All for One Bowl of Fish Stew

Luke shoved me aside and rushed over to embrace Ruby.

"Ruby, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Trembling in his arms, Ruby pointed at me and said, her voice trembling with fear, "L-Luke, I-I'm bleeding. Cynthia tried to kill me."

"Don't be scared. I'll take you to the hospital."

Luke anxiously lifted Ruby in his arms and turned to leave.

"Luke," I called out.

He stopped and looked back, his eyes blazing with rage.

"Cynthia, you've really disappointed me. How did you turn into this crazy, hysterical woman?"

I ignored his accusations and just looked at him calmly.

"Let's get a divorce."

This time, my voice carried nothing but stillness.

He froze, as if it hadn't occurred to him that even now, I would still be asking for a divorce.

"What are you making a scene about now?" he snapped irritably. "Ruby's bleeding, so can't you just drop it?"

"I'm not making a scene." I pulled out the divorce agreement from my pocket and tossed it at his feet. "Sign it. I don't want the house, the car, or anything else. I just want the two of you to get out of my life!"

Luke looked down at the papers, then back at me, his expression complicated.

But Ruby clung to him like a lifeline.

"Luke, please take me to the hospital now. I feel so dizzy," she murmured weakly.

Luke snapped back to reality. Without another glance at me, he rushed out the door with Ruby in his arms.

The door slammed shut. At last, the world was quiet.

I slowly crouched down and picked up the ruined drawing from the floor. As I traced the ugly coffee stain with my finger, I finally let myself cry.

"Dad, I'm sorry," I blubbered.

I cried for a long time, until there were no tears left and my eyes felt dry and raw.

I stood up and wiped the tears from my face. Without hesitating any longer, I went back to my bedroom. Once there, I took out my suitcase and started packing.

I didn't have much, so it didn't take long.

After that, I took out my phone and turned it on. A flood of missed calls and messages poured in from my friends and family.

One by one, I told them I was okay.

Then, I found the folder I'd prepared long ago. Inside was every piece of evidence I'd gathered since the fish stew incident.

There were chat logs between Luke and Ruby, hotel records, and photos of their trips together. Other than that, there were also documents proving Luke had abused his position to help Ruby's career.

He thought he'd covered his tracks perfectly, but little did he know that I'd taken an elective in information security in college.

Those encrypted files on his computer? They might as well have been unlocked.

I packaged everything and anonymously sent it to every senior executive at his company, along with the disciplinary committee's tip-off line.

When that was done, I blocked Luke on every platform. Then, I booked a ticket south to my mother's hometown, a small city where spring never ended.

As the plane took off, I watched the city below grow smaller and smaller, and a quiet sense of release settled over me.

I thought to myself, "Goodbye, Luke. Goodbye, Ruby. I hope I never see you two again."