Asking for a divorce hit harder than I expected.
James stormed out that night and didn’t come home for a week.
This was his typical response when I made him angry, proving how little he cared about what I’d said.
In the past, his emotional abuse would have kept me up all night, desperately calling him over and over to apologize, begging for forgiveness.
But now I was busy job hunting, with no time to worry about him. After all, I couldn’t keep working at his company after the divorce.
One day after work, James called.
Him reaching out first was his way of offering an olive branch. Refusing would make me the difficult one.
“The department hit its targets for the first half. There’s a cocktail party tonight. I’ll pick you up.”
I waited outside the office for nearly twenty minutes before James finally showed up with Sophie.
“Hey Rach, I get car sick, so James said I could sit in front,” Sophie chirped sweetly. “You don’t mind, right?”
James gripped the steering wheel tightly, watching me nervously as if afraid I’d snap and attack Sophie.
But I just quietly opened the back door. That seat wasn’t meant for me anyway.
During the drive, I stared out the window while Sophie kept trying to flirt with James.
Unusually, he remained cold toward her, barely responding, frequently glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
At the hotel, James’s close friend Steven came out to greet us with forced politeness.
“Rachel, hey! Sorry, my brain’s been scrambled with work. Should have texted you about this.”
Steven was James’s best friend and knew all about his affairs.
Whenever James wanted to bring Sophie along, he wouldn’t invite me, since I always “ruined” things for James.
“It’s fine, I won’t stay long.”
Steven looked surprised but held his tongue.
During the party, after making his rounds, James sat beside me with a piece of cake.
“Eat something. You skipped lunch, you must be hungry.”
Before I could refuse, Sophie appeared with her phone. She was livestreaming.
“Found you, James! Kitty’s been looking everywhere!”
“Oh, you mean Rachel? James brought her cake because she hasn’t eaten dinner.”
“James and I aren’t dating, everyone!”
I quickly turned away to avoid the camera and stood up to leave.
I was standing on the balcony getting some air when James followed me out, his voice uncertain.
“I didn’t know Sophie would be streaming. Everything they say in the chat isn’t true. I’m just playing along for her stream. I’ve asked her to stop.”
I nodded indifferently and went back to the party.
The host was on stage talking about the company’s future.
