Chapter 2

The attorney was taken aback. "Are you sure? Once the divorce is finalized, you and Ms. Bennett won't be legally married anymore."

That was exactly what Samuel wanted. "I'm sure. The moment time's up, we move forward with whatever needs to be done…"

Before he could get any further, the door swung open. Scarlett was back.

She was holding a bag of pastries. "Sam, I bought your favorite pastries… Was that the lawyer? Has he canceled the divorce filing?"

Samuel's back went rigid. He didn't want to risk anything going wrong, so he hung up and just nodded.

The next second, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind in a tight hug. It should've felt warm and soft, but all he felt was a bone-deep chill.

"Darling, I'll never make you angry again. Let's not talk about divorce ever again, okay? You really scared me this time." Scarlett's voice was full of sincerity and tenderness, as if she truly loved him and was terrified of losing him.

Samuel forced down the trembling in his body. In his last life, he'd been utterly taken in by this fake affection. This time, he refused to be that stupid.

Scarlett didn't notice his silence. She cheerfully grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. "I booked your favorite restaurant. The timing's perfect if we leave now."

It was the same as his last life, so he wasn't surprised. He let her lead him out.

Out of nowhere, he remembered how she had learned to cook just for Julian. He stopped walking and tested the waters. "Scarlett, let's eat at home today. Will you cook for me?"

She paused, then turned back and said, perfectly naturally, "Darling, I don't know how to cook. You know that."

Did she really not know how to cook, or did she only cook for Julian?

Samuel lowered his gaze to hide the self-deprecation in his eyes and didn't call her out.

At the restaurant, halfway through the meal, Scarlett started texting nonstop, her brows knitting tighter and tighter. When Samuel glanced over, he saw the chat full of speech bubbles, all sent from her. The person on the other end was obviously Julian.

Seeing how restless she was reminded him of when they were still dating. Back then, they'd fought over something, and he'd sent her countless messages through the night without getting a single reply.

When he'd asked her about it the next day, she'd said, "Sam, you know it's kinda dumb to send that many messages, right? And it's really inefficient."

But now here she was, doing the very thing she used to call dumb. She was humbling herself to placate Julian. So she could do all that stupid stuff too, for the person she actually loved.

Samuel felt like his heart was caught in a fist. A dull, suffocating ache spread through his chest.

Suddenly, Scarlett looked up. "Sam, do you know what Julian likes?"

His eyes twitched. She'd been this blunt about it in his last life too, but he'd foolishly believed she only cared about Julian because of him.

His brief silence made her impatient, so she repeated the question. He finally answered, bitterness lacing his voice. "Watches…"

The moment she got her answer, Scarlett pushed back her chair and stood up. "Something came up at the office. I'm not coming home tonight."

She tossed that over her shoulder, then rushed out of the private room.

Scarlett had booked the restaurant to make it up to Samuel, but in the end, she left him sitting there alone.

He sat there in a daze for a while before picking up his spoon and mechanically shoveling food into his mouth. Everything tasted like cardboard.

Half an hour later, his phone buzzed incessantly. When he checked it, every message was from Julian.

"I was in the shower and didn't reply to my wife for like, half an hour, and she freaked out so much that she bombarded me with more messages than I can count.

"She even ditched an important client right away to rush back and cook my favorite dishes. She bought this watch, too. I heard there's only one like it in the world. Sam, don't you think she really loves me?"

In the photo was a meal Scarlett had cooked—something Samuel had never once tasted—and the watch he had just mentioned.

His grip tightened around his phone. After a long moment, he relaxed his fingers and lowered his head with a bitter smile.

In his last life, every time he got messages like this, he'd sincerely offered his blessings. Looking back now, he must've been nothing but a complete joke to Scarlett and Julian.

So this time, he didn't reply. He turned off his phone and walked out of the restaurant.

In ten days, he wouldn't have anything to do with the two of them ever again. This twisted mess of a relationship would finally come to an end.