01 She Wants a Divorce

"Emily, are you feeling hot?"

In a luxurious apartment situated in a bustling city, shadows danced in a dimly lit corner of the room. Emily's skin was burning under the touch of the man before her.

The air was heavy with an indescribable sense of ambiguity. Meanwhile, his phone vibrated incessantly at the side, its screen flickering on and off. The person on the other end of the line seemed oblivious to the fact that this man had no time to answer any calls.

Inside the room, Emily and Issac sat facing each other. Their gazes met in the soft light, igniting the surrounding air.

Emily bit her lip, forcing herself not to appear too eager. Yet, Issac seemed to effortlessly see through her desires.

Emily's heart raced, her hands trembling slightly as she slowly opened herself to Issac, surrendering every inch of her skin to his touch. She had once married this man for benefits, but she found herself gradually falling uncontrollably in love with him. He was always indifferent towards her, even their intimate moments often felt obligatory. But today, he seemed willing to be patient...

Issac held Emily, rolling around with her on the bed. Neither of them noticed when Issac's elbow brushed against the flickering screen of the phone. A feeble cry could be heard from the other end of the call, "Issac, please, can you come home? I really need you right now."

Issac inhaled sharply, rolling over to sit up, and Emily had no choice but to sit up with him. She could clearly tell it was her half-sister on the phone.

"Don't worry, Cici, what's wrong?" Issac had no mind to continue their engagement. He quickly grabbed a shirt from the head of the bed and retreated into the bathroom.

By the time he stepped out of the bathroom, he was the picture of a sharply dressed businessman. "I'm sorry, Emily, your sister needs my help."

Emily looked at Issac, recalling the intimate atmosphere between them just moments ago. Her voice rang out coldly, "Issac, if you leave, it’s over between us."

Issac halted in his tracks, not turning his head. "Emily, I know you're angry right now, but Cici really needs me. You're her sister, you can understand, right?"

"Then go!" Emily yelled in despair, "If you leave now, we're getting a divorce!"

Issac's shoulders quivered slightly. He paused, looking at Emily's angry face, but soon a smile appeared. "No, you won't divorce me, Emily. Even though you were forced to marry me, you've fallen in love with me, haven't you? And with all the money I give you each month to splurge, how could you possibly leave me?"

"I can't stand how you repeatedly place Cici's importance above mine! You must stay today, or I will file for divorce."

He sighed deeply, then said firmly, "Alright, if you insist, let's get a divorce."

Emily's heart pounded. She hadn't expected Issac to agree so easily. She wanted to say something, but found herself unable to speak.

All she could do was watch helplessly as Issac walked out the door. The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving her alone in the empty room.

Emily's heartbeat echoed in the empty room.

Emily stepped out of the cold marble bedroom and onto the still warm balcony. This was a space she once shared with Issac, but now she was alone. The twinkling stars in the sky intermingled with the bustling city lights in the distance, casting a varied play of light and shadow on her silent face.

Her eyes firmly fixed on the car gradually receding in the distance. That was Issac's car. He had left so many times in the middle of the night, and each time, she chose to wait.

Emily and Issac met in her sister Cici's hospital room. Before Cici's accident, Emily had no idea that she had a half-sister. Emily lost her father at a very young age, and then her mother abandoned her, forcing her to bounce from one foster home to another as she grew up.

After Cici's accident, she suddenly received a call from her abandoning mother, asking her to go to the hospital to take care of Cici. She met Issac in the hospital room. She knew that Cici had saved Issac in the car crash, which led to her paralysis. She didn't care about this suddenly appearing sister's happiness, but Issac suddenly proposed to her.

Issac told Emily that he was only grateful to Cici, but the person he truly wanted to marry was her.

Emily, under normal circumstances, would never have accepted a marriage proposal from a man she'd just met. But at that time, she was in a bind. Her younger brother Victor, who lived with her in their foster home, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis: a terminal illness that necessitates the consumption of extremely costly medication for survival.

She needed to figure out how to pay for the medical bills. So, she accepted the proposal, in a way "stealing" Cici's lover.

After thewedding, their feelings for each other gradually deepened. She thought this was the beginning of her love story. She believed that this man would lead her out of her difficult life and into a warm home. However, when she truly stepped into that home, when she truly became his wife, she discovered that everything was a hoax.

Issac's proposal to her was merely to appease his grandparents. From beginning to end, his heart only held Cici. Emily was just a handy pawn to him.

Every time the phone rang, Issac would rush to Cici. Every time Issac looked at Emily, Emily felt like he was searching for traces of Cici through her.

Emily slowly squatted on the terrace, watching as Issac's Ferrari gradually disappeared over the horizon. She hugged herself, the night sky wrapping her curled hair in blue.

"I must leave."Emily told herself.

This time, she knew, she would no longer wait.

The night breeze came from afar, taking away the remaining warmth on the terrace and the last bit of her attachment to Issac. Her heart ached as if pierced by countless needles, but her face showed no expression, as if all the pain was buried deep in her heart.

Her fingers gently slid over the cold iron bars, each touch reminding her of how real all of this was. She had once thought she would be with Issac forever, but now, she had to face the future alone.

"I must leave," she said to herself again in a low voice. The words echoed on the empty terrace, like an invisible ripple, quietly dispersing. Her heartbeat sounded clearer and clearer in the quiet night, she knew, this was the moment she had to make a decision.

Emily quickly ran back to the bedroom and opened the door to the wardrobe. She saw a multitude of designer clothes inside, things she didn't care about before, and cared even less about now.

In the center of the wardrobe, there stood a mannequin wearing the wedding dress she wore when she married Issac.

She bypassed the exquisite, luxurious handmade white dress to grab the most basic essentials at the bottom of the drawers.

Emily packed the basic clothes from the bottom of the wardrobe and her identification documents, and carried her suitcase downstairs.

Taking advantage of the thick night, Emily drove away the oldest, cheapest car in Issac's garage. She flew out of the house that had imprisoned her for two years. From then on, she should be a free woman.

The morning sun filtered through the villa's floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm glow on the magnificent carpet. The house was tranquil, save for the faint rustling of the low branches outside the windows.

The spacious kitchen sparkled in the morning sun. The delicate oak cabinets and stainless steel kitchenware gleaming. The grand chandelier hung silently from the central ceiling, revealing its elegance.

Issac pushed open the door, glancing at the kitchen from a distance, where only the maid was busily preparing breakfast.

He walked upstairs and found the bedroom door wide open. Upon entering, he realized that some of Emily's belongings had disappeared from the room.

The King-size bed had been neatly made, but prominently placed on the pillow was an envelope.

In the envelope was a plain note, it contained a few short sentences from Emily: "My lawyer will contact your lawyer, so we can get divorced as soon as possible."

With gritted teeth, Issac held the note tightly, quickly stepping into the kitchen: "Where's Emily?"

The maid looked at him in surprise: "Emily left yesterday."

Issac threw the note onto the kitchen island, opened his phone and dialed Emily's number.

"Hello?" Emily's voice sounded like she'd had a good night's sleep.

"Emily, come home within half an hour."

"I'm sorry, who's this?"

"Issac!" His forehead was throbbing, clearly not expecting Emily to leave so effortlessly.

"Oh, sorry, Issac, we're in the process of divorcing, that house is no longer my home."

"What the hell do you want, Emily?" Issac helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"I want, forever, to leave you!" Emily decisively hung up the phone.

Issac slammed his phone onto the kitchen island: "Fuck!"