Chapter 1
There was a long silence on the other end. Just as I was about to hang up to clear my head, Zoe started cursing angrily:
“Jack Evans, you’ve got some nerve!”
“You think I’ll fall for your divorce threat? You chased after me for seven years like a lovesick puppy. Now you’re trying to play hard to get?”
I clung to one last shred of hope: “What if I’m not playing hard to get this time?”
Zoe’s voice dripped with disdain: “You think I’d believe that?”
Then, amidst the roar of fireworks, I heard increasingly heavy breathing on the other end of the call.
Remembering how Zoe said she was just keeping Leo company for a normal birthday without his “skin condition”, I felt like a complete fool.
We dated for three years and have been married for four.
Zoe always treated intimacy with me as a chore, never initiating or showing enthusiasm, always finding excuses to avoid it.
But now, she was doing those things with another man under the fireworks…
Perhaps my prolonged silence made Zoe feel guilty.
She tried hard to steady her shaking voice as she commanded:
“Stop being unreasonable! Go delete that Instagram comment right now! Apologize to Leo!”
“I’ll be home soon after I finish keeping Leo company!”
Keep him company? How exactly? By getting as physically close as possible?
She held me in such low regard that she barely bothered to hide it anymore. I couldn’t keep swallowing my pride and ignoring this blatant cheating.
I swallowed the bitterness and took a deep breath:
“Zoe Chen, I’m not playing hard to get. Let’s meet at the courthouse tomorrow at 10 AM to file for divorce.”
I had given her countless chances.
Before, when she and Leo would hug intimately in public, I could believe her explanation that they were just close siblings.
When Leo would always kiss her cheek affectionately, I chalked it up to habits from living abroad.
I didn’t want to think the worst of the woman I loved and idolized.
But Zoe kept pushing it further and further, rubbing my face in it!
She knew how long I had planned our birthday trip together in advance, but she still didn’t care at all.
Zoe was about to keep yelling at me when her voice suddenly changed pitch.
Leo’s fake innocent voice chimed in: “I didn’t mean to, sis! You won’t be mad that I was too rough, right?”
The phone was snatched away. The sound of slapping became clearer, and though my wife stayed silent, she couldn’t hold back her soft moans.
Even if I was a complete idiot, I knew exactly what was happening on the other end now.
In a fit of rage, I threw my phone across the room. It shattered the mirror, but also hit the volume button.
The dirty sounds grew louder, drowning out the fading fireworks.
“Ah! Leo, stop!” The call was abruptly ended.
I picked up my cracked phone from the glass shards and dialed a long-unused number.
“Grandfather, I’m willing to come home now. I also agree to the arranged marriage with the Xu family.”