The wine kicked in so hard that he slumped onto the sofa, overwhelmed with difort. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep and slipped into a nightmare.

In the nightmare, Maureen, covered in blood, smiled at him, “Geoff, I don’t love you anymore.”

It was dawn when he woke with a start.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, washed up, changed into a sleek suit, and headed to the courthouse when it was about time.

At the entrance of the courthouse.

From afar, he saw Maureen standing under a tree, still in her light gray outfit.

She looked so frail in the drizzle that he almost wondered if a gust of wind might blow her over.

What happened to the woman, the one he married, who used to have such sunlit vitality? The person he was staring at was no different from a walking corpse.

Holding an umbre, he walked toward her.

It took Maureen a while before she spotted him.

Time had clearly favored him. Those three years had done little to alter him, and he was just as handsome and dash- ing as ever. The only change was that he had be much more mature and poised.

Gazing at him, she was in a trance. Three years copsed into a single heartbeat, yet somehow stretched into the weight of a whole lifetime.

Standing in front of her, he looked at her coldly, waiting for her apology.

She had thrown a tantrum for so long. Time to call it a stop.

To his surprise, she said, “Sorry for keeping you away from work. Let’s go inside.”

His expression froze for a second before darkening.

“Don’t regret it.”

After saying this, he entered the courthouse.

Looking at his retreating back, she felt bitter.

Would she regret it?

She had no idea.

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The staff asked them if they were certain about getting a divorce.

She said firmly, “Yes.”

Her resolution made Geoffrey’s heart sink.

Soon, the paperwork was finalized. Because of the cooling–off period, they’d have toe back in a month.

If they didn’t show up by then, the divorce application would be automatically voided.

They walked out of the courthouse.

Maureen looked at Geoffrey, her gaze calmer than ever. “See you next month. Take care.”

With that, she stepped into the rain, hailed a cab, and left.

Standing in ce, Geoffrey stared as the cab vanished into the distance, ovee with indescribable emotions.

It was probably relief.

After all, he could get rid of her from now on. No one would everugh at him again for having a disabled wife.

***

In the cab.

Maureen rested her head against the car window, lost in thought as she watched the raindrops trickle down.

Through the rearview mirror, the driver caught sight of a trail of blood streaming from her ear.

Startled, he called out, “Ma’am? Ma’am!”

But she had no response.

He pulled over at once.

Maureen was confused because they hadn’t arrived at the destination yet.

She instinctively looked at the driver. His lips were moving, but no sound reached her. Only then did she realize that once again, her hearing had vanished.

“What did you say? I can’t hear you. I’m sorry.”

The driver typed to tell her about the blood.

In a daze, she slowly extended her hand and felt the warm blood.

She was used to it.

“It’s fine. It happens to me a lot. Don’t worry about it.”

She had hearing loss, but initially, her ear wouldn’t bleed.

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Until two years ago, Sean pushed her into a swimming pool at a party.

She couldn’t swim. Her eardrums swelled, and she nearly died.

Thankfully, she was rushed to the hospital in time. After that incident, the bleeding started.

Although it was initially cured, it recently rpsed for some reason.

Still worried, the driver took her to the nearest hospital.

After thanking him, she entered the exam room.