I Give Up This Rotten Marriage

Sharon's expression looked somewhat lost and dazed.

I let out a sigh of relief, and on the way home, Oscar and I walked hand in hand.

But in the end, he still let me down. Completely.

---

A divorce was inevitable.

I would be too kind-hearted to choose to stay by his side while he tried to save Sharon.

We hired lawyers to negotiate the division of assets, and the whole process was drawn-out and complicated.

It's almost laughable — when we first moved into this house, we had nothing. We built our life from scratch, doing everything ourselves.

And yet, back then, we were so happy, dreaming about the future every single day.

Now, years later, here we were, sitting across from each other with a long list of assets to divide, preparing to go our separate ways.

Oscar looked exhausted, sitting by the table, smoking a cigarette.

After everything was over, I stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air. I casually checked my phone and saw a message from an old classmate I hadn’t spoken to in ages. She had sent me a video, and her voice message was filled with hesitation.

"I've been debating whether to send you this for a long time. I didn't want to come between you and your husband, but I think there are some things you need to know."

In the video, I could make out the familiar setting of the restaurant from the reunion.

In the narrow emergency exit, two figures were intimately pressed against each other.

Sharon's voice was soft and sultry. "After all these years... did you ever think of me?"

Oscar's expression was tense, his hands gripping her shoulders.

Sharon continued, "Between me and Joelle, who's better?"

"We're married now," he replied.

"That boring woman... is she really the right one for you?"

Sharon leaned up and kissed him, boldly, without hesitation.

Oscar didn’t pull away.

When the kiss finally broke, Sharon clung to him, breathless and fragile, like a wounded bird finding shelter in his embrace.

She said, "Oscar, as long as my divorce goes smoothly, we can..."

“There is no ‘us,’” Oscar interrupted, his voice steady. “I have a commitment to Joelle.”

With that, he turned and headed toward the exit.

“Oscar!”

Tears streamed down Sharon's face as she called out from behind him, “All these years, I've thought about you every single day. I regret it! And what about you? Have you never once thought of me? Stop lying to yourself!”

Oscar’s footsteps came to an abrupt stop.

For a moment, amidst Sharon’s sobs, he suddenly turned around and walked back to her.

His eyes were red at the corners as he pinned Sharon against the wall and kissed her.

...

It was a full fifteen minutes before I finally returned to the room.

The lawyer had already left, and the room felt empty, with only Oscar remaining.

"Why were you in there for so long?" he asked, casually sorting through the documents on the table. "These are the finalized terms of the property division from this afternoon..."

Without even looking, I stood in the center of the room and slowly said, "I want the agreement redrafted. The house, the car... anything that’s considered joint property — I don’t want to leave a single cent to you."

Oscar froze.

He laughed bitterly in disbelief and asked, "Joelle, do you really have to make this so ugly? Seven whole years... When all of this is over, we can still be together, can’t we?"