At the company victory party, Sophia took the mic and announced to everyone that she wanted a new husband. The words hit me like a physical blow, freezing me where I stood. But down in the crowd, a young man named Ryan erupted in laughter. He loudly mocked the idea of an old guy like me being scared stiff at the thought of being dumped. He then urged Sophia to make good on their bet. She’d wagered the most, he crowed, and now she owed him a cool $5,200. The room joined in, roaring with laughter. Sophia, without a second glance at me, stepped off the stage. After transferring the money, she even playfully nuzzled against Ryan’s chest. Only then did she turn back to me, her voice light and dismissive. "It was just a joke, Alex. We were just having fun with the kid, livening things up. Don’t take it seriously." She must have thought I’d swallow my pride and let it go, just like I always did. But this time, I picked up the microphone. "Funny you should say that, Sophia," I said, my voice perfectly calm. I let the silence hang for a beat before adding, "Because my wish was exactly the same." 1 The laughter died instantly. Sophia’s face darkened. "Everyone's just messing around," she snapped. "What are you trying to prove?" Before I could answer, she waved a dismissive hand at the crowd, her tone dripping with condescension. "Our CEO, Mr. Reed, has been a bit emotionally unstable lately. I apologize on his behalf." Ryan tilted his head, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Could it be a mid-life crisis? Tell me, Sophia, can you smell the old man on him when you're in bed at night?" He clapped a hand over his mouth in mock innocence. Sophia feigned a scolding tone. "Ryan, don't be rude." But the look in her eyes, the tone of her voice... there was no reprimand in it. Only pure, unadulterated indulgence. Ryan caught it, too, and his arrogance swelled. A chorus of snickers rose from the crowd. The eyes on me were filled with mockery and contempt. A sharp pain lanced through my chest, a spiderweb of hurt spreading through my body. Ten years. I had been with her from nothing, watched her build an empire. And this was my reward: to be publicly shamed while she shielded a younger man, treating me as if I were worthless. I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and took a deep breath. "Ryan," I said, my voice steady, "you should know that illegal gambling and public slander are grounds not just for termination, but for a lawsuit. I could have you arrested." The color drained from Ryan’s face. He shot a panicked look at Sophia. Their shared glance was a knife in my gut. In the next second, she stepped forward. Just like she used to do for me, she planted herself firmly in front of Ryan, a human shield. "Don't you pull that 'boss' act with me, Alex Reed," she spat. "Weren't you the one who cried his eyes out ten years ago when you got fired over two hundred dollars?" I looked at her, and a bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. She was right. If she hadn't gotten into that fight back then, I wouldn't have been fired. I wouldn't have been two hundred dollars short on rent, feeling like my world was ending. Back then, she had cupped my tear-stained face, her eyes fierce and devoted. "Anyone who dares to hurt you," she’d sworn, "I'll give my life to make them pay." Now, the very person who had promised to protect me for life was the one holding the umbrella that sheltered the man stabbing me in the back. The irony was suffocating. Tired of the standoff, Sophia grabbed my arm and dragged me into an adjacent private room. She shoved me hard. The new leather shoes I was wearing, stiff and unforgiving, dug into my ankle, drawing blood. I hissed in pain. Sophia paused, her voice cold. "You insist on wearing them even if they don't fit. Always making things harder for yourself. No wonder you have to pick on a kid like him." "If you're done, you should just go home. I'm busy." Without another glance, she turned and left. I sat on the sofa, stunned, for a long time before I finally pulled out my phone. An employee had posted from the party. Ryan's post was the most prominent. Just two pictures. One was a screenshot of the $5,200 transfer. The memo read: From my idol~ The other was a photo of him and Sophia, their heads close together. Ryan looked blissful; Sophia was smiling down, a soft look on her face. The comments were full of his thinly veiled jabs about me being bad-tempered and unromantic. I looked down at the expensive, ill-fitting shoes on my feet and finally accepted the truth. Some people are only with you for the struggle, not the success. The warmth of the past, the promises—they were real. But the coldness of the present, the change of heart—that was real, too. I picked up my phone. The two cruise tickets I’d booked months ago stared back at me. I had tried so many times to patch up the thousand little cracks in our ten-year history. But now, with a simple tap of my finger, I cancelled Sophia's ticket. Then, I made an appointment with a divorce lawyer. For the rest of my journey, I realized, I no longer had to wait for anyone. It was late when I got home. In my dreams, I was back in the blizzard from ten years ago. In our tiny rented room, Sophia and I huddled together for warmth. No parents, no connections, just our own two hands to build a life. Back then, I was constantly anxious about being five years older than her. But one day, she came home, a mysterious smile on her face. She rolled up her sleeve to reveal my name, Alex Reed, freshly and bloodily carved into the pale skin of her forearm. Her eyes shone with a frightening intensity as she rushed to reassure me. "See? Now you don't have to be scared. If I, Sophia, ever stop loving you, my life has no meaning." Those days of struggling, of finding warmth in each other, churned over and over in my sleep. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the fractured reality of the present. Sophia was sitting by the bed, her voice devoid of emotion. "So you just hide under the covers and sulk when I'm not home? Alex, what would it cost you to just soften up a little?" I turned my back to her, unwilling to speak. She took a deep breath and sat on the sofa behind me. "You know, Alex," she said casually, "you can't even give me a child. By all rights, I've already done more than enough for you." "And I came back today to tell you that Ryan is dealing with depression. I need you to stop targeting him." Her tone was light, but her words plunged a knife into my deepest wound. I shot up, grabbing the bedside lamp and hurling it at her. My voice was a ragged tremor. "Sophia, if I hadn't walked for two hours in that blizzard to close that deal for you, our little Lily would be here right now, calling me 'Daddy'!" "How can you say that, Sophia? Are you even human?" Maybe the raw vulnerability on my face was too much for her. She looked at my reddened eyes, and her expression finally softened. "I can't be expected to chain myself to a man who brings no value, can I? You know, even the most loyal woman gets tired." I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye, my laugh sharp with scorn. "What? And I'm supposed to be grateful for that?" A flicker of anger finally ignited in her eyes. "Are you ever going to let it go? In the end, it was your carelessness that we lost Lily. You deserve this!" "Ryan is so much younger than you, but he's a hundred times more thoughtful. Look at you now! You're being completely irrational!" She slammed the door on her way out. I didn't sleep a wink that night. The next morning, Ryan was the first person I saw at the office. He sauntered in with a cup of coffee, his smile a venomous sneer. "Alex, Sophia told me last night I need to take good care of my body. I guess she's finally tired of a man like you." I didn't even look up from my desk. "Take care of it for what? To be a better toyboy?" Ryan's face changed, and he opened his mouth to retort, but then we both heard Sophia's footsteps approaching. He lurched forward, "accidentally" spilling the scalding coffee all over me. My arm instantly turned an angry red. He grabbed me, his fingers digging into my flesh. "Mr. Reed, I was sincerely trying to apologize! Even if you don't like me, you could at least cut me some slack, knowing my health isn't good." Sophia kicked open my office door. "Alex, don't push it! Do you really think you can do whatever you want?" "I'm telling you, if anything happens to Ryan, I will make you pay!" With that, she helped Ryan to his feet and walked out, right in front of a crowd of gawking employees. The burning pain in my arm was nothing compared to the desolation that flooded my heart. Before I could even form a response, a sharp pain lanced through my chest. My vision went black, and I collapsed. When I came to, I was in a hospital bed. As I struggled to sit up, a nurse who had come to change my dressing gently pushed me back down. "You have a weak heart," he said. "You can't overwork yourself like this. Don't be so reckless with your job." I froze, staring at him in disbelief. Just then, Sophia's voice echoed from the hallway. She strode in, her eyes completely void of concern. "You really know how to put on a show, Alex. Ryan's in the hospital, so you have to be in the hospital too? Are you that desperate for attention?" I looked up at her, intending to tell her what the doctor had said about my heart. But her baseless accusations made any explanation feel pointless. The passion I once had for her had long since rotted away, silenced by her constant, blatant favoritism. Seeing my silence, her voice grew colder. "Fine. Play your little games for as long as you want. I'm not participating." She turned and left. The room was deathly quiet. I placed a hand over my chest, which for the moment felt steady. As soon as I'm discharged, I thought, I'm leaving. Leaving Sophia, and leaving this place of endless pain. The exhaustion of the past few days washed over me, and I drifted off to sleep. When I opened my eyes again, it was pitch black outside. And standing by my bed, holding my medical chart, was Ryan. Hearing me stir, he whipped his head around, his eyes burning with resentment and malice. "Alex, why did you have to pick now to fight me?" I tried to push myself up, but my body felt leaden. Ryan saw me move and immediately assumed I was going to call for Sophia. He stepped forward, blocking my path, his voice twisted with hate. "Shameless! You cling to your position as Mr. Reed, and now you're pretending to be sick to solidify your status." I had no energy to argue. I reached for the call button on the bedside table. But Ryan shrieked and lunged at me. "Since you won't listen to reason, then you can just die with that broken heart of yours!" The unexpected force of his shove sent me off balance. My chest slammed hard into the corner of the nightstand. An explosion of pain erupted in my chest, radiating through my entire body. The world spun. I felt a warm trickle of blood at the corner of my mouth. The door to the room opened—I don't know when—and Sophia rushed in. I saw her brow furrow in concern as she started towards me. "Sophia, help me..." Before I could finish, Ryan grabbed her arm, his grip like a vise. He clutched his own chest, his voice trembling and pitiful. "Sophia, it's not Alex's fault. I'm the one to blame for falling in love with you. If punishing me makes him happy and makes things easier for you, then I'm willing to accept it." "But Sophia," he choked out, tears streaming down his face, "my chest... it hurts so much. Am I going to be okay?" Sophia's expression changed in an instant. The flicker of concern in her eyes when she looked at me was replaced by cold accusation. "Alex, losing Lily doesn't give you the right to make everyone else pay for your misery! You've gone too far this time!" "I couldn't save Lily. I refuse to lose another." She gently helped Ryan up and hurried out of the room. The door slammed shut, leaving me alone. Sticky blood soaked the collar of my shirt. I slowly closed my eyes. I knew that my battered, broken heart had just been crushed one last time. I was woken up by my phone. It was a voice message from Sophia. No apology, no concern. Just a perfunctory, matter-of-fact statement. "Ryan wants to see the ocean, so I'm taking him. There's no one here to watch your performance, so you can stop the act." I slowly lowered the phone, placing a hand on the dull ache in my chest. The pain was gone now, replaced by an endless, echoing numbness. I opened my contacts and found my old friend, James. I arranged to transfer all of my company shares and business assets to him. I had considered an amicable divorce, for old times' sake. Now, it seemed, that was no longer necessary. In the days that followed, I focused on two things: my recovery and finalizing the divorce settlement and asset transfers. Once everything was in order, I went back to the house to pack. The place was a mess, littered with traces of her and Ryan. I ignored it all, quietly packing my things. There was no nostalgia, no regret. Halfway through, Sophia called. "Ryan's not feeling well. Move out so he can move in." I tossed the wedding photo from the wall into a box. "Okay," I said calmly. There was a silence on the other end of the line. She clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily. In the past ten years, whenever a situation like this had come up, I would have fought her, screaming and refusing. A note of surprise crept into her voice. "This is our marital home. Have you forgotten?" My hands stilled. A bone-deep chill spread through me. So she did remember what this place meant to me. And yet, she still chose to trample on it, to provoke me in the cruelest way possible. I composed myself. "It's fine," I said softly. "Do whatever you want." My compliance seemed to infuriate her. "Fine. Great. Since you don't care about anything, then you can give your General Manager position to Ryan!" I didn't say another word. I hung up, mailed the package, and checked the time. My cruise departed in five hours. Just as I was about to leave, a crew of workers swarmed in and started demolishing the interior of the house. I stopped them, frowning. "Who let you into my home?" The foreman didn't even look up. "Ms. Sophia's orders. Tear everything down and redecorate it to Mr. Ryan's liking." Just then, Ryan appeared at the door, a triumphant smirk on his face. "See, Alex? No matter how much you struggle, Sophia chose me in the end. You should just give up." I looked at his smug face and found it laughable. Not bothering to argue, I walked towards the elevator. But as the doors opened, I came face-to-face with Sophia. "Where are you going?" "A business trip." Hearing this, her posture relaxed slightly. "Don't think you can use a business trip as an excuse to miss the promotion meeting," she said. "I'm telling you, you have to be there!" I didn't even spare her a glance as I stepped into the elevator. How could she know that in a few hours, I would be on a cruise ship? And that after the trip, I would be flying directly to James's country. Never to return. Sophia watched me go, her voice laced with a petulant threat. "You'd better not regret this, Alex Reed! When you come back crying and begging me to take you back, I won't!" The elevator doors closed, and the world outside fell away. I had finally left behind the place that held all my youth and all my pain. Sophia, still thinking I was just throwing a tantrum, decided to play along. At Ryan’s promotion meeting, all the company executives were present. Ryan clutched his chest, looking weakly at Sophia. "Sophia, do you think... do you think Alex didn't come because of me? It's all my fault. If I hadn't accepted the promotion..." Sophia's brow was furrowed, her displeasure obvious. "He's taking this tantrum too far, bringing it into a company meeting. When he gets back, I'll make sure he apologizes to you." She said it with such certainty, as if I would walk through the door at any second, crying and admitting I was wrong. Just then, there was a soft knock on the conference room door. The receptionist walked in with a local courier package. "Ms. Sophia, this is for you. The sender said it was a special gift and that you had to sign for it personally." Sophia's eyes lit up. A small, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips. This had to be it. My peace offering. She had won again. Her voice held a hint of eager anticipation. "Open it." The assistant did as she was told, but the next second, her face paled. Inside, there were no flowers, no apology note. Just two documents. One was a signed divorce agreement. The other was a share transfer certificate.
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