I Refuse to Play Her Love Games

At yet another family gathering, Kirsten Weber's male assistant, Jordan Steele, is sitting in the seat that should be mine.

I ask Kirsten, "He's sitting in the host's seat. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

Kirsten shoots back impatiently, "Since you showed up late, don't blame someone else for taking your seat. There's an empty seat next to it. You can take it if you want. If you don't want it, then get out."

I am about to speak when her inner thoughts suddenly flood into my mind.

She is saying inwardly, "Honey, get angry already. Tell me you need me. Tell me you have to sit beside me. Prove that you love me. That's the only way I'll feel secure."

This time, I do not give Kirsten what her heart desires.

Instead, I lower my head and slowly remove my wedding ring.

Calmly, I say, "Since you won't even save the seat for the man of the house, I suppose you don't need me anymore. Let's get a divorce, Kirsten."

The ring clattered as it hit the table.

Kirsten Weber's face turned pale. Even her parents, Sam Weber and Juliet Moore, seemed to be completely taken aback.

Six years.

Every single day of my life in the past six years had been exactly like this.

Each time Kirsten jeered at me or made fun of me, I didn't need her to purposely coax me back. I just needed to listen to her true feelings and eagerly rush back to her to make up with her.

Over time, they eventually got used to it. They even joked and said that someone as stubborn and difficult as Kirsten needed a husband who would never leave her, no matter how much he was berated.

So, when I took off my ring, Juliet hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Mitch Coleman! What's gotten into you? Are you in a bad mood today? You're never usually this petty."

Sam also had a stern look on his face. "This is a family dinner. You should know better than to use divorce as a joke at the table. Hurry up and put the ring back on."

I chuckled. "So, you also know that it's a family dinner. So, since when had Mr. Jordan Steele been part of the family?"

Sam and Juliet were at a loss for words.

Kirsten got up abruptly with a deep frown on her face. "Are you done making a fuss, Mitch Coleman! You want a divorce? Fine! Then get out of my sight right now! This family does not welcome selfish people like you!"

Yet, beneath her sharp words lay her true, hidden feelings.

[Why do you want a divorce from me, honey? Don't you want me anymore? Didn't you promise me that you would love me forever?

[It's just an April Fool's joke, isn't it? You'll immediately come running into my arms as long as I get mad at you like this, right?]

I had been putting up with her conflicting emotions like this for ten whole years. After all, when I first met Kirsten, she had been suffering from severe autism and many other emotional disorders.

She couldn't express her inner feelings well and habitually used the most cutting and sarcastic words to attack other people instead.

Fortunately for me, I was one of the people who could actually hear her inner voice. And every time she told me to get out of her sight, her inner voice would plead pitifully with me, asking me not to leave.

[Don't go, please. I need you…]

I had felt sorry for her then, and eventually, we got close and fell in love. After having dated for four years, we were then married for another six.

She eventually opened her heart to others because of me, and could function like a normal person without needing to rely on medication anymore.

However, she treated everyone else with kindness for the past six years, except for me. She would reserve the coldest and harshest words only for me.

It wasn't that I hadn't felt upset about it before. However, Juliet would come up to me and tell me, "Kirsten is mentally ill. She's not like other normal people. Give her some time and space. Besides, you know that she doesn't really mean what she says. Her heart belongs to you and only you!"

I believed her because I could hear Kirsten's inner voice.

That was until Jordan appeared out of the blue.

She claimed that she didn't know anything about being romantic, but she booked the entire amusement park for him on his birthday. There was a wristwatch that I'd been eyeing for ages, but she bought it and put it on Jordan's wrist instead.

She would even turn up to family events and dinners like this with Jordan in tow.

Her inner voice always told me that she loved me, and she only wanted me to be jealous of other men to prove my love for her and also to ease her insecurity.

However, the spot meant for me had now been pushed into the corner, and I finally woke up and came to my senses.

As it turned out, I'd been lying to myself all along.

She was only gentle toward the people she actually loved.