Chapter 3

If it weren't for my mom's consideration of their decades-long friendship as close girlfriends, and her unwillingness to let her mother die with unfinished business, I would never have married her under any circumstances.

But I never imagined that one moment of softness would lead to such bitter consequences.

I contacted a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement, just wanting to end all of this as soon as possible.

After my mom was transferred to a regular ward, I hired a caregiver for her and started shuttling between the company and the hospital.

I needed to earn money quickly to pay off the debt.

But my body isn't made of iron after all, and after a few days, I looked noticeably haggard.

Seraphina returned to her original hospital after her surgery, but I didn't expect her to come visit me.

She brought a basket of fruit and immediately noticed how worn out I looked.

She asked, "Why do you have such dark circles under your eyes? Haven't you been resting well these past few days?"

I gave a bitter smile and nodded, taking off my glasses to rub my sore eyes.

She immediately guessed what was going on and said jokingly, "Don't worry about the money. After all, you can run away from the monk but not the temple. Are you worried I won't get paid back?"

She looked around the hospital room, then asked curiously, "I've heard you're already married. How come I don't see..."

"I'm in contact with a lawyer to prepare for divorce," I replied concisely.

She looked surprised but nodded.

Suddenly, she asked, "Have you eaten?"From the past, it was always you buying me meals. Today, I want to return the favor. What would you like to eat? I'll go get it for you."

I gazed at her smiling face, feeling a bit dazed.

I had never heard words like "returning the favor" from Melody's lips before.

In our five years of marriage, even though she didn't work, she never cooked. She either waited for me to come home from work to cook for her or ordered takeout, and I always did all the housework.

She simply enjoyed my kindness without ever acknowledging it. She would only curse at me when I couldn't provide money to support her obsession with celebrities.

She'd call me useless, accuse me of being overly jealous, and label me as stingy.

She belittled me until I felt worthless.

It turns out, I am worthy of someone being good to me after all.

Seraphina came back with seven or eight dishes, saying she bought extra because she didn't know what I liked.

I smiled helplessly, the truth is, I'm not picky about food at all.

In the past, I always cooked according to Melody's tastes.

What I liked to eat was never important.

When Seraphina heard me say this, she interrupted, unhappily: "What do you mean it's not important? Eating is one of life's great pleasures, it's incredibly important."

Her words made me laugh. We chatted as we ate, feeling like we were back in high school during some distant lunch break.At that time, I always used to tease her that even eating couldn't shut her mouth.

But after we got married, Melody would always be glued to her phone during meals, never saying a word to me. I tried to start conversations with her.

But she'd either ignore me or brush me off with a few words.

I realized then that being pestered with conversation was actually a blessing.

At least it meant you had something to talk about.

We hadn't finished eating yet.

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room was kicked open.

Melody's already angry face became even more enraged when she saw us.

Her eyes wide, she rushed forward to hit Seraphina.