Chapter 12
After returning home, I spent two solid days lying in bed.
<
On the third evening, as I was stretching by the window, the door lock beeped and Marcus walked in with his bag
He greeted me casually, as if it were just another regular day of coming home from work, as if he hadn’t been away for two months.
fronted and walked to the closet doorway.
know what you want to say, Rachel. I don’t agree to divorce.”
tons was steady as he unhurriedly removed his tie and watch.
“That was just a show. It was fake, acting, for publicity. It doesn’t count”
He rotated his wrist and slowly walked over to take my hand.
I instinctively pulled away.
“I told you, I’m not used to this anymore.”
His eyes trembled slightly, but he still spoke gently:
“It’s okay, we’ll take it slow. We’re husband and wife – there’s no problem we can’t solve. If there’s anything making you uncomfortable, I apologize for everything I’ve done, intentionally or unintentionally. I’m sorry.”
I lowered my head and gave a soft laugh.
“What makes you think one sorry can erase all the ugliness between us?”
He watched me silently.
“Fine, Rachel. Whatever grievances or dissatisfaction you have, you can take them all out on me. However you want.”
“Except divorce”
Marcus was a man of strong execution.
Suddenly he no longer had busy work, no constant phone calls or meetings. He started paying attention to the house plants, learning to use various appliances, even watching cooking videos.
My livestreaming work stopped, replaced by an influencer.
Countless times before, I had expressed my dislike for livestreaming, only to be coldly dismissed with his “Your management contract belongs to the company, you must follow company arrangements”
But now, he simply stopped it.
At night, he still slept in the guest room, not forcing anything.
tient man:
“Rachel, you know I’m a patient
Every morning, he could be found in the kitchen.
He learned quickly–his noodles were quite good now.
But I never ate them once.
After the show ended, some things didn’t need to continue.
But he seemed obsessed with this particular thing, making noodles every morning, placing a steaming bowl on the dining table, silently waiting until it went cold before dumping it out.
Victoria called him once while he was carefully trimming orchids, his movements gentle and precise, but his words were unusually cold.
“Victoria, I told you not to call me when I’m at home. If you continue showing this lack of boundaries, there will be no reason for you to stay”
To everything he did, I remained indifferent and unresponsive, barely even speaking to him.
uite understand why his transformation was so sudden, but I couldn’t be bothered to ask, or even think about it.
Lactually couldn’t quite
I just… had no interest.
This heart of stone was what I’d earned through countless sleepless nights. Now, it had become impenetrable armor.
God is fair.
He doesn’t give you blessings without reason, nor does he let you suffer without purpose.
We ind under the same roof but were like strangers.
One night, he had a migraine attack and came knocking at my door, this usually composed businessman showing childlike vulnerability in his
eyes.
I made one phone call and summoned Victoria.
When he saw Victoria arrive breathlessly, his expression turned extremely dark. The peaceful facade he’d carefully maintained these past
ww Victor
weeks finally showed a crack.
Lying in bed, I could hear Victoria’s sobs from downstairs.
“Mrs. Crawford said you asked for me…
The next morning when I went downstairs, Marcus sat calmly at the dining table eating noodles.
One bowl in front of him, another at the opposite seat.
Steaming hot, looking and smelling perfect.
I ignored it as usual, walking past him to get milk from the fridge.
But I heard his eerily calm voice:
“Your money and management contract are both with the company. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
I slowly turned to stare at
at him.
He looked up, smiling warmly.
“We can’t possibly divorce, can we, Rachel?”
