Chapter 2
By the time Jack finished his meeting and came out, I had already eaten, cleaned up the kitchen, and was sitting in the living room watching TV.
As if nothing had happened.
He turned to take a shower, but halfway through realized there were no towels. Out of habit, he called from the bathroom.
“Honey, where’s my bath towel?”
Without turning around, I replied: “I’ve already packed it in the suitcase. If you don’t mind, use mine for now. I’ll throw it away later.”
I was met with a long silence in response.
When Jack came out, he finally noticed the three suitcases by the door.
He sat down across from me and pushed the divorce agreement towards me with his fingertips.
“I can give you $1.5 million for child support upfront, and the rest can be paid monthly…”
I interrupted: “No need. Let’s do a lump sum buyout. I don’t think she would want you to keep in contact with me either.”
Jack looked at me, puzzled: “The child isn’t just yours. I have the right to be involved in his upbringing. I know this is my fault, and I’m willing to compensate, but you don’t need to use our child as leverage.”
I paused the TV show and looked at Jack seriously.
“The affair is your fault, so it’s reasonable for you to pay compensation and child support. Compared to your assets, me getting the house and car isn’t asking too much. Our son has been raised by me since he was little. He’s a sensitive child with needs. Tell me, how much energy will you have to take care of him while you’re in the honeymoon phase of your new relationship? Being involved in his growth isn’t just about money, it’s about time and companionship.”
Jack was left speechless. After a while, he spoke: “In any case, I won’t use $2 million to buy out my relationship with my son.”
I reached out and opened the divorce agreement: “The $2 million is for compensation and child support. If you have other emotional needs, you can transfer money to our son. I’ll open a separate card for him.”
Jack suddenly laughed: “Olivia, I never knew you were so obsessed with money. You keep talking about money.”
“What else is there? Is loving you useful?”
Jack was stunned into silence. He frowned and swiftly took out a pen to sign the divorce agreement.
He also arranged for us to go to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow to apply for divorce.
Then he called his driver.
I finished watching my show and went to bed.
When I woke up in the morning, Jack was already gone.
Our son ran out of his room and hugged me, excitedly telling me about a really happy dream he had last night.
As I listened to him share, I tentatively told him that Dad’s company was busy lately, so he might be away on business trips for a long time.
Contrary to his usual reaction, our son didn’t insist on calling Jack to ask, “Dad, when are you coming back?”
He just said “Oh” and pursed his little lips: “It’s okay, I have Mom with me.”
I instantly couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears spilled from my eyes as I excused myself to the bathroom to compose myself.
Agreeing to divorce Jack made me sad, but mostly I felt I was letting our son down by not allowing him to grow up in a complete family.
But I knew this wasn’t my fault.
After dropping our son off at school, Jack and I went to the civil affairs bureau to apply for divorce. There’s a 30-day cooling-off period, after which we can get the divorce certificate.
Back in the car, I circled a date on the calendar, marking today.
Divorce countdown: 30 days.