He knew that my hand was injured and I couldn't cook.

But why didn't I order food for him?

He had told me half an hour ago that he would come back.

We had been married for eight years, and I always texted him back the second I got a message from him.

He didn't expect me to shrug and reply perfunctorily, "My phone is charging. I didn't read what you sent to me."

He clenched the gift bag in his hand, pursed his lips, and put it in front of me.

"If I remember right, you're running out of perfume."

I looked up from the delicious food and met his merciful eyes, saying politely,

"Give it to someone else. I'll never get used to branded perfume."

Half an hour ago, Reese posted a photo of a luxury bag on her ‎Instagram.

A corner of the picture showed a Vacheron Constantin watch on Leon's right wrist.

My hand was wrapped in bandages and I was watching a cartoon on TV and giggling.

Leon moved closer with a stern face to check on my injury.

I subconsciously dodged, knocking over the bag and breaking the perfume.

He sneered.

"Nicole, I just asked you to wait a little longer in the car this morning. And you're still mad at me?

"I'm not mad."

I told him the truth, but he ridiculed me in response.

"You're obviously angry. Nicole, look at how old you are. You're thinking too much. You're hopeless."

I was three years older than him.

Every time we quarreled, he would laugh at me for being stupid and old.

Then, he calmly watched me cry and go crazy.

However, I did not cry this time, nor did I ask him madly if he regretted marrying me.

I only said, "You can think whatever you want."

...

After throwing away the garbage, I took my bag, opened the door, and went out.

In the past when I acted like running away from home, he never caught up with me.

But today, for the first time in my life, he followed me to the elevator and asked me where I was going in the middle of the night.

I lied blatantly.

"My mom asked me to go back and get some vegetables she planted."

He seemed to have something to say, but the elevator door was closed.

Less than two hours after I went out, I received a message on my phone while I was chatting in the bar.

Leon sent a question mark.

Seeing that I had no intention of replying, my best friend Bailey said incredulously,

"Nicole, your husband's finally contacted you. If you don't reply, he will be angry, won't he?"

My friends all knew that I was most afraid of displeasing Leon.

But tonight, not only did I ignore him, but I also had fun with them for the rest of the evening.

When I got home, Leon was standing in front of the refrigerator drinking water.

He didn't care where I went, and I ignored him and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

As soon as I lay down on the bed, he came over.

We kissed for a few seconds, and then I pushed him away forcefully.

He couldn't stand it anymore and turned on the bedside lamp.

"Nicole, don't tell me you've forgotten that you're ovulating today."

Leon and I weren't DINKs.

So when I ovulated every month, he would have sex with me reluctantly.

I turned my back to him.

"I'm too tired today. I've gotta sleep."

I had rejected him countless times before.

Hearing that, Leon paused for a long while. Finally, he walked out of the bedroom, his face dark with fury.

I knew that he would sleep in the guest room for the next few days.

In the past when he slept in another room, I would feel panic and couldn't fall asleep all night.

However, I slept very soundly tonight.

The next day, I was surprisingly efficient at work.

When my superior jokingly asked me what reward I wanted, I looked at her seriously.

"The lawyer we met last time is very good at handling divorce cases. Please introduce her to me."

On the ninth day of sleeping in separate rooms, Leon got up early and made me my favorite bacon and fried eggs. Then, he went back to sleep in his room.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, I saw a wedding photo of Leon's friend in the group chat.

Not only was Leon in the photo, but there was also Reese, who was holding his hand and smiling shyly.

In less than five minutes after the group photo was posted, I received a call from Leon.

He mumbled, hesitating a lot between words, "Nicole, don't get me wrong. Dylan's wedding was on weekdays, so..."

I was confused. "What's there to misunderstand?"

"You're not angry?"

"Why should I be angry?"

He was silent for a moment and said,

"Wait for me at the company after work. I'll take you to dinner."

Before I could refuse, the call ended.

When he came to pick me up, Reese was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Nicole, you're also going to have a free meal."

In response to Reese's sarcasm, I smiled faintly and opened the rear door.

Along the way, Leon kept looking at me in the rearview mirror and tried to chat with me.

I kept looking at my phone and made a perfunctory reply. Then, I stopped talking.

When we arrived at a private room in the restaurant, Dylan came up to us and said that it was a great pity that I didn't attend his wedding.

I knew that he said that to calm Leon's anger.

However, I was not angry with anyone.

"Don't say that. Congratulations on your wedding, by the way."

Seeing that I sat down at the table without another word, Dylan gaped at me in surprise.

In the past year, he had covered for Leon more than once when Leon was on vacation with Reese.

There was even a time when I went to him and exposed the lie that he was on a business trip with Leon.

At that time, he was not surprised at all.

Halfway through the meal, the restaurant manager brought a few bottles of good wine and asked Leon,

"This is what you and Ms. Perry stored last time. Do you want to open them now?"

Seeing that no one spoke, I kindly explained on behalf of the manager who didn't know the situation here.

"Open all of them. Don't waste any."

Seeing me walk out of the private room, Leon quickly caught up with me and said in a rare nervous tone,

"Nicole, the company struck a big deal some time ago. The wine was for celebration."

I waved my hand casually and walked into the ladies' room.

When I returned to the private room, Leon was drinking Reese's wine.

It reminded me of a dinner party two years ago.

I was allergic to alcohol, but those guys made me to drink.

At that time, instead of stopping them, Leon pressed me down with his eyes narrowed and prised my mouth open with his hand.

He said it was just a glass of wine.

At worst, he'd take me to the hospital to pump my stomach.

Right after dinner, I started to have a fever.

Two days later, I was sent to the hospital because of serious abdominal pain. The doctor told me that my pregnancy ended in miscarriage at four weeks.

Hearing that I had a miscarriage, Leon rushed to the hospital and shouted at me.

"I told you not to go there, but you insisted. You idiot! This is the price you pay for drinking with those guys."

Thinking of this, I walked to my seat, picked up my bag, and left.

Leon, who followed me home, was furious.

"Nicole, are you crazy? You left without saying goodbye and made everyone unhappy."

Seeing that I was silent, he pulled down his collar and sneered.

"Since you have bad manners, let's get a divorce."

This was the second time that he had asked for a divorce.

The last time he did so was when he thought I snooped on his phone.

At that time, I knelt at his feet and cried bitterly, swearing to him that I would never make him unhappy again.

However, at this moment, I looked into his eyes and said, "Okay."

For half a minute, the large living room was so quiet as if the air was still around us.

He suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.

"Nicole, what did you say?"

"I said let's get a divorce."

I stood up from the sofa and was about to show him the property settlement agreement drawn up by my lawyer.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly raised his voice and asked me through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure you want to divorce me?"

I blinked in confusion.

"I mean what I say."

He stared at me intently and smiled contemptuously.

"You're just playing hard to get, but I don't buy it."

He left in a huff.

He wasn't home for the next half month.

One night, I received a call from Dylan.

He said anxiously that Leon was too drunk and needed someone to take care of him.

...

I said, "He can sleep at your place. If it doesn't work, you can ask Reese if she's free."

I swore I said that out of concern for Leon.

But Leon, who was so drunk, got home and threw a tantrum at me.

He sat next to me and watched TV with a cold face.

Afterward, he went home on time with a cold face every day.

Not only that, he also sent 999 roses to my company in a week.

In the past, I would post on Instagram when he gave me a small pendant.

However, this time, he refreshed countless times, but there were no photos of roses on my Instagram.

He seemed to have forgotten about the divorce.

I chose to listen to my lawyer's advice and waited for the right time.

"Nicole, where are you? Yes, we are in Room 8. Hurry up."

I would meet Bailey at a bar and sing together. Before I could find the right private room, someone grabbed my shoulder from behind.

"Nicole, how did you know I was here?"

The dim light could not hide the joy on Leon's face.

"Didn't I tell you I'd be back soon? But it's good that you're here. Let's go say hello to my friends."

He dragged me into the private room, and Reese was the first to greet me.

When she saw me, the smile on her face faltered.

"I didn't expect you to come here, Nicole."

She batted her eyes at Leon and looked me up and down with contempt.

"Leon always tells me that you are pretentious, but I know he's wrong. You're not the kind of stupid woman out of his mouth."

I recognized at a glance that the custom-made coat that Reese was wearing was a gift from me to Leon last year.

Some time ago, I wanted him to wear it and have dinner with his parents.

However, he impatiently told me that he had lost it on his business trip.

I muttered under my breath, "What a pity!" Then he exploded and roared at me.

"It's just an ugly out-of-season coat. You ask me so many questions as if I was a prisoner. Nicole, I think you really need a neurological expert. Your brain's not working right."

Leon made me chat with his old friends one by one.

When his friends said he was whipped, he looked at me with a smile.

While they urged me to sing a love song with Leon, Reese put the coat on me.

To put it nicely, she said, "Nicole, you're not wearing enough. I'm so afraid you'll catch a cold."

Seeing that I was wearing this long-lost coat, Leon held me nervously and weighed his words carefully.

"It got colder during the last business trip, and Reese didn't bring any warm clothes with her. So I lent her my coat."

I was replying to my best friend's message without even looking at him.

"Huh? It's just a coat. I don't mind even if you give it to her."

At this time, Bailey sent me a mysterious guest's profile.

I immediately handed the microphone to Reese and then said to Leon,

"You two sing together. I've got something to do. I gotta go."

Before Leon could speak, Reese reached out her hands to stop me and sobbed.

"Nicole, do you still think something is going on between me and Leon? It's really not what you think."

As she wished, I saw the exquisite tattoo on the inside of her arm.

It was a tattoo of a sword and a rose.

Two months ago, I saw the same pattern on Leon's body.

Meeting his tense eyes, I did something beyond their expectations.