The banquet hall was about to close and most of the people going to and from the bathroom were cleaning staff from Country C. 

Seeing that there was no English around, Maribel became even more aggressive.

“Miss Huffman, I advise you to be more sober. Haven't you noticed that Addie has only used you as a tool for promotion from the beginning to the end? 

“He has reached his current position step by step, all because of me!

“You've been married to him for three years and don't even have a child. Isn't it because Addie doesn't like your inferior genes? I advise you to divorce him as soon as possible and go back to England to work.”

Facing Maribel's unbridled humiliation, there was not a trace of sadness on Rosanne's face. She had become numb.

“Thank you, Miss Hudson. I will consider your words. I also hope that you and your Mr. Marquez will have a happy marriage and a baby soon.”

Rosanne left without looking back, leaving Maribel alone, shaking with anger.

Maribel did not understand why this woman was unmoved by her ridicule.

Didn’t she care about Addie at all?

Maribel was unwilling to accept this, since she was too jealous of Rosanne.

Obviously, the person who knew Addie best was Maribel and she was also Addie's childhood sweetheart. She was the one that Addie always said he wanted to marry.

She only studied abroad for a few years and was separated from Addie for a few years.

But why was it that the person Addie finally married was Rosanne, an unknown woman?

***

Capital International Airport of Country C, a flight from England landed.

As the Christmas was approaching, most of the passengers on this flight were English who were flying from England to Country C to visit relatives.

At the airport, Rosanne finally met her best friend, Geneva Owens, after three years.

The two hugged each other tightly, like most of the relatives who came to pick them up at the airport.

After calming down a little, Rosanne reached out his hand to Geneva.

“Do you bring the things with you?”

Geneva seemed to suddenly think of something and immediately took out a stack of white paper from her backpack and handed it steadily to Rosanne.

“Mission accomplished!”

A line of words was clearly printed on the white paper. Divorce Agreement.

Since the agreement was an important document, Rosanne could only entrust her best friend, Geneva, to deliver it to Country C personally.

On the other side, Addie sat in his office, worrying about the cooperation that had not been negotiated before.

He thought about the concerns of the politicians in Country C, thinking that maybe the two sides did not reach a consensus on the profit points given, or maybe they were worried that cooperation would affect the downstream industries in Country C and the people's lives could not be guaranteed.

The two parties agreed to discuss again in the afternoon.

A crisp knock on the door interrupted Addie's thoughts.

It was Rosanne.

“My superior wants me to accompany you to the negotiation meeting this afternoon.”

Rosanne's resignation application was still in the probation period, so as long as there was a need to attend events, Rosanne still needed to accompany Addie.

Knowing that it was his superior's intention, Addie could not refuse.

And facts had proved that the superior's decision was correct.

At the beginning, Addie's idea was in the interests of both parties, but after being translated by Maribel, many details were not expressed accurately.

Rosanne was experienced in the trading field and expressed England's position impartially, which enabled the two sides to reach an agreement quickly.

According to custom, both parties would have dinner together after the negotiation meeting.

Rosanne had already changed into suitable clothes, but her plans were disrupted by a phone call from Addie.

“Rosanne, at the dinner with representatives from Country C tonight, Maribel said she wanted to go there to study.

“You can stay at home tonight and cook the dinner yourself.”

This time, Rosanne no longer fought for it. She was already tired of it.

Ever since Maribel came to the Diplomatic Office, she had already taken over the job that she was originally responsible for and Addie never noticed anything unusual.

Therefore, her existence had long been dispensable to Addie.

Before leaving the diplomatic office, Rosanne placed the divorce agreement on Addie's desk.

She left a note. [It's my own will, I'm willing to accept the loss. Please sign it and bring it back to England and give it to Geneva.]

***

In the attic, Maribel watched Rosanne's car go away little by little.

She turned around, picked up the divorce agreement on the desk and hid it in her bag.

Maribel knew very well that it was not easy to get Addie to agree to divorce.

But she must make Addie sign this divorce agreement.

Any means would do.

In the next few days, Addie disappeared again under the pretext of a business trip.

Rosanne was at home, clearing away all traces of her life bit by bit.

Perhaps Addie was afraid that she would become suspicious, so he sent her several voice messages.

“Rosanne, I may not be able to spend our wedding anniversary with you this year, but I have prepared a surprise for you.

“We will have many more wedding anniversaries in the future. Love you!”

That was a pity, since there was no future.

Rosanne sent someone to take down the huge wedding photo from the wall, then tore off Addie's half and threw it into the fireplace casually like firewood.

The flames burned fiercely and through the flamboyant flames, Rosanne seemed to see Maribel's distorted face, with a triumphant smile on her face because of his departure.

All the forced smiles these days turned into unstoppable tears, wetting the collar and photo frames.

Everything was over.

“Mrs. Marquez…."

The landlady called out several times before Rosanne responded.

“Mrs. Marquez, Mr. Marquez said this gift is for you.”

She brought a large bouquet of flowers. Perhaps because they had been kept for too long, the petals had turned slightly yellow.

Just like her marriage with Addie, after the erosion of time, only a mess was left.

Was this the surprise Addie prepared for him?

Year after year, the same monotonous roses.

This was the surprise that Addie mentioned.

Rosanne just took a glance at it and let the landlady take it away.

A man who did not care about his family even just dealt with his wedding anniversary perfunctorily.

The landlady was a middle-aged divorced Latin American woman, so when she saw Rosanne, who used to be gentle and considerate, become like this, she did not know what words to use to comfort her.

After all, Addie had repeatedly favored Maribel and hurt Rosanne, actions that even an outsider like her could clearly see.

She could only wonder, ‘Mrs. Marquez is so nice, why doesn't Mr. Marquez knows how to cherish her.’

Rosanne knew that only when people lose something completely would they know how to cherish the past.

But she would never look back.

She remembered that her landlady had several underage children at home, so she packed up the gifts that Addie had given her and gave them all to them.

As for the remaining items, she would dispose of what could be discarded and burn what could be incinerated.

From that moment on, she had no heart to enjoy the good night and just let the bright moon go down to the west building.

The notification sounds of mobile phone text messages came one after another and Maribel's avatar flashed from time to time.

Just a few words once again pulled Rosanne back into the quagmire.

[Rosanne, did Addie tell you that he was on a business trip?]

Next was a picture of a luxurious banquet.

Addie sat next to Maribel and had a pleasant conversation with two slightly older couples.

Rosanne recognized that they were Maribel's famous overseas English business parents.

[I said I wanted him to spend my birthday with me this year, but I didn’t expect that he would really leave you behind to come to me. As far as I know, today is your wedding anniversary, right?]

How did she know?

Rosanne typed a line of words in the input box, but quickly deleted it as another message came in.

[Do you know why Addie chose this day to marry you?]

She still remembered that Addie said that day was a fine day that only came once in ten years. The right time, the right place and the right people.

[Because this day is my birthday. He must have kept it from you.]

It turned out that she had been deceived by the person she loved for three years.

On the other hand, after the Hudson family banquet, Addie had lost some of his rationality due to alcohol.

Maribel thought the time had come.

She took out a document from her bag and it was the divorce agreement that Rosanne had left on her desk.

In fact, Maribel was not sure what Addie was thinking, so she could only take the risk.

“Addie, I've taken over a project today and need your signature. 

“You've always said that I don't have enough experience, but this time, as long as you sign your consent, I can go to learn and practice.”

“You will definitely get my promise.”

Addie lowered his eyes and the words on the document looked like ants running around. He did not read it carefully and then signed on the last page.

The moment the ink in the pen dried up completely, Addie's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

She put her arm around the man's shoulders, her warm breath falling on their skin, her fingertips quietly wandering across his white shirt. 

Maribel, taking advantage of the alcohol that was surging in her heart, kissed the man on the lips.

In Maribel's eyes, everything was under her control.

The last time Rosanne called Addie, her hands trembled uncontrollably.

A full hour later, Addie sent a text message.

[Rosanne, I'm busy. I'll get back to you later.]

At this point, she really should not expect anything anymore.

“Auntie, please help me notify the driver to the Capital Airport.”