Chapter 1: Divorce for Show, Tears for Real

Shawna Lin’s adult son was at it again. Another tantrum.

It was the kind of fit that would make anyone want to roll their eyes, but Shawna just shrugged, like this was all in a day’s work. Her heels clicked across the hardwood. Sunlight filled the office as she came over to me. Honestly, it felt routine.

She handed me the divorce papers.

The crisp legal envelope felt cold and heavy in my hands. No mistaking what this was. I looked down at it, the words all too clear. Shawna didn’t flinch; her nails tapped on the table, impatient, but she was smiling.

"Sign it. Just for show. Play along for his sake."

Her tone was breezy, almost amused. As if we were planning a prank. Not the end of a marriage. I clenched my hands tight and nodded, swallowing hard.

I quietly signed my name. What else could I do?

The pen felt heavier than it should have, my signature a little shaky. My name—Jack Quinn—looked strange on the line. Like it belonged to someone else. I didn’t dare look up at her.

I froze at the door. As I was leaving, I overheard her friends teasing:

"Your husband’s way too obedient, isn’t he? If you told him to go get the paperwork, he’d probably do it without a word, right?"

Their laughter drifted through the frosted glass. I paused in the hallway, heart pounding. I could almost picture their painted nails waving in the air, the way they always did at brunch.

Shawna took a satisfied sip of her latte, the cup warm in her hands.

She always liked her coffee a little too sweet. The steam curled around her lips as she smirked at her friends.

"Wanna bet?"

There was that cocky edge to her voice. The same tone she used when she cleaned up at poker night. She was in her element, loving every minute of the attention.

They bet that a month from now, at the county courthouse, I’d be ugly-crying and still doing as I was told—trading a marriage license for divorce papers.

I held my phone, silent.

I replied to the message I’d just gotten:

[Can’t you just marry me?]

"Sure."

[Huh?]

The reply came almost instantly.

I turned off my phone.

The laughter inside kept going.

"Deal! If your husband’s really that obedient, I’ll pay for everyone’s spa next month!"

"Three months," Shawna said.

"Alright, alright!"

The place erupted in noise.

I walked out, hollowed out. Empty.

I held it together until I stepped outside. The sun stabbed my eyes, and then the tears wouldn’t stop.

The city sidewalk was hot beneath my shoes. The world spun as I tried to hold it together. But the tears kept coming, blurring the traffic, the blue sky above.