Chapter 6

"Honey, I think… I left the flask somewhere," Carina said sheepishly. "Just put the broth in another flask for now. I'll look for it today. I'm sure I'll find it…"

"Don't bother looking. I won't be making the broth any longer."

Allen finished his breakfast without another word before slapping the marriage certificate and his ID on the table. "Let's go file for a divorce."

"Why are you still throwing a tantrum?" Carina frowned at Allen's mention of the divorce again.

She started to think she'd been too nice to Allen this whole time.

As a result, because of one misunderstanding, he didn't bother to wait up for her last night, refused to prepare her breakfast, and didn't even make the bone broth for her. What exactly did he want?

Did he seriously want a divorce?

She thought for a moment before smirking. "How could you bear to divorce me? All of the luxury cars, the villa, and even the company belong to my family.

"Even if you've done so much for my family, if we get a divorce, you'll get nothing. You'll be left without a family, a career, or even any accomplishments to your name. I doubt you'd willingly give up on everything you've built over the years just to leave me.

"Besides, your sister's medical bills cost over a million dollars a year. How can you afford that if you leave the family? So, all you're really doing is trying to get my attention, right?"

After all, she'd been neglecting Allen a bit lately. Before Jonah came back, they had a loving, inseparable couple.

"Alright. Stop fussing. Come on then. Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you. A new watch? A luxury car? Some property? You can have anything you want, except for another woman. Just make sure you don't bring up divorce for no reason anymore, got it?"

Allen's face darkened as he listened to Carina's conceited interpretation of the situation.

"Carina, if I were in this for money, I would have left you the moment your dad went bankrupt. I've said it before. I'm willing to make all sorts of compromises, except when it comes to loyalty. That's the line I won't let anyone cross."

"How many times must I tell you that I haven't betrayed you in any way?" Carina snapped, furious that Allen was refusing to budge. "Check the surveillance footage if you want. Go ahead. If you find any proof of me kissing or sleeping with another man, I'll kill myself in front of you, okay?"

"The loyalty I expect doesn't only involve avoiding physical intimacy with another man, Carina," Allen declared.

"What are you trying to imply?"

With a self-deprecating laugh, Allen asked, "Why did you hide it from me that you went to a hotel with another man? That you called another man your hubby? If you think these are all things that wouldn't bother me, why did you feel the need to hide them from me?

"The truth is, you know full well what these things truly mean. You know that I'll get jealous and upset. You could've chosen not to do it, but you chose to do it and hide it from me instead. You've already betrayed me emotionally countless times for that man."

"How is that betrayal? Can you not exaggerate so much?" Carina argued, her face flipping between shades of red. "He's just a brother to me! All I did was neglect you a bit while I was taking care of him. Must you turn this into some argument about my morality?"

"I'm your husband, Carina," Allen said slowly. "The fact that you think there's a choice to be made between another man and me is already a form of betrayal, especially when you chose the other man instead. Do you know how upset I felt when I saw you calling Jonah your hubby?

"I spent 12 years of my life caring for you, looking after you, and holding your whole family together. Your dad ran off after leaving the family with millions in debt. Without eating or sleeping, I worked day and night in that moldy basement, cleaning up his messes.

"When the people showed up at your doorstep demanding payment, I chased them off with a bat. Otherwise, do you think your mom would still be able to enjoy her life as a rich housewife? Would your sister have gotten into medical school?"

"If I hadn't spent eight years working my ass off cleaning up after your family and rebuilding the company, do you think your dad would dare come back to become the chairman again? Could you be the CEO? Could you afford this villa and this life of luxury?"

Allen was letting it all out.

"Despite working my butt off at the office every day, I still came home to take care of you. You have a heart condition, and you have severe allergies. I'm the one who cooked all your meals. I spent hours in the kitchen, preparing the nourishing soups and broths for you.

"Do you think I'd be making all those sacrifices for a family of complete strangers? What, you think I'm nuts like that?

"I did it because you're my wife! I've worked tirelessly this whole time so that I could be a responsible husband to you. But what have you done instead? You went behind my back to call Jonah, who's only been back for six months, your hubby instead. What gives him the right?

"Just because he's your childhood friend? Just because you like his personality? Or because he's been seducing you? You've decided that you can just throw away our 12-year relationship to live happily ever after with him instead?

"Then why did I even do all of this? I should have left you from the start. I could've found myself some rich woman like your beloved hubby. I'll have someone calling me 'hubby' without me having to lift a finger. Wouldn't that be much easier for me?"

Carina was stunned, completely at a loss for words.

"Didn't I tell you that it was just a nickname because of a game I played with Jon? Must you act like this? Fine. I'll stop it, okay? I won't call him hubby anymore. You'll be my only husband."

"Shouldn't I be your only husband?" Allen retorted, feeling deeply disappointed.

He'd been far too subservient this whole time, which resulted in the loss of his dignity. That was why he no longer felt any desire to remain in this hopeless marriage.

"Well, what else do you want from me?" Carina was exhausted dealing with the stony Allen.

"I want you to take your marriage certificate and ID right now and go with me to the courthouse to file for a divorce."

"Allen!" Carina trembled, her eyes flashing with rage. "That's enough! Even if you're trying to get my attention, you shouldn't be crossing the line like this! I don't have time to watch you act all pitiful and melodramatic. If you really want a divorce, fine, but that means you can forget about us ever getting back together!"

She stormed back to the master bedroom and grabbed the documents. After slamming them down on the table, she glared at Allen. Even now, she still thought he was just throwing a tantrum. She didn't have time to entertain his ridiculous temper tantrum. She had a ton of work to get back to at Simpson Group.

"I'm giving you two options. Either drive me to work, or drive me to the courthouse for the divorce."

Allen took Carina's documents and turned toward the garage. His heart was throbbing painfully, but his expression remained still and neutral. "Let's go."

He hadn't yet gotten over the betrayal emotionally, but his rational side had made a choice.

"Hmph. At least you still know the right thing to do."

Carina assumed he'd given in and was planning to take her to work. She happily hopped into the passenger seat.

Instead of driving the Rolls-Royce, Allen used the nondescript budget EV in the corner. It was the first car he'd ever bought.

Eight years ago, they had sat in this car to go down to the courthouse to get married.

Eight years later, they were riding in it to file for divorce.

It was a full circle.

"Why did you pick such a tiny car, honey? I can't even stretch my legs out properly. I'll get you a new Bentley in a few days, okay?"

"Don't call me honey," Allen said, his expression grim. "Just the thought of how you used that same mouth to call someone else hubby is enough to make me puke."

"Allen! You—"

"We're here."

"Here, where? We haven't been on the road for that long. There's no way we've arrived at the office. Where are we…" Carina trailed off in shock once she looked out the window.

They were at the courthouse.

"Y-You seriously want a divorce?"

Allen opened the car door before glancing coldly at Carina, retorting, "Why would I lie about it?"