Chapter Thirty-One

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"I am not taking the house," you say in a stern voice. "And neither will she."

"So we've decided to sell it," Irene chimes in. "And we will use the money to open a bank account under our son's name."

"We bought a lot in Daegu two years ago. We were supposedly going to build a vacation home but we never got a chance to. Let Joohyun take it."

"No, [Y/N]," she protests.

You lean forward and reach for her hand across the table. "Daegu is your hometown. You can sell it if you don't wanna keep it, but until then, the lot belongs to you."

"And you didn't sign a prenuptial agreement, correct?" Jung-rok inquires.

"No," you both answer simultaneously.

"We didn't bother since neither of us ever came to a conclusion that we'd eventually divorce," Irene adds.

"Until I cheated."

She looks at you and smiles. "Until I forgave you and you cheated again," she corrects.

"You are awfully cheerful for a couple who's about to get a divorce," the lawyer remarks, eyes dancing from Irene to you.

"Yeah, well, we need to find a way to make things lighter if we want to be friends," you retort.

"And for the record: we do want to be friends. We've figured that it's best for Kai."

"Ah, speaking of Kai," Jung-rok begins. "Joohyun will take full custody of your son. And as for [Y/N], you are free to visit him whenever but you can only take him out every Saturday and Sunday provided that you will return him to Joohyun not later than the designated time."

"Won't be a problem," you answer, looking at Irene.

You watch with a heavy heart as Irene signs the divorce papers. As soon as she's finished, she slides them to you.

You've read the content of the divorce papers and all you need to do is sign it, then you'll be free to do as you wish with Rosé. And as for Irene, she will be free from all the suffering you've put her through.

Yet for some reason, you find it hard to put your signature.

"Everything okay?" Jung-rok asks.

"Do you need a pen?" Irene chimes in.

You lock eyes with Jung-rok. "I'm sorry, Attorney. But I'm afraid I need a few minutes with my wife."

He courteously bows to you and Irene and steps out of his own office to give you some privacy.

As soon as he's out of sight, Irene sighs. "What is it, [Y/N]? Why the sudden hesitation?"

You tap your fingers on the table, carefully measuring your thoughts. "What if we're making a huge mistake?" you ask. "What if we can still save our marriage?"

"[Y/N]..." She runs a hand through her hair. "We tried, didn't we? I know I tried. Not just for Kai. I really did try to forgive you and save our marriage because I loved you. And I still do, but I'm afraid that this is something that's broken beyond repair."

"But what if there's still hope, Joohyun? What if I can still change? What if I can make things right?"

She shakes her head. "Let's not make this harder than it is. Sign the divorce papers and go be with the woman you love."

"But you are the woman I love," you answer. "Let's try again. Let's move away. I don't even care where we go — Daegu, Jeju, Busan. Heck, I'd even go to Mars with you. Let's move away and start all over again."

Irene stands and walks to you. She gives you a long, soft kiss on the forehead, then she locks eyes with you. "I love you so so so much. But this isn't the [Y/N] that I married. Neither am I the Irene that you married. I will always love you, [Y/N]. All the gods in all of the realms know. But I cannot put myself through hell any longer. I have to protect my peace, too.

"So please, [Y/N], sign the divorce papers." She reaches for your pen that's resting on the table and hands it to you. "Let this be the last time that we will ever hurt each other."

Despite the melancholy air that surrounds you two, you can't help but give her a small smile. You take the pen from her and, slowly, you sign the papers.

"I couldn't have picked a better wife," you say to her afterwards. "I'm thankful for you, Joohyun. And I will always love you."

She takes off the wedding ring on her finger and puts it in your palm. "In another life," she whispers to you. "Maybe we can try again."


"Hi, baby!" Rosé greets as soon as you enter the condominium unit that you bought just recently.

"What are you doing here?"

"I cooked for you, of course. I waited for you. We have an occasion to celebrate."

You arch an eyebrow at her. "Celebrate what?"

She rolls her eyes at you. "Duh. Your divorce!"

You push the inside of your cheek with your tongue, trying so hard to keep your cool. "I am not in the mood, Rosé. Please leave. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Can you at least pretend that you appreciate me cooking for you today?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "I worked really hard on this and even took a day off work. Let's just eat, then I'll leave."

Feeling too drained out to even argue, you drag yourself and sit on one of the dining chairs.

Rosé pours champagne on your wine glass and sits on the empty seat across from you. "So, how was it?"

"How was what?" you ask as you put rice on your plate.

"How was all of it? How did the signing go?"

You take a deep breath. "It was fine. Irene set the mood as light as possible."

"And?" she pushes on, waiting for you to give further details.

"Look, Ro, I don't wanna talk about it. Can we please just eat in peace?"

She looks away and clicks her tongue. "Listen, [Y/N]," she says, looking back at you. "You and I are together now. As in together together. And if we're gonna do this right, we need to open up to each other. So please do tell."

You set your spoon and fork down. "Alright, fine," you answer in a resigned voice. "I hesitated."

She stares at you for a second. "You what?"

"I hesitated, Rosé," you repeat, much louder this time. "For the last time, I tried to change her mind. I tried to save our marriage. She had to talk me into signing the divorce papers because I hesitated."

"Wow." She chuckles and leans her back on the chair. "Unbelievable. Just fucking unbelievable.

"Rosé..."

"If she didn't make you sign the goddamn papers... If she actually let you talk her into saving the marriage, would you have left me?"

You don't respond, and you don't need to; she finds the answer just by looking at you.

She shakes her head in disbelief.

"Rosé, listen—"

"And here I thought that you and I could finally have better circumstances," she says, interrupting you. "You are so fucking selfish."

"Rosé, please—"

"Don't even start with me, [Y/N]. You wanted me for your pastime. You wanted me to make you feel better when you and your wife were having troubles. You don't love me, [Y/N]. You never loved me. You're so fucking selfish and you don't deserve Irene."

You slap the table rather too harshly that the sound echoes throughout the unit. "Don't you dare talk to me about Irene," you say through gritted teeth, pointing at her. "She was my wife for seven years. Seven motherfucking years, Rosé. That's seven birthdays, seven Christmases, and seven New Years. And I'm allowed to have a moment of hesitation. If you loved me like you say you do, you would give me at least that."

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