Yet, somehow, the longer I lived, the more miserable and stifled my life became.

Still, deep in my heart, I couldn’t help feeling a little fortunate. Losing my memory was perhaps not a bad thing after all.

Even though it was seven years too late, at least from now on, I could finally be myself again.

Coming back to my senses, I smiled wryly.

“Alright, don’t worry. I’ve already asked an agent to put the house up for sale.

“Once the assets are divided, I’ll be completely rid of that crazy woman. After that—”

“Say that again?”

…

I turned to look and froze in surprise.

Claudia? Why was she here?”

Wasn’t she the one who hated the smell of smoke and alcohol the most?

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be taking care of your precious Gerald?”

As expected, she didn’t get angry and just gave me a piercing look.

“It’s already one in the morning.

“You promised you’d be home before midnight.”

I thought this woman must be sick in the head and sneered.

“We’re about to get a divorce. What’s the point of going home?”

Claudia didn’t seem surprised. She calmly took out a bank card from her bag and held it out to me.

“Isn’t this why you’re doing all this? You want money again.

“How much do you want this time? Three million? Five million?”

The word “again” immediately caught my attention.

From the way she said it, this clearly wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

My expression darkened. I knocked the card out of her hand.

“Who wants your filthy money?

“You’re not welcome here. Get out. Don’t ruin our drinking.”

I turned around and ordered two more crates of alcohol from the waiter.

I didn’t see Claudia’s expression. I only heard the sharp, heavy sound of her heels clacking heavily against the floor.

The moment she was gone, my buddies gathered around me.

“Are you really Jayden Clement? Since when did you grow a spine?”

“Did you see the look on Claudia’s face? She was red with anger. It was the first time I’ve seen the so-called ‘Ice Queen of Jorswe’ this angry!”

I just smiled and opened another bottle of alcohol.

“Don’t make a big deal out of this. Come on, bottoms up!”

…

It wasn’t until the following afternoon that I decided to go home.

On the way, I looked at the marriage license in my hand and couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

That morning, my lawyer rushed over to tell me the lawsuit had been rejected. I couldn’t file for a divorce.

At first, I thought there was something wrong with the paperwork, but he said it was because Claudia and I weren’t legally married at all.

In other words, our marriage license was fake.

Whatever trick Claudia had used back then, and whatever reason she had for deceiving me, I couldn’t remember, and frankly, I didn’t care anymore.

I never wanted to be with her in the first place, so this actually saved me a lot of trouble.

I just needed to go home and pack up.

Of course, Claudia’s bags.

Last night, my buddies said that when I first got together with Claudia, I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I never even considered a prenuptial agreement on the basis that I would never divorce in my lifetime.

I’d always thought dividing assets would be a hassle.

I never expected Claudia to be even more ruthless than I imagined. She never even registered our marriage.

Since that’s the case, the house naturally still belonged to me.

While she was out with Gerald during the day, I planned to clear out all her belongings so she wouldn’t argue with me about it later.

The moment I opened the door, though, I froze in my tracks.

Claudia was curled up on the sofa in the living room. Dark circles hung under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept all night.

Just as I was bracing myself for another explosive argument, Claudia pressed her fingers to her temples and spoke calmly.

“You’re back…

“I have a headache. Make that healing broth for me from before?”

Only then did I notice the floor beneath the table had empty liquor bottles scattered everywhere.

I was momentarily stunned.

Hadn’t Isaac said last night that Claudia never drank alcohol, and that even the smell alone made her nauseous?

Why had she suddenly drunk so much?

And the healing broth she mentioned, I hadn’t the slightest recollection of it.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I waved a hand dismissively as I said, “I told you, I’ve lost my memory. I have absolutely no idea what broth you’re talking about.

“Besides, you’re not paralyzed. It’s just a headache. Why didn’t you just order some takeout and buy yourself painkillers?”

Claudia flinched, then frowned and said, “Jayden, there’s a limit to throwing a tantrum.

“How could you not know about my headaches? You spent half a year pestering that medical expert to get that recipe.

“If you’re sulking over what happened at the company, then I’ll say this one last time. There’s nothing between Gerald and me. I only want to make up for the seven years of his youth he lost because of you.

“If I really loved him, I would’ve married him seven years ago. Do you really think it would’ve been you?”

Listening to her high-and-mighty excuses, I could only find it laughable.

I must have been blind to waste seven years of my life on a woman who didn’t love me.

If I’d spent that time developing my career instead of brewing healing broths, I’d probably already be successful by now.

“Are you done? I’ve got work to do.”

Seeing my indifference, Claudia suddenly sat upright.

“You’re not going to do anything for me?

“Jayden… you’re not usually like this.

“We’ve been married for seven years, and you’ve never once refused me. But lately you’ve been pushing me away and resisting me time and again. What exactly do you want this time?”

I found this funny.

“I’ve said it. I want a divorce.”

I went to the bedroom to pack.

I was only halfway through when a scream suddenly came from the kitchen.

When I rushed over, Claudia was sitting on the floor, clutching her hand that had been scalded badly enough to blister.

Apparently, she couldn’t bring herself to ask me for help, so she tried to make the broth and ended up burning herself.

Instead of treating the burn, though, she just stared straight at me.

I frowned, hesitated for a moment before I walked over.

A triumphant smile immediately curled up at the corners of her mouth.

“I knew it. You still can’t bear to—”

Before she could finish, I walked right past her.

“Move!

“You left the gas stove on. What if it exploded and blew up my house?”

…

Only after confirming the gas was completely turned off did I finally breathe out in relief and head back to the room to continue packing.

Claudie’s face flushed red with anger.

I couldn’t be bothered with her and dragged her luggage toward the door, ready to toss it outside.

It was only then that she realized what I was doing, looking utterly bewildered.

“Why are you packing my stuff?”

I looked at her, baffled.

“To throw them outside, obviously. And to ask you to leave.”

“You’re kicking me out?!”

She froze for a moment before letting out a contemptuous laugh.

“Where did you pick up this trick?

“I’ll admit, you almost fooled me just now.

“But… you forgot about that.”

Claudia pointed at my ring finger.

The ring was simple, but engraved along the band were the initials of both our names.

That must’ve been the wedding ring she and I had exchanged.

Perhaps because I’d worn it for so long that I’d forgotten it was even there.

“If you really want to divorce me, then why are you still keep—”

I yanked it off and tossed it outside along with the luggage.

Her expression instantly darkened. Just as she was about to speak, Gerald happened to walk in and witness the scene.

Naturally, he wouldn’t let this golden opportunity slip by. He immediately feigned tears.

“Jayden, so you really are jealous of me after all.”

Was this guy insane?

Jealous?

With that kind of energy, I’d rather do something productive. Why must I make things so hard for myself?

Gerald had no intention of letting it go. He put on another act of deep sorrow.

“Jayden, I know you hate me, but Coco cares about you. That’s why she’s angry with you.

“You’ve gone too far today. That’s your wedding ring. How could you have just thrown it away like that?

“Think about it. She’s a young woman who’s had to run an entire company all these years. With all that pressure, it’s only natural she’d snap at you sometimes. Why can’t you just try to understand her?”

If my friends hadn’t told me the truth last night, I might actually have believed him.

For seven years, she’d abandoned everything and run off to hide in the mountains, while every single company project had been handled and pushed forward by me alone.

What did any of it have to do with her?

Before I could snap back, Gerald suddenly took my hand.

“It’s my fault, Jayden.

“I’m willing to apologize to you. Let’s bury the hatchet from now on. Together we can help Coco shoulder the pressure and make the company bigger, stronger!”

One second, he gave a cold chuckle, and the next, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, wailing in pain.

Claudia froze, then hurried forward to help him up before turning and slapping me hard across the face.

“Jayden, Gerald has already made a concession. Why did you push him? Don’t you know he just had the surgery?

“Do you want to kill him again?!”

Seeing her indignant expression struck me speechless.

It seemed Claudia had indeed drunk too much to have gotten such a bad judgment.

No matter how frail Gerald looked, he couldn’t possibly collapse like a piece of paper from a simple push, could he?

“I didn’t push him. He fell on his own.”

“So you’re saying Gerald would risk his life just to frame you?”

Before Claudia could finish her tirade, Gerald put on an understanding act and grabbed her arm.

“Coco, don’t misunderstand. Jayden isn’t that kind of person.

“Whether it was seven years ago or just now, it was just my old low blood sugar acting up again.

“Please don’t argue with Jayden because of me.”

Watching his pretense nearly made me throw up all the alcohol I’d drunk the night before.

I might not remember the past seven years, but I was no fool.

Once bitten, twice shy, after all.

I raised my hand and slapped Gerald across the face, and he was stunned into stillness right where he stood.

Before Claudia could accuse me, I casually spread my hands.

“See? I couldn’t even knock him over with that much force. How could I possibly have pushed him over without you noticing?”

Claudie sobered up considerably, standing there pretty stunned.

“You’ve completely lost your mind!

“Regardless, you shouldn’t lay a hand on someone unwell!

“Didn’t you suspect something between Gerald and me? Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll move out right now and live with him!”

As she turned to leave, I suddenly grabbed her arm.

“Wait!”

Claudia stopped in her tracks, crossed her arms, and studied my expression with a smirk.

“What, having second thoughts?

“Weren’t you the one who insisted on kicking me out and divorcing me?

“I’ll admit, I’ve had my faults these past seven years. But if you apologize to Gerald, I can pretend these past few days never happened and move back from the mountains.

“After all, we’ve been married for seven years. Didn’t you want a child with me before? As long as you behave, I can give you—”

Her sentence was cut short as I frowned in disgust. I tossed the fake marriage license onto the table.

“We’re not even husband and wife. What child are you talking about?

“Also, you’ve got it wrong again.

“I’m not trying to keep you. You’ve just been freeloading in my house for seven years. Pay the rent, then get out!”