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What is mine, I will take. Every last cent.
Seeing my utter lack of emotion, Emma grew angry. She hadn’t expected me to be so resolute.
In her memory, I was always the endlessly patient, self-sacrificing husband who dedicated his life to the family, forever warming a meal for her return.
Emma spoke righteously. “Have you even thought about the child? I don’t want Max growing up in a broken home! Everyone makes mistakes, Emma. You have to give people a chance to redeem themselves!”
I stared at her coldly, saying nothing.
I hadn’t told her about Max’s death. But if she truly cared about him as much as she claimed, she would have noticed the signs long ago.
That day in the rain, I stood holding the urn in front of her for over half an hour. Her eyes saw only Liam.
“And there’s Xiao Xiao,” Emma said, unable to go three sentences without mentioning him.
“He just wanted to see Mom today. He wasn’t threatening your position. Why did you have to poison her against him? He’s fragile! He almost did something drastic earlier, do you know that?”
“He’s just a student, a child who doesn’t understand anything! Someone like you, hardened by the world, could easily crush him with a little scheming…”
I’d heard enough. “There are people everywhere,” I interrupted, my voice low. “Don’t make me hit you right here.”
“Don’t put all the blame on me. If you truly cared about our family, about our child and your mother, you wouldn’t have done something so disgusting.”
I thrust the papers against her chest and turned to leave. Emma grabbed my arm fiercely, her eyes full of a contained disgust. “Will you stop running away from the problem?”
Fury roared in my ears. I raised my hand, ready to strike, when a sharp cry stopped me.
“Don’t you hit her!” Liam materialized from somewhere, shielding Emma. He shook his head helplessly, sobbing. “It’s all my fault… Don’t get divorced because of me… I’ll go… I’ll disappear from your lives forever…”
He cast one deep, meaningful look at Emma, then turned and ran with an air of finality, disappearing into the traffic.
Emma’s heart leapt to her throat. She instinctively moved to chase after him, but forced herself to stop because I was there, hesitating repeatedly, her face pale with anxiety.
After a few seconds, she couldn’t hold back. “Emma, he’s young. He’s impulsive and could do something reckless. I just need to check on him. I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for a response, she rushed after him in a panic, leaving me standing alone.
In the following days, Emma didn’t call or try to contact me. Probably still busy consoling her melancholy younger man.
I was past caring. While preparing documents to file for divorce, I got a call from Jake.
Jake was Emma’s colleague, and supposedly her best friend. He asked to meet at a cafe.
When I arrived, he was already there, unshaven with dark circles under his eyes, looking utterly defeated.
He got straight to the point. “Emma has been in agony lately. Do you know why?”
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair, regarding him coldly. I knew what he was going to say. The hostility in his eyes was unmistakable.
Once, he’d been my love rival.
Back then, Emma had given me enough security. I trusted her. So when she partnered with Jake, I understood and never made a fuss.
She always thought I had changed.
But really, it was her love that changed!
“I don’t care to know,” I said to Jake, my voice icy. “We’re getting a divorce.”
