It was almost laughable when I thought about it.

Claire and I had been together for six years, yet we had never gotten married.

At first, she said marriage would get in the way of her career and that her work had to come first.

To help her build that career, I quit my stable, high-paying job without hesitation and followed her to New York City to start a company.

I drank myself sick at business dinners and fought my way through one negotiation after another until I finally helped her take the CEO’s chair.

But once her career became stable, she wanted to “test” my sincerity. She said she would only agree to marry me after I passed the fifty-two premarital tests designed by Ryan.

So Ryan used the word “test” as an excuse to torment me.

He made me collect 9,999 handwritten blessings from strangers. He deliberately dumped ice water over my head when I walked into the office. He slipped laxatives into my water so that during a partnership meeting, I was running to the bathroom in front of everyone and humiliating myself.

That was not all.

Whenever Claire and I went on dates, he would find all kinds of excuses to pull her away. Every time, he said it was another test for me.

For Claire, I endured all of it.

Until yesterday.

I had just finished a design proposal when Ryan told me to give it to him. He said it was the final test.

That proposal had taken an entire year of my work. When he saw that I was reluctant, he started saying that my hesitation proved I did not love Claire.

So I gave in.

And Claire finally agreed to marry me.

I was so excited that I did not sleep all night. I got up early and went to City Hall.

The marriage certificate had been right there, almost in my hands.

Then Ryan jumped out and got the certificate with Claire instead.

All I did was ask a couple of questions, and Claire took his side. She called me filthy-minded and said that was why I saw everything as dirty.

But if she truly had no feelings for Ryan, why did she never help any of the other single parents at Whitmore Group?

Why was Ryan the only one she cared about so much?

Only now did I understand.

Claire’s heart had shifted a long time ago.

All those so-called tests had only been excuses because she did not want to marry me.

My stomach felt hollow, and only then did I remember I had not eaten all day.

To get the certificate early, I had skipped breakfast and came here to wait in line. In the end, I had only paved the way for someone else.

It really was not worth it.

I found a restaurant and ate. Just as I finished, I saw Claire had posted a photo of her marriage certificate with Ryan on Instagram.

My coworkers were all in the comments, sending congratulations. Of course, they did not forget to mock me.

[Nathan Reed may be the CEO’s boyfriend, but Ms. Whitmore still got married to Mr. Chase, didn’t she?]

[What does that dried-up old man have on a young, handsome assistant like Mr. Chase?]

I knew Claire had posted it to provoke me.

But this time, I only gave a cold laugh and liked the post.

Soon, my parents saw the post too and called me.

“Son, what’s going on with Claire’s Instagram? Why did she get married to someone else?”

My parents had always worried about my marriage. All they wanted was to see me and Claire settle down.

But Claire had delayed it again and again.

She felt sorry for Ryan and all his struggles, but she had never once thought about mine.

I was just about to answer when Claire sent me a message.

[Nathan, I made sure not to hide this Instagram post from your parents. They must be panicking right now, aren’t they?]

[If you apologize to Ryan, I can explain to them that it was all a misunderstanding. Otherwise, you can deal with the consequences yourself.]

Before this, Claire had always respected my choices. She never forced me to do anything.

Once, when I went to dinner at her family’s house, I told them I was allergic to eggs, but her mother insisted on making me eat them anyway.

Claire was so furious that she flipped the entire table over.

Now, to force me to apologize to Ryan, she was willing to post on Instagram just to upset my parents.

The woman who once loved me so fiercely was gone.

I ignored her.

I only replied to my parents.

“Mom, Dad, Claire and I are over. I’ll listen to you and go back to Maple Creek for the blind dates.”

My parents had never thought Claire and I were a good match. But back then, I had been willing to leave my hometown behind just to be with her.

Now it seemed they had been right all along.

“Good. Your mother and I will arrange it for you right away!”

After hanging up, I bought a bus ticket for the next day. Then I called a cab and went home to pack.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard laughter inside.

I pushed the door open and saw three pairs of shoes in the entryway.

They were matching family shoes.

I recognized one pair as Claire’s. They had been Ryan’s birthday gift to her, some cheap street stall shoes that cost 8.80.

The workmanship was rough, and the material was cheap.

Yet Claire treasured them like they were priceless.

Meanwhile, the custom designer shoes I had bought her for tens of thousands of dollars sat untouched, gathering dust. She had even said my taste was embarrassing and that wearing them out would humiliate her.

For a while, I had genuinely thought there was something wrong with my taste. I had even humbled myself and asked Ryan how to improve it.

Looking back now, Claire had simply looked down on anything I gave her.

I kicked the three pairs of shoes aside and walked into the apartment.

The moment I looked up, I saw Ryan lounging on the couch in my pajamas, watching television like he owned the place.

His son, Noah Chase, was running barefoot over the spotless white rug.

My mother had stayed up with bloodshot eyes to knit that rug for me herself. Now Noah had trampled it with black footprints.

What made my blood pressure spike even higher was the sight of my carefully collected figurines scattered all over the floor. Several had their arms and legs snapped off.

Furious, I snatched one of the figurines out of Noah’s hand and demanded, “What are you doing in my home?”

Noah lifted his chin stubbornly.

“Mom said it was okay!”

The next second, Claire came out of the kitchen after hearing the noise.

She never cooked, but now she was holding a spatula and making dinner for Ryan and his son.

“Noah, why did you call Mom?”

Claire was about to pick Noah up and comfort him, but when she saw me, she froze.

“Claire, when did you become his mother? Funny how I never heard about that.”

Faced with my question, Claire only paused for a moment before brushing it off.

“Noah grew up without a mother’s love. Letting him call me that a couple of times won’t kill anyone. Besides, why are you suddenly back?”

I almost laughed.

“This is my home. Am I not allowed to come back?

“And you, who gave you permission to bring them here?”

Claire looked perfectly justified.

“Ryan’s place is too far from the school Noah will be attending. The commute is inconvenient, and over time, it will affect Noah’s studies.

“Our home happens to be close to Noah’s school, so I brought them here. The place is big enough anyway. Until Ryan finds a suitable apartment, there’s plenty of room for him and Noah.”

“And what if Ryan never finds a suitable apartment?”

Claire looked fondly at Ryan and Noah.

“Then they can stay. It’s just two extra sets of dishes.”

But before, when I wanted to have my parents stay with us for a while, Claire had refused.

She said she was not used to having other people in the house. She said she was a light sleeper and would be disturbed.

Now, she had taken the initiative to let Ryan and his son live here.

So in the end, only my parents counted as outsiders.

At that thought, my voice darkened.

“I don’t agree to them living here.”

Claire’s face instantly went cold.

“Nathan, do you have no compassion at all?”

I laughed coldly and shot back, “You’re right. I’m nowhere near as kind as you. You’re so kind that not only did you get married to your assistant, you even brought him and his son home to live with you.”

Just then, Ryan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.

His eyes were red as he took off the pajamas he was wearing, looking fragile and wounded.

“Nathan, Claire, please stop fighting because of me.

“If Nathan doesn’t want us to stay, I’ll take Noah and leave right now. It’ll just be harder for Noah to get to school from now on, that’s all. Claire, I’m already grateful that you helped Noah with his school registration. I wouldn’t dare ask for anything more...”

As he spoke, he exchanged a look with Noah.

The next second, Noah rushed forward and sank his teeth hard into my calf.

Blood welled from the bite mark.

But Noah still was not satisfied. He clenched his fists and started hitting me.

“You’re a bad man! Why do you get to kick Dad and me out? This is my home. If anyone should leave, it’s you!”

Only after Noah had beaten red marks into me did Ryan finally step in and carry him away.

“Nathan, he’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take it personally.”

Before I could speak, Claire cut in.

“Ryan, you and Noah can stay here in peace.

“Nathan, Ryan felt guilty about taking your turn at City Hall, so he bought you a gift to apologize. And you’re still being this petty? If you ask me, the one who doesn’t know any better is you.”

I looked over and saw half a soufflé that had already been eaten.

My voice turned cold.

“I’m allergic to eggs. I can’t eat that. And I’m not a trash can. I don’t have the habit of taking other people’s leftovers.”

Ryan’s tears immediately began to fall.

“Claire, I know Nathan thinks my gift is cheap, but this is already the best I can afford. If he doesn’t like it, he can just say so. Why does he have to be so passive-aggressive?”

Claire’s expression darkened. She picked up the half-eaten soufflé and shoved it toward my mouth.

“Ryan gave it to you out of kindness, and now you’re looking down on it?

“You can even come up with something as ridiculous as an egg allergy? Fine. Let’s see if you’re really allergic.”

I could not dodge in time.

The soufflé smeared across my mouth. The smell of egg hit me hard, and nausea surged straight up. It took me a long while before I finally spat everything out.

By the time I recovered, red hives had already spread across my body.

Only then did Claire remember that I really was allergic to eggs. Guilt flashed through her eyes.

“Nate, I...”

I did not bother listening anymore. I turned and went back to my room.

Claire followed me in and softened her voice.

“Nate, I only forgot about your egg allergy because I was angry. I’m sorry.”

I was wondering why Claire had suddenly become so easy to talk to when, the very next second, she revealed what she really wanted.

“But can you let Ryan and Noah stay here for now?

“Once Ryan finds a place, I’ll make them move out. After that, I’ll marry you to make it up to you, okay?”

So in the end, it was still for Ryan.

I pulled my hand away from Claire.

“There’s no need. I’ll move out right now and leave the happy family of three to yourselves.”

With that, I lowered my head and began packing.

When Claire saw that, she finally lost her temper.

“Nathan, I already backed down. What more do you want? Keep this up, and I’ll break up with you.”

I only gave a cold laugh.

“Perfect. I was thinking the same thing. Let’s break up.”

Claire froze.

She had only wanted to use the threat of a breakup to make me give in the way I always had.

She had not expected me to agree.

“Nathan, do you even know what you’re saying?”

I nodded.