Regretting the Divorce? Too Late

Throughout our seven-year marriage, my CEO wife, Ruby Irving, goes on yet another business trip on Memorial Day once again, so she can't travel back to my hometown with me. But soon, I saw the photos uploaded by her assistant, Wilbur Stork, on his social media feed that featured her sweeping the grave in his hometown instead. The caption writes, "Mom and Dad must be very satisfied with their daughter-in-law because the gloomy weather has cleared up in an instant." I chortle in amusement for a brief moment before liking the post calmly. Then, I comment, "I respect your relationship and wish you nothing but happiness." But my colleagues all go nuts over the latest bombshell. They are quick to form their chat groups and speculate as to how I'm going to cause my next ruckus in the company this time. Ruby soon calls me while sounding very stern. "I know Wilbur does things very brashly due to his young age, but you shouldn't have caused him trouble in the comment section! What will everyone else in the company think of him? How is Wilbur supposed to continue working in this company? "Moreover, Wilbur doesn't have anyone left in his family. What's wrong with me keeping him company just this once? People with happy families like you don't have empathy for others at all! "I want you to delete your comment and remove your like right now. Once the holidays are over, I'll free up some time in my schedule to go back to your hometown with you." As I listen to Ruby making yet another empty promise to me in such a casual way, I let out a soft chuckle. "It's fine." Once the holidays are over, we'll be able to obtain our divorce certificates. Chapter 1 After Ruby Irving hung up the call furiously, her phone chimed again as a notification came in. It was an Instagram update from her beloved assistant, Wilbur Stork. It was a long post, practically an essay. Wilbur had written it as an apology to me for causing a misunderstanding in his last post. And like the previous post, he had specifically tagged me. It was a blatant provocation. Unfortunately, Ruby didn't see it that way. Or maybe she could, but she still wanted to side with him anyway. "No need to apologize, Mr. Stork. Everyone can tell you were just joking." "Does this post mean Ms. Irving's petty husband came looking for trouble again? He made such a big deal out of something this small. That sounds exactly like something he'd do." The comment section was full of people comforting Wilbur while taking sarcastic digs at me for being petty and small-minded. I had personally trained many of these coworkers from the ground up. But now, they were all speaking up for Wilbur. I guess that was only natural. After all, Ruby had given her implicit permission. Ruby had hired Wilbur as a special exception. Over the years, she promoted him straight to the position of the head of the secretarial department. Anyone could tell she was fond of him. The ones who stayed were the type who knew how to act according to the boss' wishes. Those who had spoken up for me back then had long since been fired. A few minutes later, Ruby replied in the comment section, "We all know in our hearts who is right and who is in the wrong. Only people with filthy minds would make random accusations." She didn't say it outright, but everyone knew who exactly she was referring to with"filthy minds". The comment section quickly filled with likes and echoes of agreement. I couldn't be bothered to keep reading. After parking the car, I took the divorce agreement with me and walked straight into the lobby of the courthouse. Ruby had signed the divorce papers before she left on a business trip last month. When I handed them to her at that time, I had hesitated a little. In fact, I secretly hoped she would notice and ask me to stay. However, she didn't even look at them. She simply flipped straight to the last page and scribbled her signature onto it. "Are you not going to check what it is?" I couldn't help reminding her, even though I had already prepared myself mentally. Ruby answered perfunctorily, "There's no need to look. I trust your ability to handle things." But the truth was, she had never trusted me before. Every time there were important company documents, Ruby kept them carefully away from my sight. Meanwhile, she would reveal them freely to Wilbur. I had expressed my dissatisfaction to her regarding this matter before, but she brushed me off. In a self-righteous tone, she had said, "I have nothing against you. It's just that these details are sensitive and complicated. I'm not letting you see them for your own good." Chapter 2 "What about Wilbur then?" I had asked. Chuckling lightly, Ruby had replied, "Wilbur doesn't really understand these things. Besides, he's my assistant. Even if he does know, it doesn't matter." For a moment, I almost thought she had really changed. But when I watched her leave the house and saw Wilbur, who had clearly been waiting outside for a long time, smiling as he took the suitcase from her hand, I finally understood something. It wasn't that she had suddenly started trusting me. It was just that, compared to that agreement, there was someone more important waiting for her. I had submitted the divorce application a month ago. So, the waiting period was up. After checking the documents, the female courthouse staff asked me, "Where's your wife? Why didn't she come?" I showed her the Instagram post Wilbur had published not long ago and replied, "She's with her new family." The staff member's expression stiffened slightly. When she looked at me again, there was a trace of sympathy in her eyes. "We have protocols, sir. We need to mediate between both parties first and confirm that the relationship has truly broken down before issuing a divorce certificate. Could you contact her and ask her to come in for mediation?" Not wanting to make things difficult for her, I gave Ruby a call. But the phone barely rang once before the call was declined. I tried again, and the same thing happened. A few minutes later, Ruby finally sent a message. "Francis, if you don't delete your comment and apologize to Wilbur, I won't answer your calls. Stop calling me. I won't pick up." I knew exactly what this meant. Ruby was going to give me the cold shoulder again. It had happened many times before. Whenever Wilbur accused me of something, Ruby never bothered to verify it first. She would just demand that I apologize right away. And if I refused, she would deliberately give me the silent treatment. The worst time was when, during one of those standoffs, I suddenly had a severe heart attack from overworking late at night. I was rushed into the emergency room. When the doctor called her to sign the treatment consent form, she told them that they could just let me die if I didn't apologize. I told the staff member everything truthfully and asked, "At this point, there's probably no need for mediation anymore, right?" She sighed helplessly and nodded. Then, she took the divorce agreement from me and went to process the paperwork. I sat on a bench in the courthouse for half an hour. Unexpectedly, Ruby called me. "I heard you didn't go to work. Where are you?" she asked frostily. I didn't answer. From her tone, it was clear she didn't really care where I was. When I stayed silent, she spoke again in an icy voice. "According to company policy, being absent without notice means a two-day pay deduction. Do you accept it?" Before I could say anything, Wilbur's gentle voice came from beside her. "That's not necessary, Ruby. Francis might have something urgent to deal with." Ruby snorted coldly and said, "What could be so urgent? Playing on his phone during work hours or scrolling through Instagram? He never offered a single apology. And now, he skips work after being reprimanded a little!" I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. Ruby and I had founded the company together. In the beginning, I worked on projects until the early hours of the morning every day to secure hundreds of key contracts—big and small—for our company. Well, I never expected her to go out of her way to thank me for my contribution. But never had I imagined that she would dock my pay and bonuses just because I was a minute or two late to work. She said she had to observe and implement the company policy strictly. Ironically, Wilbur could scroll on his phone in front of her all day and post on Instagram during work hours. Sometimes, he would suddenly not show up to work for a day or two. Ruby never deducted a single cent from his pay. She even took it upon herself to make excuses for him. Once, he had gone off to fool around somewhere and failed to show up for a deal that was worth tens of millions of dollars. Not only did Ruby not punish him, but she even comforted him afterward and pushed the blame onto me. Astonishingly, she had complained that there was something wrong with my proposal. Chapter 3 "Francis, do you accept your punishment for skipping work?" Ruby asked coldly again. I nodded and said, "Sure. I was wrong." Wrong for not seeing her for who she really was sooner. Wrong for putting up with all this for so long just because I couldn't bear to let go of a seven-year marriage. Ruby didn't let me finish speaking. After I admitted my mistake, her mood clearly improved. She said, "It's great that you know you were in the wrong. I'll let it go this time, but you'll have to make up for it. I sent you the details of a project. Look through it carefully and get the proposal done before the end of the holiday." As soon as she finished speaking, my phone chimed with a new notification. I glanced at the screen for a second and opened the message. As expected, it was another business deal Wilbur had messed up. Over the years, Ruby had often forced me to clean up Wilbur's mess. For the sake of the company, I worked tirelessly to salvage the ruined negotiations. I had to endure the other party's judgmental and contemptuous looks while getting the deals finalized. But eventually, I realized something. If I handled things well, Wilbur would take credit for securing the deal, and he would get the bonus. But if things went badly, it meant I was incompetent, and I had to compensate by paying a penalty. Funnily enough, the bonus still went to him. I let out a faint laugh and said calmly, "I can't do it." "What did you say?" Ruby asked, bewildered. She hadn't expected me to refuse. She was stunned for half a second before opening her mouth, ready to lose her temper and lash out at me. But I didn't give her the chance. I hung up immediately. Just then, the courthouse staff walked over and handed me a stamped document. "Your paperwork has been submitted," she said. "Please come back in three days to collect the divorce certificate." I nodded and silently counted the days. This long holiday would end in three days, so Ruby would likely be back by then. I wondered how she would feel when she saw the divorce certificate. … On the first day of waiting to collect the certificate, I went to the company to resign. While HR was processing my resignation, I looked toward the photo wall of our company's team-building events. Among them was a photo where Ruby was smiling affectionately as she fed me a skewer of grilled meat. Someone must have captured it candidly. Even after six years, I could still remember that sweet moment. Back then, Ruby had just decided to start the company. As her husband, I had emptied my savings and even given up my high-paying job to support her without hesitation. She had been overjoyed. That weekend, she organized an outdoor outing and introduced me to everyone in the company. We had just gotten married back then, and she took every opportunity to show her affection toward me. She fed me and kissed my cheek in front of everyone, drawing teasing laughter from the crowd. People joked that they were about to get cavities from how sweet we were. When that photo was taken, Ruby loved it very much. So much so that she framed it and placed it right in the most prominent spot at the center of the photo wall. But now, times had changed. The center spot had been replaced by a photo of her and Wilbur toasting each other at the annual party. The photo with me had been moved to an unassuming corner. I had to search for a while just to find it. After thinking for a moment, I reached up and took the photo down. The HR executive, Paige Jones, happened to see this. She wanted to stop me, but when she saw which photo I had taken, she swallowed her words. She figured that since Ruby didn't even care about me anymore, she wouldn't really care that the photo was gone. "Your resignation has been approved. Just complete the handover and you can leave," Paige said monotonously while tossing me a form. I froze for a moment and subconsciously asked, "That fast? Has Ruby signed it already?" I wasn't really thinking when I asked that question. It was just that Ruby usually didn't check her phone much, so it typically took about two hours for a resignation to be processed. Chapter 4 In truth, I hadn't expected my resignation to be approved so quickly. After all, Ruby was still at Wilbur's hometown at the moment. "Ms. Irving signed it right away," Paige said with a cold smile as she looked at me. "Why? Are you regretting it now?" "No, I'm quite happy," I replied. In fact, it saved me a lot of trouble. Paige didn't believe me. She looked at me with a curious expression and snorted. The company wasn't exactly that big, so news spread fast. Before long, the whole department knew that my supposed attempt to play hard to get had backfired and that I had really ended up resigning. Everyone was waiting, amused, to see how things would play out at my expense. I couldn't be bothered to explain. After I was done with the handover, I packed up my belongings and prepared to leave. A few of them exchanged glances. One coworker deliberately stretched out his leg, while another quietly turned on his phone camera, ready to capture a photo of me falling with a miserable expression. Fortunately, I had long gotten used to their little tricks. Pretending not to notice, I walked over to the coworker who had stretched out his leg. Then, I stomped down on it with all my strength. Ignoring his howls of pain and the strings of curses that followed, I walked out the door in a great mood. … On the second day of waiting, I hired a real estate agent to list the house for sale. When Ruby and I got married, I had borrowed money from my parents to buy the off-plan house in full. Back then, she had said she didn't have money, so I didn't force her to pay anything. I handled the renovation and home appliances myself as well. Soon, the property was ready to be handed over upon completion. I had intended to list Ruby as a joint owner. But right before the signing, something unexpected happened. Wilbur suddenly joined our company. Without telling me, Ruby transferred the car under her name that I had paid for to Wilbur at an extremely low price. Even when I found out, Ruby thought it was no big deal and was flippant about the matter. She had said, "Wilbur is all alone in this city without any family. He's quite pitiful. He lives far away too. I'm letting him have the car so that it's easier for him to commute to work. That way, he can generate more profit for the company. "Besides, that car was a gift from you to me. I'm free to deal with it however I see fit, right?" I had been very upset. After thinking it over for a long time, I decided to cross out her name on the house title. Because of that, Ruby threw a huge tantrum at me. In the end, the conflict concluded with her swiping away more than 200 thousand dollars from my account. The more I thought about it now, the more I felt I was a sucker. Since I wanted to sell the property quickly, I didn't demand a high price. In less than half a day, five or six people came to view it. Eventually, I successfully negotiated a deal with a buyer. But because of all the other projects that were being developed nearby, the final selling price was even lower. Still, the house's value had nearly doubled compared to when I first bought it. I made the calculations and found that I had still made a profit of more than a million dollars in the end. I was quite pleased. I happily signed the sales contract and arranged the date to hand it over. … On the third and final day of waiting, I went to the courthouse and received the divorce certificate for Ruby and me without any issues. At the same time, I saw that Wilbur had posted more than a dozen Instagram updates in a row. Only then did I realize that Ruby had been having a great time in Wilbur's hometown all the while. She was normally obsessed with cleanliness, but she had gone to the zoo with Wilbur and even let him hold her hand while feeding peacocks. She had always hated the smell of smoke, yet she went to an internet cafe with him. In fact, she didn't even like playing games, but she stayed up all night gaming with him. She even backed him up in front of his snobbish relatives, claiming that she was his CEO girlfriend. I figured Ruby wouldn't want to leave so soon since she was having so much fun there. She would most likely postpone coming back for several more days. But on the very day I returned home after getting the divorce certificate, I heard Ruby's cheerful laughter coming from inside the house before I even stepped through the door. Chapter 5 "Ruby, I think Wilbur's a good guy. He's young, energetic, and sensible. Why don't you try dating him for a while?" I recognized that voice immediately. It belonged to my mother-in-law, Cordelia Smith. "His parents are both gone, so you won't have to worry about dealing with in-laws in the future. On top of that, he has a healthy lifestyle. He doesn't smoke or drink, and he's good-looking. If you two have kids someday, they will definitely be beautiful. "At the very least, he's better than that useless Francis. You've been married for years and still don't have a child. Is he incapable or something?" My steps halted right outside the door. Through the crack, I saw Ruby fall silent. After about two seconds, she bit her lip and said, "I've been married to Francis for so many years. I can't just get a divorce now." She didn't explain to Cordelia that the reason we didn't have any kids was that she said she didn't want them. She also failed to mention that when we first got together, I kept to a regular schedule and never smoked or drank either. I only learned to drink later on for the sake of the company's development. And because of the pressure from work, I picked up the habit of smoking. Before I even had time to process my hurt feelings, there came the frosty voice of my father-in-law, Asher Irving. "Why can't you divorce him?" he asked. "Plenty of people get divorced these days. With your current status, you can easily find someone better than Francis anywhere you go." Cordelia nodded eagerly. "Francis hasn't achieved anything on his own. He's living off the salary you give him. It's embarrassing for me to even bring it up." As she spoke, she even covered her mouth dramatically in sorrow. Asher sneered, "If you ask me, it's all your fault. I didn't agree with their marriage in the first place. You were the one who insisted on it and even accepted Francis' money. What was the point of having Ruby get married so early?" "Oh, now you're blaming me?" Cordelia shot back angrily. "Why didn't you say that when you were drunk and sang praises about what a good son-in-law he was?" Seeing that the two of them were about to start bickering again, Ruby frowned and said, "If all you're going to do is argue, get out of my house." Only then did they quiet down. I let out a derisive laugh. As expected, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Back then, I had invested money and effort to help Ruby start her business. Whenever I visited them on holidays, I had also bought them precious jewelry and expensive wine. Ruby's parents had held my hands and praised me for being a good man with a strong sense of responsibility. They had said they felt absolutely at ease entrusting Ruby to me. A few years had passed since then. Now that Ruby's net worth had shot up and the company was thriving, they thought I was no longer good enough for her. I didn't linger outside any longer. I pushed the door open and walked in. The sound drew their attention. All three of them turned to look at me at the same time. Asher and Cordelia froze. Ruby's expression stiffened, and a fleeting look of panic passed her features. Then, she snapped out of it and frowned as she asked, "Francis, why are you here? It's working hours right now! Did you skip work again?" Upon hearing that, it was my turn to be stunned for a moment. Then, I couldn't help but laugh. Did she not know that I had already resigned? Just how little attention did she pay to me? Whenever Wilbur encountered even the smallest problem at work, Ruby would notice it within an hour and help him resolve it. I had already been gone from the company for two days, and she had personally approved my resignation. But then, she seemed genuinely clueless about it. "I've already resigned," I said frankly. "Resigned?" Ruby's frown deepened. But Asher seemed to suddenly realize something. He glared at me angrily and scolded, "Have you lost your mind, Francis? How can you resign now and leave Ruby to handle the company alone? Are you even a man?" Chapter 6 Cordelia finally reacted after getting over her initial shock. She shrieked, "You've been living off my daughter and enjoying the salary she paid all this time. Now, you're planning to freeload even more? Do you really have no shame?" I ignored them and looked at Ruby. As expected, she had no intention of asking why I had resigned. She merely glanced at me with disdain and said matter-of-factly, "Francis, let me make this clear. You can resign if you want, but I'm not going to support you. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself." I laughed out loud at that. Just as I was about to say something, Wilbur hurried out of the bedroom. "Ruby, what's going on? Am I hearing things, or did Francis resign?" I'd been mentally prepared, so seeing Wilbur here didn't surprise me at all. Instead, it gave me a sense of clarity that things were just as I had expected. A slightly diffident look flashed across Ruby's eyes for a moment as she explained, "Wilbur lives very far away from the airport. He's been exhausted these past few days, so I let him rest here first." "That's right, Francis," Wilbur said. "Sorry for disturbing. I know you're angry at me. I brought you some gifts as an apology. I hope you'll let it go and not hold it against me." As he spoke, he took out a bouquet of white lilies from behind him and handed it to me. I glanced at it indifferently. These were the exact same flowers I had seen in his Instagram post earlier. I had seen him put it on his deceased family member's grave. I found it rather amusing. "Does your family have the habit of giving people flowers you have offered to the dead?" Ruby snapped immediately, "What's your problem, Francis? Why are you being so crude? And what do you mean by that? Wilbur picked these out especially for you." Wilbur stepped forward and gently patted her back to comfort her. He sounded aggrieved as he said, "Don't be mad, Ruby. It's understandable that Francis doesn't like what I brought. It's just that I'm not that rich. Actually, I wanted to get him something more valuable…" "Why give him anything at all? A snob like him doesn't deserve it," Cordelia said, glaring at me. She took the lilies from Wilbur and smiled kindly at him as she said, "It's fine. I like your gift. I'll take it. These flowers are beautiful." Asher had a stern expression on his face as he said, "I'll be straightforward with you, Francis. You haven't improved at all over the years. You're no longer worthy of Ruby. I think you should let her go." A calculating glint flashed in Wilbur's eyes, but he quickly put on a regretful expression. "Mr. and Mrs. Irving, don't say that. Francis and Ruby are such a perfect match. It's such a pity if they get divorced. Ruby, say something." Ruby let out a long sigh and walked up to me. "Francis, you've gone overboard this time. Still, we've been married for seven years, so it's not like I must divorce you. As long as you apologize to Wilbur and lend this house to him for a while—" "That won't be necessary," I interrupted calmly, having already guessed that she would say something along those lines. Then, I handed the divorce certificate to her and announced, "We're already divorced."