Chapter 1

My heart turned completely to ice the moment I found out my wife spent the night at her ex's place after a high school reunion.

Her ex, Nathan, posted a photo of her sleeping on his Instagram story.

The caption read: *"Still tosses and turns in her sleep, just like she used to..."*

The comments under his post were flooded with congratulations, cheering them on for rekindling their old flame.

I smiled, tapped the screen, and left a comment: *"Congratulations! Don't forget to invite me to the wedding. I'll even cover the bar tab."*

...

Looking at the comment I just posted, I let out a long breath and lit a cigarette.

The wedding portrait hanging on the living room wall felt like a punch to the gut.

Chloe hadn't come home all night. I tossed and turned in bed until dawn, memories of our past flashing through my mind.

The next evening, I came home from work and saw Chloe sitting on the couch. Her face was dark with anger.

I hung my briefcase on the rack and walked straight past her.

"Ethan!"

She slammed her hand against the coffee table and jumped up, glaring at me furiously.

"What the hell was that comment you left last night?"

I looked at her and let out a cold laugh. "What did it mean? Exactly what it said. You slept at another man's house, and you're asking me what I meant?"

She frowned, momentarily at a loss for words. "Can you stop using your filthy mind to twist my friendship with Nathan? Nothing happened between us last night!"

With that, she sank back onto the couch and dabbed at nonexistent tears in the corners of her eyes.

Every single argument went like this. Whenever she ran out of excuses, she played the victim and cried. In the past, I always fell for it, rushing over to pamper and comfort her.

This time, I just looked at her coldly, not moving an inch.

Seeing no reaction from me, her fake sobs ground to a halt.

Throughout our marriage, I had indulged Chloe in everything. Maybe that made her think I had no backbone, pushing her to cross line after line.

She literally paraded another man in my face. What kind of husband could tolerate that?

"Ethan, Nathan slept on the couch, and I took the bedroom alone. Do you really have that little trust in me?

Come on, babe, stop making a scene, okay? Just delete that comment. Don't make things embarrassing for everyone."

Her words almost made me laugh out loud.

The angle Nathan took that photo from clearly showed two people lying in the same bed. What was she still lying for?

Besides, all it took was for Nathan to delete his post, but she didn't want him to do that. Instead, she demanded that I take down my comment.

Was she that addicted to everyone gushing over their "reunion"?

"I'm not deleting it. And one more thing..." I pulled divorce papers from my briefcase and tossed them onto the table.

"Sign this."

My voice was flat. After being disappointed so many times, I was completely numb.

Chloe's eyes went wide. She stared at the divorce papers on the table in disbelief.

"Ethan! Have you lost your damn mind?!"

Yeah, maybe I had.

How much disrespect and pressure had I endured over the years, only to realize she never loved me at all?

Anyone in my shoes would have lost it.

The fact that I could sit calmly in the same room and discuss divorce was already the ultimate restraint on my part.

Truth be told, I had realized long ago that there was no room for me in Chloe's heart.

To her, Nathan was her one and only.

This wasn't something that started recently. Looking back, the signs had been there all along.