In the sixth year of my concealed marriage with Elaine, we decided to quietly part ways. He wanted to protect his young girlfriend from being labeled as a homewrecker. He said, “I want no one to know we were ever married.” I nodded silently and added an extra zero during the property division. Elaine’s expression shifted. “Is money all that matters to you?” he questioned. I laughed softly. “After all these years, you know me best.” Elaine ended up in the hospital from drinking too much. A nurse asked, “Who is the patient’s family?” Lily and I both stood up. “I am.” “It’s me.” The nurse frowned. “Who really is it?” Lily quickly stepped forward. “It’s me. Tell me whatever is needed.” The nurse explained the night care instructions, and Lily listened carefully. I glanced at Elaine. His breathing was labored, his brow furrowed, and the corners of his eyes were red, yet his lips were pale and bloodless. It had been years since I’d seen him like this. Alcohol tolerance can be developed, but it also depends on one’s constitution. Elaine, unfortunately, is allergic to alcohol. Lily, with tears in her eyes, warmed his hands. For a mistress to go to such lengths, it’s quite awkward for me, his lawful wife. I hesitated whether to leave when she spoke. “It’s all my fault. If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have drunk so much.” My assistant had already briefed me before I came. At the banquet, someone flirted with Lily and tried to drink with her, but Elaine intervened. The person mocked, “A man who won’t drink? You might as well be with me.” Elaine had long outgrown reckless behavior, but that night he lost control and started drinking heavily. Those who know Elaine understand he can’t handle liquor. But if he decides to drink his life away with you, you might not keep up with him. In his youth, such recklessness had landed him in the hospital several times. The last time was in the second year of our marriage. He was in the hospital vomiting blood while I got into a car accident on the highway. After that, he changed. Lily asked, “Leader Demi, did he protect you like this before too?” I was at a loss for words. “You take care of him; I’m heading back.” “Leader Demi.” Lily’s voice was urgent. She bit her lip as if making a decision. “I told Elaine I want to get married, and he agreed.”
Two days ago, I had to return to the office for something important. Passing by Elaine’s office, the lights were still on. Lily was sitting on Elaine’s lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, leaning into him. In a sweet voice, she said, “Elaine, I want to get married.” I don’t habitually eavesdrop, but her words made me stop. Elaine wore a lazy smile, his eyes half-closed, gently running his fingers through Lily’s hair. “Why, little girl, can’t wait to get married?” “No, it’s not that!” Lily pouted. “I just want to marry you. Will you marry me, Elaine?” I stood outside, watching Elaine through the half-open door. He was silent for a long time, the smile fading from his face. Quietly, he met my gaze. Then he softly said, “Okay.” “Leader Demi, Elaine doesn’t like you anymore; he likes me now,” Lily said confidently. She looked at me with a mix of nervousness and pride. I lowered my gaze. “Well, congratulations.” Elaine returned to the office the next afternoon. As soon as he entered, he called me over. Entering the office, I found him holding his head, pressing hard on his temples. The aftermath of a hangover, the migraine was acting up. “Sort out Julia’s project and hand it over to Lily,” he suddenly said, making me pause for a few seconds. “What?” He didn’t repeat himself, just looked at me intently. “Julia’s project is important, and Lily is new… So she needs a chance, a head start, a glamorous resume.” I stayed silent again. “Demi, I’m not discussing this with you.” Elaine struck the table heavily, clearly impatient. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my clenched fists. “Fine. But I have one condition.” Elaine raised his chin, signaling me to continue. “Don’t change the original team, just replace the leader with her. The dividends and bonuses for the project members must remain unchanged.” “Fine, I agree.”
With Elaine’s confirmation, I turned to leave. I spent an hour and a half organizing everything and explaining the situation to everyone. Their looks were filled with pity, sympathy, resentment, and anger. I knocked on the table. “No personal feelings, don’t talk about so-called loyalty. It’s just work, do your job, get paid.” With my things in hand, I went back to Elaine’s office. Lily was there too. She was smiling, feeding Elaine cookies. Elaine doesn’t like sweets. Though he frowned, he reluctantly accepted. Seeing me, Lily quickly stood up. “You guys have things to discuss, I’ll step out.” “No need.” Elaine placed the cookie box in Lily’s hands. “Eat in the corner.” Then he looked at me, his tone unfriendly. “Remember to knock next time.” I didn’t knock? Seems like I didn’t. Habit. “There won’t be a next time.” “What?” I placed all the documents on Elaine’s desk. Meeting his suspicious gaze, I handed him the sheet of paper at the bottom. It was a resignation letter. Elaine paused for two seconds. When he looked up again, his eyes were cold. “What do you mean? Threatening me?” I paused. “You’re overthinking. The resignation letter was prepared a long time ago, just waiting for Julia’s project to finish. Now that it’s handed over, I’ve completed everything. Just the right time to resign.” Elaine glared at me, angry. Lily seemed scared. “Leader Demi, I won’t do this project anymore, please don’t be mad. I know I’m not qualified, I just wanted to learn from you. I won’t participate; it’s my fault. I apologize.” Elaine’s expression turned even darker. He pulled Lily close. “Do it if you want. No need to apologize to anyone. Resign, huh? The company won’t stop running without you.” Elaine picked up a pen and swiftly wrote his name at the end. He threw the resignation letter at me. “Get out.” I looked down at the paper at my feet. “One more thing.” Elaine’s face was tight, silent. “Since you and Lily are getting married, shouldn’t we end our marriage first?” Even Lily’s sniffles stopped. She clung to Elaine’s arm, looking at him with both nervousness and anticipation. Elaine seemed stiff. He slowly turned his head. “What did you say?” “I said, let’s get a divorce while we’re at it!”
Lily was sent out by Elaine. She was a bit reluctant but didn’t disobey him. She just gave me a hesitant glance before leaving. Elaine and I stood facing each other. He broke the silence first. “How long have you been planning this resignation?” “Half a year.” “So, you’ve been ready to divorce for half a year, right?” I didn’t affirm or deny. Elaine sneered. “Demi, what right do you have to ask for a divorce?” I looked at him. “Does it matter now?” “Yeah, it doesn’t.” Elaine took out a divorce agreement from the bottom drawer. “Name your terms. Just one thing. I don’t want people saying Lily climbed up as a mistress. So, no one can know about our divorce. Or rather, I don’t want anyone to know we were ever married.” I skimmed through the agreement’s content quickly. Nodding, I said, “Okay, no problem.” Then I picked up a pen and added an extra zero to the property division. Elaine looked at me mockingly. “Demi, is money all that matters to you?” I smiled. “After so many years, you still know me best.” That day, I packed everything and left the company. Some were gloating, some were reluctant to see me go. The most complicated emotions probably belonged to Lily. She seemed hesitant to speak, but her relief was visible. I nodded. “Sure, that’s fine.” I picked up the pen and added an extra zero to the asset division. Elaine looked at me with a sardonic smile. “Demi, is money all you ever think about?” I smirked. “After all these years, you still know me best.”
That day, I packed my things and left the company. Some people were happy to see me go, while others were sad. Lily, though, had the most mixed emotions—she seemed relieved but hesitant to speak. Back home, I felt a bit lost without work to occupy me. I spent the day feeling like a restless cat, unsure of what to do. In the afternoon, my assistant messaged me. “Elaine was like a fire-breathing dragon today, even giving the cold shoulder to his future boss lady. Leader Demi, I bet he’ll soon realize he’s made a huge mistake. If you find a good opportunity, take us with you! We’d love to follow you, hehe.” I chuckled. “Don’t overthink it. As long as Julia’s project goes through, the company’s future is still promising. At least you won’t miss out on your salary.” As for me— I don’t plan on working for a while. In the evening, Rose invited me out for drinks. Like clockwork, she asked every day. I replied: “Send me the location.” Her call came in the next second. “Wow, the workaholic is taking a break? Did Elaine go bankrupt?” Her lively voice made me smile. “So, are you inviting me or not?” “Of course, get over here! We’ve got a private room, drinks, and guys—all set!” I met Rose through Elaine, but we became unexpected friends. She’s one of the few who knows about my marriage to Elaine. So, when Elaine blatantly cheated, she was furious with him and eager to set me up with other men. In her words: “If he’s going to cheat, why shouldn’t you? Let’s see who’s got the better options!” By the time I arrived, Rose was already in full swing. Clutching a drink, she danced and cheered surrounded by six-foot male models. “Demi, over here!” She pushed the most handsome guy towards me. He was quick to catch on, pouring me a drink and calling me “sister.” I smiled and downed it in one go. “Alright, you guys can leave now!” “What do you mean? Demi, you’re such a buzzkill.” I rubbed my temples with a sigh. “It’s too noisy.” She winked at me. “I thought you were shy!” I raised an eyebrow. “Do I look that innocent to you?” “Definitely not. So why stay faithful to Elaine with his behavior?” Rose was blunt. “If he cheats, I cheat—it’s payback.” “Revenge is too strong a word; we’re not there yet. Besides, he cheated after we fell apart.” … “Does he admit that?” Rose sat up, her eyes bright with realization. “I think I’ve just figured something out.” I asked her what she meant, but she kept it mysterious. “Alright! Actually, I came to tell you that I’m going abroad soon.” “For what, a vacation? Business?” “School.” “What?” “I got accepted into a business school for my master’s.” “What about your job? And you and Elaine…” “I’ve already resigned, and as for Elaine, we’ve agreed to go to the registry office tomorrow.” Reaching this point with Elaine was almost inevitable. I always thought I didn’t feel much. But when Rose’s eyes turned red, I felt a pang in my heart. “Is he causing trouble again?” “No.” “Is he targeting you on purpose?” “No.” “Why are you resigning? He should be the one to leave!” Rose and I drank glass after glass. She criticized Elaine, feeling sorry for me and thinking it wasn’t fair. It seems love is the only thing where effort and reward don’t match. It’s strange; once in love, both parties end up feeling shortchanged.
I met Elaine in high school. He wasn’t supposed to be in our small town. But family changes forced him to transfer and live with his grandfather. Back then, he was rebellious. Not long after school started, he was among the first to be publicly criticized. Others at least acted humble when admitting mistakes. But even standing before the whole school, he remained nonchalant. I didn’t like people like him. Nor did I want to interact with him. Yet when he was falsely accused, I couldn’t help but stand up for him. From that day, he followed me, from school to my home, until I went upstairs. “Without me, you’d have been retaliated against by now.” “Good student, stay out of such matters in the future.” He didn’t care. Fighting, false accusations, misunderstandings, and punishments—he didn’t care about any of them. But when my dad’s fist was about to fall on me after hitting my mom, he rushed in, knocking him down. My mom screamed, supporting my dad, glaring at me and calling me a disgrace. Elaine froze. The next second, he grabbed my hand and ran. He made me a bowl of noodles. Cooked too long, it tasted bad. Too much soy sauce made it salty. The veggies were added too late, tasting bland. It was the worst noodles I’d ever eaten, but I finished every drop. In our turbulent youth, two lonely people, we warmed each other and pushed each other forward. But everyone opposed us. The school was against early romance. Elaine’s family looked down on us. “I’ve seen many reaching for higher branches, but never this young.” My mom’s eyes reddened with anger, hitting me and calling me a disgrace. Elaine was forcibly taken away, and I became the school outcast. But he escaped, bringing all his New Year’s money, injuring his leg. He said, “Let’s elope!” I hugged him, leaning against his head. “One year. “We’ll get into the same college. “Then no one can stop us. “Just one year.”
Elaine reached the office before me. I got out of the car, seeing him there, squinting, holding a cigarette, pressing his thumb against his temple. Noticing my gaze, he looked up and put out the cigarette. “Let’s go!” The divorce process went smoothly. The moment I got the divorce certificate, I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “What about your stuff in the house?” “Toss it.” We turned and walked in opposite directions. There was still a lot left for me to handle. I called a familiar organizer to clear out all the male belongings from the house and pack the rest for storage. Midway through, a young girl came from the study with a 36-inch photo frame. “Sis, what do we do with this?” Inside the cracked, web-like glass was an enlarged red registration photo. Seeing the two heads leaning together, looking happy, I felt a bit dazed. This was hung at our bedside, replacing a wedding photo. We never took wedding photos, nor held a ceremony, just quietly registered behind everyone’s back. The reason was his family’s disapproval. If we insisted on being together, it had to be a secret marriage. I didn’t mind, but Elaine felt bad about it for a long time. At first, he said he’d make it up to me once he was established, making our marriage public. Later, he said it didn’t matter; as long as we were happy, who cared if others knew? Eventually, he smashed the frame, saying harshly, “I’m so glad I listened to my mom.” “Throw the frame away, shred the photo.” After handling everything, I boarded a plane abroad a week later.
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