“Graham, everything that happened before is in the past now. We should focus on living in the moment. How about this? Take a month off and get some rest. I’ll be away on a business trip, and we can talk when I get back.”

She didn’t even wait for my reaction before she picked up her suitcase and walked out, humming a tune.

I stood frozen where I was, ears ringing, unable to process anything for a long time. I never expected that the thorn in my heart for years would be met with such a response. However, the old Lucy wasn’t like that.

Back then, when she was pulled out of that fire, my dad suffered third-degree burns over eighty percent of his body. She cried as she apologized to him, and to distract him from the pain, she told him sweet, gentle stories for hours. Later, when my dad passed away, she promised she would remember that day forever—that she would never forget her life was saved by him.

Yet now, barely a decade later, she had changed. If she could treat something as serious as a life-saving ordeal like this, then what about all the promises she once made to me? Had those been “in the past” for her, too?

I sat on the couch and lit a cigarette. She used to complain about the smell on me, so I quit years ago. Now, smelling that familiar smoke again, I actually felt nauseous. After a few seconds, I stubbed out the barely lit cigarette and tossed it into the trash.

Habits really would change a person. I used to enjoy smoking, but it disgusted me now. Lucy used to love me, too, but she didn’t anymore.

I let out a small, relieved laugh. Maybe I really should start living in the moment.

By then, dawn had broken. I grabbed my phone and called my lawyer, asking him to draft a divorce agreement. I emphasized that I was willing to leave the marriage with nothing. The reason Lucy never wanted a divorce before was that she feared I’d take half her assets. Now that I was willing to walk away empty-handed, she wouldn’t have any reason to refuse.

My lawyer had known us since the beginning. He was the one who handled our legal work back when the company was just a tiny startup, so he understood our situation better than anyone. After listening quietly, he stayed silent for a long moment.

“Graham… technically, I shouldn’t interfere. But you’re my friend, so I’ll say this anyway. Two months ago, Lucy had already notarized all her assets. Even without giving everything up, you still wouldn’t get a single cent.

“I don’t know what happened between the two of you, and I know you love her. I know you’re willing to give everything up for her. But after how she’s treated you, I’m telling you as a friend, you need to wake up. Don’t act on impulse. At the very least, take back what’s yours.”

He sounded angry on my behalf.

For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. This was the first time I heard about her quietly notarizing her assets. It seemed she had been guarding herself against me long ago.

I found it funny. She used to tell Zack everything—what she ate, what she bought, down to the company’s core secrets. I warned her a few times to be careful, but she just brushed it off, saying she trusted him. She trusted Zack with blind faith, yet she assumed the worst of me.

The irony wasn’t lost on me. However, what confused me was that if she had notarized everything, she could’ve just agreed to divorce. Why avoid it twice?

I couldn’t figure it out, but it didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t want to waste any more time on her. Sure, the money was a lot, but wasting time on her would cost me even more. Cutting losses early was always the smarter choice.

We built that company together from nothing. To save money, we started in a tiny rented cubicle with just the two of us and grew to a near-IPO corporation with its own entire building.

She, however, dumped all the hard work on me and enjoyed the profits I brought in. I stayed up countless nights revising proposals to win contracts; I even downed two full bottles of liquor at client dinners until I got alcohol poisoning. The company’s success was practically built with my own hands. Yet, she used her title as my wife to justify paying me the same as a regular employee.

I loved her then, so I accepted it willingly, until recently, when I finally woke up. After all these years, I had been working myself to the bone only to make someone else shine. However, it was fine. I had built one successful company, so wherever I went next, I wouldn’t end up worse off.

“Give her everything. I don’t want a cent. Just draft the agreement quickly,” I said calmly.

Seeing my determination, the lawyer didn’t push further.

After that, I messaged HR to submit my resignation. HR didn’t know about my relationship with Lucy, so the head of department replied by the book.

“Ms. Leavitt and Mr. Graff are on their honeymoon. I can’t bother them right now. Please bring it up again next month.”

I wasn’t surprised. I had figured out that the ‘business trip’ she mentioned was a lie. News about her wedding had spread everywhere. No one would expect her to handle work during her honeymoon.

“I can’t wait. Just take the resignation. Give it to her after the honeymoon if you need to. If anything goes wrong, I’ll bear the responsibility.”

HR hesitated, but after I reassured her several times, she finally agreed to submit it.

In fact, our eight-year contract had expired two years ago, but Lucy never renewed it. I wasn’t sure if she forgot or simply didn’t care. After all, her attention these days was always on Zack, which was fine—it meant I didn’t need her approval to resign.

Right after that, I called a friend out of town. He had recently started a new company but desperately needed a strong technical lead. He had approached me several times, eager to partner up. However, because of Lucy, I turned him down at the time. Thinking back, I really had been pathetic.

When he heard I wanted to join him now, he was thrilled. He rushed to book me a first-class flight to Southport. However, the moment I boarded the plane, my phone rang. It was Lucy.

I hesitated for a moment, but I still picked up the call.

Before I could say anything, I heard Lucy’s cheerful voice on the other end. “Graham, I’ve got a contract here. Look it over for me and send it back as soon as you can. I need it urgently.”

Before I even replied, the document landed in my inbox.

I glanced at it and immediately recognized it as a project Zack had been handling. I couldn’t help but laugh. Lucy did this all the time. Whatever Zack couldn’t finish, she dumped on me. If it turned out well, the credit went to Zack. If it didn’t, then it was my incapacity.

I had resisted before. Whenever that happened, she’d comfort me afterward, calling it “training,” as if she were doing me a favor. This time, though, I didn’t swallow it just to avoid making her angry like I used to.

“I’m sorry,” I said calmly. “I can’t do it.”

Maybe she was too used to me taking everything silently. Hence, when I actually refused, she froze for a second and then grew impatient.

“It’s just reviewing a contract. It won’t take that long. What exactly can’t you do?”

Then, I heard Zack’s soft, obedient voice in the background. “It’s fine, Lucy. I’ll do it. You gave Graham time off anyway.”

That only irritated her more. “I’ve given him such a long break. What’s wrong with asking him to handle one small task? No wonder he keeps getting worse. Honestly, if it weren’t him, I would’ve fired them long ago.”

Clearly, she still didn’t know that I had resigned.

Back then, if there were even the slightest issue with Zack’s work, she’d know immediately, even while traveling for business.

“You handle it, Zack. Thank you. I’ll let accounting know later to give you a raise.”

Then, she deliberately raised her voice, speaking directly to me with a slow, lecturing tone, “Graham, what’s happened to you? You’re getting less and less ambitious. If you stay this selfish, not only will no colleagues want to work with you, but even if you leave, you won’t get anywhere.”

Normally, once I sensed her comparing me to Zack, I would cave in and take the work. However, this time, I hung up.

The plane lifted off steadily. Below me stretched a vast, open new world.

As soon as I got off the plane, I spotted my friend, Hugh Nicholson, waiting in the arrivals hall. The moment he saw me, he rushed over, grabbed my luggage, and started fussing over me.

A little embarrassed, I laughed. “We’re friends. You don’t have to treat me like a guest.”

He grinned. “It’s because we’re good friends that I want to take proper care of you.”

I didn’t answer. Instead, my mind drifted back to years ago, when Lucy told me to quit my high-paying job and start a business with her. All she sent was an address, so I dragged my luggage through winding streets, sweating under the sun.

When I finally reached the shabby apartment she’d rented, she opened the door in her pajamas and was in the middle of playing an online game. She didn’t say anything, but from her expression, I could tell she wasn’t thrilled I’d arrived at the wrong time.

After her match finally ended, I joked, asking why she didn’t come pick me up. Wasn’t she worried I’d get lost or something could happen?

She snorted. “If you get lost, can’t you ask someone for directions? You’re a grown man. What’s going to happen to you? Besides, we’re basically an old married couple. You can get here on your own. Why would I pick you up?”

Looking back now, being good friends was just an excuse. The truth was simple—she never valued me.

That afternoon, Hugh took me to the apartment he’d rented for me ahead of time. After I settled in, he gathered a few other friends and treated me to a fancy dinner at a hotel.

Later, when I got back, slightly tipsy, I checked my phone and saw a new post from Zack’s Instagram feed. It was a close-up selfie of him and Lucy, their faces pressed together. They were standing by the ocean, his arm wrapped around her waist. They looked like a perfect couple.

The caption read, “On the road, with my love.”

The comments were full of congratulations, people envying that true love finally won. I snorted and was about to scroll past. However, my finger slipped, and I accidentally liked it.

I was just about to remove it when the post suddenly disappeared. Immediately afterward, Lucy called me, to which I declined. She then sent a string of messages.

[Zack’s just young and playful. Young people like posting pictures. I’ve talked to him about it. But you shouldn’t be such a stalker. It makes everyone uncomfortable. Oh, by the way, I saw something nice while we were traveling. I plan to give it to you as a gift. Guess what it is?]

She added a playful emoji, then a picture of a beautifully wrapped gift box. I knew exactly what she was doing. She was hoping I wouldn’t brood over the photo.

I let out a dry laugh, ignored her, and closed the chat.

Two minutes later, a video from Zack came in. In the clip, shattered pieces covered the floor. He looked pitiful as he apologized to Lucy, saying he accidentally broke the gift she was planning to give someone.

The gift box beside them made it obvious that it was the one she said she’d bought for me.

“It’s okay. Gifts don’t matter. If it’s broken, I’ll just buy another. Are you hurt?”

She rushed to him anxiously, checking him all over for injuries. When I got hurt, she had never reacted like that.

Then, I received a message from him.

[Graham, you should be smart about this and step aside. Lucy loves me. These days, we’ve basically turned fake into real.]

I smiled and replied, [Screenshot taken.]

As soon as the message was sent, the system notified me that he had deleted the messages. So, their relationship wasn’t as solid as he claimed.

I ignored his frantic backtracking, washed up a bit, and was just about to rest when two sharp taps came from my door.

I glanced toward the monitor by the door, curious who was knocking, and realized it was a girl who had joined us for dinner earlier tonight. She wore a floral maxi skirt with a white blouse, looking young, fresh, and full of energy.

Hugh had introduced her during the meal. Her name was Rylee Snow—a recent graduate with no real work experience yet, but apparently sharp and quick to learn. For now, she would be working as my temporary assistant, but why was she here?

I opened the door and asked her that question.

“You drank quite a bit tonight, and you barely ate anything.” Rylee scratched her head shyly. “I live close by, and I just made something. I thought I’d bring you some too.”

She opened the insulated Tupperware, and the smell drifted out instantly.

“Try it. Don’t worry. I noticed earlier that you don’t handle spicy food well, so I didn’t add too much spice.”

Her words made me pause for a moment.

I had lived with Lucy for years, and I’d told her countless times that I couldn’t eat spicy food. Yet, every meal she ordered had some sort of spice in it. Whenever I asked for something mild, she’d complain. Every time I brought it up, she’d say she forgot. Something that a stranger could pick up on after one meal, she hadn’t managed to remember in more than ten years.

I didn’t turn down Rylee’s kindness. I accepted the food and thanked her. After she left, I tried a small bite and was caught off guard by how perfectly it matched my taste.

At first, I thought she was simply meticulous in her daily life, but I soon realized she was far more capable than I expected. When we first started working together, I intentionally slowed my speech for her, giving her time to process. However, she picked things up fast. Half the time, I wasn’t even done explaining before she already had the answer. The problems that used to take an hour to explain to Lucy, Rylee grasped them in minutes, and she could even expand on them.

A bit stunned, I couldn’t help asking, “You understood all that?”

She looked genuinely puzzled. “Why wouldn’t I? You explained it really clearly. I’ve actually spent tens of thousands on online courses, trying to understand this stuff. Honestly, those instructors weren’t half as good as you.”

Her tone was plain; there wasn’t a hint of flattery in it.

For a moment, I felt something indescribable. Back then, whenever Lucy had questions, I tried every way possible to explain things to her. However, more often than not, she grew impatient, accusing me of making things too complicated. Eventually, she gave up trying to communicate with me and always went to Zack instead.

I used to doubt myself, but thinking about it now, maybe it didn’t matter who explained it. She just wanted to see Zack; she didn’t want to deal with me.

As time went on, Rylee and I grew more familiar with each other. She was incredibly attentive. Sometimes, she’d prepare the things I needed before I even realized I was running out. It had been a long time since I was being taken care of like that, and slowly, I started to feel like I belonged in this city.

Working with her was even more effortless. Eventually, our project launched smoothly, and I landed my first major partnership since joining the company.

That night, Hugh booked a celebration dinner for the two of us. While he went to park the car, I headed up first. However, the moment I stepped through the revolving door, I heard a very familiar voice.

“Oh? Isn’t that Graham?”

Instinctively, I turned my head, and there, at the front desk, stood Lucy, fingers intertwined with Zack as they leaned intimately against each other.