Regretting the Divorce? Too Late

"Ruby, I think Wilbur's a good guy. He's young, energetic, and sensible. Why don't you try dating him for a while?"

I recognized that voice immediately. It belonged to my mother-in-law, Cordelia Smith.

"His parents are both gone, so you won't have to worry about dealing with in-laws in the future. On top of that, he has a healthy lifestyle. He doesn't smoke or drink, and he's good-looking. If you two have kids someday, they will definitely be beautiful.

"At the very least, he's better than that useless Francis. You've been married for years and still don't have a child. Is he incapable or something?"

My steps halted right outside the door. Through the crack, I saw Ruby fall silent.

After about two seconds, she bit her lip and said, "I've been married to Francis for so many years. I can't just get a divorce now."

She didn't explain to Cordelia that the reason we didn't have any kids was that she said she didn't want them. She also failed to mention that when we first got together, I kept to a regular schedule and never smoked or drank either.

I only learned to drink later on for the sake of the company's development. And because of the pressure from work, I picked up the habit of smoking.

Before I even had time to process my hurt feelings, there came the frosty voice of my father-in-law, Asher Irving.

"Why can't you divorce him?" he asked. "Plenty of people get divorced these days. With your current status, you can easily find someone better than Francis anywhere you go."

Cordelia nodded eagerly. "Francis hasn't achieved anything on his own. He's living off the salary you give him. It's embarrassing for me to even bring it up."

As she spoke, she even covered her mouth dramatically in sorrow.

Asher sneered, "If you ask me, it's all your fault. I didn't agree with their marriage in the first place. You were the one who insisted on it and even accepted Francis' money. What was the point of having Ruby get married so early?"

"Oh, now you're blaming me?" Cordelia shot back angrily. "Why didn't you say that when you were drunk and sang praises about what a good son-in-law he was?"

Seeing that the two of them were about to start bickering again, Ruby frowned and said, "If all you're going to do is argue, get out of my house."

Only then did they quiet down.

I let out a derisive laugh. As expected, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Back then, I had invested money and effort to help Ruby start her business. Whenever I visited them on holidays, I had also bought them precious jewelry and expensive wine.

Ruby's parents had held my hands and praised me for being a good man with a strong sense of responsibility. They had said they felt absolutely at ease entrusting Ruby to me.

A few years had passed since then. Now that Ruby's net worth had shot up and the company was thriving, they thought I was no longer good enough for her.

I didn't linger outside any longer. I pushed the door open and walked in.

The sound drew their attention. All three of them turned to look at me at the same time.

Asher and Cordelia froze. Ruby's expression stiffened, and a fleeting look of panic passed her features.

Then, she snapped out of it and frowned as she asked, "Francis, why are you here? It's working hours right now! Did you skip work again?"

Upon hearing that, it was my turn to be stunned for a moment. Then, I couldn't help but laugh.

Did she not know that I had already resigned? Just how little attention did she pay to me?

Whenever Wilbur encountered even the smallest problem at work, Ruby would notice it within an hour and help him resolve it. I had already been gone from the company for two days, and she had personally approved my resignation. But then, she seemed genuinely clueless about it.

"I've already resigned," I said frankly.

"Resigned?" Ruby's frown deepened.

But Asher seemed to suddenly realize something. He glared at me angrily and scolded, "Have you lost your mind, Francis? How can you resign now and leave Ruby to handle the company alone? Are you even a man?"

Cordelia finally reacted after getting over her initial shock.

She shrieked, "You've been living off my daughter and enjoying the salary she paid all this time. Now, you're planning to freeload even more? Do you really have no shame?"

I ignored them and looked at Ruby.

As expected, she had no intention of asking why I had resigned.

She merely glanced at me with disdain and said matter-of-factly, "Francis, let me make this clear. You can resign if you want, but I'm not going to support you. From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself."

I laughed out loud at that.

Just as I was about to say something, Wilbur hurried out of the bedroom. "Ruby, what's going on? Am I hearing things, or did Francis resign?"

I'd been mentally prepared, so seeing Wilbur here didn't surprise me at all. Instead, it gave me a sense of clarity that things were just as I had expected.

A slightly diffident look flashed across Ruby's eyes for a moment as she explained, "Wilbur lives very far away from the airport. He's been exhausted these past few days, so I let him rest here first."

"That's right, Francis," Wilbur said. "Sorry for disturbing. I know you're angry at me. I brought you some gifts as an apology. I hope you'll let it go and not hold it against me."

As he spoke, he took out a bouquet of white lilies from behind him and handed it to me.

I glanced at it indifferently. These were the exact same flowers I had seen in his Instagram post earlier. I had seen him put it on his deceased family member's grave.

I found it rather amusing. "Does your family have the habit of giving people flowers you have offered to the dead?"

Ruby snapped immediately, "What's your problem, Francis? Why are you being so crude? And what do you mean by that? Wilbur picked these out especially for you."

Wilbur stepped forward and gently patted her back to comfort her.

He sounded aggrieved as he said, "Don't be mad, Ruby. It's understandable that Francis doesn't like what I brought. It's just that I'm not that rich. Actually, I wanted to get him something more valuable…"

"Why give him anything at all? A snob like him doesn't deserve it," Cordelia said, glaring at me.

She took the lilies from Wilbur and smiled kindly at him as she said, "It's fine. I like your gift. I'll take it. These flowers are beautiful."

Asher had a stern expression on his face as he said, "I'll be straightforward with you, Francis. You haven't improved at all over the years. You're no longer worthy of Ruby. I think you should let her go."

A calculating glint flashed in Wilbur's eyes, but he quickly put on a regretful expression. "Mr. and Mrs. Irving, don't say that. Francis and Ruby are such a perfect match. It's such a pity if they get divorced. Ruby, say something."

Ruby let out a long sigh and walked up to me. "Francis, you've gone overboard this time. Still, we've been married for seven years, so it's not like I must divorce you. As long as you apologize to Wilbur and lend this house to him for a while—"

"That won't be necessary," I interrupted calmly, having already guessed that she would say something along those lines.

Then, I handed the divorce certificate to her and announced, "We're already divorced."