Chapter 2

A seven-year marriage ended completely on the day the baby was born.

My mom specially brought a few chickens from our hometown. She spent half the day busy in the kitchen and was just about to take them to the hospital for Yin Qingqing when I stopped her. When she saw my confused face, I still decided to tell the truth.

“Yin Qingqing and I are over.”

“What about the child?”

“The child stays with her. I don’t want him.”

“Thud.” The lunch box in my mom’s hand fell heavily to the floor. The rich smell filled the whole room, but it smelled sharp and unpleasant.

The whole world revolved around her, but her world only had Ryan.

Seven years ago, Ryan chose to study abroad and abandoned her, or else I wouldn’t have been the one to get the leftover piece.

The hormones and memories of youth are always unforgettable.

I thought all these years of devotion would earn me an important place in her heart. In the end, it was all just wishful thinking.

It wasn’t until Ryan appeared before us, tall and handsome, with fair skin, that I finally understood.

He was wearing a bracelet on his wrist, one exactly like Yin Qingqing’s.

Back then, her bracelet accidentally fell into the pool. She cried so hard she looked like a drenched pear blossom, begging me to help her find it. In the end, we drained the pool before we finally found it.

She held that bracelet, crying and laughing as she kept touching it, as if it were a priceless treasure.

She introduced him to me as someone she had grown up with, a very good friend.

How good were they? Good enough that even for something as private as giving birth, she wanted Ryan involved.

How could I not hate it? I just hid it well.

Ding ding. My phone kept vibrating.

When I saw those messages from the bank and spending alerts, I knew this was Yin Qingqing’s usual style.

Whenever she was in a bad mood, she would go on a spending spree with my card as revenge.

All the accounts were linked to her, and every bill was under my name.

Before, I let her spend however she wanted, thinking that after I worked myself to the bone, all I wanted was to make the woman I loved happy.

But now, just thinking about her using my money to support another man made me so angry I almost vomited blood.

She wanted to spend my money and keep her first love on the side. What kind of dream world was she living in?

After being the big sucker for so many years, it was time to wake up.

I immediately took out my phone and contacted the bank, removed all the links under my name, and decided to fight back.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, Yin Qingqing called in a frenzy, cursing at me.

“What kind of man are you? You can’t even bear to spend this little money? So stingy.”

“Hey, Ethan, did you hear me? We’re not even divorced yet, and half your assets are mine too.”

“Restore the account right now, or I’ll get a lawyer to sue you.”

Suddenly, Ryan’s voice came through the phone, shouting frantically:

“These shoes are a limited edition, and I was one second away from successfully placing the order! Ugh...”

I froze for a moment. So she was buying things for that man. No wonder she was so furious.

I even admired her mental toughness. Even now, she still had the nerve to spend my money so confidently.

On the other end, she thought my silence meant I was scared, and she shouted smugly:

“What, scared now? Then crawl back here yourself and kneel to apologize...”

Hearing that, I almost laughed out loud. I kindly advised her, “Yin Qingqing, if you don’t get divorced, you won’t get a single cent.”

I really couldn’t bring myself to serve a lover for a cheating husband-wannabe.

She was openly flirting with Ryan right in front of me, so why should I keep enduring it?

Clearly, Yin Qingqing didn’t expect me to be this firm. Even through the phone, I could tell she was exploding with rage.

“Ethan, you said it yourself! Tomorrow at nine, be at the city hall for the divorce.”

“Fine. Whoever backs out is the bastard.”

After hanging up, I took the wedding photo off the wall, lit it with a lighter, and casually dropped it into the toilet to flush away.

Maybe it was my near-obsessive love for her that made her act this recklessly.

Since we didn’t love each other anymore, it was better to let go cleanly and stop torturing each other.