Chapter Four

The day I left, Ethan's team had made another major breakthrough, and he was out of town giving an interview.

The interview was being livestreamed.

When the camera turned to Ethan, he said only one thing:

"I want to thank my wife, Emma."

The chat exploded instantly. Everyone was gushing about how much he adored his wife.

Sophie's smile looked a little forced, but she made it through the rest of the interview.

I turned off my phone and went to the airport.

Before I boarded, Ethan called.

Maybe this would be the last call.

The moment I picked up, I heard Sophie's cheerful voice on the other end.

"Professor, you're amazing!"

"Let's go celebrate tonight, okay?"

I hung up.

And boarded the plane.

...

On the other end of the line, Ethan instinctively covered his phone, afraid Emma would hear.

He hesitated, then nodded.

Sophie happily hugged his arm. "Okay, Professor, it's a date."

When Ethan looked back at his phone, he realized the call had already ended.

The day he got back to Boston,

Sophie hurried into his office in a panic with an express envelope.

"P-Professor, Mrs. Hale had this sent over."

"What is it?"

Ethan was puzzled, but he took it.

He tore it open.

His face changed instantly.

He slowly pulled out the papers inside.

The moment he saw what they were, the office went dead silent.

Sophie stammered, "...Mrs. Hale, wh-what does she mean by this?"

"Does she want a divorce?"

Ethan didn't hear a word.

He stared at the divorce agreement in his hands. Emma's signature was on it, along with a notary's seal.

He had never imagined Emma would actually divorce him.

Suddenly, his fingers brushed against something else in the envelope.

His heart lurched.

He knew what it was, but he couldn't believe it.

His hands trembling uncontrollably, Ethan tipped the envelope and let it fall out.

A silver ring.

A plain band, with nothing on it at all.

It was their... wedding ring.

When they first got married, they didn't have much money.

Emma's parents were against her marrying Ethan.

They thought that with his parents dead and a childhood spent living off relatives, he had nothing going for him except good grades.

Marrying him would mean nothing but hardship.

Emma didn't listen. Without telling her parents, she dragged him down to City Hall and they got married.

When it came time to pick rings, everyone else looked at diamonds. Only Emma chose this plain band, the cheapest one there.

Ethan didn't want her to, but Emma pretended to be angry.

"When you're making money someday, you can buy me an expensive one. Isn't that good enough?"

In that moment, Ethan's eyes had turned red.

He'd promised Emma he would be good to her for the rest of his life.

And now, Emma wanted a divorce.