Charlotte Crowe's childhood sweetheart started acting up again, which meant she was ready to divorce me again.

By then, I had gone numb. I looked at her calmly and said, "This will be the eighth time."

Guilt crossed her face as she looked at me, her eyes full of helplessness and pleading.

"Gregory, I don't have a choice. You know Victor talks about killing himself every day. I can't just ignore him. But don't worry. As soon as I calm Victor down, we'll get married again."

I said nothing.

She had said the same thing to me more times than I could count.

We got married eight times and got divorced eight times.

Even the courthouse staff knew me by now. Behind my back, they said we practically kept the divorce court in business.

With the freshly issued divorce papers in my hand, a staff member behind me asked curiously, "So when are you coming back for your next remarriage?"

I gave a faint shake of my head.

"There won't be a next time."

The moment I stepped out of the courthouse, I saw Charlotte Crowe coaxing Victor Sterling with a soft, indulgent look on her face.

Half an hour ago, Victor had been at home, threatening to kill himself. Now, after only a few words from her, he was smiling like nothing had happened.

Every time I saw something like that, I felt that same strange, disorienting disbelief.

Was he really the same person who had smashed a glass bottle, held a sharp shard to his throat, and screamed until his voice tore raw?

Today was supposed to be my third wedding anniversary with Charlotte.

Only, calling it our third anniversary was almost laughable.

If we counted from the first time we got married, then yes, it had been exactly three years.

But in between, we had divorced and remarried, then divorced and remarried again.

It had only been a month since our most recent wedding.

Now, we were divorced again.

In three short years, we had married eight times and divorced eight times.

I never thought the jokes I used to see online about serial divorce couples would become my actual life.

When Victor saw me walk out of the courthouse in a daze, he shot me a smug look and tore open the wound in my chest all over again.

"Charlotte, did you lie to me? How did the divorce go through so fast? Did Gregory force you not to go through with it again? He probably wishes I'd just die so no one would be around to cling to you anymore!"

Charlotte looked helpless.

She no longer defended me the way she used to, and she no longer spoke up for me. She only comforted him gently, then handed him the divorce papers.

"They're right here. How could I be lying to you?"

Victor looked at the papers and immediately nodded in satisfaction. He finally stopped talking.

But when Charlotte wasn't looking, he lifted his chin at me and gave me a look full of contempt.

I knew he was provoking me on purpose.

Even so, every emotion I had tried to bury still stirred under his gaze.

Most people probably wouldn't believe the reason he had thrown this tantrum.

A month ago, Charlotte had given me an early third-anniversary gift, and Victor had seen it. He flew into a jealous rage.

We had only just remarried at the time, yet Victor made such a scene that Charlotte and I ended up going back to the courthouse to file for divorce again.

The clerk handling our paperwork even made a joke.

"You two come to this courthouse more often than most people go grocery shopping."

The shame hit me so hard that I lowered my head, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me.

In three short years, we had been to the courthouse so many times. Nearly everyone who worked there knew us.

Charlotte lost her temper on the spot. She stepped in front of me protectively, as if she were standing up for me.

"Just process the paperwork! Why do you have so much to say? My husband and I like getting married and divorced for fun. What's it to you?"

The clerk fell silent after that and processed our divorce filing without another word.

From the day we filed, Victor had been counting down the cooling-off period.

Early this morning, he couldn't wait any longer and forced Charlotte to take me to pick up the final divorce papers.

He smashed a glass, held a sharp shard near his throat, and used it to threaten Charlotte.

"If you two don't get divorced today, I might as well die!" Victor yelled.

Charlotte, who had clearly planned to smooth things over and move on, panicked completely.

She grabbed my wrist in a rush, squeezing so hard that she left a deep red ring around my skin, and said in a frantic voice, "We have to pick up the divorce papers today! Victor will hurt himself if we don't!"

In that instant, I finally understood.

Even if I married Charlotte a hundred times, a thousand times, I would still never matter as much as the guy she grew up with.

-

"Okay, okay, it's done now. Let's go home."

Charlotte pulled Victor into the car.

Out of habit, I reached for the passenger door, but Victor stepped in front of me.

He pouted, visibly unhappy.

"Gregory, you and Charlotte aren't married anymore. Don't you think it's inappropriate for you to ride in her car?"

I instinctively looked at Charlotte. She frowned slightly and reached out to tug Victor back, but he shook her off.

"Charlotte, I'm only telling the truth. You and Gregory already got divorced. What are people supposed to think if they see you two riding around together? And Gregory, you're going to marry someone else eventually. Why can't you keep a little distance from your ex-wife?"

He made it sound so reasonable, every sentence neat and justified.

Charlotte could only look at me, discomfort written across her face.

"Gregory… Do you mind…"

She didn't finish, but I understood what she meant.

I bit the inside of my mouth until the soft flesh tore. When I spoke, I could taste the faint metallic sweetness of blood.

"It's fine. I'll walk back by myself."

The moment I said it, Victor got into the passenger seat with obvious satisfaction.

Before leaving, Charlotte looked at me with guilt and apology, then lowered her voice to comfort me.

"Don't take it personally. Victor's just emotional today, so he's acting out a little. Give me some time to calm him down. Once he's stable, we'll get married again. This time, we won't divorce anymore."

I didn't answer.

At Victor's urging, Charlotte drove away.

I had believed that same promise seven times already.

Every time, I believed her. Every time, I was fooled.

The first divorce happened because Charlotte forgot Victor's birthday.

The second happened because Victor lost his beloved cat.

The third happened because Victor had a nightmare and said he dreamed Charlotte didn't want him anymore after she got married.

And this time, it was because Charlotte had prepared a gift for me and not for him.

Each reason was more ridiculous than the last.

Yet every single time, Charlotte still compromised for him and gave me up for him.

Over the years, I had argued, made scenes, and fought it because I couldn't accept it.

But it always ended the same way.

After she coaxed me into calming down, she went right back to doing whatever she wanted, still bending to Victor's every move.

Now, we had divorced for the eighth time.

And I had finally let go. I gave up.

I had loved her for so many years, but even the hottest love couldn't survive being doused with cold water again and again.

I made my way back to Charlotte's house in a daze.

Before I even opened the door, I heard laughter and playful shouting from inside.

Charlotte's face was covered in flour, and white dust clung all over her clothes.

I vaguely remembered how severe her obsession with cleanliness used to be. Once, I had splashed a single drop of grease onto her while eating, and she had torn into me for it.

But now, for Victor, she could stand there covered in flour without a trace of anger.

When Charlotte saw me come back, she immediately let out a breath of relief. She took the apron off herself and hung it on me, not giving me even a second to rest.

"Gregory, you're finally back. Hurry up and make dinner. Victor and I are both starving."

Victor sprawled arrogantly on the couch and started ordering me around.

"I want beef stew today. Make sure the meat's tender."

I was so angry I actually laughed.

Then I shot back, "If you want it so badly, why don't you make it yourself? With all the time you two spent messing around, you could've cooked a whole meal."

As soon as the words left my mouth, Charlotte shoved me in a burst of fury.

My lower back slammed into the sharp corner of the dining table, and the pain broke me into a cold sweat.

"Gregory, do you even hear yourself right now?" Charlotte hissed. "I only asked you to make dinner. Why are you making such a scene?"

I clenched my teeth against the pain and said nothing.

But in Charlotte's eyes, my silence looked like defiance.

Victor stood off to the side and said in that sour, needling tone, "Charlotte, I think Gregory just can't stand me. Every time you ask him to do something for me, he acts like it's some huge burden. If you married someone like him, won't I end up getting kicked out of your house?"

Charlotte's eyes flashed with anger. She grabbed my hand, dragged me into the kitchen by force, and shoved me hard against the counter.

There was no warmth at all on her cold, expressionless face.

"If you can't make the food Victor wants tonight, then you can stay in this kitchen until morning!"

With a bang, Charlotte slammed the kitchen door shut.

A purple bruise had already formed around my wrist, and when I hit the corner of the stove just now, the skin on my elbow had split open. Blood showed through within seconds.

Before long, Victor's laughter rang out from the other side of the door.

Then Charlotte came back in. When she saw that I still hadn't moved, her brows drew tight.

"Gregory, why do you have to make everything difficult? Victor's my childhood friend. Is cooking him one meal really that hard?"

I straightened slowly, lifted my head, and looked at Charlotte with a faint, mocking smile.

"Did you forget? We're already divorced. I don't have to do anything for you anymore."

Embarrassment flashed through Charlotte's eyes. She cleared her throat, then wrapped her arms around me gently and began soothing me in a soft voice.

"I lost my temper just now, but I already told you. The divorce is only temporary. Once I calm Victor down, we can get married again anytime. Don't get upset over something this small."

As she spoke, she handed me a note covered with dish names.

Her expression turned serious, and there was a warning buried beneath it.

"I'm giving you a chance this time. As long as you make Victor happy and get him to settle down, we can remarry sooner. Be good."

After Charlotte left and closed the kitchen door again, an indescribable sadness settled over me.

Since when had divorce and remarriage become such trivial matters to her?

And now, she wanted me to please Victor?

Sorry, but I couldn't do it.

I would rather sleep in the kitchen than try to win him over.

I crouched down, sat on the floor with my back against the cabinet under the counter, and closed my eyes.

Half-asleep, I suddenly felt a cold shock run over my whole body.

When I opened my eyes, Victor was standing there with a cruel grin, dumping a basin of ice-cold water over me.

"Are you out of your mind?" I yelled at him.

He threw the basin straight at me. The bottom of it struck my forehead hard.

He sneered, "When Charlotte told you to cook, she didn't mean for you to come in here and take a nap. You really think someone like you deserves to marry her? Over my dead body!"

Rage shot through me.

I grabbed the basin he had just thrown and hurled it back at him.

Victor screamed. Even though he dodged the basin itself, the water left inside splashed all over him.

Charlotte heard the commotion and rushed over almost immediately.

When she saw Victor looking so disheveled, she grabbed me by the collar without a word and growled, "Have you lost your mind? How dare you hurt Victor!"

Her grip was brutal, and her face twisted with fury, as if she wanted to tear my collar apart.

My throat tightened as I tried to explain.

"He poured water on me first, and he threw the basin at me…"

But before I could finish, Charlotte's eyes widened, her stare turning violent and cold.

"Then you deserved it! I asked you to make one meal, and you had the nerve to slack off and fight back. Victor was already being considerate by only pouring cold water on you. If it were me, I would've thrown you out."

The last spark inside me finally went out, and I stopped resisting.