It was the seventh year of my marriage to Chloe when her rich first love came back home. He had a face that looked strikingly similar to mine, almost as if he were my shadow. At the class reunion, he cornered me in the restroom, his voice dripping with condescension: “Tell me, every night when she sleeps next to you, is she thinking of you or me?” I couldn’t hold back. My fist flew. But Chloe, of all people, screamed at me, her voice laced with fury, “Why don’t you just drop dead?!” She had no idea. I was, indeed, dying. At the class reunion, Chloe’s first love, Liam, made his grand return. He was now a wildly successful man. Amidst a chorus of fawning compliments, he stepped past our old classmates and went straight to Chloe, greeting her with a simple, “Long time no see.” Just those four words, and Chloe’s eyes instantly welled up, turning blazing red. Our classmates chuckled, starting to stir the pot, “All these years, and Liam still only has eyes for Chloe!” “If Chloe had married Liam back then, she’d be Mrs. Thorne by now. She wouldn’t have to run that small company.” “Honestly, Chloe, it’s not too late to get a divorce now!” “…” The room buzzed with gossip, all centered around Liam and Chloe. Meanwhile, I, Chloe’s husband, sat off to the side, feeling like nothing more than a part of the background. I studied Liam. He had a face that looked surprisingly similar to mine, almost like a mirror image. Deep down, I’d always known. I was just a replacement Chloe had found. I used to swear to myself that I would spend the rest of my life making Chloe truly fall in love with me. But now – Now, I was dying.
My chest felt heavy, suffocating, so I decided to step out for some fresh air. But I ran into Liam right by the restroom door. His smile was mocking, contemptuous. “Thanks for looking after Chloe for me all these years.” “Now I’m back. She doesn’t need you anymore.” A knot of anger tightened in my chest, twisting my insides with a sharp, wrenching pain. I looked at him coldly. “It’s Chloe’s choice. At least for now, I’m still her legal husband.” Liam’s sneering laugh echoed back. “What makes you so confident? Is it just this face that looks a bit like mine?” “Tell me, every night when she sleeps next to you, is she thinking of you or me?” Every single word was a cruel, stinging jab. I couldn’t take it anymore. My fist connected hard with his face. But then, a gasp rang out from behind me: “Liam!” I spun around. Chloe was already rushing to his side. She helped him up, her eyes blazing red as she glared at me. In seven years of marriage, I had never seen her this furious. “Alex, have you lost your mind?!” “What gives you the right to hit someone?” Their classmates also crowded around, helping Liam, their gazes turning hostile as they looked at me. “Chloe, your husband is unbelievable. No matter how jealous he is, he can’t just hit people!” “Seriously, he’s got no self-awareness. If it were me, I’d pack my bags and make way the moment the real deal came back.” Amidst their whispers, Chloe looked at me with cold disappointment. “You’ve truly let me down.” The pain in my chest seemed to intensify. Suddenly, a sweet metallic taste filled my throat. I swallowed hard, barely managing to hold it back. I turned and walked away. On the steps outside the hotel, I slowly pulled a crumpled medical report from my pocket. Alex Reid, Male, Stage IV Stomach Cancer. The sunlight caught the thin paper, making it shimmer, almost blinding. I couldn’t hold it back any longer. A mouthful of blood gushed out.
Seven years ago, Chloe found me. She claimed she wanted to avoid her family’s pressure to marry, so she proposed we live together as partners. At the time, it was my third year of secretly crushing on Chloe. So, I agreed without hesitation. For seven years, we lived like polite roommates, eventually developing a kind of affection. I had spent seven years trying to melt her icy heart, watching the fortress she had built around herself slowly crumble, piece by piece. I even started to believe she had truly fallen in love with me. Now, it seemed. I was just fooling myself. Unbeknownst to me, I dozed off on the sofa. I woke up to the sound of a door closing. The wall clock pointed exactly to three in the morning as Chloe walked in. Seeing me awake, she paused, then took off her jacket and hung it in the closet. That jacket looked familiar. Earlier that afternoon, Liam had been wearing it. Chloe walked to the sofa, knelt down, and took my hand. “Are you still mad?” I didn’t speak. I just pulled my hand away and pushed the drafted divorce papers toward her. “Here’s the divorce agreement. Take a look.”
Chloe froze for two seconds. Then, her face contorted with anger, like a secret exposed. “Alex, what is the meaning of this?” “Nothing happened between him and me. We just met as old classmates today.” “Can you please stop acting like a dramatic woman?” She fired off three questions in a row, growing more agitated with each one. The anger I had suppressed all day finally erupted. “What about you, then?” “Chloe, in these seven years of marriage, have I been your husband or just a replacement?” “When you kissed me, were you thinking of me or Liam?” I hadn’t meant to argue with her. But the excruciating pain in my stomach was like knives twisting inside me, and I couldn’t hold back the question. Chloe fell silent instantly. After a moment, she got up and walked toward the door. “Alex, are you going to be this childish until the day you die?” With that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. I, however, just stared blankly. She was right. I was on my deathbed, and I was still acting so childish.
Chloe hadn’t come home for two days. I called her three times, trying to get her to finalize the divorce. The first two calls were hung up, and the last time, she just turned off her phone. I remembered a few years ago, she had added me to her class SnapChat group. I opened my laptop and logged into the account I hadn’t touched in ages. It was still there, as expected. Someone in the group had posted some photos from a private classmates’ gathering. I saw Chloe in the pictures, and Liam too. She seemed to have been drinking, passed out in his arms. I looked at every single photo. Then, calmly, I tagged Chloe in the group. “Come home. Let’s sign the divorce papers.” She responded quickly enough. “What crazy stunt are you pulling now?” A moment later, I received a notification: “You have been removed from the group chat.” Chloe’s phone was still unreachable. But then, the doorbell rang. I pressed a hand to my subtly aching abdomen and went to open the door. “Mom? What are you doing here?” Outside, my mother-in-law stood, laden with bags, her face beaming despite the journey. “Didn’t you say your stomach hadn’t been feeling well recently? I got some herbal remedies from a top specialist. Make sure you drink them.” “I heard he’s amazing with stomach issues.” Several large bags were placed on the floor, filled with the remedies and our favorite dishes. My nose suddenly stung with emotion. This elderly woman, who had traveled dozens of miles with all these packages, had no idea— No matter how skilled a doctor, they probably couldn’t cure my body now.
After some hesitation, I brought up the divorce to her. “Mom, I’ve thought about it for a long time. I’m planning to divorce Chloe.” With a dull thud, the teacup in her hand dropped to the floor. It shattered. Hot water splashed everywhere. I rushed to help, but she grabbed me instead. “Alex, did you two have a fight?” “If she did anything wrong, just tell me, Mom will…” “No,” I interrupted her, “it’s my fault. Our relationship has some issues.” I had no intention of exposing her daughter’s unacceptable behavior in front of my mother-in-law. For seven years of marriage, my in-laws had treated me like their own son. Whatever Chloe did wrong, it had nothing to do with them. Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the lock echoed from the door. Chloe was back. “Alex, isn’t causing trouble at home enough? Do you have to take it outside?” Chloe’s voice abruptly cut off the moment she saw her mother. But my mother-in-law had already seen Liam, who was following behind her. Liam, however, showed no panic. Instead, he stepped forward confidently. “Auntie, I don’t know if you still remember me, I’m Liam Thorne.” “I even had dinner with you before I went abroad.” My mother-in-law’s face was cold, silent. The atmosphere grew awkward. Chloe stepped forward to smooth things over, but her mother grabbed her. “Chloe, tell me, are you divorcing Alex for him?” Chloe’s expression shifted, flustered. “Mom, just stay out of it.” “Whether we divorce or not is between Alex and me, we…” “Slam—” A sharp slap cut Chloe off. “Foolish!” My mother-in-law pointed at Liam, her hand trembling with rage. “Do you think he truly loves you? If he loved you, he wouldn’t have abandoned you to go abroad in the first place!” That slap ignited Chloe’s temper too. The mother and daughter argued fiercely. Until I noticed my mother-in-law’s face looked off. “Stop arguing!” I stepped forward to support her. “Mom, are you okay?” “Mom…”
My mother-in-law was hospitalized with a heart attack, but thankfully, there was no serious danger. In the hospital room. Chloe and I sat by the bed. My mother-in-law clutched my hand tightly, tears streaming down her face. “Alex, Chloe is so foolish. She’s always been stubborn since she was little. Just give her a bit more time; she’ll come to her senses.” I didn’t say anything. Her voice choked, and she patted the back of my hand gently, “All these years, your dad and I have treated you like our own son. We only recognize you as our son-in-law.” “My body won’t last another two years. If you two get divorced, Mom will…” “Mom won’t be able to close her eyes when she goes.” My nose stung with sadness. Unable to bear an elderly woman crying and pleading, I took a deep breath and said yes. Only then did my mother-in-law visibly relax. … In the hallway. I clutched my agonizing stomach, looking at Chloe. “Let’s pick a day and finalize the divorce.” Chloe froze. “Didn’t you just say…” “I was lying to her.” The more my stomach hurt, the calmer my expression became. “Our business, I don’t want to bother the elderly with it.” “I’ll send you the drafted divorce agreement.” “I don’t agree!”
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