the case, but I suddenly realized that if she still never noticed anything after my three years of endurance and over a thousand days of suffering, she was probably just turning a blind eye to them on purpose. So, would it really matter if I corrected her now?

I lowered my eyes and ignored her for the first time, turning to walk into the bedroom.

She yanked me back. "Wait a minute!"

She then pointed at the living room matter-of-factly and said, "Aren't you going to clean this up first?"

I stared at the hand she used to point at the living room, noticing the thin, slender fingers that were no longer wearing our wedding ring. There wasn't even a trace of the ring's mark on her finger to prove that she wore it at all.

She'd taken the ring off the day after we got married. Back then, I had asked her aggrievedly why she'd done that, and she'd leaned into my ear and comforted me, though in an amused manner.

"I know that you're upset, but I still have class in the afternoon, and I can't let anyone know about this. I'll just put the ring back on when I get home later, alright?"

She'd put it so nicely, but she never put the ring back on her finger again after that.

At times, I would make a fuss about it, and she'd just give me a look like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

"Jerry, I just got promoted to Associate Professor at work, and the university's leadership thinks very highly of me now. I can't afford to get embroiled in any scandals. We should be cautious about this."

I had been really naive then, believing every single word she said. I never once thought that the ring would be just like me and our marriage in her eyes—nothing more than just a trivial and dispensable detail.

It didn't compare to Aspen getting a stomachache. It didn't compare to him missing home and losing his appetite. It also didn't compare to him missing out on a year-end bonus and needing Renee's personal comfort.

I thought about the past before looking back at the mess in the living room. A chill crept up from the soles of my feet.

The tablecloth was stained with large patches of brown grease. The braised ribs in the ceramic dish had long since congealed into a black, waxy-looking thing that looked like it was shattered under the cold fluorescent light—just like my marriage to Renee.

It looked polished and shiny on the surface, but in reality, it was riddled with holes everywhere.

Renee didn't know that I'd spent two hours grocery shopping, three hours in the kitchen, and several more waiting in the cold fall wind outside her apartment. She never bothered to ask me if I was cold, tired, or hungry.

All she did was tell me to clean up after her guests' mess, as though I was just an hourly maid she'd hired who could be summoned and dismissed at will.

A desolate smile spread across my lips, reflected in the cold, half-eaten leftovers on the table, making the scene look even more wretched.

Renee didn't say a single word. She reached out to touch my forehead and asked, "What is wrong with you? Why are you acting so out of it today?"

I brushed her hand off and rejected her for the first time.

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep. Whoever made the mess can clean it up. If you don't want to, then hire a cleaner."

With that, I turned and went straight into the bedroom.

"Jerry, what on earth is the matter with you? What's with this sudden attitude?"

Renee's familiar accusations rang in my ears, but I didn't panic or scramble for an explanation as I used to anymore. I just continued walking into the en suite bathroom and let the warm water drench every pore on my skin.

Finally, I felt alive again.

Renee was right. It was hard for an orphan with no familial background to further his studies in a new city without any connections.

So, when I was locked up by bullies in the restroom and later got rescued by her, I immediately began developing feelings for her. At that time, she was just a new TA at the university.

She was young and pretty, always smiling, and she'd blush whenever she was around me. She helped me out time and time again, and as one thing led to another, we began dating in secret.

We registered our marriage the moment I graduated from university. Back then, we would sit together on the mountaintop, watching the sunset, and she would insist on draping her jacket over me even as she shivered in the cold.

"Let's live together, Jerry. This way, I'll be able to see you and the little orange light you leave on for me whenever I come home."

The sound of rushing water filled my ears. My gaze then swept over the overlapping handprints on the mirror, and I snapped back to reality at once.

I picked up my phone. As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I said in an extremely calm voice, "Kindly draft up a divorce agreement for me."