Even now, knowing he was divorcing me for Carmilla, when he used that familiar, practiced tactic, my chest still ached.
I blinked, forcing the bitterness down. As I handed the document back, I couldn’t stop myself from adding, “If… we got divorced—”
I didn’t even finish before he cut me off, righteous and firm.
“How could we get divorced?”
His tone was absolute. “This family can’t function without you. Neither I nor our daughter can live without you.”
“You’re the backbone of this household. Don’t overthink things.”
He sounded so certain.
Yet his words and his actions couldn’t have been more opposite.
Before I could speak again, I noticed the smile he couldn’t quite suppress.
He thought he could trick me into signing the divorce papers and leaving me with nothing.
But soon, he'll understand what it feels like to lose everything.
As if realizing something, he coughed and forced himself back into composure.
“Alright. Get some rest. I’m going to step out and make a call.”
And with that, he hurried out of the room.
He even forgot to finish applying the meds.
I bit down on self-mockery.
Not long after, my phone vibrated.
It was a message from the lawyer.
[Ma’am, the divorce agreement has officially entered the process.]
I stared at that line for a long time.
And then I laughed.
I laughed and laughed until I finally broke, collapsing onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Nine years of sincerity.
I’ll just consider myself blind, terrible at judging people.
After crying, I calmed down quickly.
Silently, I packed my belongings. I contacted the school, canceled all of Cruella’s tutoring classes, withdrew her enrollment from the private school, transferred her to a public one, and froze her allowance account.
I had never been speaking out of anger.
As for Viggo, he didn’t know yet.
In a few days, the company I brought into the marriage as a wedding gift would return, intact, to my dad’s name.
Including the house we were living in.
Everything I’d bought for this so-called family of three over the years, I sorted through it all. What could be thrown away, I threw the hell away.
When I came back again, the door was shut.
I opened it and saw Carmilla.
She was sitting on the living-room couch, sunglasses and a mask on, her suitcase beside her.
Cruella hovered around her, looking up at her like a little chick, chatting eagerly.