(Serena's POV).
I was shocked when I saw a paper with the title "Divorce Agreement" he gave me just now.
He had just returned after two years of not coming home, and now he came home with news that made my chest tight.
I sighed, staring at the letter with a heart that felt the pain without him knowing how I felt for him all this time.
"You're home," I said, showing that I was fine.
"Yeah. For that thing," he replied.
Oh, of course, for that thing.
"Sign it because that's best for us. I want to make Mona happy for the rest of her life. Our agreement is done."
I wasn't surprised anymore when he mentioned her name, because that's what it looked like in the media. Evan Smith went with his girlfriend, Mona Blake, to the wedding dress shop.
How could he have such a heart without thinking about his wife's heart?
However, I also shouldn't have been surprised by the divorce papers because I realized that he wouldn't be looking at me but at her.
Three years of marriage and two years of never coming home made it impossible for me not to love him. Because this feeling has been there since before this secret marriage happened.
Now his return was what I wanted, but I never dared to say it. But his return also made my heart tremble because what I saw was a paper waiting for me to sign.
"Why are you just quietly looking at that paper? Don't you want to sign it?" he asked, startling me out of my heartache reverie.
"I have no pen. Do you have it?" I showed him that I would be fine without him and that this divorce was nothing to me.
Evan looked shocked by my reaction. What exactly did he expect my reaction to be anyway? I could see his expression.
Since there was no answer, I reached for the pen on the table while letting out my breath without him seeing. Then I went back to sign it in front of him without hesitation.
"It's done," I said.
"Why don't you read first, Serena?" he asked in surprise.
I shrugged my shoulders, showing my feigned indifference. "I don't have to because I just have to sign, right? It's about time we got divorced anyway. There's no property, as per the agreement."
But Evan shook his head and held the paper up to my face. "I want you to read it carefully."
My eyes blinked at that moment, and I focused properly on reading the contents of the divorce papers.
Then my eyes widened in surprise because it was written that Evan Smith gave me some of his possessions, such as a house, a car, and also some money.
Hehe, apparently he was still thinking about my fate after this, huh?
I immediately shook my head while looking at him. "Don't do this. You've given a lot and helped my sister get treatment until she passed all her critical times, Evan. I don't deserve all that you've given me. Three years was already enough for me."
"That's fair enough for you to have been my wife for the past three years."
"But it's all a secret marriage," I responded.
Evan then sighed in frustration as he heard me continue to counter his remarks with facts that were real.
"Just accept it, Serena."
I took a breath and let it out. "Okay, and thank you," I finally replied.
Surprisingly, I didn't see him sign the blank part. Could it be that he was going to sign it in front of her as proof? Maybe.
Anyway, arguing with him about this had never happened during my marriage to him. Because my relationship with him was just black-and-white.
No love, no sex, just help.
It sounded hard to me, but his favors did mean more to me than love and sex, because for me, the latter two were bearable.
"Since I came home for this and I'm hungry, make me some food, and we'll eat together," he ordered.
"Okay."
I didn't think I ever lost the word 'okay' in my dictionary. Because every time he ordered, I always responded with that one word.
It was like I was always okay with all these things when they were related to him.
In the kitchen, I started preparing the ingredients because I wanted to make his favorite dish, which was chicken curry with mashed potatoes and some vegetables. He liked that a lot.
For a moment, every cut of the knife that I moved made my tears accumulate until they fell.
It seemed like I was too strong to endure this pain until, when I was alone, I sucked at holding back tears.
I stared at the whole kitchen; it was a kitchen full of memories because, even though Evan never came home for two years, in the first year of our marriage, he often made me something to taste.
He never complimented my cooking, but he always finished it without any leftovers, even with a full mouth, which made me suspect he liked my cooking.
In an hour, the food I cooked was finally served on the dining table, where it was ready to eat.
I realized that this meal was the last meal for him. This meal was also a sign that he had originally filed divorce papers when he had just returned home, and I had signed them.
"Since you're still my wife since I haven't signed for me, may I ask you a favor?"
I nodded while gulping down a glass of mineral water. "I'll do anything for you in every last moment, Evan."
He looked at me with tension. "Tomorrow, come with me to meet Mona and—"
"I have to confess that I have a boyfriend. Got it."
Evan looked shocked when I cut him off and connected him to what he was about to say.
He finally nodded and sighed. "Turns out, you know what my mind was going to say."
I smiled at him and showed that this three-year marriage was nothing to me, just like he thought it was.
"Are you sure you don't have something to say to me, Serena?" he asked, sounding hesitant.
I shook my head emphatically. "I have nothing to say, Evan."
"Does being divorced from me make it easier for you to live your normal life?"
I nodded without hesitation. There was no way I could tell him that it wasn't what I wanted. Because being married to him was a dream for me, a dream that came true although it had expired.
But I knew that Evan didn't feel what I felt until I also realized that this was all just the price I had to pay for him helping me.
"Why do you ask that, Evan?" I asked curiously.
"Just out of curiosity because you signed that letter so easily without even hesitating and without reading it first."
"That's because you gave me the papers, Evan. What did you expect from me when you gave me the divorce papers? I will beg you to think about this twice. Because I don't think you would do that."