: Divorce

After his older brother passed away, Cole Rowan took meticulous care of his brother's wife and child.

Under the guise of family helping family.

In the eyes of outsiders, they became a close-knit family of three.

As my mom was on her deathbed, he was busy comforting his Saozi, who was crying because her son had upset her.

I knelt on the floor, weeping as I begged him, "My mom is dying! Please, go see her one last time. I'm begging you!"

But Cole Rowan's voice was icy. "Tell your mom to die later! I'm busy!"

I waited for two hours. In the end, my mom never saw her son-in-law one last time.

My heart turned to ash, and I asked for a divorce. "The three of you can go on living your happy life together."

...

After my mother's funeral, a tense silence fell between Cole Rowan and me. We barely spoke for days.

Today is my mother's seventh-day memorial. Tradition dictates we should go pay our respects, but Cole Rowan left for his Saozi's house first thing this morning and hasn't been back all day.

It's been eight hours since I asked him at noon if we could go to the cemetery together. He hasn't sent a single text or made a single call.

This wasn't the first time Cole Rowan had abandoned me for his Saozi, Celine Lang.

We could be on a date, out shopping, having dinner, or even in the middle of making love. All it took was one phone call from his Saozi, and he would leave me all alone.

Cole Rowan said that since his brother passed away, leaving a poor widow and orphan behind, it was his duty to look after them.

'If Cole Rowan ever develops feelings for Celine Lang,' I once thought, 'I'll leave him.'

But every time, Cole Rowan denied it, insisting I was misunderstanding him.

I tried to find a balance, a way for Cole Rowan to honor his late brother's final wish to care for his Saozi and nephew, without their lives constantly encroaching on ours.

But it was all in vain.

I thought I had grown numb to it all, but what happened seven days ago extinguished the last of my hope.

After years of suffering from her illness, my mother passed away seven days ago.

Before she died, she kept looking toward the door. I knew she wanted to see her son-in-law one last time.

I ran to the hospital stairwell to beg Cole Rowan to see my mom, but he just pushed me away, annoyed.

"My mom is dying! Please, go see her one last time. I'm begging you!" I wept, kneeling on the floor as I pleaded with him.

But Cole Rowan's voice was icy. "Tell your mom to die later! I'm busy!"

And what was he so "busy" with? He was on the phone, comforting his Saozi because her son had made her cry.

I wiped away my tears, washed my face in the restroom, and forced a wide smile for my worried mother.

"Cole Rowan is on a very important conference call. It'll be over in a minute. Just wait a little longer."

That wait lasted two hours—right up until my mother closed her eyes and was taken to the morgue.

The man who once promised to treat my mother as his own had now missed both her final moments and her seventh-day memorial.

I sat on the cold floor for I don't know how long. My tears had dried by the time Cole Rowan finally returned.

He squatted in front of me, his face etched with guilt.

"Luna, I'll go make it up to your mom tomorrow. Please don't be angry."

"Let's get a divorce."

"What!"

Cole Rowan frowned at me. "You have every right to be angry, but don't say things just because you're upset."

My gaze drifted indifferently over his handsome face. I couldn't be bothered to explain that I meant every word.

After a long silence, Cole Rowan was the first to break it.

"Can't we talk things out? Why do you always jump to divorce when you're angry? It's not like I've cheated on you or done something unforgivable."

A mocking smile touched my lips. "Why don't you count for yourself how many times you've abandoned me over some trivial issue with Celine Lang? You didn't even see my mother one last time because you were too busy placating her—"

"So it always comes back to my Saozi. Are you really that petty?" Cole Rowan cut me off, his expression turning to impatience. "Luna Quinn! You're a woman! How can you not understand how difficult it is for her to raise a child on her own?"

"Hah!" I couldn't help but sneer.

'Celine Lang has millions of dollars in insurance money and savings from his late brother. Cole Rowan gives her a hefty allowance every month, and Mrs. Rowan helps with the childcare. What part of that is difficult?'

My cold laugh must have set Cole Rowan off, because he furiously threw the glass to the floor.

"Can't you be a little more tolerant and magnanimous! I fell for you because you were kind-hearted, so how did you become so petty? I'm just helping out my Saozi, what wild ideas are you getting now?"

"Cole Rowan, when a brother-in-law goes as far as you do, anyone would get the wrong idea."

Cole Rowan froze, glaring at me furiously. "Not everyone has a mind as filthy as yours!"

I was speechless. I turned, went back to our room, and grabbed the luggage I had already packed.

Cole Rowan blocked the doorway, a trace of panic finally appearing in his eyes.

"Luna, I was wrong, don't go, I'm begging you…"

"I know I was wrong, I'll change. From now on, I'll do whatever you say, wife…"

Cole Rowan was truly panicking now. He hugged my waist tightly, buried his head in my shoulder, and his voice was choked with sobs.

"I promised your mom I would take good care of you. Give me one more chance, and I'll definitely put her mind at ease. I know you've been wronged a lot these past few years, too. I'll make it up to you."

Hearing the word "wronged," I suddenly couldn't stop crying.

'So he did know I'd been wronged. Why did he always say I was just making a scene before?'

I sobbed so hard I was shaking, uncontrollably pounding on Cole Rowan's chest.

"This is the last time. If you ever do this again, I'm really filing for divorce."

But early the next morning, Celine Lang called, crying.

"Cole, Benny won't listen to me. Can you come deal with him?"

I stared at Cole Rowan, my heart in my throat. I only relaxed after he refused Celine Lang.

Cole Rowan looked at me as if expecting praise. I held his head, kissed him on both cheeks, and praised him, "That's great! You should be like this from now on."

"Alright, I'll listen to my wife."

But a moment later, Celine Lang called again. Her crying was getting on my nerves.

Just as I was about to tell Cole Rowan to hang up, he looked at me with a conflicted expression.

"Luna, I should go over. I'll be back soon."

'Of course.' My heart felt like it had been stabbed, the sharp pain making my eyes turn red.

"Do you remember what you said last night?"

"I remember. I'll be back soon. I'll go over and give Benny a good talking-to so he'll behave and stop bothering us, how about that?"

Cole Rowan had said things like this many times, but he never followed through. He made my forgiveness feel worthless.

"Cole Rowan, I'm pregnant." I pulled his hand and placed it on my lower stomach.

"Really?" Cole Rowan's tone was full of doubt.

I nodded, but he just gave me a very stern look, then said with extreme disappointment, "Luna Quinn, if you don't want me to go, just say so. Don't make up a lie like this to stop me."

I suddenly found it laughable. I walked over and opened the door.

"Then get out."

He looked at me with an expression that was both disappointed and pleading with me not to be unreasonable.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, I spoke again: "I really am pregnant. We can go to the hospital and check right now. But if you walk out that door today, don't even think about me giving you another chance!"

Cole Rowan seemed to want to say something. He opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing. Instead, he made a call and told his assistant to come and watch me.

I didn't want to make things difficult for Cole Rowan's assistant, so I went straight into the study, took out my laptop, and looked for a divorce lawyer.

This time, Cole Rowan came back much faster than usual. Listening to the sounds from outside, I couldn't believe it—I heard Celine Lang's and Benny's voices!

Cole Rowan had brought his Saozi and nephew home with him.

: Apology

"Luna, come on out. I've asked Saozi and Benny to come stay for a while. How about they keep you company?"

Cole Rowan's words were so sanctimonious, they made me sick.

I didn't answer or come out. Cole Rowan knocked on the door several times, and finally, he used the spare key to open the study door.

Celine Lang said gently from outside the door, "Luna, Benny has been too naughty lately, so I'm here to stay for a while and have Cole help me discipline him. If you don't want me to stay here, then I'll leave the child and go back by myself."

"Don't be mad. I had no other choice. Please don't be upset with your Saozi."

As Celine Lang spoke, she began to cry softly. Cole Rowan held her shoulders, ducking his head to comfort her gently.

He frowned, wiping away the tears on Celine Lang's face with his fingertips, while his other hand possessively cupped the back of her head.

Celine Lang tilted her head back to look at Cole Rowan. The distance between them was infinitesimal. Their eyes met, and sparks flew.

If I hadn't been there, they probably would have kissed.

"Get out! Both of you, get out! Don't stand at my door crying!"

Furious, I grabbed two books and threw them at the doorway. Who would have thought one of them would hit Celine Lang right on the forehead.

After seeing the injury on Celine Lang's face, Cole Rowan completely lost it.

He strode toward me, grabbed me from behind the desk, and dragged me in front of Celine Lang.

"Luna Quinn, apologize!"

I froze on the spot, staring blankly at Cole Rowan's furious eyes.

'Why are you so angry? You're the one who broke your promise.'

Seeing I didn't react, Cole Rowan shoved me and coldly reminded me to apologize.

Celine Lang clutched her forehead, her eyes red. She gave Cole Rowan a soft smile. "Forget it, it doesn't even hurt that much. It's our fault for just showing up without discussing it with Luna first. It was so rude of us, I just didn't expect..."

As she spoke, Celine Lang's tears fell, PLIP PLOP. She looked at Cole Rowan, forced a smile, and shook her head, saying she had to go.

Cole Rowan said nothing. He gave me an indifferent glance, then skillfully applied medicine to the wound on Celine Lang's forehead.

After calming Celine Lang down, he turned to speak to me in a lecturing tone.

"It was my fault for having Saozi and Benny come over to stay without discussing it with you. But we're a family. Since they're already here, what's the big deal about letting them stay? Luna Quinn, do you really have to make such a scene?"

"Saozi thought you must be in a bad mood since your mother just passed away, and she wanted to come and keep you company. She meant well."

"I don't need it! Who the hell knows what her real intentions are!"

"Look at you right now! You're acting like a jealous shrew, seeing shadows and making accusations out of thin air! Luna Quinn, I'll say it one last time, apologize!"

I ignored Cole Rowan and turned to the bedroom to start packing my bags. Cole Rowan watched from the side. As the seconds ticked by, his patience ran out.

So he strode in front of me, kicked aside the suitcase I'd packed, and, under my furious glare, took out his phone to threaten me. "Think carefully. If you dare to leave, you can forget about getting *Cat Beneath the Blossoms*!"

I gasped. I couldn't believe Cole Rowan would actually use that painting to threaten me. He knew exactly how important it was to me.

My father was an art collector and a painting restorer. When I was ten, he began restoring *Cat Beneath the Blossoms*. I was fascinated by the restoration process back then and would sit quietly to the side, watching him work.

That painting held so many memories of my father and me. It was stolen not long after he passed away.

I couldn't help but tremble, staring hard at Cole Rowan as I asked, "You found the painting?"

"Mhm. Be a good girl and listen to me. Stop trying to divorce me all the time, and I'll give you the painting."

In the end, for the sake of a painting, I apologized to Celine Lang and said no more about leaving.