While I was preparing our seventh-anniversary dinner, Renee suddenly told me she wanted a divorce. “Arthur has depression, and I need to be with him for his treatment.” “We’ll remarry in a year.” In my past life, I waited for her, year after year, only to learn she was pregnant and remarrying her childhood friend. I crashed the wedding, questioning her hysterically. But it only led to her endless revenge and torment. In the end, my family went bankrupt. My parents died, one gone, one driven mad. Even I was thrown into the ocean by creditors, my body never found. Reborn, I didn’t argue or make a scene. I took off my apron and quickly packed my bags. When I went downstairs, she stood with her arms crossed, a look of mockery on her face. “You don’t have to pretend to be so eager. I’m not falling for that playing-hard-to-get act.” “Since I promised we’d remarry, we will.” My hand paused briefly as I signed the divorce papers, then continued quickly and steadily. I was indeed eager, but not to get her attention. It was because I had already signed a top-secret project. From now on, I would disappear completely from her world. 1 As I signed, my mind flashed back to the classified documents I’d signed three days prior. “Adam, you need to be absolutely sure. This isn’t just any confidential project.” “Once you join, all your information will be completely erased.” “Adam Reynolds will cease to exist in this world.” My feelings when signing then were the same as now: calm, resolute, and without hesitation. The last letter, and a heavy weight in my heart, settled together. I handed the agreement to Renee, who stood nearby. “It’s signed.” Seven years of marriage, and the woman’s allure had only grown. Now, however, it held a hint of shattered cruelty. “Adam Reynolds, don’t you have anything to say?” In my past life, I was the one who asked that question. Renee back then had been utterly annoyed and indifferent. “Arthur has a delusional disorder and sees me as his whole world. Only a divorce can calm him down.” “You can choose not to sign, but I have my ways.” My past heartbreak had transformed into present composure. I shook my head. Renee snatched the agreement, her grip so fierce it seemed she meant to rip it apart. She clenched the pen, its tip hovering, reluctant to descend. A scene flashed in my mind. I immediately took off my wedding ring, worn for seven years, and placed it next to the document, adding casually. “I don’t want the car, the house, or the company shares. They’re all yours.” In my past life, to avoid divorce, I had manipulated the assets. When Renee discovered this, she hired the top lawyers from a prestigious firm to fight the case. It left me with nothing, stripped bare. Now, I wanted none of it. Besides, I no longer had the time to divide assets with Renee. Better to make a clean break. The woman let out a cynical laugh. “Fine, Adam Reynolds. You’ve got nerve.” She gripped the pen, barely making a mark, then abruptly looked up. “I’m not cooking. Go make Arthur his favorite black chicken soup.” “Once the soup’s ready, I’ll sign.” My heart, which had been steady, now leaped into my throat. I was somewhat puzzled. Renee not only knew how to cook, but she was an excellent chef. However, in the seven years I had cooked for her, I never knew this. Because she only cooked for Arthur. I took a deep breath and turned into the kitchen. Renee followed close behind. The seafood soup she loved was still simmering in the pot. Now, it was all poured down the drain. She stood by, casually directing me. “Arthur doesn’t like chunky radishes, chop them finer!” “Go easy on the pepper, Arthur’s stomach has been sensitive lately; he can’t handle spicy food.” Once, I had hoped she would understand me as intimately as she did Arthur. But when I was rushed to the hospital for the tenth time, throwing up violently after eating the chestnut dessert she bought, She remained completely unconcerned. “You’re allergic to chestnuts? Really? How would I know? Did you ever tell me?” A pang of sorrow passed. I turned the heat to maximum, wishing the soup would be ready immediately so I could finally break free from Renee. Two hours later, I placed the freshly made soup on the table, then turned to take off my apron. Renee, after taking just one sip of the soup, suddenly slammed the bowl onto my back. “You were trying to poison Arthur, weren’t you?!” 2 Soup drenched my back, the scalding pain reaching deep into my heart. I flinched from the sudden agony, turning back inexplicably. Renee’s face was filled with fury. “I’ve told you a hundred times, Arthur breaks out in a rash every time he eats Szechuan peppercorns.” “I think you did this on purpose. No wonder you seemed so indifferent earlier. You wanted to use this as an opportunity to hurt Arthur!” I clenched my fists, taking a deep breath. Just as I was about to explain that she hadn’t mentioned the allergy at all, she suddenly stood up, grabbed her bag, and walked out without a backward glance. “I’ll give you two more hours. Make the soup and bring it to the hospital.” “Don’t let me catch you playing petty games again.” I grabbed the divorce agreement and chased after her, only catching the fumes of her car. After a long while, I returned to the kitchen, starting the soup again. Before leaving, I had to finalize the divorce. I couldn’t give Renee any chance to find me. While the soup simmered, I opened my social media. The first post was from Arthur. He had shared a photo of the new car Renee bought him. A flashy red, with even the license plate number thoughtfully set to his birthday. [Whatever I want, she always gets it for me immediately.] I stared at the words, a long-buried wound in my heart aching faintly. In my past life, Renee, who was never interested in cars, suddenly asked me to buy her one. After I gifted her the car, she never brought up remarrying. Unable to bear it, I went to find her. I happened to catch her and Arthur kissing passionately in the new car. My own clown-like, bitter smile was reflected in the car window. At the time, she was still lying to me, saying that appropriate physical contact would speed up Arthur’s recovery. Thinking about it now, it was so ridiculous. I had actually chosen to believe her because I was too afraid of losing her. Two hours later, I arrived at the hospital on time, carrying the soup and the agreement. The autumn evening was chilling, with a biting wind. Renee’s phone kept going straight to voicemail. I rubbed my frozen hands, then resolutely headed upstairs, stopping outside the VIP room. Inside the room, Renee was sitting by the bed, peeling an apple for Arthur, her voice tender in a way I had never heard. “Adam and I are divorced. You focus on getting better, I’ll stay with you.” My hand, poised to knock, fell. A pang of emptiness settled in my heart. I sat on a nearby bench. A moment later, Renee finally emerged from the room. The moment she saw me, the tenderness on her face instantly transformed into fury. She anxiously pulled me away. “Adam Reynolds, you came here on purpose to provoke Arthur, didn’t you?” “Get out, don’t appear in front of Arthur!” I shook the soup container, then produced the divorce agreement. “I came to bring Arthur his soup, and also, you haven’t signed this yet…” Renee raised her hand and knocked over the soup container, her anger intensifying. “You want to divorce me that badly?!” As she spoke, Arthur walked out of the room. The moment he saw me, his face turned deathly pale, his lips trembling. “Adam, are you here to take Renee away from me?” He suddenly knelt down, pleading desperately. “Adam, please don’t take Renee away. I truly can’t live without her!!” “If she leaves, what reason do I have to live?!” “I might as well just die right now!” Renee pulled him up, looking at me as if I were her sworn enemy. “Adam Reynolds, are you satisfied now?” “Apologize to Arthur immediately! Swear you’re not here to take me away. Hurry up!” This absurd scene made me chuckle involuntarily. “Renee, can you please be reasonable?” Indifference spread across the woman’s eyes. She waved a hand towards the distance. Two burly bodyguards stepped forward resolutely, one gripping each of my arms and legs, forcefully pushing me down. Excruciating pain shot through me. My legs trembled uncontrollably, and with a thud, I slammed hard onto the floor. The moment my dignity was trampled, a chill pierced my heart. This wasn’t the first time I had knelt for Arthur. 3 The first time was in my past life. I crashed into the wedding venue, hysterically demanding to know why Renee had lied to me. She shielded Arthur behind her, her eyes filled with annoyance. “Why so many questions?” “When love is gone, it’s gone. Now, even looking at you for a second annoys me.” I stood frozen, stiff all over. Arthur had another episode, collapsing on the floor, convulsing. Renee blamed everything on me. Under her relentless pressure, our family factory soon went bankrupt and closed down. My father, burdened with tens of millions in debt, collapsed and jumped from a building. My mother witnessed it all, suffered a severe shock, and had a mental breakdown. In my darkest despair, I knelt before Renee, begging her for mercy. She pointed to Arthur, lying unharmed in the hospital bed. “The person you owe an apology to isn’t me, it’s Arthur.” My dignity and self-respect were utterly gone. I numbly kowtowed, head after head. But I never received any mercy from Renee. In the end, unable to repay the enormous debts, I was thrown into the icy sea by creditors. At the same time, Renee was on a cruise ship, watching fireworks with Arthur. The pain of my past life surged back, suffocating and despairing. I stopped struggling, numbly kneeling on the ground. “I swear to God, from this day forward, I will never approach Renee again.” The kind of solemn vow I once couldn’t utter, now came as easily as drinking water. Arthur instantly calmed down. But Renee’s face remained clouded with anger. She frowned, utterly impatient. “Now, get out!” The bodyguards released their hold. I stood up, picked up the agreement, and dusted it off. “You sign this.” Arthur, who had just calmed down, suddenly went wild again, snatching a small knife from a bodyguard’s belt, his eyes bloodshot. “So you two aren’t divorced yet?!” “Renee, you’ll go back to him anytime, leave me, won’t you?!” “Renee, if I can only have you for a short time, I’d rather just die now!!” He was frantic, the small knife hovering inches from his arm’s artery. Scarlet blood trickled down, and Renee was terrified. “Arthur! Don’t do this!!” “I’ll divorce him, I’ll divorce him right now!” The woman who had just been hesitant signed resolutely, then forcefully threw the agreement at my forehead. “Get out!” Blood dripped into my eye. I clutched the agreement as if it were a treasure. I felt no pain, only immense relief. After one last glance at Renee, I left the hospital without looking back. While waiting for a car, I received a call from my parents. They already knew I would be leaving. Though reluctant, they were very supportive. As their familiar words of caution rang out, my eyes welled up uncontrollably. My father’s dying words from my past life echoed involuntarily in my ears. “Adam, after I’m gone, you must take good care of your mother…” At the same time, Mother texted me, saying she was bringing sparerib soup to the factory. “Adam, as long as our family is together, even if the sky falls, it’s not a big deal.” In my past life, before I died, I visited Mother at the nursing home. She held my hand, her expression dazed. “Adam, the sparerib soup is ready. Remember to take it to your father.” “He loves that the most, you know.” In this life, I wanted nothing. Only for my parents to be safe and healthy. The call ended, and I took a deep breath. Just then, the car picking me up arrived. As I prepared to step forward, a sharp pain shot through my back. Then, I lost consciousness. 4 When I woke, I was lying face down on an operating table. Renee and the doctor’s conversation chilled my heart, inch by inch. “Ms. Vance, skin graft surgery without anesthetic is no different from torture. Perhaps…” “I said no anesthetic means no anesthetic. Pain will teach him a lesson, so he won’t intentionally provoke Arthur again.” “Hurry up with the surgery. Arthur hates scars on his body the most.” I wanted to struggle, but my body felt paralyzed. The cold scalpel sliced across my back, the distinct pain piercing my very bones. The air was thick with the smell of blood, making me nauseous several times. More than once, the pain was so intense I blacked out. When I next awoke, I was in a hospital bed, my back burning with fiery pain. Renee sat by the bed, her fingertip pausing at the corner of my eye, her gaze complex. “Was it that painful? You were crying even in your coma.” My eyes were like stagnant water. “Don’t touch me.” Renee, unusually, wasn’t angry, her tone confident. “Stop being so dramatic. It’s just a divorce for a year. Are you really that dependent on me?” Before I could speak, an assistant appeared at the door. “Ms. Vance, Mr. Maxwell is awake.” The woman rose and left without hesitation. I calmly pulled out my phone. The latest message was from my project team leader. [Adam, the car picking you up is at the hospital entrance. Why haven’t you come down?] I immediately replied. [Teacher, I’ll be right down.] I changed my clothes and resolutely left. But as I went downstairs, I saw the one person I least wanted to see. Arthur had shed his previous erratic behavior, his eyes now full of scorn. I ignored him, wanting only to leave quickly. As we brushed past each other, the man scoffed. “A defeated opponent, nothing more.” My fists immediately clenched. “What did you say?” Arthur became even more arrogant. “I said, I’m seeing a useless man like you for the first time!” “I really don’t know what Renee ever saw in you. Do you even deserve to marry such a wonderful woman as Renee?” “You don’t know yet, do you? You and Renee actually had a child once.” I froze, Arthur’s wild voice piercing my eardrums again and again, leaving them raw and bleeding. “But she promised me that her first child could only be mine, so she quietly aborted that child.” “I told her to tell you she was just tired from work, that her face looked bad, and you actually believed her, even massaging her and washing her feet every night.” “How pathetic are you?” “I heard your dad has a weak heart. What if I send him those photos and videos of Renee and me? Would he die of anger?” Arthur shook his phone, utterly pleased with himself. My rage completely ignited. I grabbed his arm and slammed it hard against the wall. “You’re looking for death!” Arthur looked up, pouting. “Coward, go ahead and hit me if you dare!” Hatred surged through my chest, no longer containable. I raised my fist, just about to strike. From the end of the corridor, Renee’s scream echoed. “Adam Reynolds, stop it!!” Bodyguards rushed over, one seizing the fresh wound on my back. I gasped sharply and fell directly to the ground. Arthur cradled his bleeding arm, whining. “Renee, I just came to tell Adam to stop bothering you, but he suddenly hit me.” “He even threatened me, saying if I tried to seduce you again, he’d kill me!” I struggled to lift my head, looking at Renee’s utterly disgusted face, and roared. “Renee, don’t listen to his nonsense! I didn’t!” The woman’s gaze turned cold as she looked at the bodyguards. “Hit him! Keep hitting him until he breaks!” Countless fists rained down on me like meteors. The wound on my back quickly reopened, blood soaking through my shirt. I curled up on the ground, my internal organs feeling displaced, my mouth full of blood. After an unknown period, Renee finally called for a stop. Just as I thought she had relented, she raised her high heel and savagely ground it into my right hand. “Just now, you used this hand to hurt Arthur, didn’t you?” “Break this hand!” A bodyguard grabbed my right arm and, with effortless force, bent it downward. The crisp snap of bone traveled along my marrow to my heart. It sounded precisely like the discordant notes that fell when Renee taught me to play the piano years ago. “Adam, this is my favorite piece. When you learn it, will you play it for me?” Now, the music had ended. And we, too, should part ways. “Arthur! Wake up, don’t scare me!” “Call a doctor, quickly!” I lifted my bloodied face, watching Renee’s retreating back. All love and hate transformed into smoke, completely dispersing. I stood up, unable to tend to my broken right hand, and limped out of the hospital. After getting into the car, I snapped my phone’s SIM card and tossed it out the window. The car drove north, never stopping again.
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