After the Divorce, She Can Have It All

After completing the divorce procedures with Juan for the 99th time, Susan Laurent walked out of the City Hall.

She thought she would rush to her best friend's house, get drunk and vomit violently—just like she had done the first time Juan Parkston, her husband, filed for divorce. But then she remembered the doctor’s advice to take care of her health, so she simply made two cups of goji berries.

Returning home late at night to find Juan gone, she expected to spend the night scrolling through all his social media accounts, searching for any signs of infidelity—just like she had done the 33rd time he filed for divorce. But she was so exhausted, she slept straight through the night instead.

When the servant asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she assumed she would starve herself and lose ten pounds—just like she had the 66th time he filed for divorce. Instead, she ended up eating a table full of “Manhattan Banquet.”

On the seventh day after the divorce, she suddenly remembered she had forgotten to ask Juan for reconciliation.

Juan had once stipulated that if a cold war between them lasted more than three days without reconciliation, their relationship would be over. So, she thought, like she had done the 98th time, she would send Juan a “small essay” begging for reconciliation.

But Susan had barely sent him an emoji when Juan replied with a voice message, his tone languid, “We’ll talk about withdrawing the divorce application when we have time. I stained Ashley’s underwear. Buy her a pair. 36C.”

Susan suddenly thought it might not be so bad to forget about it altogether. So she deleted the essay. She decided not to withdraw the divorce application.

Soon, Juan sent another message, [Susan, don’t forget your other identity. You only have half an hour.]

Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Besides being Juan’s wife, she was also his assistant. She had to do what her boss asked. Because it was her job.

At one o’clock in the morning, almost every lingerie store was closed. Susan ran several blocks and finally found Ashley’s size, but was caught in a sudden downpour.

On the way, she fell and arrived at the hotel in a miserable state, her knees bloodied and mangled.

When she arrived, Ashley wore a thin, revealing silk nightgown that clung to her fair skin, her eyes brimming with a sultry charm.

“Susan, please open the package before giving it to me. It’s all wet and filthy.”

She paused, “You don’t mind me calling you that, do you? After all, you’re Juan’s assistant, here to deliver the underwear. Public is public, private is private.”

A sardonic smile flickered in Susan’s eyes. Private was private... It seemed Ashley hadn’t forgotten that they had once been close friends. But three months ago, her best friend and her husband had ended up in the same bed.

Susan’s voice was hoarse, each word measured. “I don’t mind.”

She carefully opened the package, afraid the mud on her hands would dirty the underwear.

After receiving it, Ashley tore off the tag herself, but suddenly cried out, “That hurts!”

Her finger had been scratched by the sharp tag, leaving a shallow mark. Not even a drop of blood.

Juan, who had just been smoking on the balcony, immediately put out his cigarette and pulled her into an embrace, his eyes full of concern.

“How can you be so careless? Susan, how can you be an assistant? You didn’t even clean the tag? You got Ashley injured!”

Susan felt a sharp pain shoot through her knee, her breath catching in the throes of it. If Juan had just lowered his head, he would’ve seen the wound on her knee. But all he could see was the scratch on Ashley’s finger.

Juan frowned, his gaze filled with irritation and disappointment, “Can’t you even handle such a simple task?”

A thousand words caught in her throat, but Susan couldn’t speak. Juan’s anger at this moment wasn’t just disappointment in her work. Susan knew better than anyone else—He was disappointed in her as a person.

For years, she had clung to him like a lapdog, stifling him with resentment.

Susan had loved Juan since she was a child. She loved him so deeply that she gave up her pride for him and her affection was so obvious that everyone knew it.

She followed him through junior high and high school and studied hard to get into the same university. She announced to the world that she was his fiancée. Even though Juan never acknowledged it, she didn’t care. She was shameless enough to believe that she would marry him one day.

So, when Juan finally confessed his love, she felt as if all the fortune in the world had been poured into her lap. They dated, got engaged and got married...

Everyone said Susan had “everything she wanted.” She believed it too.

Until she caught Juan cheating for the first time—with a female university student. She had been hysterical, but Juan simply smoked a cigarette and casually mentioned “divorce.”

They went through with it, but it was Susan who regretted it.

She cried and begged him, “Can you just live a good life?”

Juan touched her face and nodded calmly, “Okay.”

But she grew increasingly suspicious. And Juan never failed to meet those suspicions.

The first time, the second time... until the 77th time, when Susan discovered Juan’s affair was with Ashley—her best friend from college.

That day, she ended her business trip early and rebooked a flight home overnight, just to see Juan sooner. But her plane nearly crashed. She narrowly escaped death, crouching in a corner of the airport trying to call Juan—but couldn’t reach him.

Braving the storm, she finally made it home, only to find her husband in bed with her best friend.

Amid the thunder, Ashley’s indifferent face suddenly became clear to Susan.

All the women Juan had cheated with bore at least five points of resemblance to Ashley. Perhaps Juan’s feelings for Ashley had been there far longer than she had realized.

That night, Susan had thrown a hysterical tantrum—but it was all in vain. The outcome never changed—She had taken the initiative to withdraw her divorce application.

And so, Juan and Ashley became increasingly blatant. He even asked Susan to personally deliver Ashley’s underwear.

She seemed to have gotten used to it. Faced with Juan’s questioning, she even professionally pulled a Band-Aid from her bag.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”

Juan had once instructed Susan to always carry Band-Aids. But Juan himself rarely got hurt. She never understood why.

Until one day, Ashley bought Juan black coffee and scalded her hand. Juan immediately pulled a Band-Aid from Susan’s bag.

That was when Susan finally understood everything.

Juan carefully bandaged Ashley’s finger. Then he casually tossed Ashley’s used underwear over Susan’s head.

“Her hand is injured. Please help her wash it.”

Susan rushed into the bathroom in a panic. She clutched the damp underwear, staring at the evidence of Juan’s touch still on it. Her heart felt like it was being shredded apart, each breath heavy with pain.

Juan’s casual voice echoed from outside, “Wash it and hang it up, then you can leave. I’ll talk about canceling the divorce registration after I’m done with this. It depends on your performance.”

With her back to Juan, Susan finally closed her eyes, hot tears falling silently down her cheeks. No, there was no need to cancel it.

Juan, this time, I really want to divorce you.

After leaving the hotel, Susan did only two things. First, she submitted her resignation online.

Second, she called an old friend far away in a foreign country.

“Frank, you said before that if I had nowhere else to go, I could always come see you. Is that true?”

Frank’s voice was hoarse, but the excitement in it was unmistakable, “You’re always welcome.”

He paused, “But if you weren’t madly in love with Juan, why would you suddenly want to leave him?”

Susan smiled bitterly, “The cooling-off period for Juan and I still has 23 days left. Please buy me a plane ticket.”