He Showed Her Marks, I Asked for Divorce

Chapter 3

One month ago, I received an offer from a design firm in Berlin. It was the place I had dreamed of joining since my university days.

Back then, for Magnus, I gave up my guaranteed graduate recommendation and stayed in Vancouver to help him build his business.

Later, he became successful, but he told me, "Elara, you don't need to work anymore. I'll take care of you."

I believed him.

From then on, my world revolved entirely around him. But three months ago, I accidentally overheard him chatting with his friends at a private club.

"Mr. Rowe, Elara was a genius in the architecture department back then. You really can bear to let her stay home as nothing more than a decorative wife?" someone teased.

Magnus exhaled a ring of smoke and smiled casually. "A genius? There are plenty of geniuses out there. But there's only one of her," he added, "If I let her keep working, who knows whether a few more admirers like the ones back then will show up again? I don't have time to go to her company every day just to mark my territory."

"Mr. Rowe really raised his little songbird willingly."

Magnus shook his head. "She's my heart. Without her, I couldn't live. But the heart only needs to beat at home. It doesn't need to see the outside world."

I stood outside the door, my whole body turning cold. At that moment, I realized that his so-called love was a carefully planned prison.

I hid the Berlin offer and secretly began preparing everything. I contacted an overseas lawyer to handle the divorce agreement.

I took on a few freelance projects and saved enough money for my mother's medical treatment. I even found my mother's cousin in Berlin, and she agreed to take care of her.

And Magnus Rowe knew nothing about any of it. He was immersed in his own world, believing I would forever remain the Elara who would give up everything for him.

My phone rang again. It was a message from Magnus.

Magnus: Where are you? I'll send the driver to pick you up.

I didn't reply.

Another message arrived.

Magnus: Stop making trouble. You know I can't live without you.

I stared at the words and suddenly wanted to laugh.

He couldn't live without me the same way he couldn't live without the furniture in the house or the pillow on his bed.

That was habit, not love.

Real love is respect. It is letting someone become their fullest self. Not breaking their wings, locking them in a cage, and then expecting gratitude.

I turned off my phone and continued packing my luggage.

Outside the window was Vancouver's nights cape, neon lights flickering, its prosperity unchanged.

But I knew I no longer wanted to look at this sky.

Early the next morning, I received a call from Magnus' mother.

Her voice sounded exhausted. "Elara, come over for a moment. Magnus drank too much last night and kept calling your name."

I was silent for a moment. "Mom, we're already divorced."

She let out a cold laugh. "You believed it just because he signed a piece of paper? He's signed hundreds of contracts in his life. If he wants to take it back, he has a hundred ways to make it invalid."

I said, "That's his problem. The agreement has already been notarized. He can't go back on it."

The other end of the line suddenly fell silent.

After a long while, Mrs. Rowe finally spoke softly. "Elara, have you really thought this through? Magnus has always gotten everything he wanted since he was a child. He's never experienced what it feels like to lose something."

"Then you'd better let him get used to it sooner." I hung up the phone.