Chapter 1

Linnea's first love was dying.

When she received the call, she was lying beneath me in our wedding bed.

She shoved me away with all her strength and hurriedly threw her clothes back on.

"I have to go see Calvin," she explained in a panic. "We will finish this next time."

Before I could answer, she slammed the door and vanished into the night.

I sat in the quiet room and calmly put on my shirt.

Getting a divorce the morning after the wedding was not out of the question.

1.

I was lighting another cigarette when Linnea's call finally came through.

The moment I answered, a cheerful man's voice boomed from the speaker.

"Hey man, I am really sorry. It was just a dare, and we ended up ruining your wedding night."

"Linny is unbelievable. She is a married woman now, but she is still so impulsive."

"I already gave her a lecture for you. It will not happen again."

Right after that, Linnea's dismissive voice came through the line.

"It is just a wedding night. Who cares if we missed it?"

"He was the one begging on his knees to marry me. He does not get to complain about missing one night."

"If he hates it, he can ask for a divorce."

"Besides, Calvin, you did nothing wrong. Why are you apologizing to him? What game are you playing? I want in!"

Calvin sighed with mock helplessness.

"Linny, you are someone else's wife now. You cannot keep acting like a spoiled brat."

He turned back to the phone. "Bro, I will talk some sense into her. Get some rest."

The cigarette suddenly tasted bitter in my mouth.

I hung up the phone without uttering a single word.

I looked up at the banners and white rose garlands decorating the room.

Every single ornament seemed to mock the man who was abandoned by his bride on their wedding night.

Our wedding was indeed something I had begged for, just as she said.

I pleaded with her for three months before she finally agreed to walk down the aisle.

Even then, she refused a real ceremony or traditional toasts, demanding only a simple dinner with close friends.

It was completely different from the wedding I had dreamed of, but I did not care.

As long as she was my bride, nothing else mattered.

Yet right in the middle of our first night, her special ringtone went off.

It was her ex, Calvin.

She pressed her hand against my chest and told me to wait.

I stopped and gave her space.

The second she heard that Calvin was dying, her face turned pale as a sheet.

Less than ten minutes passed between her answering the phone and slamming the front door.

The moment that heavy door shut, the door in my heart that kept her safe flew wide open.

A text chime pulled me back from my spiraling thoughts.

"We are going to watch the sunrise together. Make lobster bisque for me tomorrow morning."

"Do not put any black pepper in it. Calvin hates pepper."

I stared at the screen in disbelief.

How cheap and pathetic did she think I was?

Did she truly expect me to cook a gourmet breakfast for her ex on the second morning of our marriage?

I closed my eyes and swallowed the bitter fury in my chest.

Then, I typed a short reply on my keypad.

"When you get back from watching the sunrise, let us get a divorce."

After hitting send, I got up and tore down every single wedding decoration in the house.

Seeing the white ribbons and petals trashed on the floor finally gave me some peace.

...

When Linnea returned the next afternoon, I was at the dining table eating a bowl of hearty beef stew.

Hearing the lock click, I glanced up at her.

Just as expected, she was wearing Calvin's oversized button-down shirt, her bare legs completely exposed.

Whenever she stayed out all night with that friend group, she always came back wearing Calvin's clothes.

I had fought with her about it before, telling her that their lack of boundaries crossed the line.

Linnea had merely brushed it off. "He is in the past. If you choose to be insecure, that is your problem."

She even told me to broaden my mind, claiming that no matter what she did, she was still coming home to me.

Linnea pulled out a chair across from me and scanned the empty tabletop with a frown.

"Where is the bisque? Still on the stove?"

Then she looked down at my beef stew and pinched her nose in disgust.

"Look at you, stuffing your face with all that grease when you are already out of shape."

"Why cannot you take care of your body like Calvin? If your face is average, you should at least have abs. Taking you out is humiliating."

Linnea had always been obsessively strict about my body.

Throughout our five years together, I ate boiled chicken and plain salads every single day just to please her.

During my last physical exam, the doctor diagnosed me with severe malnutrition.

The doctor had looked at me in total bewilderment.

He could not understand how a well-dressed professional could be starving himself.

As I finished my last spoonful, Linnea's patience completely ran out.

She rapped her knuckles on the table irritably.

"Hurry up! Pack the soup in a thermos. Calvin is waiting for it at his place!"

I looked at the woman I had loved for so many years and spoke in a steady voice.

"Did you not read my message about the divorce?"

Linnea froze for a second, as if she had completely forgotten about it.

"I read it. What about it?"

"You do not have the guts to leave me. Every time you bring up breaking up, you always come back crying."

"I will let it slide this time. Just pack the food for me, or I will lose my temper."

I pushed back my chair, stood up, and looked directly into her eyes.

"Linnea, I am serious."

"Let us sign the papers."