The end of the divorce cooling-off period drew closer. Louie Dubois, our lawyer, sent me a professional-sounding message.[My client is bothered by your continuous harassment of her, and she has chosen to block your number. Even so, she has asked me to remind you not to forget about getting the divorce certificate.]Feeling stubborn, I replied, [If I refuse to get a divorce during the cooling-off period, we can’t get a divorce certificate.]Louie then texted back, [That’s fine. We can choose another method. My client is fine with bringing this to court or living separately for two years. She also hopes that you will consider whether you can handle the consequences.[When she chose you seven years ago, she never expected this to happen, but she does not regret her choice. She does not blame the Henry Jones from seven years ago for making the mistakes that the current Henry Jones has made.[She is willing to shoulder the responsibility of her choice seven years ago, and she hopes th
When I saw its contents, I honestly thought that it was the account book that my soon to be ex-wife, Miranda Miller, used for bookkeeping.We were really poor when we first got together. So, we had to be careful with every penny we spent. Miranda recorded all of our expenses and income in a book. She even used a black pen for credit, and red for debit.She said that it would make it easy for us to work hard to reach our daily goals.This was a good idea when we were poor. But Miranda continued to record our expenses even after we became rich.On a separate sheet, she would list the things that I did for her. In the beginning, I would only do a few things that got me demerits. The reasons for them would also be jokes.I received one demerit when I did not open a jar for her. But she later scratched it out with a black pen and changed it to 0.5. When I did not take my breakfast, I had two points deducted. When other women flirted with me, I had another two points deducted.However,
Irritated, I rubbed the center of my brows. Kiara stood at the door with teary eyes and softly said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones…”Seeing how pitiful she looked, I could not help but grumble in my heart that Miranda’s temper was worsening. “She’s just acting spoiled. Don’t take it to heart. Go back to work,” I comforted her.When it was time to clock off, I stayed behind in the office until Miranda called me. I picked up and sounded troubled. “I’m sorry, Miranda. A new task suddenly popped up, and I have to work overtime again.”Miranda started whining and grumbling about my work. It got to the point where I lost my patience. “If you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up. I’ll finish up as soon as possible and go home to keep you company.”Miranda sighed and grunted in disappointment.After that, I went to my friend’s bar just as I had promised. I also ran into Kiara, who went there with her friend after work.Kiara was really shocked to see me, but she was smart enough to not say m
I could not talk to her about the issues I encountered at work. After all, it had been a long time since she had left the fast-paced work environment. She could no longer relate to my problems.Nevertheless, I rushed over to the location of our date and saw Miranda sitting on the bench.As I stood in front of her, I was prepared for her grumbling and accusations. Surprisingly, Miranda was calm, and she asked, “Your assistant sent me a picture of you at your meeting. Was it important?”I nodded and squatted down in front of her to hold her hand. “I’m sorry, Miranda. It was a sudden and urgent matter. Once my work is done, why don’t I take you on a trip?”The storm that I had predicted disappeared just like that. I thanked Kiara for reporting to Miranda and treated her to a cup of coffee later.Kiara smiled and said, “I was worried that Miranda would not understand our hardships as office workers. She’s a full-time housewife after all, so I thought about explaining things on your be
I turned around and saw Miranda dressed in loungewear. She stood at the entrance and asked, “Do you have that many things in the study? You still haven’t finished clearing it out?”She was stunned when she noticed the scoring sheet in my hand.At this moment, I felt embarrassed for being caught looking into someone else’s private life. While I apologized, I closed the account book and handed it over.“It’s fine.” Miranda flipped through it a little before she dumped it in the trash can. “I was going to throw it away anyway. If you hadn’t found it, I would’ve forgotten where I had put it.”Taken aback, I instinctively asked her, “Why are you throwing it away? Aren’t you keeping a record anymore?”It looked like she did not expect me to ask that question. After a brief pause, she said, “I haven’t recorded anything in it for around two to three months. In any case, there’s no need for me to do it anymore.”I frowned in response, and an indescribable feeling filled my heart.“Are yo
I told myself that Miranda had always been stubborn. Her words today had to just be a way for her to appear more dignified.I was certain that the additions and deductions in the book would reveal her love for me. So, I kept reading as if I was intentionally trying to torture myself.After the fiasco with the trip, the deduction entries increased. She saw through all the seemingly foolproof excuses and things I said to humor her.Then, I saw one particular entry.[Henry ruined my hour to shine: -10]I clenched my fists. Suddenly, I felt that my actions might have indeed been unforgivable.Soon after Miranda graduated, she got a job as a salesperson, and she hated it.She had always loved drawing, but her family did not have the money to support her hobby. Even so, she gradually became a pretty good artist by copying others. While she could not compare to the professionals, she still felt happy about it.She once told me that her dream was to attend art classes after she started
“If I was sure that you were cheating, I would’ve sent these pictures to your executives’ emails, not to your phone,” Miranda said. “Henry, I don’t care about your relationship with your assistant. But did you really have to put me on the spot today?“It was my art exhibition, and your guests were also there. Did you even consider my situation? How was I supposed to explain why you were absent? Was I supposed to tell them that you were playing out a soap opera cliche in a restaurant with your assistant?”Miranda sounded tired and sad, and all I could do was hang up in silence.[Henry’s heart is no longer loyal to me: -20]The further down the scoring sheet, the fewer red marks I got. In reality, my relationship with Miranda worsened.I turned to the last page and looked at the final entry. The date was three months ago, and it was the day she asked for a divorce.Her words were smooth as if she had made up her mind.[He’s no longer the Henry Jones who used to love me: -100]It
The end of the divorce cooling-off period drew closer. Louie Dubois, our lawyer, sent me a professional-sounding message.[My client is bothered by your continuous harassment of her, and she has chosen to block your number. Even so, she has asked me to remind you not to forget about getting the divorce certificate.]Feeling stubborn, I replied, [If I refuse to get a divorce during the cooling-off period, we can’t get a divorce certificate.]Louie then texted back, [That’s fine. We can choose another method. My client is fine with bringing this to court or living separately for two years. She also hopes that you will consider whether you can handle the consequences.[When she chose you seven years ago, she never expected this to happen, but she does not regret her choice. She does not blame the Henry Jones from seven years ago for making the mistakes that the current Henry Jones has made.[She is willing to shoulder the responsibility of her choice seven years ago, and she hopes th
When Kiara came to visit me, I was about to move to another place. She waited at the entrance to the residential area and looked pitiful as usual.“Henry, I heard that you’re getting a divorce with Miranda.”While she did her best to appear regretful, she could barely hide her excitement.I sneered and said damningly, “Yes. Are you satisfied now? All of this happened because of you.”Kiara froze, and fear briefly appeared on her face.Then, she calmed down and weakly said, “Henry, how could you say that? I’ve done nothing. I didn’t know that Miranda would be so easily upset. I’ll apologize to her. She’ll understand…”In the past, I might have had the patience to admire her acting. But that was no longer the case.I had to admit that Kiara had been crossing the line with her flirting, and I had allowed it.It did not matter whether we had shared secrets or whether we kept chatting more and more about our lives. All of them were evidence that we had crossed the line.“Stop actin
“If I was sure that you were cheating, I would’ve sent these pictures to your executives’ emails, not to your phone,” Miranda said. “Henry, I don’t care about your relationship with your assistant. But did you really have to put me on the spot today?“It was my art exhibition, and your guests were also there. Did you even consider my situation? How was I supposed to explain why you were absent? Was I supposed to tell them that you were playing out a soap opera cliche in a restaurant with your assistant?”Miranda sounded tired and sad, and all I could do was hang up in silence.[Henry’s heart is no longer loyal to me: -20]The further down the scoring sheet, the fewer red marks I got. In reality, my relationship with Miranda worsened.I turned to the last page and looked at the final entry. The date was three months ago, and it was the day she asked for a divorce.Her words were smooth as if she had made up her mind.[He’s no longer the Henry Jones who used to love me: -100]It
I told myself that Miranda had always been stubborn. Her words today had to just be a way for her to appear more dignified.I was certain that the additions and deductions in the book would reveal her love for me. So, I kept reading as if I was intentionally trying to torture myself.After the fiasco with the trip, the deduction entries increased. She saw through all the seemingly foolproof excuses and things I said to humor her.Then, I saw one particular entry.[Henry ruined my hour to shine: -10]I clenched my fists. Suddenly, I felt that my actions might have indeed been unforgivable.Soon after Miranda graduated, she got a job as a salesperson, and she hated it.She had always loved drawing, but her family did not have the money to support her hobby. Even so, she gradually became a pretty good artist by copying others. While she could not compare to the professionals, she still felt happy about it.She once told me that her dream was to attend art classes after she started
I turned around and saw Miranda dressed in loungewear. She stood at the entrance and asked, “Do you have that many things in the study? You still haven’t finished clearing it out?”She was stunned when she noticed the scoring sheet in my hand.At this moment, I felt embarrassed for being caught looking into someone else’s private life. While I apologized, I closed the account book and handed it over.“It’s fine.” Miranda flipped through it a little before she dumped it in the trash can. “I was going to throw it away anyway. If you hadn’t found it, I would’ve forgotten where I had put it.”Taken aback, I instinctively asked her, “Why are you throwing it away? Aren’t you keeping a record anymore?”It looked like she did not expect me to ask that question. After a brief pause, she said, “I haven’t recorded anything in it for around two to three months. In any case, there’s no need for me to do it anymore.”I frowned in response, and an indescribable feeling filled my heart.“Are yo
I could not talk to her about the issues I encountered at work. After all, it had been a long time since she had left the fast-paced work environment. She could no longer relate to my problems.Nevertheless, I rushed over to the location of our date and saw Miranda sitting on the bench.As I stood in front of her, I was prepared for her grumbling and accusations. Surprisingly, Miranda was calm, and she asked, “Your assistant sent me a picture of you at your meeting. Was it important?”I nodded and squatted down in front of her to hold her hand. “I’m sorry, Miranda. It was a sudden and urgent matter. Once my work is done, why don’t I take you on a trip?”The storm that I had predicted disappeared just like that. I thanked Kiara for reporting to Miranda and treated her to a cup of coffee later.Kiara smiled and said, “I was worried that Miranda would not understand our hardships as office workers. She’s a full-time housewife after all, so I thought about explaining things on your be
Irritated, I rubbed the center of my brows. Kiara stood at the door with teary eyes and softly said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Jones…”Seeing how pitiful she looked, I could not help but grumble in my heart that Miranda’s temper was worsening. “She’s just acting spoiled. Don’t take it to heart. Go back to work,” I comforted her.When it was time to clock off, I stayed behind in the office until Miranda called me. I picked up and sounded troubled. “I’m sorry, Miranda. A new task suddenly popped up, and I have to work overtime again.”Miranda started whining and grumbling about my work. It got to the point where I lost my patience. “If you have nothing else to say, I’m hanging up. I’ll finish up as soon as possible and go home to keep you company.”Miranda sighed and grunted in disappointment.After that, I went to my friend’s bar just as I had promised. I also ran into Kiara, who went there with her friend after work.Kiara was really shocked to see me, but she was smart enough to not say m
When I saw its contents, I honestly thought that it was the account book that my soon to be ex-wife, Miranda Miller, used for bookkeeping.We were really poor when we first got together. So, we had to be careful with every penny we spent. Miranda recorded all of our expenses and income in a book. She even used a black pen for credit, and red for debit.She said that it would make it easy for us to work hard to reach our daily goals.This was a good idea when we were poor. But Miranda continued to record our expenses even after we became rich.On a separate sheet, she would list the things that I did for her. In the beginning, I would only do a few things that got me demerits. The reasons for them would also be jokes.I received one demerit when I did not open a jar for her. But she later scratched it out with a black pen and changed it to 0.5. When I did not take my breakfast, I had two points deducted. When other women flirted with me, I had another two points deducted.However,