After four years of marriage, I decide to get a divorce.

Why? Because my wife doesn't love me. She loves her childhood sweetheart.

I disappear after leaving behind a divorce agreement—I give her my blessings in her search for true love.

But after I'm gone, she searches the world for me like she's lost her mind.

"What do I need to do to get a divorce, Mr. Lane?" I asked.

I was planning on divorcing Willow Lockwood and ending our four-year marriage.

My lawyer, Harrison, drafted a divorce agreement in accordance with my requests. "Once the document has been signed, you'll need to wait for a month before the divorce can be finalized."

Since our assets were acquired before we got married, we didn't have any financial disputes. I took the divorce papers with me and returned home.

Willow was working in the study when I got home.

I walked over to her and flipped to the last page of the divorce agreement before placing it down on her desk.

"Your assistant just sent this document over. It needs your signature." I pointed at the dotted line.

Willow was a busy woman. Every now and then, I helped her with some of her work too.

She didn't sign the document immediately.

"Let me take a look," she said.

I instinctively held my breath. In order to avoid any unnecessary complications, I wasn't planning on telling her about the divorce.

She was just about to take a look at the document when her phone suddenly began to ring. After glancing at the caller ID, she hastily picked up the call.

As I was standing next to her, I saw Zachary's name pop up on her phone screen.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Willow hung up the call and immediately got up to leave.

I stopped her from leaving and said, "Sam said she needed this document for an urgent matter. Do you think you could sign it before you head out?"

She seemed like she was in a huge rush. She quickly scrawled her signature and dashed out of the room.

I couldn't help but find the situation laughable. If she paid more attention, she would've noticed that she just signed a divorce agreement, and not a work-related document.

Unfortunately, whenever something related to Zachary came up, she paid no attention to anything else around her.

Willow and I met at university. I had the biggest crush on her, but she didn't feel the same way. I ended up pursuing her romantically for five years before I had no other choice but to give up.

A couple of months later, I ran into her at work. She said her parents were pressuring her into getting into a relationship, and she asked me if I wanted to be her boyfriend.

I was more than happy to oblige.

I proposed to her after a short while, and she said yes.

I'd always thought Willow was aloof and generally uninterested in men. She never really warmed up to me, even after we got married.

One day, I accidentally stumbled upon her Facebook and discovered her secret. She was in love with someone else this entire time, and that person was Zachary Smith.

Willow and Zachary were childhood friends. They practically grew up together. However, he didn't have any romantic feelings for her. He was already in a long-term relationship with another girl.

Hence, Willow had no choice but to keep her feelings hidden. When she found out that he was heading to a university overseas with his girlfriend, she drowned herself in alcohol.

That same night, she came to me and asked me to be her boyfriend.

I was ecstatic. I thought I had finally managed to win her over.

In hindsight, I should've known better!

It was my birthday last Friday. We made plans to have dinner together, but she never showed up. I ended up waiting for her at the restaurant the entire night.

When I asked her about it the following day, she told me she had to pick an important friend up from the airport at the very last minute. Due to that, she had forgotten about our dinner plans.

After asking around, I found out that the friend in question was none other than Zachary.

Zachary had returned to the country. His girlfriend of eight years had broken up with him, and he was devastated. Willow ended up spending the entire night drinking with him.

That was the moment I lost all faith in her. I made up my mind. I was going to file for divorce.

Now that I was staring at the signed divorce papers, I didn't know how to feel.

A moment later, I took out my phone and called my superior.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne. About that vacancy at the foreign branch… Are they still hiring? I'd like to put myself up for the position."

My superior, Ted Wayne, was delighted that I wanted to accept the job.

"That's excellent news!" he exclaimed. "I'll make the necessary arrangements immediately. It'll take about a month for me to get the paperwork in order.

"In the meantime, you can go ahead and begin the handover process. Then, you can take a few days off and get everything in order before you head overseas."

After doing a quick calculation, I realized my transfer would take place right after the divorce was finalized.

"Alright, Mr. Wayne."

When Willow returned home, I was reading a book in bed. After she got out of the shower, she came over to me and tried to kiss me.

I tilted my head away from her, and the kiss landed on my chin instead.

Usually, I was the one who clung to her and showered her with physical affection. Willow rarely made the first move. Hence, she found it odd that I dodged her kiss.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I cleared my throat. "I think I might be coming down with a cold. I don't want you to fall sick too."

"Oh, did you go through the document I signed earlier? Did everything look okay?" No longer feeling suspicious, she proceeded to change the topic.

I kept my eyes on my book and replied, "Everything looked okay."

"Okay then," she said as she lay down and shut her eyes.

I put down my book and turned off the lights before going to sleep.

…

I wasn't sure when I'd return to the country after I left. So, at night, I invited some of my friends out for drinks so I could bid them farewell. I ended up having a great time.

When I walked out of the establishment afterward, I ran into Willow. I recognized the man standing beside her immediately. It was Zachary Smith.

"What are you doing here?" Willow stared at me.

"I was out with my friends," I replied.

Without missing a beat, Zachary asked, "Who's this, Willow?"

Willow had an awkward look on her face. It seemed like she didn't know how to introduce me. She clearly didn't want Zachary to know that I was her husband.

Willow and I got married in secret. She had specifically requested that we keep everything private. Aside from our close friends and family, not many people were aware that we were a married couple. So, since Zachary had been overseas this entire time, he had no idea that Willow was married either.

I smiled at Zachary and said, "I'm Benjamin Gray, her coworker."

Willow instantly looked more relieved.

Zachary, on the other hand, took out his phone and asked for my number. "Please look after Willow for me. I'll make sure to treat you to a meal someday."

Willow Lockwood was my wife, yet another man was currently asking me to look after her on his behalf.

I found the entire ordeal pathetic and laughable.

Zachary seemed to have noticed the strange look on my face.

"Benjamin?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and recomposed myself. Then, I exchanged numbers with him.

"I'll be heading off then," I said before swiftly turning to leave.

The following day, I received a text from Willow while I was at work.

"It's our fourth wedding anniversary today. Let's go out for dinner."

I was slightly surprised that Willow remembered our wedding anniversary. I immediately texted her back.

"Okay. I'll get us a cake."

After I placed an order for the cake, I sent her another message.

"You're not going to cancel on me at the very last minute again, are you?"

After some time, she replied with a voice message.

"No way!" she yelled.

I laughed at how determined she sounded. Every time our anniversary rolled around, she'd either forget about the occasion or claim that she had something to tend to at the very last minute. She always had a reason for being absent.

After I got off work in the evening, I picked up the cake and headed straight to the restaurant.

Willow arrived shortly after. I ordered her favorites. She must've been hungry because she dug in immediately after the food arrived.

The last dish was a lamb stew. Willow loved lamb. She looked like she was enjoying the meal very much.

"Here, have some. It doesn't taste gamey at all," she said as she tried to feed me a piece of lamb.

Back then, if she remembered our wedding anniversary and suggested we have dinner to celebrate, I would've been ecstatic. I would've also been overjoyed if she spoon-fed me some of her food. In fact, I would've completely disregarded my lamb allergy and eaten the food she offered me anyway.

Unfortunately, things were no longer the way they used to be. Instead of feeling happy, I gently pushed her hand away. I didn't even tell her that I was allergic.

Upon noticing this, she asked, "You don't want any lamb?"

I was just about to respond when her phone began to ring.

"Don't worry. I'll be right there. Just stay where you are," she said after she picked up the call.

Likely feeling too anxious, she ended up bumping into the table when she got up. Her bowl fell from the table and shattered as it hit the floor.

Willow had always been calm and collected. I'd never seen her lose her composure like that before.

When her eyes met mine, I said emotionlessly, "I'll just ask the waiter to clean this up. You can go."

"My friend rear-ended someone else's car. I need to go take a look," she explained.

She must've noticed that I was being unusually calm.

"Is it that childhood friend of yours?" I asked.

She nodded before turning to leave.

The spread of food looked delicious, but I'd lost my appetite. Not wanting to waste food, I continued eating despite the fact that everything now tasted stale and flavorless.

When I walked out of the restaurant, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach.

I thought there were going to be drinks at dinner, so I left my car at home. Hence, I could only take a taxi to the hospital.

I waited for what felt like forever, but not a single taxi showed up. Since I had no other choice, I took out my phone and called Willow. I dialed her number a dozen times, but she didn't pick up any of my calls.

The pain was getting worse. I was in so much agony that I broke out in a cold sweat.

I suppressed the pain and tried to walk forward to hail a cab. The next thing I knew, I blacked out.

By the time I woke up, I was lying on a hospital bed.

A nurse told me a passerby found me on the ground and sent me to the hospital. As it turned out, I had appendicitis. I was told to get ample rest after my surgery was over.

"Is your wife not here to take care of you?" the nurse asked.

"She's a busy woman," I said with a bitter smile.

"She should still prioritize you over her work, though."

I pursed my lips and said nothing more.

When I didn't return home the entire night, Willow called me. After she found out I had been hospitalized, she immediately rushed over to see me.

"Why didn't you tell me you were in the hospital?"

I thought about the countless calls I'd made to her. I was in a tremendous amount of pain last night. I wished she had shown up, but she didn't even pick up any of my calls.

Upon thinking about this, I lowered my gaze. "It's just a minor surgery. You didn't have to come all this way."

After a brief pause, I asked, "How's your friend?"

Willow shook her head and replied, "He's not injured, and the insurance company is covering the car's repairs. Everything's fine."

Then, she glanced at the time and said, "There's something urgent I need to tend to at work. I'll head back to the office for now and bring you lunch later in the afternoon."

I wanted to tell her that it wasn't necessary, but she had already turned to leave. Since my lower abdomen was still aching, I decided to get some shut-eye.

I woke up around 1:00 pm and called Willow.

"Sorry, Benjamin, I'm still at work."

Before I could say anything, I heard a man's voice in the background of the call.

"What do you feel like having, Willow?" the voice asked.

Willow had forgotten about me and was currently having lunch with Zachary instead.

This time, I didn't feel hurt or upset. I had probably gotten used to being forgotten by her.

I didn't call her out on her lie either. Instead, I simply said, "It's okay, you can focus on your work. I'll just order takeout."

Then, I hung up the phone and clicked on the food delivery app to order lunch.

After I was discharged from the hospital, I went home and began to pack.

Later in the day, Willow came home from work and found me packing a suitcase.

"Where are you going?" she asked, surprised.

"Business trip."

"For how long?"

"About a week."

"Are you sure you need so many things for a week-long trip?" she asked.

I nodded. "My stay is tentatively set for a week. If I can't finish my work within that time frame, I'll have to extend my trip."

Willow didn't ask me any more questions. I wasn't surprised—she'd never really cared about what went on in my life after all.

After I had gotten my visa, I made a trip back to my childhood home to visit my parents. They felt like there were better work opportunities overseas, so they were very supportive of my decision.

I felt like it was a new beginning for me as well.

The night before my flight, I stared at Willow, who was lying in bed beside me, and mentally bid her goodbye.

"Let me drop you off at the airport tomorrow morning," she offered.

I didn't turn her down.

The next morning, Willow drove me to the airport in her car. On the way there, she suddenly received a call.

After she hung up, she turned to look at me and said, "Something came up at work, I need to head back and deal with the situation. I'll drop you off at the junction right up front. You should be able to make it to your flight if you get a cab."

I looked out of the car window and felt a dull ache in my chest. This trip to the airport was the last chance we'd get to spend time with each other. Afterward, we wouldn't see each other ever again.

I took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, you can just drop me off right over there."

Then, I picked up my luggage and got out of the car.

I took a taxi to the airport. While I was waiting for my flight to take off, I took out my phone and stumbled across Zachary's social media page. He had a fever and was currently receiving an IV drip in the hospital.

I noticed Willow's figure in the background of the photo.

She'd lied to me once again. She didn't drop me off on the street because something came up at work; she did it because Zachary had a fever. She was in a hurry to send him to the hospital.

I smiled bitterly, but I didn't feel too upset about it. I was about to leave the country anyway.

…

After a hectic day, Willow finally returned home. She stared at the now-empty living room and suddenly thought of me. Hence, she picked up her phone to call me, only to realize that the call wasn't going through.

Her heart dropped. She instantly opened WhatsApp and sent me a text.

After waiting for a long period of time, she still didn't receive a reply.

Willow headed to the bedroom and realized that all my belongings were missing. It felt as if I was never there.

She was puzzled. I was only going on a week-long business trip, but it looked like I had moved out entirely.

She didn't know why, but she started to feel anxious.

That same night, she didn't manage to get any sleep at all. When morning came, she left for work.

Later in the afternoon, she received something in the mail. She opened the envelope and realized it was a divorce agreement…