Chapter 2

I begged Nicole not to treat this as a joke.

She always promised she wouldn't, only to start pushing things even further after some time had passed.

Now she'd even tagged me directly in the group chat.

[Kenneth, I've decided to bring Chris home and let him sleep in our master bedroom. You won't get mad, will you?]

The group chat immediately flooded with messages.

[Nicole, you're really taking this too far. He's definitely going to get angry!]

[Whoa, whoa, whoa! Start recording. I can't wait to see Kenneth lose it.]

Nicole was eagerly waiting for me to blow up.

She even started a bet, wagering that I'd lose my temper within twenty-four hours.

Everyone else joined in.

[I bet he won't even last a minute.]

[That's too soon. I say two hours.]

The group chat was filled with gleeful messages.

They were all treating my emotions like entertainment.

The person leading the whole game was the woman who had once promised at our wedding that she'd spend the rest of her life by my side.

"Kenneth, no matter what happens in the future, I'll always be by your side, take care of you, and never leave you."

Looking back now, it only felt ridiculous.

I immediately opened the group chat settings and chose to leave the group.

Nicole noticed right away and messaged me.

[Kenneth, are you angry?]

[No!]

[Don't lie. If you aren't angry, why are you threatening me with divorce? You're pretty good at pretending. I want to see how long you can keep it up.]

She didn't know that I wasn't threatening her.

I was serious about the divorce.

My parents were furious.

I spent a long time calming them down and told them I would divorce Nicole and cut ties with her. Only then did they finally feel at ease.

I didn't go back to the home I shared with Nicole that night.

I stayed out all night.

Nicole didn't message me. Instead, I got a call from my mother-in-law, Meredith Stormer.

"Kenneth, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. I've had the chef prepare a big meal at your place today. Bring your parents over. We should properly apologize to your family."

I didn't want to go back at first, but they were my in-laws, and refusing would've been rude. Besides, there were some things I needed to make clear.

I didn't plan on bringing my parents. Their health wasn't great, and this was my problem to deal with.

When I returned to that house, everything had changed.

Chris was the one who opened the door.

My shoes had been thrown away and replaced with a new pair of matching couple's shoes that belonged to Nicole and Chris.

The wedding photo that had been hung in the middle of the living room was gone too. In its place were sweet pictures of Nicole and Chris from when they were dating.

Even my personal mug on the table had disappeared. It was replaced by a brand-new pair of matching mugs.

Every trace of me in that house seemed to have been erased overnight.

It was as if all the happy memories I'd shared with her had been nothing but an illusion.

This had become Nicole and Chris' home.

When Meredith saw me, she pretended to complain. "Kenneth, Nicole's just too spoiled. She loves joking around. Don't take her too seriously."

Nicole's father, Felix Stormer, sat on the couch while watching the news. He seemed completely unconcerned. "Don't youngsters like playing games these days? You have to know how to take a joke and let it go. That's what makes a real man."

That was easy for him to say.

If Meredith were acting this way with another man, would he still be saying the same thing?

Since he was my father-in-law, I didn't argue with him.

Meredith smiled. "All right, enough about that. Everyone's here, so I'll get ready to serve dinner."

One dish after another was brought to the table. I took one look and realized every single dish was something I hated.

Meredith might be showing a polite attitude, but I knew she and Felix had always looked down on me. They believed my family wasn't good enough for Nicole.

Whenever we ate together, they deliberately ordered food I didn't like.

Back then, whenever Nicole noticed, she'd stand up to her parents and defend me.