Leaving My Wife to Find the Best Version of Myself

After becoming pregnant, Karen used the excuse that I would disturb her rest to insist on sleeping in separate rooms. I knew she wanted to have a video chat with Leon alone. In the past, I would come up with various reasons to get her to stay with me in the living room, but today, I ignored her sitting on the sofa and went straight to my room to lie down.

I contacted a doctor friend I knew and sent them today’s test results. They replied quickly.

[Is she hospitalized? In this situation, she needs to be admitted immediately. The baby’s condition isn’t good. According to the report, she may need long-term hospitalization and observation.]

I briefly asked if the child would have any physical illnesses. My friend's chat box showed "typing..." for a long time and I understood. At that moment, I surprisingly felt a sense of relief, as if the last bit of emotional attachment and hope had faded away.

I exchanged a few words with my friend and finally told them that I was planning to persuade Karen to terminate the pregnancy while the baby was still small. I didn’t want the child to come into this world and suffer.

Just after I hung up, Karen came in, eyeing me suspiciously. “Who were you talking to?” she asked.

I ignored her and silently messaged a lawyer, asking them to draft a divorce agreement.

After hesitating for a while, Karen finally said, "Aren’t we chatting tonight?"

"No, I'm tired today."

I wasn’t sure why she suddenly came to me, but I was exhausted and didn’t want to say anything to her. Standing at the door, her face changed several times before she slammed the door and said, "Fine, no chat then."

That’s how she always was—hitting me with a stick, then offering a sweet treat afterward.

At first, I didn’t understand why she treated me with such hot and cold behavior until one day, I overheard her talking to Leon. Leon had said to her, "I'm a man too and I know men well. You can't treat him too nicely. Men are born to be lowly. Give them a little attention and they’ll light up like a star. Got it?"

Then, they both burst into laughter. Leon fell into her arms and she hugged him, saying, "But aren’t you a man, too? Should I not treat you too well either?"

"Get outta here. I’m not the same. If you treat me like that, watch out or I'll give you a beating." Leon wrapped his arm around her neck, their closeness unmistakable. Back then, I thought Karen took it as a joke. But I forgot, she always listened to Leon.

The next day, I sent Karen a message, asking her to meet me at a café so we could talk about divorce and the child.

By the time I had finished my second slice of cake, she finally arrived, fashionably late, with Leon by her side.

My eyes landed on their clasped hands and instead of letting go, Leon held on tighter. He greeted me carelessly, "Sorry we're late, Jordan. You know how women are—always fussing around when they're about to leave."

As he spoke, he casually shoved Karen into the booth’s left side, squeezing in next to her without hesitation. I watched coldly as Karen dutifully poured him water and ordered his favorite food.

Leon glanced at me and then wrapped his arm around her shoulder, teasing, "Karen, what's going on? Aren't you gonna order something for your husband, too?"

She looked up at me, just about to say something, but I cut her off. "No need. I’m full."

Karen froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting my coldness. Then, she took out a small jade pendant from her bag and placed it on the table. "This is for you. I know you like jade."

She looked very pleased with herself, as if expecting me to be grateful. I picked up the pendant, glanced at the matching rings on her and Leon’s hands and everything became clear to me.

The pendant came as a gift with the purchase of the rings. In other words, it was just a freebie.

I said casually, "No thanks. I have plenty of cheap stuff like this."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.