Chapter 2

My hands trembled uncontrollably, and waves of nausea stirred in my stomach. I felt physically sick.

"Cloe is just young and doesn’t understand. It’s been so long, you should let it go. And when that happened, didn’t you have some responsibility?"

Troy naturally demanded that I let it go, just like countless arguments before. Whether right or wrong, I was always the one to back down first.

I looked at Troy, and he no longer resembled the bright young man from the past.

"Troy, just sign it. From now on, whether you like Cloe, it has nothing to do with me."

His brothers saw that things were off and quickly stepped in:

"Laneter-in-law, calm down. You’ve been with Troy for so many years, don’t end it so casually. Troy, you did do something wrong, quickly apologize to your wife."

Troy, embarrassed in front of everyone, was seething with anger:

"Lane, think carefully. If you leave me, let’s see how you survive."

I remained calm, holding the signed agreement and leaving.

"Troy, go after your wife, apologize to her. This went too far."

Troy watched my retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"Don’t worry, Lane has been out of society for three years. She can’t live without me; she’ll come back to me."

I had wanted to work countless times, but Troy always convinced me otherwise.

In the early days of his business, he said the company was at a critical time and was too busy, so I should focus on taking care of the home.

Once the company stabilized, he said I should stay at home as Mrs. Colon, finding time to drink tea with the wives of business partners and build relationships.

Later, he directly told me that working outside would embarrass him and make others think he couldn’t support me.

Then he became more controlling, dictating my wardrobe, forbidding me from wearing skirts that exposed my knees, from dyeing my hair, and from wearing too much makeup.

We had endless arguments, and he always used his previous "protection" as a shield.

"Lane, I do this because I love you."

"Lane, wearing such a short skirt is dangerous; I’m protecting you."

"Lane, there’s no one else in this world who truly wants to protect you like I do."

In all of his actions, I slowly lost myself.

Leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, holding the divorce certificate, I took a deep breath. At least it was over. From now on, I would love myself properly.

I called my best friend Alice, planning to go to a bar for a drink.

When she arrived, she saw the empty glasses and understood:

"Did you have another fight with Troy?"

I waved the divorce certificate in front of her:

"We’re divorced."

After hearing the whole story, Alice almost rushed to fight that jerk Troy:

"Shit, he’s such a scumbag. It’s bad enough he cheated, but with Cloe? Doesn’t he know how much she hurt you back then?"

Although Troy had protected me, he wasn’t in the same class, so he couldn’t always prevent things from happening.