Chapter 2

2

Hearing this, Valerie paused her movement of pouring a glass of water. She slammed the cup onto the table and stormed over to me, her eyes blazing.

“Carter, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Isn't it your damn job to cook for me?”

She glared at me with absolute contempt and disgust. “You eat my food, live in my house, and you still have the nerve to give me attitude.”

“Derek just secured a prestigious federal position. You have absolutely no right to compare yourself to him. You better apologize to him tomorrow...”

Seeing that she was bringing up that boy toy again, I impatiently cut her off. “Did you forget what day it was yesterday?”

Valerie froze for a second and asked, “What day? Was it something important?”

I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head at her. “Forget it. It’s nothing.”

It was exactly the reaction I expected. Otherwise, she wouldn't have abandoned me at the restaurant yesterday, making me a joke to all the other couples.

She frowned and thought hard for a while before finally checking her phone. Realization dawned on her face. She casually transferred ten grand to my account with a dismissive wave.

“It's just a stupid anniversary. What's the big deal?”

“I sent you some money. Just consider it your gift.”

“I’ve been extremely busy lately, so don't bother me with this trivial nonsense.”

With that, she turned and walked into the master bedroom, not even giving me a second glance. Perhaps out of a tiny bit of guilt, she didn't mention apologizing to Derek again.

In the past, I might have tricked myself into believing she still cared about me. I would have told myself that at least she was trying to make it up to me.

But catching a glimpse of the fresh hickey on her neck completely froze my heart. Since she decided to throw our relationship in the trash, I was done with her, too.

Back in my room, I looked at my entirely destroyed phone and felt a wave of pity. After washing up, I crawled into bed and had the most peaceful sleep I'd had in years.

For the first time since we got married, I didn't have to tip-toe around her feelings. I didn't have to decode her words or rack my brain trying to please her.

When I woke up the next morning, Valerie was already gone. I was in a great mood, so I made myself a fantastic breakfast.

I used to just eat whatever cold leftovers Valerie left behind. But from now on, I refused to mistreat myself.

My new phone wouldn't arrive until tonight, so I opened my laptop and started working on my new script. During my lunch break, I scrolled through trending topics on Instagram to find some inspiration.

Suddenly, I saw that Derek had posted a massive photo dump that morning. It was even trending locally.

The post was filled with pictures of him and Valerie traveling together, eating fancy food.

His caption read: 【Thank you to my amazing boss for helping me fulfill my birthday wish! I promise I won't let you down!】

The comments were full of people teasing and congratulating him. They were all jealous that he had such a beautiful and generous female boss.

So, her excuse of being extremely busy was actually just taking her assistant on a romantic birthday getaway.

If this were the old me, I would have desperately tried to contact Valerie. I would have demanded answers until I drove everyone crazy.

But now, we were going to get a divorce. What she did was none of my damn business anymore.