My husband, Chandler Goodwin, claims that he doesn't understand what the phrases "silent treatment" or "giving the cold shoulder" mean. Yet, in the three years we have been married, he has never once spoken to me sweetly.

The first time we have a falling out, I remain proud and dignified. We end up ignoring each other for seven days straight.

The seventh time we have a cold standoff, I start to panic a little. However, despite trying all sorts of methods, he doesn't back down.

The 11th time it happens, I have already learned to work through my emotions myself. Chandler doesn't even need to say anything before I take the initiative to apologize first.

I simply think that he's just a naturally indifferent person, that nobody can warm his stone-cold heart.

Then, on the third year of our marriage, I accidentally ruin his dress shirt while ironing it. Chandler doesn't say a word, but that very night, he packs his things and moves into a hotel.

On the third day of being blocked, I head to his company with a handwritten apology.

While passing by his office, I spot him leaning over to shoot his angry assistant a doting smile.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice at you just now and upsetting you. It's been 57 minutes since you started ignoring me. Please stop giving me the cold shoulder, alright?"

I freeze on the spot, the apology letter in my hand practically burning my fingers.

As it turns out, it's not that he doesn't know what the silent treatment means—it's just that I've never been the person he wants to coax.

The apology letter was an unspoken agreement between Chandler Goodwin and me. Every time we fought, I had to handwrite one as an olive branch.

The first time I wrote an apology letter, tears and snot drenched my face. On one hand, I kept berating myself for humbling myself to this point for a man's sake. On the other hand, I just couldn't stop my hand from moving across the page. After all, being given the silent treatment was just too tormenting.

Eventually, there was a third time, a ninth time, a 17th time… It was like a vicious cycle.

In fact, on the way to the company, I had even been thinking, "Was my handwriting neat enough? Was my attitude sincere enough? Chandler will probably stop being angry once he reads this, right?"

Yet now, seeing the genuine warmth and affection in his eyes as he stared at his assistant, I only felt a chill sweep through my entire body.

As it turned out, it wasn't that he didn't understand what the silent treatment meant—it was just that I'd never been someone he was willing to coax.

While Chandler was busy with a meeting, I took the opportunity to meet with his assistant. After ordering our coffees, I carefully scrutinized the woman across from me.

She wasn't as pretty as I was, perhaps just a bit above average, and judging from her slender figure, she probably didn't have a habit of going to the gym. Status-wise, I was a match for Chandler, while she was merely an intern.

No matter if it was her looks, figure, or status, she was in no way comparable to me.

And yet, I had still lost to her.

During the past three years that I was married to Chandler, we had had countless fights that led to the silent treatment. Even so, he had never once been the one to try to reconcile with me first.

I had assumed he was just that cold and indifferent by nature, that he was the same to everyone. It was only today that I discovered that wasn't the truth.

He was entirely capable of smiling with such doting affection. He didn't like the feeling of being ignored, and he knew that he had to set aside his pride to make a woman happy.

I just couldn't understand—where had I gone wrong? Why had I lost? How badly had I lost?

That was the reason I invited Amanda Silton, his assistant, out today. I wanted answers.

Amanda hadn't expected that I would ask her such a question. The nervousness at being caught by her lover's wife abruptly turned to bewilderment.

"I-Is that all you wanted to know?"

Crumpling the apology letter in my hand, I stuffed it into my bag. Then, levelling a serious gaze on Amanda, I replied sincerely, "Yes, that's all I want to know. Can you tell me in what way I have lost?"

Amanda laughed at first, but when she realized that I was serious, the amusement on her face gradually changed to a pitying look.

Taking a sip of her coffee, she showed me the Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet on her wrist.

"Last month, Mr. Goodwin brought me along to a cocktail party. I didn't like the strong scent of alcohol wafting off him and complained a little. The next day, I found this bracelet on my workstation."

I paused in surprise. There was indeed a day last month when Chandler had imbibed quite a bit of alcohol, as when he returned home, his face had been completely red.

I was incredibly allergic to alcohol and would get rashes all over me with even a whiff of it, so I had voluntarily offered to sleep in the guest bedroom. That touched a nerve, and Chandler gave me the cold shoulder for an entire week straight.

"Then, there's this hair clip." Amanda unclasped the crystal hair clip on the back of her head. The Balenciaga diamonds embedded in them sparkled dazzlingly under the light. "Due to having to meet a client, Mr. Goodwin caused me to work three minutes overtime. He bought me this when he went to Faranga for a work trip."

Feeling a little dazed, I nodded.

My birthday had actually been a few days before Chandler's business trip to Faranga. One week before that, I had specifically reminded him to buy me a present. Besides that, three days before my birthday, I had even told him to set an alarm to wish me a happy birthday.

Yet, he had still forgotten.

In fact, when I confronted him about it, he had instantly exploded and spat out, "You know full well that I'm busy with work."

With that, he had stormed off coldly with his luggage for his business trip. Furious at him, I had given him the silent treatment for two whole weeks.

During the days when neither of us wanted to back down first, he had somehow still remembered to buy Amanda a hair clip.

The urge to laugh rose in me, yet my eyes were growing wet.

"Anything else?" I asked.

Amanda eyed me oddly, perhaps wondering why I was torturing myself so.

"Well… Your fight with Mr. Goodwin this time? You might be unaware, but the dress shirt you ruined was actually a gift from me to Mr. Goodwin. He had promised me to wear it when meeting his client."

Realization dawned on me when I heard that. I had been wondering why one destroyed dress shirt had been serious enough for him to move out.

Memories of last night flashed through my mind, of how I had been wiping away my tears while earnestly writing the apology letter.

"Chandler, I know I was wrong. Next time, I'll be even more careful when doing the housework. I'll definitely do it well. I'll buy you the same dress shirt, so please stop being mad at me, okay?"

Thinking back on it now, I found it all utterly hilarious.

No longer in the mood, I dipped my head at Amanda in a nod before leaving.

I now knew just how badly I had lost. At the same time, I finally decided just how my marriage to Chandler would end.

The fight this time was the perfect fuse.

…

After leaving the coffee shop, I headed straight to a law firm, where I paid extra to customize a divorce agreement.

While waiting for the lawyer, I happened to run into Chandler. It seemed like there was a problem with the company's legal team, so he was here to discuss a business collaboration.

Upon seeing me, Chandler instantly frowned. "Have you come to corner me here?"

He seemed to automatically assume that I was here to apologize, his gaze flicking to my bag.

"I don't have time to read your letter right now. Once I'm done with my work—"

"Ms. Lane, it's your turn."

At that moment, Adam Chance, the lawyer I was meeting, popped his head out of his office to beckon me inside.

I stood up, only for Chandler to grab my arm. "You're here for a lawyer?"

When I didn't answer, Chandler released his grip on me and said flippantly, "You actually made an appointment with a lawyer just so you could 'coincidentally' run into me? Fine. Since you went through all that effort, let's have dinner together."

I knew this was a sign that he wanted to reconcile. If this had been in the past, my eyes would've instantly lit up as I nodded vigorously.

However, this time, I decided I would play the fool.

Pasting a smile on my face, I politely replied, "I'm busy tonight. Maybe next time."

The next time we sat down to have a meal together, it would likely be to discuss the divorce.

Not wanting to waste another second on Chandler, I stepped around him to enter Adam's office, leaving him rooted to the spot in shock.

What a great feeling that was!

…

By the time I finished consulting with Adam and left his office, it was already dark outside.

Chandler hadn't waited for me.

When I asked the receptionist about it, she told me that he had left immediately after finishing his business collaboration talk, as though he had been worried about someone pestering him.

I was fully aware that that "someone" was referring to me. After all, this wasn't the first time he had publicly humiliated me like this.

Nonetheless, this was the first time I didn't feel upset about it.

I headed to a shopping mall next, where I bought a bunch of clothes that I liked. After that, I went to a florist and bought myself a bouquet of fresh flowers. Finally, I dined at a barbecue restaurant that I had been dying to go to.

Chandler had a sensitive nose, so he couldn't stand the smell of greasy smoke and spices clinging to clothing after eating barbecue. Hence, he had always forbidden me from having that.

The last time I had barbecue was last year. At the time, Chandler and I had had a falling out due to a small matter, and we had been giving each other the cold shoulder for three days. By that point in our marriage, I had already been mostly used to it, but that day was supposed to be our wedding anniversary.

As revenge, I deliberately visited a barbecue restaurant. After that, I went home practically smelling like a piece of barbecued meat myself. Subsequently, we had a huge fight.

With a frosty look on his face, he had said, "You clearly know I hate that smell, yet you still insist on doing what would piss me off. Why?"

My eyes had been puffy and red from my crying as I retorted, "Well, you clearly know today's our wedding anniversary, yet you still insist on giving me the cold shoulder. Why would you do that? Why can't you just placate me and make me happy?"

I couldn't remember what expression had been on his face after I said that, but the bone-deep chill I felt at the time was something I would never forget. Even now, I couldn't stop a shiver from running through me when I recalled that sensation.

Regardless, that was all in the past now.

Stabbing a huge piece of brisket, I stuffed it into my mouth with relish.

By the time I arrived home, it was already quite late at night.

After dealing with my nightly routine, I was about to sleep when I received a message from Chandler, "Have you seen my green tie? I need it tomorrow."

In the three years we were married, this was the first time he had ever taken the initiative to send me a message while we were on the outs with each other.

Hence, I was stunned for several seconds, even wondering if this might be a prank. It wasn't until I had reread the message several times and confirmed that it was indeed real that I slowly typed out my response, "It's on the third shelf of the glass cabinet in the wardrobe. Do I need to ask someone to take it to you?"

Previously, no matter where Chandler was, as long as he needed it, I would be the first to jump into action. However, it was different now. It was already close to midnight, and I needed to get my beauty sleep.

There was no reply from him for a good long while after I sent my message.

Just as I set down my phone and got ready to sleep, it beeped.

"Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. What would you like? A necklace?"

I paused in surprise, as that was the wish I had made last year. It had come one entire year later.

When Chandler didn't receive a response, he sent another text, "Did you come to the company today? There's nothing going on between Mandy and me, so don't bother her."

The instant I read those words, understanding dawned on me.

He had sought me out to defend his mistress. And here I had been wondering why he would suddenly remember to get me a present. As it turned out, he was worried I would cause trouble for his precious lover.