La peine de l'amour

The divorce papers were printed half an hour ago. Before that, I was sitting on the couch in the living room all night.

The dozen dishes I carefully prepared remained untouched on the dining table. The Ultraman-themed cake had melted beyond recognition.

Yesterday was my son Anthony’s birthday.

My husband, Mark Lennon, told me to prepare everything, and that he would bring Anthony back for his birthday.

However, I waited for hours at home, only to be disappointed by Sophie's post of the perfect family of four.

How ridiculous.

Mark did not expect me to ask for a divorce. He frowned and tore up the agreement.

"Lily, what's all the fuss about? We only went to meet Sophie and forgot to tell you about it, didn't we?"

After saying that, his gaze fell on the food on the dining table, and a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes.

His tone softened, "Fine, I forgot to call you last night. It was my fault. I will fix that. I'll clean up the table. You go and take a nap. I'll take you and Anthony out for a meal at noon."

He had always been like this, slapping me hard in the face and then rewarding me with sweet gestures after.

Even if he knew that he had gone too far, he would never apologize but only grace me with a way out.

If I didn't act accordingly, he would fight back until I give up and comply.

In the past, I would give in, but this time, I just took out another set of divorce agreements and threw it on the coffee table, "I printed dozens of copies, you can tear them up again."

Mark was so furious that he shattered a bowl into pieces.

He impatiently stared at me and said, "Aren't you just jealous that Anthony likes Sophie more? Lily, don't you forget, you owe her! Anthony and I are taking care of Sophie and her daughter to atone for your sins!"

Atone for my sins? What sin?

Sophie and I were best friends. During the summer break of our junior year, she asked me to hang out.

I was about to head home in the evening. I wanted to take the main road, but she insisted on taking a smaller road and said that a friend was waiting for her at the intersection.

So we parted ways.

The next morning when I woke up, Mark rushed to my house and grabbed my collar.

He asked me why I didn’t call the police and why I didn't care about Sophie.

I was confused at first, but later found out that Sophie had been assaulted by some gangsters after we parted ways.

Sophie claimed that she got caught by them because she wanted to protect me from the gangsters.

She was lying.

I tried my best to defend myself, but no one believed me. The surveillance system was faulty too, so I was left with all the blame.

Since then, I have been seen as a sinner in everyone's eyes.

My parents reprimanded me for being ruthless, and Mark blamed me for being cold-blooded.

All their love for me was given to Sophie in the name of making amends.

They even took my child away, saying that I had no morals and was unworthy of raising him.

Because of this, Anthony and I's relationship hung on a thread. No matter what, I loved him dearly, and I tried hard to amend our relationship.

The two of us looked at each other.

His eyes were cold and full of disdain, as if I was his enemy, "You ruined my father's and Aunt Sophie's lives. Without you, Aunt Sophie would have been my mother."

I shuddered with a frown, "Who told you so?"

Anthony frowned, "Isn't it?"

I looked at Mark, expecting an explanation.

However, he just avoided my gaze, "Anthony expressed that if that incident never happened, I would have married Sophie instead."

In the past, I would demand an explanation. He was my childhood sweetheart, I was the one that introduced them to each other. I was his girlfriend first.

Now… I could not care anymore.

No matter what Anthony asked of me, I decided that I would have nothing to do with him from now on.

I picked up my suitcase and walked out the door, "Have a good read, I shall see you at the attorney's."