Chapter 3

3.

When I woke up the next morning, I was shocked to find Linnea cooking in the kitchen.

"Morning, babe. Breakfast is ready."

Seeing me walk out, she placed a pot of beef stew and toast on the table, waving me over.

I stared at her in suspicion, wondering if she had laced the food with poison.

Linnea was an amazing cook.

Yet this was the very first time she had ever prepared a meal for me.

When I first found out she could cook years ago, I begged her to make me a meal.

She had slapped my hand away in annoyance. "Are you looking for a girlfriend or a maid? If you force me to cook, we are breaking up."

The word "breakup" immediately silenced me back then.

I assumed my request had triggered some bad memory of hers, so I apologized repeatedly and never brought it up again.

Only later, through Calvin's social media posts, did I learn that she had learned gourmet cooking exclusively for him.

Whenever they were together, she happily handled every meal.

The contrast between being loved and being tolerated was painfully stark.

I took a hard look at the beef stew on the table and spoke quietly.

"Thank you, but I will pass."

Linnea's expression darkened instantly. She slammed the spoon onto the table with a loud clatter.

"Travis Cole, what is your problem now? You used to beg me to cook for you, and now that I did, you give me attitude?"

"It was just a wedding night! Is a tiny mistake worth holding a grudge forever?"

"Did we not always move past things before?"

She was right. In the past, I loved her, so I endured everything.

All my patience had earned me was repeated betrayal and disrespect.

I looked at her with detached eyes. "Linnea, I am severely allergic to beef."

A flicker of embarrassment crossed her face, but she quickly raised her chin defensively.

"I... I did not know! You never told me!"

I let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. "Five years, Linnea. We have been together for five whole years."

"You remember that Calvin hates black pepper, yet you have no idea that beef could put me in the hospital. Did I not tell you, or do you simply have no heart?"

My words seemed to hit a sore nerve, and she instantly lashed out.

"So what if I forgot your stupid allergy? Do you have to make a federal case out of it? If you do not want it, plenty of people will eat it!"

I shrugged indifferently. "Then go feed it to someone else."

Without another word, I grabbed my coat and left for the office.

Once at my desk, I saw an update on Calvin's social feed.

"Linny's homemade beef stew is heaven on earth! Some people really do not know how lucky they are."

Attached was a photo of Linnea smiling warmly while serving him a bowl.

I calmly gave the post a like, set my phone aside, and immersed myself in work.

During lunch break, Lucas came by to discuss a massive business opportunity.

He brought along a pitch deck for a clean energy startup.

When he talked about his new venture, the passion in his eyes was blinding.

He clapped a hand on my shoulder with absolute confidence.

"Trav, with my tech research and your sales prowess, we are going to dominate this market."

Listening to his pitch, I agreed without a second thought.

That fire in him was something I had lost a long time ago.

During my five years with Linnea, I had almost forgotten who I used to be.

To spend more time with her, I had resigned from my high-paying position as a sales director.

I had settled for a low-stress, nine-to-five desk job at a tiny company.

My friends had said I lost my mind, but I had proudly claimed, "This is sacrificing for love. You single guys will never understand."

The louder I had boasted back then, the harder the slap felt across my face now.

That very afternoon, I submitted my two-week resignation notice.

Since it was the end of the month, my boss agreed to let me wrap up handover tasks by the end of next week.

Before leaving the office, I sent Linnea a short text.

"Come home early tonight. We need to finalize the divorce."

That night, I waited in the dark until midnight, but no one came through the door.

Instead, Calvin posted another update on his feed.

"Made a wish at eighteen to attend my favorite band's concert with the love of my life.

Wish granted today on my twenty-sixth birthday."

The photo showed him and Linnea in matching concert shirts, cheek to cheek, smiling intimately.

Whatever lingering patience I had for them vanished into thin air.

I typed a comment directly beneath Calvin's photo.

"No need to make more wishes. Tell Linnea to come home and sign the divorce papers. Then you two can be together publicly forever."

Less than ten minutes later, Linnea's phone call blasted through.

The second I picked up, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Travis Cole, have you lost your mind? Today is Calvin's birthday! Did you leave that comment just to humiliate us?"

"You are so petty over every little thing. I was completely blind to marry you!"

I let out a soft laugh, completely unbothered by her venom.

"Linnea, if you keep stalling like this, I might think you are too in love with me to let me go."

She choked on her words, caught off guard.

"Tomorrow morning at ten, outside the courthouse. Whoever does not show up is a coward."

I hung up before she could respond.

I slept peacefully that night without a single dream.

The next morning, I took half a day off from work.

When my manager asked for the reason, I gave an honest answer.

"Taking time off to get a divorce."

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