Old Love Falls Apart

Irina let out a slight sigh of relief, but she still pretended to show concern. She said, "You go ahead and get checked. I'll come see you once I'm done with my work. Don't be stingy, use the best for everything."

I left, holding my head, ignoring her empty words. Since I resigned, Irina had taken complete control of the family finances. Every expense had to be approved by her.

She could spend hundreds of thousands on luxury goods for Chris without batting an eye, but when I bought a new pair of shoes, she verbally lashed out at me, "You, a freeloader, dressing up like this, who are you trying to seduce? I work hard to make money, not for you to waste! If it happens again, you can go out on the street and beg!"

Over the years, her harsh words had wrapped around me like a curse, causing me headaches and self-doubt.

But now, I finally understood, I deserve the best of everything. It was Irina who doesn't deserve me.

At the hospital, I was diagnosed with a mild concussion. I carefully followed the doctor's instructions and kept my medical records before going home to recover.

Irina, who had said she had prepared a gift to make up for things, suddenly messaged me in the evening, saying she had to go on a business trip.

She wrote: [I know you're not someone who complains. Back when you broke your leg helping me collect debts, you didn't even make a fuss. I'm sure you won't mind this time either.]

[Don't worry, I'll bring you a gift when I return.]

[I've also booked the best wedding photo package. If there's one you don't like, we'll retake it.]

I scrolled through our chat history. In ten years, this was the first time Irina had sent me so many messages.

Every other conversation was cold orders, telling me to do things for her. For her, this was already the extent of her humility.

In the past, I would have been thrilled, thinking I had finally melted the ice queen. But now, the only thing I cared about was how much I could get from the divorce.

While she was away, I spent my days going through the company accounts and her personal financial records. I printed every bit of evidence and sent it to my lawyer.

After several days of work, I finally had some free time. When I checked my phone, I found my feed flooded with Chris's posts. There were endless photos of him and Irina together.

They had gone on a beach vacation, with yachts and luxury cars, spending lavishly. His caption read, [Documenting the proof of our love.] I gave it a like and sent the evidence of their affair to my lawyer.

Judging by Chris's social media activity, they had already returned. But for some reason, Irina still hadn't come home.

On the scheduled day, my lawyer sent me all the documents. I checked the calendar and called Irina, "Are you coming home tomorrow?"

She reflexively lied, "There's a lot of work at the company …"

I didn't want to listen to her pathetic excuses, "Tomorrow is the anniversary of our baby's passing. You promised me you'd be there every year to pray." This had been our agreement.

At the time, I naively believed Chris's actions were accidental and that Irina was protecting him to preserve the company's reputation. Because of that, I hadn't pursued it further.

But now, it seemed that everything back then might have been a long-planned scheme.

Irina was silent for a moment before promising me, "You and our baby will always be the most important to me. No matter what, I'll be back tomorrow."

The next morning, I dressed in mourning clothes and went to the chapel. I waited throughout the entire ceremony, but Irina never showed up.

As I was leaving, I received a message from Chris: [She's pregnant and the baby is mine.]

[She'll never come back to you again.]

I blocked him immediately. Then, I took all the evidence and filed for divorce at the courthouse.

I also contacted the media to expose Irina's affair.