When I refused her orders without a second thought, a flicker of disbelief flashed across her face.

"Elio, are you really throwing a tantrum with me over something so minor? I did all of this for the company, for our future!

"Don't you hear me speaking to you? Have you gone deaf?!"

Serena continued to scream from the sofa, but I'd already returned to the bedroom to rest.

-

Probably trying to get back at me for what I did, Serena didn't return to our bedroom at all the entire night.

The next morning, I made a two-person breakfast like I always did.

To my surprise, she offered to drive me to work with her.

Ever since we got married, she had never made our relationship public, insisting that business and personal matters remain separate at the company.

Even when we left home for work in the morning, she had never once let me ride in the same car with her.

I didn’t refuse.

I thought that this unnatural act of her fetching me to work was because of how coldly I treated her last night, but the car had only been on the road for ten minutes before it stopped. There outside the window was Hugo, standing there and waving.

After Serena parked the car steadily, Hugo opened the door and sat in the front passenger seat.

"Why is Mr. Goodman here too today?"

I glanced at Hugo, catching the provoking glint in his eyes.

"Serena fetches me every day, and this is the first time I've ever seen you on here, Mr. Goodman."

So Serena had been fetching him to work every day.

During the rainy season this year, with several consecutive days of heavy rain, I went to Serena's office to ask her if she could fetch me home after work because I couldn't get a ride.

She immediately scolded me harshly right then and there, telling me to remember that personal matters weren’t to be discussed at work. If I couldn’t get a car, then I could walk home.

Later, I saw Hugo get in her car.

She was willing to go the long way to send Hugo home, but wasn't willing to fetch me home with her during a rainstorm.

"Hugo doesn't have a car, and he lives far from the company, so I'm only giving him a ride on the way to work," Serena explained.

"Mhm. Mr. Snow's capable enough to warrant this kind of treatment, I'm sure."

When he heard my words, Hugo turned around and looked at me with a smug expression.

"Serena wanted to assign me a car, but I turned her down because I'm not all that good at driving. You don't mind that she fetches me to and from work, right?"

Serena replied before I could: "It's just fetching you to and from work. He doesn't care about small matters like these."

I retracted my gaze from outside the window, turning to meet Hugo's gleeful gaze.

I only replied with a soft "mhm", not bothering to elaborate further.

Serena was clearly displeased by my attitude, and she took one glance at the office building before ordering me with an aggravated tone, "Once I turn that corner, get out of the car. It's not far from the company anyway, so walk the rest of the way yourself."

Serena disliked the notion of having our colleagues find out about our relationship more than anything, so even if she brought me to work out of the blue today, she was still unwilling for others to see her doing so.

"We're almost at the company, so why don't you let Mr. Goodman get off with us at the company?"

Just one sentence from Hugo was enough to make Serena change her opinion.

"Fine, then you can get off at the parking lot with us, Elio."

With Hugo also in the car today, even if company employees saw me there, they probably wouldn't think much of it. They'd simply assume the two of them were kind enough to give me a ride.

I did not pay attention to whatever Serena and Hugo were saying. I only wanted to get to the office quickly and figure out a way to get HR to approve my resignation.

Hugo and I got out of Serena's car one after another.

It was the morning rush hour, and several colleagues looked our way, but all the colleagues were focused on was how Serena and Hugo walked into the office, hand in hand.

Last month, the company had recruited several interns, but once the project ended, only two of them would be kept on.

I slipped my resignation letter in together with the interns’ termination notices.

The HR manager simply assumed I was helping deliver paperwork for the interns. Without even glancing through the documents, he signed them immediately.

After signing, he even praised me a little.

"You and Mr. Snow are Ms. Lockhart's greatest helpers!"

I smiled, not saying much more.

-

The moment I arrived at my office, I received a message from Serena.

It was a screenshot of two movie tickets.

I knew this was Serena trying to make peace with me.

After all, she understood perfectly well that the company’s future project collaborations still depended on the chip technology I had developed.

"We haven't watched a movie in ages. Let's go see one tonight."

I thought about it for a bit, before replying, "There isn’t much going on in the project department tonight, so I can head over after work. I’ll wait for you near the cinema."

This was as good a chance as any to talk with her about our divorce, after all.

After work, I saw Hugo getting into Serena’s car yet again.

A few minutes later, I received another message from Serena.

"I've got business to deal with, so wait for me at the cinema."

I didn't wait.

I immediately headed to a lawyer firm, discussing with a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement.

By the time I returned to the cinema area, the movie had already been playing for half its runtime.

I had never liked the romance films Serena chose. Every time, I only forced myself to sit through them to accommodate her.

So I simply bought a ticket for another showing. After the movie ended, I grabbed dinner before heading home.

While I scrolled through my feed, I saw a picture posted by Hugo.

The background showed a posh restaurant, complete with steak, red wine, and two people clasping hands tightly together.

Even though the photo only showed their hands, I immediately recognized that they belonged to him and Serena.

The caption said: Only people who love each other in a relationship will be blessed by others. Thank you for the gift, baby.

Not long after I got home, Serena returned as well.

"I specially bought you a tie. See if you like it."

Every time Serena broke a promise, she would casually buy me some gift to brush me off.

And every time I received one, not only would I stop being angry, I would even act delighted and treat each present like treasures for ages.

As such, this was a trick that Serena never got tired of using.

"Put it in the wardrobe."

Taken aback by my different attitude, Serena seemed annoyed.

"I know standing you up tonight was my fault, but I bought a gift for you especially, so what’s with this attitude?"

"This was probably some tag-on gift for your purchase, wasn't it?"

Serena's face reddened, glaring at me in embarrassment.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

In the past, no matter what Serena gave me, I never cared about the value of the gift, because I believed that anything she gave me was proof that she cared.

Just then, the lawyer sent me the divorce agreement. Without even raising my head, I replied flatly, "Nothing."

Serena seemed convinced that as long as she got angry, I would soothe her, but even when she looked at me coldly, I didn't so much as flinch.

I read through every line of the divorce agreement, I replied to the lawyer with my confirmation before locking the phone.

"Serena, the tag on that tie literally says 'Not for sale'. Do I really need to say more?

"I don't want a leftover gift that someone else threw away."

"Who do you think you are? You spend all day lifelessly buried in R&D, so what good would come of you wearing anything good?

"This tie is a gift I gave you, so how could you pick and choose? Take it or leave it!"

No matter what Serena continued shouting behind me, I simply got up and headed straight for the study.

Now that I had decided to divorce Serena, her words no longer had the power to hurt me.

That entire night, I never stepped out of the study.

Meanwhile, Serena never once came to look for me, either.

-

Serena left the house early in the morning.

I went to the law firm to collect the divorce agreement.

The moment I arrived at the company, I immediately began handing over my work to the project department.

I knew Serena went to work early on purpose today to give me the cold shoulder and force my hand, thinking that I'd admit defeat.

That entire morning, I didn't even try to contact her.

At noon, I planned to grab a simple meal in the employee cafeteria, only to run into Serena and Hugo there as well.

Originally, I intended to pretend I hadn't seen them, but Hugo deliberately brought Serena over to sit beside me.

"Eat some more, baby. You're too thin."

Hugo intentionally picked up a peeled shrimp and fed it to Serena.

The nearby employees looked at Serena and Hugo with obvious envy.

"Their relationship really makes people jealous. They're so affectionate, even at the office."

Serena's expression looked bashful. "Hugo knows that I have stomach issues, so he makes sure I eat well."

Back when Serena and I had first gotten married, the company still relied on her to attend business dinners and negotiate partnerships.

Every time she came home late, I would prepare warm porridge and nutritious soups for her.

Later, thanks to the success of the technology I developed, the company secured many collaborations, and Serena no longer needed to attend those exhausting social events.

Even then, after work, I still cooked meals that were gentle on her stomach and easy to digest.

I quietly continued eating without saying a word.

Clearly dissatisfied with my lack of reaction, Hugo smiled and spoke to me directly: "You're here too, Mr. Goodman?"

The people around us finally noticed that I was there once he pointed me out, and the colleague who spoke earlier joked, "Mr. Goodman, you're the only man who's single within our company's higher-ups. What kind of girlfriend do you want?"

I put down my spoon and thought about it for a bit, before replying seriously, "Do you have anyone you could introduce to me?"

My colleague said that she would introduce any suitable single ladies to me if she knew any.

Serena glared at me with an ugly expression.

I stood up, preparing to leave.

That afternoon, I suddenly received a document that needed Serena's signature.

I took the file and headed toward her office.

I knocked on the door, but there was no response.

The office door was slightly ajar, and I assumed Serena had stepped out.

Thinking I could just leave the file on her desk for her to sign later, I pushed the door open and walked in. The moment I stepped in, I saw Serena sitting on Hugo's lap, her bare thighs and face flushed red.

Even though I was already planning on divorcing her, seeing a scene like this still made my heart tighten painfully.

"You make me sick, Serena!"

I slammed the document on the ground before turning to leave.

"This isn't what it looks like!"

I had no idea how Serena could even say something like that.

"Not what it looks like? Then tell me, Serena! What exactly were you two doing?"

Serena hurriedly pulled down her skirt, about to explain, only for Hugo to interrupt first.

"Who are you trying to fool, Elio? If it weren't because you were impotent in bed, how would Serena have fallen for me?"

Ever since Hugo joined the company three months ago, Serena had constantly found excuses to avoid letting me touch her.

I thought it was simply because she was under too much stress from work, so I didn't push the matter.

In the end, my consideration and patience for her only made her seek another man!

"Let's get a divorce."