"Nick, can you drop me off on the way home?"

I waved at the chauffeur.

"Sorry, it's out of the way. I live in the south of the city."

"But my stomach hurts."

Her tone was a mix of arrogance and softness.

She thought that if she acted cute with me, I would respond as usual — with sharp words but secretly caring, making her milk and preparing a hot towel to sober her up.

I took a step back. "Sorry, we’re divorced. We’re just strangers now."

Her face showed exhaustion.

"We haven't filed for divorce yet. Don't you care about the years of our relationship?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Relationship? I thought you treated me like a dog all these years. Calling me when you needed me and tossing me away when you were done. Should I be grateful for your leftover scraps?"

Alice froze, her figure shivering.

She used my research to please another man, leading to my downfall like a stray dog. When I had nothing left, she pretended to be the savior, making me fall for her and drain the last of my worth.

At that time, she promised to shelter me from the storm, but the wind and rain were brought by her.

I spoke decisively, "Alice, leave some dignity for yourself."

In the rearview mirror, Alice stood in the cold wind, unwilling to leave. Her figure was thin, her face pale, and without her usual makeup, she appeared somewhat pitiful.

"Man, a beauty like that, and you don't even care when she’s begging you. Have you quit smoking weed or something?"

The chauffeur joked.

I rubbed my temple.

"Something like that."

When I made the decision to let go, the withdrawal symptoms were brutal. It felt like countless insects were gnawing at my bones, keeping me awake at night.

But once I got past it, I felt reborn.

At the lowest point in life, no matter which way you go, it's always upwards.

Realizing this, I threw myself back into work.

Soon, good news came in: "Nick, we won the bid! We have money now!"

Jordan's eyes were filled with tears.

He had struggled so much over the years, frequently switching jobs and facing unscrupulous bosses. A contract almost drove him to a dead-end.

During the hardest times, he couldn’t even afford his son's medical bills. He worked during the day and drove for a ride-hailing service at night. At just under 30, his hair had already grayed.

Our pricing and technical advantages were far better than our competitors'.

"Remember the junior I recruited? Her proposal was the perfect addition. She created a targeted plan for different consumer groups, much more practical than the foreign competitors’."

At that moment, he was so excited he was jumping around, practically ecstatic.

"Who would have thought we could take on a multinational corporation and win?"

At the meeting, Joseph’s face changed colors like a palette — first white, then red, and finally green. He had boasted for so long about being sure of victory.

The slap in the face was so loud I felt good hearing it.

But this was just the beginning. Joseph's reckoning would come step by step.

After work, I received a call: Alice's parents had arranged to meet my mom to discuss things about Alice and me.

Looking at the date, the one-month cooling-off period had already passed.

According to the law, if we didn’t file for divorce 30 days after the cooling-off period, the divorce was considered canceled.

Sorry, dragging things out doesn’t work with me.

After just one month of not going back to Alice's place, I felt like a stranger in my own home.

The kitchen was full of unwashed dishes, and the floor was sticky. The whole house smelled like something had fermented — a mixture of sourness and rot, almost like food waste.

When we were married, I did all the housework. Alice and her mom never lifted a finger. The most infuriating time was when her mom brought a group of wealthy ladies to play mahjong, and I was the one sweeping the floor while they spat sunflower seeds.

They would criticize me for doing menial tasks, calling me a useless man.

Feeling disgusted, I walked in. Both families were sitting on the sofa, and the atmosphere was tense and suffocating.

Seeing me dressed sharply, Alice's mother shot me one last look before her father spoke.

"Nick, I know you young people like to rush into marriage, but you can't rush into divorce. And after all these years, how could you just break up like that?"

I asked calmly.

"We didn't break up just like that. Why don’t you ask your daughter if she hasn’t mentioned divorce 20 out of the 30 days in a month?"

"That’s just a childish joke, Nick. You’re too serious, you can’t take a joke."

I stood up, my voice cold.

"You only see her as a child, don’t you? She speaks recklessly, but in the real world, who cares? How did you raise her? She's almost 30, yet you still treat her like a three-year-old, never taking responsibility. And now you want to step in and fix our marriage. Don’t you think you should reflect on yourselves? When others criticize you, don’t try to defend yourselves, make them defend their own actions."

Alice’s parents were clearly stung by my words, their faces turning red, but it didn’t end there.

I walked up to Alice, my voice harsh, "In the end, you were the one who was wrong first. Your ex came back, and you called me a caretaker. But who was it who said your family needed someone thoughtful, and asked me to focus on the family? You enjoyed my care while criticizing me for not being 'presentable'. How did you manage to be so hypocritical?"

Alice, with a look of grievance, threw our wedding album at me.

"You’re just mad I didn’t pay you enough, right? Here, I’ll give you 500 more, and an extra 1000. Is that enough?"

Is this even a reasonable conversation? I almost laughed out of anger.

Now, she still thinks it’s all about 500 bucks. Since money was brought up, it’s time for me to do the math.

"How much does a live-in caretaker earn in a first-tier city? You can’t even get someone for less than 7 or 8 thousand to take care of you. How much did you pay me all these years to cook, clean, and tolerate your family's nonsense? After daily expenses, how much did I get to keep? In the five years, prices have skyrocketed, but you didn’t raise my allowance, it even decreased. Even a beggar sleeping in a cardboard box is richer than me. Alice, do you really think I’ve treated you well? Who is to blame for all this?"

Seeing me nearly hysterical, her mother couldn’t help but speak up.

"You’re a grown man, why are you so petty? Didn’t you marry her because you loved her? Why complain over such a small grievance?"

I suddenly turned around, my eyes sharp enough to make her stop talking.

The words "you’re a grown man" felt like a curse from a witch. Once uttered, it was as if I had to tolerate all their offenses, mockery, and moral blackmail. If I didn’t, it made me seem small-hearted.

I used to tolerate it, but not anymore. I spat in disdain.

I laughed and tears came to my eyes.

"If I didn’t love her, would I have put up with this relationship for so long? If I didn’t love her, would I have calmly worked as the househusband for years, with no holidays, no salary, no insurance, and no dignity? She promised me unconditional love, but it turns out it was just a lack of economic means. Who needs that?"

Alice was speechless, looking utterly devastated.

My mom stood up, her eyes red.

She was usually quiet and not good at expressing herself, but now she spoke in anger.

"You’ve gone too far. Every time my son calls, he says he’s doing well at your house. I didn’t expect you to treat him like this…" My mom covered her chest, her face pale, almost collapsing to the ground.

She had been recovering in the countryside ever since my father passed away.

Alice's parents must have said something to her, because she came all the way from the countryside, feeling distressed and angry.

Ignoring Alice’s family, I quickly took my mom to the hospital.

While we were processing the admission, I saw Alice biting her lip, walking in. I didn’t even look at her and just walked towards the payment counter.

Before I could take a step, she suddenly hugged me from behind, trembling as if afraid of losing something precious.