Chapter 3

After the call ended, I calmly closed my laptop.

“Nothing.”

“I was just talking to my professor about divorce.”

Olivia's expression changed instantly.

She walked straight over to me.

“What divorce?”

“You're divorcing me?”

I took a step back, my voice calm.

“No.My professor was asking for my opinion on a divorce case.”

Hearing that, Olivia visibly relaxed.

She didn't ask anything else. Instead, she handed me the paper bag in her hand.

“This is for you.”

The logo on the bag belonged to a whiskey shop I loved.

Back in college, whenever we argued, Olivia used to bring me whiskey for apology.

She remembered exactly how I took it.

At the time, I thought that was what love looked like.

Thinking about it, my expression softened without me realizing it.

I took the bag.

“You still remember…”

I stopped halfway.

“What is this?”

I stared at what was inside, and something in my chest sank.

It wasn't whiskey.

It was a men's suit.

More precisely, the suit Ethan had been wearing tonight.

It still carried a faint trace of his cologne and the smell of alcohol.

I looked up at Olivia.

For once, she looked slightly embarrassed.

“Ethan's suit got dirty.”

“I remembered how you used to handle these things for me, so I brought it home.”

“Take it to the dry cleaner tomorrow.”

She said it so naturally.

I stared at her for a few seconds.

Then I held the bag out to her.

“Do it yourself.”

Olivia froze.

“What?”

“I said, do it yourself.”

Her expression changed.

“You're really going to make a big deal out of this?”

I didn't answer.

She seemed to remember something and added,

“If it bothers you, I'll use another Second Chance.”

“We have plenty left.”

“Don't make a big deal out of something this small.”

I looked at her.

For a moment, I almost wanted to tell her.

Olivia.

There aren't that many left.

There were only two Second Chances remaining.

But there was no point anymore.

I put the suit back into her hands.

“Then use one.”

I turned and walked toward the bedroom.

In the past, I'd handled every little thing around the house just to make her life easier.

Dry cleaning.

Bills.

Schedules.

Even the problems at work that no one else wanted to touch, I'd take care of them for her.

After all, I was her husband.

And the person she trusted most with anything involving the law.

But somewhere along the way, she'd grown used to treating everything I did as something she was entitled to.

This time, I wasn't going to fix it for her.

I wasn't going to clean up after Ethan.

I wasn't going to make excuses for her.

And I certainly wasn't going to wait around for her to change her mind.

I was simply tired.

When I returned to the bedroom, Olivia was still standing in the living room, holding Ethan's suit.

She looked surprised.

“That's it?”

“You're not going to take care of it?”

I shook my head.

“No.”

Then I opened my suitcase and started packing my things.

Olivia watched me for a moment, then her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen.

It was Ethan.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned and walked out onto

the balcony.

I hadn't intended to listen.

But her voice still drifted back to me.

“What happened?”

I couldn't hear what Ethan said.

Olivia quickly laughed.

“Of course I remember.”

“Stay there. I'll keep you company.”

My footsteps stopped.

Those words.

She used to say the same thing to me.

Back when I was working late on major deals, Olivia would stay up with me until two or three in the morning.

She'd sit beside me, bring me coffee, and wait until I finished.

She never complained.

But now, she was staying up late for another man.

The words were the same.

Only the person beside her had changed.

Ethan said something else.

Olivia laughed as she reassured him.

“Don't worry. Your suit is already at the dry cleaner. Ryan took care of it.”

“Don't worry. You'll have it tomorrow.”

“Yeah. He's used to handling things like this.”

My fingers went still.

So not every act of kindness goes unappreciated.

Sometimes, it's simply a matter of who you choose to give it to.

And I was no longer that person.

I didn't listen any longer.

I turned and went back into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later, Olivia knocked on the door.

“Ryan.”

“There are still some things at the office I need to deal with. I have to go.”

“Get some sleep.”

I lay on the bed without turning around.

“Okay.”

She walked toward the door.

Her hand was already on the doorknob.

I suddenly spoke.

“Olivia.”

She stopped.

“What is it?”

I looked at her back and remained silent for several seconds.

Then I asked,

“If you don't come home tonight, can I use one of our Second Chances?”

Olivia's entire body stiffened.

Slowly, she turned around.

For the first time that night, she truly looked at me.

And for the first time, I realized something with absolute clarity.

I had nothing left to lose.