When Love Burned to Nothing

The day Ken Bowen and I finalized the divorce, I walked out wearing only the outfit I had worn on our wedding day.

I let Ken keep the house, the cars, the money, and the kids.

He looked genuinely surprised, then let out a mocking laugh.

"Are you sure about this? You raised the girls yourself, and you're just giving them up? If you really don't want anything, then you won't need to pay child support either. That's fair, right?"

I signed the papers without hesitation and said calmly, "Yeah. That's fair."

Ken paused, then slowly signed his name. "If you regret this later, you…"

I lifted a hand and cut him off. I didn't look back as I walked out.

Ken used to say I married him for money and status, that I used our three daughters to tie him down.

Whatever. The day he saw my dead body, he would finally understand.

I almost bolted out the door, as if I was running from something. To my surprise, Ken Bowen actually chased after me.

"Why are you in such a rush? It's cold out. You didn't even grab a proper coat."

He held out a fur coat. I shook my head and refused it. "No, thanks. You bought it with your money."

He froze for a few seconds, irritation and a hint of concern flashing in his eyes.

Normally, he would've snapped at me already. This time, his tone softened instead.

"I didn't finish what I was saying. If you regret this, you know where to find me."

Then he pressed something flat and cold into my palm.

"Your wish coin."

He deliberately squeezed my hand, as if everything was still under his control.

I closed my fingers around the wish coin, something I hadn't seen in years, and my emotions tangled into a mess.

When we first got married, he had 100 custom wish coins made, calling them rewards for me.

Back then, when things were good, I would get one every month and could trade it for a favor from him. Later, no matter how close I got to him or how hard I tried to please him, he stopped giving them to me.

For the past two years, I had kept trying like before, but I hadn't received a single coin.

I begged for one because I wanted to use it for a chance to be intimate with him.

He hadn't let me near him in a long time. Our relationship had gone cold little by little.

No matter what I did, Ken refused to give me a wish coin.

And now, right as we were divorcing, he handed me one like it was nothing.

It was almost funny.

Not long after I left, the house staff group chat blew up.

Several people tagged me at once.

[Mrs. Bowen, Ms. Carly is complaining about stomach pain. What medicine should we give her?]

[Mrs. Bowen, water spilled on Ms. Trista's piano. Do you have the manufacturer's customer service number?]

[Mrs. Bowen, does Ms. Queenie have an early learning class tomorrow?]

[Mrs. Bowen, Mr. Bowen went out drinking. How do you usually make his hangover soup?]

I sighed and patiently replied to each message.

At the end, I added one more line.

[Mr. Bowen and I are getting divorced. You'll need to handle these things from now on.]

I never put on airs at home, and I had always been close with the staff. Messages quickly came in, trying to talk me out of it.

[Couples fight sometimes. You and Mr. Bowen have three beautiful daughters. There's no need to go as far as divorce.]

[As long as you soften up and give in like you usually do, he won't hold it against you. Haven't things always worked out that way?]

They all thought this was like every other time, that if I lowered my head and compromised, Ken and I would make up again.

But this time was different.

I suddenly realized I didn't have a reason to keep loving him anymore.

[This time, it's real. Please take good care of the three girls from now on.]

The chat went quiet. After a while, someone finally replied.

[Mrs. Bowen, we've witnessed your love story from the very beginning. You two were inseparable. Why does it have to come to this?]

I gave a bitter smile.

Our marriage had already reached the point of no return.