Chapter 1

Jason Grant’s longtime female friend wanted to get back at me for him, so she drew up divorce papers and shoved them in front of me.

Jason was convinced I'd never sign them. Smug as ever, he even demanded that I apologize to him in front of all his friends.

I smiled, took the divorce papers he handed me, and tore them clean in half.

Then I pulled another set of divorce papers from my bag, the ones I'd had my lawyer prepared, and handed them to him.

Jason went speechless, his smile vanishing at once.

*****

The once lively private room fell silent in an instant.

Wendy Taylor, Jason's childhood friend, was the first to break the silence. "Come on, Elaine, you're being way too uptight about this, aren't you?

"Seriously, you two fight over every little thing. No wonder Jason doesn't want to go home.

"I was the one who made the divorce agreement. I simply wanted to mess with you a bit, get you to apologize to Jason, that's all."

She shot Jason a half-smile. "Jason, you were just joking, but Elaine means business. So, are you man enough to sign it?"

Someone scolded Wendy, "Wendy, give it a rest."

Then he turned to Jason. "Jason, Elaine is messing with you. You've had enough to drink. Hurry up and go home with her."

Jason had a few drinks, but he wasn't wasted.

Jason looked up at me and said slowly, "Elaine, are you fucking serious about this?"

I nodded. "I'm serious."

Over the past six months, we'd fought so many times, and every single time, Jason would throw out, "If you can't handle it, let's split up."

At first, I felt hurt, but after a while, I got numb.

Today's argument started because we'd agreed a few days ago to grab barbecue for lunch and then go see the new movie.

But half an hour before we were supposed to head out, Jason bailed.

He said barbecue smelled too much for him and he didn't want it.

I already had my makeup done, so I asked what he wanted instead. Jason shrugged and said, "Whatever."

I rattled off a bunch of places, but Jason either said the food sucked or that there'd be a crazy line.

We finally settled on steak, but then he complained the movie I picked was lame.

I was pissed, so I said I wasn't going anymore.

But Jason snapped at me, saying I was too much trouble. I couldn't hold it in and started arguing with him.

In the end, Jason tossed out, "If you want to stay, stay. If you can't deal with it, let's split up," and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"Fine," I said.

Jason shot me a thumbs-up, then grabbed the pen and signed the divorce agreement, quick and decisive.

After signing, he hurled the agreement and the pen right at my face. "Happy now?"

The paper fluttered to the floor, and I bent down to pick it up.

Everyone started chiming in, trying to calm us down.

"Come on, you two, it's not that serious. You just got married, and now you're talking about divorce?"

"Jason, apologize to Elaine already."

"Elaine, don't take it to heart. He's drunk. Tomorrow, when he sobers up, he'll be crying his eyes out over this."

I pressed my lips together and stayed silent.

In the tense, suffocating atmosphere, Wendy was the only one laughing. She clung to Jason's arm and shook it, grinning. "Jason, you're a legend.

"Looks like someone tried to play hard to get, but it totally backfired. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot."

One of Jason's friends frowned. "Wendy, drop it, will you?"

"Why should I?" Wendy shot back. "Didn't you all say Elaine wasn't good enough for Jason anyway?"

Everyone looked at each other. Nobody said another word.

I always knew Jason's rich friends secretly looked down on where I came from.

To them, a girl from a small town like me landing a wealthy guy like Jason was supposed to be hitting the jackpot.

They figured I should be hanging onto Jason for all he was worth, not daring to argue with him.

Once, I caught a glimpse of their group chat on Jason's phone and saw how they roasted me behind my back.

Back then, I was still in love with Jason, so I turned a blind eye for his sake.

After a moment of silence, someone else tried to get us to make up, but I ignored them, stuffed the divorce agreement into my bag, and walked out.

Behind me, Wendy was still laughing. "Come on, guys, Elaine's never gonna leave Jason.

"Women like her, who finally managed to snag someone like Jason, would never want to return to how she was before."

The door to the private room swung shut, blocking out all the noise.

I stood alone in the empty hallway, feeling tears threaten to spill. I quickly tilted my head back, forcing them back.

I couldn't cry.

I'd already shed way too many tears for Jason these past six months.

When I went to get the divorce papers today, I promised myself no more tears for him.

He was just not worth it.

I took a cab home.

Before I went to see Jason, I'd already packed up most of my stuff. I threw the last few bits and pieces all into a duffel bag without bothering to sort them.

Once everything was packed, I looked down at the wedding ring on my finger for a moment, then slowly took it off.

When we got married, Jason wanted to buy me a wedding ring worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I stopped him.

I figured wearing something that expensive was asking for trouble. I'd always be worried someone would try to rob me whenever I walked down the street.

After a ton of back and forth, Jason ended up hiring a designer to create a custom set of wedding rings for us.

From the moment I put this ring on, I never took it off.

I still remember our wedding day. Jason had broken down in tears right in front of all our guests.

He hugged me and said marrying me was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him. He promised he'd always cherish me, protect me, and never let anything hurt me.

At first, Jason really did keep his word.

But it didn't last.

Our first real fight was about having kids.

Since Jason was the only child in the Grant family, his mom started dropping hints about us having a baby six months after we got married.

But Jason wasn't ready to be a dad yet. He said he wasn't prepared for that kind of responsibility.

We kept dodging the issue for a few months.

When it got to the point where we couldn't put it off anymore, I brought it up with Jason and suggested maybe we should have a baby sooner rather than later.

Jason frowned. "Why rush it? I'll handle Mom. Don't worry about it."

I said, "We're gonna have to have kids sooner or later anyway, so what's the difference?"

But Jason sneered, "Wendy was right, Elaine. You really have changed.

"Are you all about trapping me with a baby now? When did you get so calculating?"

"That's not what I meant. I—"

Jason cut me off. "Can't you be a little more ambitious? Why are you always so obsessed with having kids? Do you really simply want to be a housewife, stuck at home taking care of me and the kids?"

I felt hurt and couldn't help but argue back.

In the end, Jason said, "If you can't handle it, let's split up," and walked out.

That was our first real fight.

Jason's words, "If you can't handle it, let's split up", left me feeling both hurt and scared.

We gave each other the silent treatment for a whole week, and Jason didn't come home once.

In the end, I was the one who gave in first.

That was probably when Jason realized he could use divorce as a threat, so after that, every time we fought, he'd toss those words around like nothing.

I kept giving in and making compromises, all because I still loved Jason, still remembered how he held me and cried with joy on our wedding day.

I remembered all the little ways he used to be gentle and protective, both before and after we got married.

Now, looking back, it felt like Jason's niceness was a lifetime ago.

I set the wedding ring on the table and was about to grab my things and leave when my phone buzzed a few times.

I checked it and saw a message from Wendy.

It read: [Jason's totally wasted and begged me to help him shower.

[Don't take it the wrong way, Elaine. Jason and I grew up together. I've seen every inch of him.]

She sent a photo of Jason sitting in a bathtub full of water, grinning right at the camera.

I zoomed in on the photo and stared at it for a while.

Jason was grinning like he didn't have a care in the world. He looked nothing like someone who was too drunk to take care of himself.

For a moment, I felt a little dazed. It felt like ever since our first fight, he hadn't really smiled at me anymore.

I'd thought about it so many times, but I couldn't figure it out. How could someone change so much, so fast?

When he loved me, he treated me like I was the most precious thing in the world. But now that he didn't, it was like breathing in front of him was a mistake.