Before leaving, my mother-in-law casually grabbed a scarf, wrapped it around her neck, and said in an affected tone, "Remember to mop the floor later; it's a mess. The neighbor's son-in-law gave her a jade bracelet, and the quality is excellent. So enviable."

As she walked past me, she sighed dramatically, "Why can't you be more like..."

I ignored her and walked straight into the study, where I took out the luggage I packed last night.

"What are you doing?" my mother-in-law froze.

Alice was also stunned.

"Where are you going?"

I answered simply, "Home."

"This is your home, isn't it?" my mother-in-law asked.

I looked at her.

"Madam, hello. I’ve divorced your daughter. From this moment on, this is no longer my home, and nothing that happens here concerns me. Alice, you’ve already packed up my things in the closet, and that’s the end of it. I don't want to take anything with me."

Alice turned sharply, incredulous.

"Do you have to be so harsh?"

"I can't stand it anymore. I don't want to take anything," I said as calmly as I could.

"And you should stay up less at night. You're almost 30; your body isn’t the same as when you were young. You need to take better care of yourself."

"Nik, who are you to lecture me?" Alice snapped angrily, rushing to her room and throwing all the things from the closet, including my suitcase, out the door.

"Who cares about your junk? If you don’t want it, just throw it all away. Now that there’s one less mouth to feed, I can save a little money on food."

I sarcastically replied, "Consider it my unsolicited advice."

A friend who had sent me screenshots of Alice's social media posts met me at a bar to chat.

He was my roommate, named Jordan. He started by ordering a bottle of vodka.

"Nik, I have some bad news for you," he said after taking a drink, as if to build up courage.

"How about you guess first? Is it...?"

"Are you asking me for money?" I guessed.

He waved his hand. "No, it’s about someone close to you. Take a wild guess."

I suddenly realized, "You found out Alice was cheating on me?"

He shook his head. "No, it's worse than that."

I was terrified. "You cheated too?"

"My wife?" Jordan was speechless.

After a brief silence, I spoke. "I’ve divorced her. To me, she’s a stranger. Just say what you need to say."

Jordan shook his drink, the ice clinking in the half-full glass. He spoke seriously. "I have proof that Alice was involved in your company’s bankruptcy. We could’ve taken down our competitors and moved up, but during the crucial bidding stage, our plans were leaked. After that, we kept losing, and our core technology was stolen. Other companies got ahead, and we lost countless clients. But who else knew about these business secrets, except for us? After the bankruptcy, did you ever suspect anything?"

His words sent a chill down my spine, and my mind drifted back to the spring of a few years ago.

After the company went bankrupt, I fell seriously ill.

That spring, I seemed to reach the lowest point of my life, from a promising young entrepreneur to a penniless wreck in a single night.

During my illness, my father couldn’t handle the blow and passed away.

After paying off the debts, I had no money left, my house was seized by the bank, my car was auctioned off, and I was utterly broke.

I sat on the street, without even the chance to drown my sorrows. I even had thoughts of ending it all.

That was when Alice appeared, pressing a warm burger into my hands, her eyes reflecting my misery. Her hair and eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, her chin was pale, and stubble had started to appear. My skin felt rough, like sandpaper.

"Nik, let’s get married," she said.

Our relationship wasn’t long, and I thought she would break up with me due to her need for security.

But when I looked into her bright eyes, I felt something stirring in me. If I had to describe it, it was like a traveler lost in a toxic forest, utterly hopeless, yet seeing the North Star in the night sky—an uncontrollable urge to rush towards it.

"I’ll love you unconditionally."

Alice’s firm words became the light that pierced through my darkest hour, and I gave myself to her completely.

Back at the bar, the DJ started playing, and the electronic beats hit my eardrums.

I sighed. "Jordan, I did suspect it afterward, but at the time, I loved Alice."

Jordan, much more composed than I was, hummed lightly. "The night before the bid, I rushed back to the office to grab some documents, and I saw Alice leaving your office, looking flustered."

I vaguely remembered that night, though it was a blur—he had drunk me under the table.

"Before the bankruptcy, I often saw her meeting with Joseph," Jordan continued. "Joseph was one of our competitors. After the bid, he shot up in his career, landing a position at a multinational company. He came back to China to open new markets. Of course, these rumors aren’t enough to convince you, but I found Joseph’s former secretary. They became close after working together for six months. In a drunken conversation, he accidentally spilled the beans."

A recording played, with sounds of glass breaking and a man cursing.

"Joseph is nothing but a fraud. He only climbed the ladder using women. He got his ex-girlfriend to help him steal business secrets from a competitor, then discarded her once he was done, driving the competitor to bankruptcy. Do you really think he succeeded through his own abilities? He slept with the female executives at his new company and kept three others on the side. Disgusting."

Jordan showed me the files the secretary had copied from Joseph’s computer, including versions of the bids we had worked on, technical blueprints, and marketing plans.

My chest tightened with pain.

"Nik, pull yourself together. The failure wasn’t your fault. I’ve put together a new team and started a new company, and we're growing. We need you."

Jordan raised his glass.

"We’ll not only turn the tables, but we’ll make Joseph lose everything."

I barely hesitated before clinking my glass with his. The sound of glass echoed in the room.

After the divorce, Alice didn’t contact me, but unexpectedly, we met again.

At a class reunion, I saw Alice walk in arm-in-arm with Joseph.

She had changed from her previous aloof, white-collar appearance to a more lively and polished look, while Joseph wore a well-tailored suit and his hair neatly combed back. They looked perfect together.

As soon as they entered the private room, everyone started teasing them. "You two are really back together."

"I heard rumors about Joseph returning, and Alice finally got rid of that man who was holding her back."

"Yeah, love conquers all. Are you two preparing to get married soon?"

Joseph looked at Alice in his arms, smiling. "We’ll invite everyone to our wedding."

The crowd cheered.

Alice’s gaze cut through the crowd and locked onto me. I ignored her provocation and turned to talk to a new acquaintance.

She looked visibly upset, but managed a strained smile.

Everyone knew Alice had been married before, but since she didn’t want to make it public, we didn’t have a wedding.

After the marriage, I became a full-time stay-at-home husband and cut off almost all social interactions.

"Nik, haven’t seen you at our reunions for years. What brought you here this time?" the class leader asked, casually nudging me toward Alice and Joseph.

"Got away from the house chores," I answered weakly.

The class leader teased, "Was your wife not up to it? Can’t be, you’re so handsome. Back in the day, you and Joseph were the most popular on the confession wall."

I was about to reply, but Alice cut me off with a sarcastic remark.

"What’s the use of being handsome? You’re just a pretty face with a small mind. No one can stand you, which is why you got dumped."

Joseph glanced at me and said, "How could that be? I remember Nik was really outstanding. His university project even attracted angel investment, and he was running things quite well."

Alice scoffed. "But it still ended in bankruptcy."

They both mocked me mercilessly in front of everyone, ripping open old wounds that had barely healed.

I forced a smile through the pain.

"Yeah, I went bankrupt, all because I ran into backstabbers and pretentious hypocrites. Come to think of it, you two really make a perfect pair—honest dogs."

With a crash, Alice slammed her glass down on the table, her fingers turning white with anger.

Seeing her lose composure, Joseph quickly hugged her, glaring at me as if claiming her for himself.

The class leader quickly changed the topic to avoid further tension.

"Joseph, you’ve been doing great. You seem much more energetic."

Joseph smiled at the compliment but modestly downplayed it.

"Not as good as you say. The upcoming bid project is going to be fierce. Companies from Japan, Korea, and Vietnam are all eyeing a piece of the pie. If I don’t secure this position, I won’t be able to keep it."

"Are there any difficulties?" someone asked.

Joseph sighed.

"Research and development and iteration aren’t going smoothly."

I casually remarked, "When you steal things, they never work as well."

The brief comment made both of them freeze.

Joseph instinctively avoided my gaze.

"Nik, you’re doing well?" he asked.

I lowered my eyes, feigning lightness.

"Not bad. I just pick myself up where I fell."

"Back then, I turned down a six-figure job offer to take better care of my family, but no one appreciated it. Now, I regret it. At least I’ve cut ties with her. I don’t have to deal with her shamelessness anymore."

The class leader clapped.

"People who waste your love don’t deserve a warm home."

The conversation shifted to relationships, and soon several female classmates were crying uncontrollably.

Alice looked uncomfortable, breaking free from Joseph’s grip to drink her wine in silence.

Tonight, Alice looked at me more times than she had in the past few years combined.

After the party, I called a ride-hailing service. While waiting on the street for my driver, Alice suddenly walked over to me like she used to.