Chapter 3

3: 3

3

My face changed.

"I drove all the way out to bring you back, and this is how you repay me? You still want to make trouble?"

"Don't threaten me with divorce. This is about money, isn't it."

"That's money I earned with my own sweat. I'm not helping your sister, so give it up."

A cold smile hung at the corner of her mouth, her eyes full of contempt.

"I only came back so Naomi wouldn't have to watch us fight."

"Leon, let's get divorced. Let's stop making each other miserable."

I didn't understand it. She went out for one trip, and she came back demanding a divorce.

I held down the anger churning in me, my voice going harder.

"Did Naomi say something to you? Hah. Now I get it."

"She hates me. She hates that I won't let her live here, that I won't give her money, right?"

"Freda, don't fool yourself into thinking she's some good person. She's jealous that you have such a good life, so she's deliberately turning you against me."

"I'm calling her right now. I want to see where she gets the nerve, breaking up her own sister's marriage."

I pulled out my phone to call Naomi.

But Freda snatched it out of my hand and threw it onto the couch.

"Enough. How much longer do you want to drag this out?"

Her eyes were red, and she was fighting to keep her emotions in check.

"Leon, I don't understand why you have such a problem with Naomi. If she hadn't called you today behind my back, I never would have wanted to see you at all."

"Did Naomi choose to get sick? You don't want to help. I can't say whether that's right or wrong."

"But from now on, I don't want to hear a single disrespectful word about her come out of your mouth."

A bitter ache rose in my chest. Even now, her heart was still on Naomi's side.

I was about to argue when her phone rang.

Freda listened for a few seconds, and the color drained from her face. She could barely stay on her feet.

I asked what was wrong. She didn't answer.

She just turned and stumbled toward the door.

"Freda, what are you doing? You come back when you feel like it, you leave when you feel like it?"

"We're not settling this today, and you're not going anywhere."

I rushed over and blocked her path.

"Get out of my way."

Freda shoved me aside, red-eyed, and pushed open the door and ran out without looking back.

The shove sent me staggering backward.

By the time I got up and chased after her, she was already gone from the stairwell.

"Freda, go. If you leave, don't come back."

"Go spend the rest of your life looking after that sick sister of yours."

I slammed the door hard, and it landed with a heavy, dull thud.

I sat down on the couch and lit a cigarette.

The nicotine settled me, and slowly my mind quieted.

My eyes fell on that divorce agreement.

I couldn't help the sneer that pulled at my mouth.

"Freda, so now you've learned to test me this way too?"

"This is about money, isn't it. Well, I'm not giving you what you want."

....

Ash dropped onto the agreement and burned a little scar into the paper.

Ten days passed, and the pinned avatar never once lit up.

Freda hadn't contacted me in ten days.

More than once I almost wanted to ask her what she was actually trying to do, but I held it back.

Every day, coming home from work, all I thought about was which takeout place to order from tonight.

I pushed open the door and saw a figure sitting on the couch.