Chapter 4

Yet, somehow, the longer I lived, the more miserable and stifled my life became.

Still, deep in my heart, I couldn’t help feeling a little fortunate. Losing my memory was perhaps not a bad thing after all.

Even though it was seven years too late, at least from now on, I could finally be myself again.

Coming back to my senses, I smiled wryly.

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ve already asked an agent to put the house up for sale.

“Once the assets are divided, I’ll be completely rid of that crazy woman. After that—”

“Say that again?”

…

I turned to look and froze in surprise.

Claudia? Why was she here?”

Wasn’t she the one who hated the smell of smoke and alcohol the most?

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be taking care of your precious Gerald?”

As expected, she didn’t get angry and just gave me a piercing look.

“It’s already one in the morning.

“You promised you’d be home before midnight.”

I thought this woman must be sick in the head and sneered.

“We’re about to get a divorce. What’s the point of going home?”

Claudia didn’t seem surprised. She calmly took out a bank card from her bag and held it out to me.

“Isn’t this why you’re doing all this? You want money again.

“How much do you want this time? Three million? Five million?”

The word “again” immediately caught my attention.

From the way she said it, this clearly wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

My expression darkened. I knocked the card out of her hand.

“Who wants your filthy money?

“You’re not welcome here. Get out. Don’t ruin our drinking.”

I turned around and ordered two more crates of alcohol from the waiter.

I didn’t see Claudia’s expression. I only heard the sharp, heavy sound of her heels clacking heavily against the floor.

The moment she was gone, my buddies gathered around me.

“Are you really Jayden Clement? Since when did you grow a spine?”

“Did you see the look on Claudia’s face? She was red with anger. It was the first time I’ve seen the so-called ‘Ice Queen of Jorswe’ this angry!”

I just smiled and opened another bottle of alcohol.

“Don’t make a big deal out of this. Come on, bottoms up!”

…

It wasn’t until the following afternoon that I decided to go home.

On the way, I looked at the marriage license in my hand and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

That morning, my lawyer rushed over to tell me the lawsuit had been rejected. I couldn’t file for a divorce.

At first, I thought there was something wrong with the paperwork, but he said it was because Claudia and I weren’t legally married at all.

In other words, our marriage license was fake.

Whatever trick Claudia had used back then, and whatever reason she had for deceiving me, I couldn’t remember, and frankly, I didn’t care anymore.

I never wanted to be with her in the first place, so this actually saved me a lot of trouble.

I just needed to go home and pack up.

Of course, Claudia’s bags.

Last night, my buddies said that when I first got together with Claudia, I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I never even considered a prenuptial agreement on the basis that I would never divorce in my lifetime.

I’d always thought dividing assets would be a hassle.

I never expected Claudia to be even more ruthless than I imagined. She never even registered our marriage.

Since that’s the case, the house naturally still belonged to me.

While she was out with Gerald during the day, I planned to clear out all her belongings so she wouldn’t argue with me about it later.

The moment I opened the door, though, I froze in my tracks.

Claudia was curled up on the sofa in the living room. Dark circles hung under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept all night.

Just as I was bracing myself for another explosive argument, Claudia pressed her fingers to her temples and spoke calmly.

“You’re back…

“I have a headache. Make that healing broth for me from before?”

Only then did I notice the floor beneath the table had empty liquor bottles scattered everywhere.

I was momentarily stunned.

Hadn’t Isaac said last night that Claudia never drank alcohol, and that even the smell alone made her nauseous?