Chapter 2

Jason froze. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said," I replied.

"You're really asking for a divorce?" Jason said.

He stared at me for a long moment, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, then let out a cold laugh.

"Just because of last night?" he said.

"It's not just about last night," I said.

I looked him straight in the eye, making sure every word hit home. "It's because you never once thought there was anything off between you and Summer."

"It's because every time I feel hurt, you just brush it off and say I'm being dramatic."

"It's because even though we're married, the moment she cries, she always comes first, no matter what."

"Jason, last night wasn't the beginning. It was the end."

His face twisted with anger and disbelief.

"Are you really going to make such a big deal out of this?" Jason said.

I nodded. "Yes, it is."

With that, I opened the door and walked out.

His voice came from behind, barely holding back his anger. "Hannah, don't you dare regret this."

I didn't even turn around.

Regret?

Honestly, after three years, the only thing she regretted was thinking a guy who always put someone else first could ever be the one she called home.

The lawyer I chose was Alex Hughes.

Actually, I went out of my way to book him.

Back in college, he had been a legend in law school. Later, he became known for handling divorces and corporate disputes, practically infamous for being impossible to deal with.

We hadn't seen each other in years.

When I pushed open the conference room door, he was sitting there, flipping through some files in a white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, looking as calm as ever.

He looked up when he heard me come in.

For a split second, his eyes landed on my face and he visibly paused, clearly surprised.

"Hannah?" he said.

I forced a smile. "Attorney Hughes, long time no see."

He stood up and pulled out a chair for me. "When I saw the name on the appointment, I thought it was just a coincidence."

"Never thought it'd actually be you," he said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

I sat down and started laying out copies of the marriage certificate, property deeds, and company shareholding documents on the table, one after another.

Alex glanced over the stack of paperwork, then his eyes landed on the red mark the cake box had left on my hand.

He didn't ask why I wanted a divorce.

He just asked, "So, how do you want to do this?"

I said, "Make it quick, make it clean, and cut every tie you can."

He paused for a couple seconds, then started flipping through the files.

"Jason's company, Greenfield Studio; you own 35% of the shares?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"You two bought one house after you got married, two cars, and all your cash and investments are in joint accounts?"

"Yeah."

"You're the one who handles the core client data for the design department?"

I nodded.

Alex looked up at me, his gaze steady. "Divorce isn't really what you're after, is it?"

I was caught off guard.

"You're here to break free," he said.

I almost laughed.

For the first time in years, someone actually saw right through me.

I wasn't crying, I wasn't throwing a fit, and I wasn't acting out of spite.

I was finally breaking free.

Just quietly slipping out of a marriage where I was never the priority.

Alex closed the file, his tone flat. "Then let's prepare for the ugliest way out."

"If your husband thinks you're just being emotional, chances are he won't cooperate. He'll drag things out, try to talk you into calming down, and worst case, he'll keep stringing you along while staying ambiguous with that childhood friend.

"What you need to do is not wait for him to come back. You need to hold tight to your own leverage first."

He slid a checklist across the table to me. "First, back up all the transaction records from your joint accounts.

"Keep records of all company project contracts and financial approvals. Make a detailed list of every valuable item at home, and back up your chat history.

"And don't go back to live there.

"From now on, every time you go soft, you'll just end up paying for it later."

I looked at him for a long moment before finally saying, "Alex, you really haven't changed at all."

He capped his pen and looked up at me. "I have."

"Back then, I would've asked if you were still holding on," he said.

My throat tightened, and I looked away.

He didn't press me and just said, "It's still not too late."

"Hannah, the hardest part about divorce isn't how tough the other person is; it's whether you can actually let go yourself."

After leaving the law firm, I went home.

Jason wasn't there.

I spent two hours packing up all my clothes, documents, laptop, and design sketches into boxes.

When I got to the very back of the walk-in closet, I spotted a jewelry box.

It was empty.

The pearl earrings I bought myself for my birthday last year were gone.

I stared at the empty box for a couple seconds, and suddenly remembered the family dinner last week. Summer was sitting in front of the mirror, smiling as she said, "Hannah, these earrings are gorgeous. Jason still has great taste."

I didn't think much of it at the time.

But now, I realized she wasn't just saying something nice.

She'd already set her sights on them.

I tossed the empty box into the suitcase, zipped it up, and was just about to leave when the door swung open.

Jason stood in the doorway, his face instantly darkening when he saw the two suitcases at my feet.

"You're moving out?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Hannah, are you actually going through with this?"

I nodded. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

He marched over and grabbed my wrist, his voice even colder than it was this morning. "I told you, last night was a one-off.

"Summer couldn't deal with Mark alone, so I stepped in to help her out. You're really going to end our marriage over that?"

"Just once?" I scoffed.

I looked up at him.

"Jason, should I start counting for you?" I said.

"When she got dumped, you left me burning up with a fever at 1 a.m. to go drinking with her. When her job went south, you ditched our vacation plans and took her to the beach instead.

"When her mom was in the hospital, you stayed by her side for three days straight, while I spent New Year's alone with your folks. And now she's divorced, you just don't bother coming home at all.

"Every single time, you say it's the last time.

"But for her, there's always another 'last time.'"

Jason's grip on my wrist loosened.

I kept going. "It's not that I suddenly stopped loving you.

It's just that after being pushed to the edge so many times, I'm finally out of chances to give."

He looked at me, his eyes stormy with emotion.

After a long pause, he said, "There's nothing going on between me and Summer."

"I know," I said.

I gave a small, bitter smile. "Honestly, if you'd just slept with her, at least it'd be straightforward. This is worse."

His expression shifted sharply.

"Hannah," he said.

"The worst thing about you isn't cheating," I said.

"It's that you always stay just outside the line, pretending you're all above board, but you do everything to make me look bad, and then you turn around and blame me for being immature."

My words hit him hard.

Jason's jaw tightened, and he stayed silent for a long time.

I slowly pulled my hand out of his grip. "Don't touch me again until we sign the papers.

"And about those pearl earrings; do me a favor and remind Summer to give them back. Whether she can pull them off or not is her business. But using my things to act pitiful? That's just shameless."