Chapter 2

At 8:50 the next morning, Nora finally showed up at the entrance of the family court.

Brian had driven her there. His black car was parked at the bottom of the steps. He rolled down the window and nodded at me. "Charles, thanks for taking care of this."

I looked at Nora. "Is he coming in too?"

"Brian just dropped me off," she said quietly. "Don't give him that look. He feels guilty about it."

I let out a laugh. "If he feels guilty, he doesn't have to go through with it."

Brian's smile froze on his face.

Nora grabbed my arm. "Stop it," she whispered.

I glanced down at her hand, and she let go right away.

The process was straightforward. The staff checked our documents and confirmed several times that we were both doing this of our own free will.

Nora replied firmly.

When it was my turn, she glanced at me.

"Willing," I said.

The staff took our documents and handed us two receipts. "There's a couple of months of waiting period. After that, you will get the final judgment of dissolution."

Nora carefully folded the receipt and slipped it into her bag.

As we walked out of the court, Brian was already holding two cups of coffee. He handed one to Nora and then offered the other to me. "Charles, here."

I didn't take it. "I don't take hand-me-downs from anyone."

His hand froze in midair.

Nora's face fell. "Charles, do you have to throw shade like that?"

"It's only coffee. You're overthinking it," I said, turning to head down the steps.

Brian hurried after me. "Charles," he said, reaching out to stop me. "I want to talk to you alone."

Nora was about to say something, but he smiled at her. "Go wait in the car. I need to clear the air with Charles."

She shot me a look and then got into the car.

The moment the car door closed, the apology on Brian's face vanished. He tossed the coffee into the trash. "She still chose me," he said.

I glanced at the cup in the trash. "So what?"

"You stuck by her for eight years. Cooked for her, picked her up from work, helped out at her dad's company, and built their quality control system.

"But just because I said so, she's ready to divorce you." He stepped closer. "Doesn't that make you look pathetic?"

Cars splashed through puddles on the street, their tires drowning out the footsteps of passersby.

I pulled out my phone and hit save on the recording. I'd started it the moment he stopped me. "Go ahead. Say what you want."

He noticed my phone and reached out to snatch it.

I sidestepped him. "What, scared?"

Brian withdrew his hand and forced a smile. "I'm only telling you to face reality. You've never been the one Nora‌ can't live without."

"So you still need my wife to get your grandfather's shares?"

A muscle in his temple twitched. "It's only a formality."

"If it's only a formality, why didn't you ask someone else?"

"She was willing to help me."

"Yeah, she was willing," I said, unlocking my car. "Congrats, you picked up what I left behind."

Brian grabbed the car door. "No matter how much you pretend you don't care, when she comes back after six months, you'll still take her back."

I stared right at him. "You'd better make sure she never comes back to me."

I pulled the car door open, but he wouldn't budge.

I lifted my phone. "If you don't move, I'll call the cops."

He slowly let go, his mouth set in a hard line.

I drove out of the parking lot. In the rearview mirror, I saw Nora get out of the car, walk over to him, look up, and say something.

Brian put his arm around her shoulders. She didn't push him away.

My phone buzzed. Nora sent me a message: [It's just six months. Don't make things awkward for everyone.]

I deleted her message and unpinned her number from the top of my contacts.