Chapter 4
In the end, following that day at the airport, the already distant marriage between Jasmine and me seemed to become even more estranged.
The Gunner family had a long-standing tradition of gathering at church for a New Year prayer service.
Patrick had been under the weather for several days, and Jasmine's mother, the deeply traditional Fiona Miller, looked at me and said, "I'm afraid an outsider has brought negative energy into this family and disrupted our peace, so we'll need the priest to perform a cleansing."
Jasmine stood to the side, her expression completely indifferent.
I laughed bitterly. "Are you really just going to stand by and let your family treat me like this, Jasmine?"
Jasmine simply averted her gaze and said, "It's for Patrick's health and for our family's sake—as a gesture to invite good fortune."
It was supposed to be a simple prayer service, but the moment I tried to resist, they overpowered me and dragged me aside, with several people holding me and forcing me to my knees on the stone floor.
They sprinkled holy water over me and began reciting prayers. They then brought out thin rods and struck me repeatedly; the stinging pain spread through my body as their prayers continued uninterrupted.
It wasn't long before thick rods were brought out. I could feel my nose stinging from the urge to cry, but I gritted my teeth and remained completely silent. I knew that no one there cared about my pain; crying would have just made me a laughingstock.
In the end, I was too numb to even feel the pain. I could only feel warm blood slowly trickling down my back.
I had originally planned to talk to Jasmine when returning to Harborough. Mom and Dad had asked why we still didn't have children after so many years, so I wanted to ask her if she had grown to love me at all and if we could have a child together to build our home properly.
I suddenly felt thankful I hadn't asked her yet.
I could still hear Jasmine gently soothing Patrick from outside. Patrick then suggested going home since the prayers were done, which Jasmine promptly agreed to.
Their family came and went in a warm, affectionate display.
In that moment, the wind whipping up the edge of her skirt completely extinguished the flickering flame in my heart.
It turned out that all those years of memories took only a few brief moments to look back on. I withdrew my gaze from Jasmine and the ceramic shards beside her. "Is it all settled now? Can I leave now?"
…
I was jolted awake from a light sleep again. It took me a while to realize what was happening—Jasmine's friends were teasing Patrick about when he'd get married and whether they should set him up with someone.
They didn't expect that it would actually send Patrick over the edge.
Patrick roared in his raspy voice, "I don't want to get married. I don't want to leave Jasmine!"
He then looked at Jasmine and said, "You said you would marry me when you grew up. You're lying to me, Jasmine. I don't want anyone else but you, so let me stay by your side forever, Jasmine…"
Those present looked completely uncomfortable, not knowing how to respond.
I was so amused by the spectacle that I couldn't help but speak up, my voice sounding clear and bright. "I'm fine with that. Why don't you have your sister divorce me and marry you instead? How does that sound?"
Jasmine snapped her head around to look at me, staring for a long time before she seemed to realize something. "I'll hand you the divorce agreement in a short while, so you'd better clear out and make room for Patrick as soon as possible, Henry."
She handed me the divorce agreement ten minutes later. She tapped them and said, "It was drawn up the day I got married—you certainly didn't let it go to waste, Henry."
I suppressed that ill-timed sorrow in the depths of my heart and carefully signed my name on the agreement.
Jasmine leaned on Patrick and walked away, glancing at me with her usual indifference just before leaving. "I hope you hold out longer this time and don't come begging me again, Henry."
I heard that Jasmine's friends had set up a wager, betting on how long it would take for me to go to Jasmine and beg for reconciliation this time. I put it behind me as if I had heard a joke. I left Harborough after waiting for quite some time, and the day I departed was marked by fine weather.
…
Third-Person's POV
Just as Henry's plane took off, Jasmine pushed open her office door. She then turned to Jesse Cobb, her assistant, and said, "I'm going to look for Henry."
She sounded somewhat impatient while asking, "Does he honestly believe that marriage and divorce are like playing house? If he thinks he can just pester me into marrying him again, it's not going to be that easy."
Jesse wavered, her lips twitching as if she wanted to say something. "Mr. Henderson has already left, Ms. Gunner. He handed me these things to give to you before he left. He said they're for your birthday."
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