# 15
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For a moment, Eric was speechless.
He thought it over in his head again, Chloe's words, if he'd heard them right.
But this is what happened. She said that. Khloe just filed for divorce.
“What do you mean by divorce?”
Eric spoke slowly.
His facial expression showed how deeply moved he was, but Chloe didn't notice.
“Yes, I have already prepared the documents.”
Then she handed the neatly folded divorce papers to Eric.
As if the folded papers had been opened and closed several times, the edges of the documents were wrinkled.
This was proof enough that she had been keeping these things for a long time.
When he noticed this, Eric's expression stiffened and his breathing became ragged.
“I already signed it. All we need is your signature, and then we can submit it to the Supreme Court.”
Chloe explained what she had already prepared.
Yes, if these documents are submitted, the divorce will be approved after the ruling is issued. It won't take long.
It was unlikely that he would object to the divorce, just as he had previously left her without any hesitation. I even thought he might be happy.
So there should not be any complications in divorce. That's what Chloe thought.
But then…
“My wife, you must be crazy.”
Eric gritted his teeth and said this. His gray eyes sparkled with disturbing anger.
“You wouldn't say that if you were fully conscious.”
When Chloe saw Eric acting like this, she swallowed hard.
She didn't expect Eric to act this way. Her hand trembled, still holding the divorce papers.
“I am sane.”
Contrary to his claims, her voice was clear.
It was the same smart, clear voice he knew, and at this point Eric became even more agitated.
“If you really are, how can you bring up the divorce in front of me?”
“Why can't I?”
Chloe's chest tightened, but she straightened her stance and lifted her chin.
She couldn't understand Eric. Why was he angry? Wasn't this divorce good for him? But why…
Oh, was it maybe because of the money? Was he angry because he couldn't get back the money he spent on her family after their divorce?
As expected, the reason was money. Chloe finally understood why he was reacting this way.
“I will repay the money I borrowed. One way or another.”
Whether she borrowed that money from the royal family, or had to steal it from her mother's safe, she would pay him back in full one way or another.
Today, Chloe had a very bold idea. She'd go crazy if she didn't.
“If you give me some time, I'll prepare it, so—”
“It's not about the money!”
On the other hand, Eric felt like he was going crazy too.
He hated when noble Chloe's mouth came out of trivial matters such as financial matters.
"How many times do I have to explain to you that I don't need it! It's not something you should interfere with!"
“How could I not care?!”
As she screamed in response, Chloe was also surprised at herf for doing so. She took a deep breath, rubbing her chest.
“I keep living like this because of the money you say I shouldn't care about, and I bear it every day, so how can I not care when I'm still alive...”
What Chloe was going to say is that she has always been aware of these financial matters, but she was not given the right to do so.
“…You endure, you say.”
But Eric didn't accept that. No, he couldn't.
In the first place, this marriage only took place because of money. Because of this money, Chloe had no choice but to drift into this marriage.
And so, they faced each other, standing on their own paths, running endlessly, believing that they would meet one day.
But as they ran, they found that their paths were parallel. There was no way they could intersect.
That's why they had no choice but to blame the other. Neither of them understood. They didn't even want to understand.
This was probably the biggest problem they faced.
"my wife."
Eric took a step closer to Chloe.
“Chloe Aslan.”
She slowly raised her head, and her eyes met Eric's.
He looked into her eyes like that, his reflection trembling. What he saw was a mouse shivering in the rain.
Did he look human? Was he living as a human?
He asked himf, but there was no answer. He didn't think there would ever be an answer.
“Your name will remain Aslan forever.”
Eric snatched the documents out of Chloe's hand.
“Divorce, or something like that.”
He tore the documents in half.
“We can't do that. Never.”
* * *
“Fuck!”
Eric bit his lower lip hard as he violently loosened his tie. After opening a bottle, he poured some wine into a glass.
Thx. He lit a cigar and lay down on the couch.
Divorce. Let's break up.
Why?
This question echoed in his head. Why? Why did Chloe bring up the issue of divorce with him? Did he make a mistake?
He tried to recall his memories, but found nothing. He behaved with her as best he could.
She said that she did not like to stay in the capital, so he allowed her to stay in the north and left her enough servants.
She didn't seem to like being with him, so he tried to stay away from her as much as possible.
He loyally helped her family as she seemed concerned about their finances.
He did everything for her!
But why...divorce...
It was frustrating. He felt horribly betrayed.
Chloe's actions were unfair towards him.
He never imagined she would do something like this to him.
Was it really disgusting to marry someone of such lowly origin?
Are you tired of it now?
These thoughts were constantly flowing.
They were all thoughts that made him feel like he was about to lose his mind.
He wanted to go back and ask Chloe: Why do you want to divorce him?
But it was clear that Chloe wasn't going to answer.
She was good at hiding her thoughts, always maintaining her composure so as not to reveal her feelings on her face. It was impossible to even guess.
“Hoo…”
Eric leaned forward and put his face in his hands.
His right foot, the prosthetic, was squeaking as if it was asking for oil.
It was painful. It was very painful. He didn't know why the pain was so intense.
explosion!
He took out the prosthetic leg and threw it against the wall. What he saw in its place was a severed ankle.
But despite this, the pain did not go away.
The pain continued. He didn't know where it came from. The pain didn't go away.
It may never go away.
* * *
A few days simply passed like that.
The house was quiet.
As if there was no one inside.
Andrea, who was there to serve Chloe, didn't say a word. Chloe herf wasn't very talkative, so there was silence in the room.
The same applies to the lobby. It was not very busy because there were no other servants, so only the wind passed through it. The only sound audible was the sound of light raindrops hitting the ceiling.
Chloe hated this silence. It was stuffy. She felt like she was drowning under a vast, dark pool of water, barely breathing in the oxygen provided by the scattered air bubbles.
Fortunately, today was the day of the party. Andrea was busy preparing Chloe.
Chloe chose the dress she bought with Eric.
It was a pink Robe la Française dress with a redingot undergarment, accompanied by a beige hat. The hat was decorated with purple ribbons and pink carnations.
Chloe stared at the carnations hanging on the hat in her hands. In the language of flowers, it meant passionate love. This was not appropriate for the current situation at all...
At one time, she thought she would be able to love passionately. When she decided to marry Eric, she was thrilled to meet her first love again.
If she had known things would end this way, if she had known it would end in such a sense...
If I had known, would anything have changed?
Her father would still pressure her to get married, even if she tried to refuse. It was clear that her words would be ignored.
She will remain married either way. And you will live this life again. The only difference is that she will know how miserable this life is.
It's always been this way. She was never allowed to live her life properly.
She was always on a path dictated to her by someone else, urging her on until her feet bled.
Then in the end, even if she could no longer walk, she was not allowed to sit down to rest because she would be punished.
What could she do?
She couldn't breathe.
Chloe broke her nail without knowing it. She couldn't continue like this. She can no longer live like this.
She didn't know how to live, but she knew she couldn't do it anymore.
A few days ago, when she brought up the divorce topic with Eric, she wondered if she should have said that their time as a married couple was limited anyway. If she had said she was terminally ill, would he have signed the divorce papers?
But that is unlikely to happen. She knew he would get angry again, and Chloe feared his anger. His anger was always terrifying, just like her father's.
So she hid the truth about her illness.
Even if I talked about it anyway...
'I'm dying.'
Was it necessary to disclose her condition?
It wouldn't be so bad to die alone somewhere else after divorce, once you're gone.
So, without her husband knowing whether she was still alive or not...
Chloe laughed bitterly.
Then her eyes turned to the calendar hanging on the wall.
'Birthday...'
There's not much time left.
After glancing at the calendar, Chloe looked away and smiled.
It was so foolish of her to think, after bringing up the subject of divorce with him, that her husband would still hope to celebrate her birthday with her.
This is correct. It's always been this way.
She will be alone on her birthday. She will go out alone, walk around alone, eat something delicious alone, buy herf a gift alone...and then she will come back.
If she can try to do these things on her own this year, maybe it will be something she can be proud of.
Chloe smiled slightly as she vowed to do all this. After a long time, a sincere smile appeared on her lips.