A Glass of Water After the Drink, I Got Divorced

My wife's classmate came to visit us, and that night he drank quite a bit.

Regina said he'd had too much to drink and had no one to look after him at a hotel, so she set him up in the guest room.

He threw up, and she patted his back and cleaned up the mess.

Then she made a point of going downstairs to the pharmacy to buy glucose for him to drink, and thoughtfully set a glass of warm water on the nightstand.

This was treatment I'd never once gotten after being drunk.

Watching all of this made my stomach churn, not just from the alcohol, but from real, physical nausea.

I rushed toward the bathroom, but behind me came Regina's cold voice.

"When you're done throwing up, clean up after yourself. Don't gross me out."

Thinking of how she'd looked after her classmate earlier only made me more nauseous.

When I came out of the bathroom, she'd taken my pillow and blanket and tossed them on the sofa.

"You sleep in the living room."

"I can't stand the smell of alcohol on you."

Can't stand it? Then don't.

I was about to say something when my stomach seized up in a sharp spasm.

I crouched down, clutching my stomach.

She just glanced at me once and went back into the bedroom.

I don't like drinking, but work functions make it unavoidable.

In the past, when I drank too much, I was either locked outside or left to throw up and clean up after myself.

And that guest room where her classmate stayed used to be where I slept after drinking.

But... there was never any warm water on that nightstand.

Because I always had to drink for work, I'd talked with my wife a long time ago about quitting my job and starting some small business of my own.

She was against it.

I didn't want to drink today either. My stomach had been bothering me for the past couple of days, and I was still on medication.

She knew that, but she said her classmate was visiting, and if I didn't drink with them, it would be an insult.

My stomach hurt more and more, so I called out to her.

"All you do is drink, day after day. Might as well drink yourself to death." The voice from the bedroom was colder still.

I don't know how long the pain lasted, or when I finally fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, it was already nine o'clock. I was lying on the floor, and no one else was home.

It wasn't the first time my stomach trouble had flared up, and it wasn't the first time I'd slept on the floor.

But because we had a child, and there was no real dealbreaker, I'd kept enduring it, thinking I'd give my child a whole family.

Yet after watching her take care of her classmate the day before, I didn't want to endure it anymore.

I was just about to reach out to her to bring up the divorce when I opened my phone and saw a few red dots.

They were pictures and texts her classmate Silas Perry had sent in the early hours of the morning.

Regina told me you like watching the sunrise. I really envy that you get to enjoy such a beautiful sunrise together with her.

I wanted to call you to come watch it too, but you were sleeping so soundly I didn't want to disturb you.

This is today's sunrise. Regina and I watched it for you.

I really do like watching the sunrise. I love the romance of it, and I've always wanted to watch a sunrise with the person I love.

We'd been married all these years, and she'd never watched one with me.

In the photos Silas Perry sent, she was smiling brightly on the beach, striking all kinds of poses against the sunrise.

I casually opened her classmate's social media feed, where there were already photos and captions posted.

They say only couples who've watched a sunrise together are truly complete.

Thank you for giving me this romance.

The picture was the backs of two people sitting on the sand watching the sunrise, leaning in close.

Romantic?

I stared at the photo and decided to make this a little more romantic.

I booked the earliest flight to Silas Perry's city.

Every year, Regina Simmons sent Silas the local specialties from our area.

She said Silas was already married, and to avoid any misunderstanding, she always sent them to him under my name.

That was how I knew Silas's address.

Silas found that sunrise romantic. I wondered whether his wife found it romantic too.

I met Silas's wife. She was short and dark-skinned.

But the clothes she wore were worth a fortune, she lived in a large detached villa, and there was a Cullinan parked in her open garage.

She had money, Silas was handsome, and their marriage was one where he'd married into her family.

And in his wife's mind, I was Silas's old classmate.

"Silas is away on a business trip. I'll call him right now," his wife said gently.

"Let me call him instead. We'll take a picture together and surprise himproof that I came to the house."

I sent him the photo of me and his wife.

Romantic?

Silas called immediately. "Henry, what's your point?"

"Silas, I've got you on speaker."

His tone changed at once. "Henry, you should've given me a heads-up before showing up at my place."

"Wanted to surprise you, didn't I?"

"You wait at home. I'm heading back right now. I have to be a proper host."

"I'm not keeping you from anything?"

"With our friendship, saying that would be too distant. Enough talk, I'm going to book my ticket."

On the phone, Silas and I sounded like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

When Silas and I met, his face was dark.

"Henry, are you really this petty? It's just one photo. Do you have to go this far?"

"Regina and I are classmates. Is it a crime for us to watch a sunrise together?"

"I'm not exactly big-hearted, true. Is your wife?" I stared at him. "How about we let your wife see this romantic photo?"

"Doing that won't do you any good. Just say ithow much compensation do you want?"

"My material desires are very low."

"Quit pretending. With the chump change you earn, what the hell do you mean, low desires? If your desires were high, what could you even afford?"

"Two hundred thousand dollars. I don't want my wife to know about this photo. If you think you can hold this photo over me, then don't paygo ahead and send it to my wife."

I didn't respond to that, I just stated a fact. "That room you stayed in yesterday is where I usually sleep after I've had too much to drink."

He shot me a glance. "What, you want me to pay the rent?"

"When I drink too much, there's no one to look after me, no warm water on the nightstand."

"You're a useless piece of trash who can't even handle his own woman, and you want to pin it on me?"

I just kept to my statement. "But I always held on to the fantasy that Regina didn't really not care about me, so I installed a hidden camera in that room."

"Every time I drank too much, the next day I'd check the footage to see whether she'd shown me any concern during the night."

I stared at Silas. His face had already gone somewhat pale.

"Yesterday it recorded something. I don't know if your wife has the heart to tolerate this kind of thing."

"Why don't you take a look first."

I pushed the phone over.

Yesterday, after I fell asleep on the cold floor, Regina went into the guest room.

Everything that happened inside was recorded clearly.

"Is your wife really that big-hearted?" I stared at him.

Silas's face was pale.

I spoke again. "I hear that when you got married, your father-in-law said something. That his daughter has no divorce in her future, only widowhood."

"Could that actually come true?"

Silas's hand trembled without his meaning it to.

He shakily picked up his water glass and gulped down a big mouthful.

"Henry, everything can be worked out. She's just a woman. There's no need to sour things between us."

"I've got money. Name your price."

I only stared at him in silence.

"One million."

"No... two million..."

He kept raising the number, sweat breaking out on his face.

"Ten million dollars. Any more than that, Henry, and my wife will get suspicious. I really can't come up with more."

"Looks like your father-in-law was right. His daughter really could be widowed."

With that, I stood up to leave.

"Henry..."

"Sir..."

Silas took a few quick steps, ran up in front of me, and dropped to his knees. "I promise I'll cut off all contact with Regina. I swear."

He kept slapping his own face. "I know I was wrong. Give me a chance, and from now on I'll work like an ox for you."

I patted his head. "Short dramas are really hot lately. I'm thinking of producing one. You put up the money. As for the profits..."

"I understand, I understand... short dramas have high returns, but the risk isn't small either. If it loses money, I'll eat the loss."

"Good, you get it."

Over the next few days I stayed in the area, working out every detail of the contract.

Once I'd confirmed there were no problems, I had Silas transfer the payment and sign the contract.

When I left, Silas saw me off at the airport, bowing and scraping like a dog.

Only after I assured him I wouldn't hand the video over to his wife did his expression ease a little.

As the saying goes, it takes two hands to clap. Without Silas, there would be some other Silas or another to take his place.

The biggest problem was Regina.

Sitting on the plane, I thought about how to let Regina taste a little of this kind of romance.

The moment I got off the plane, Regina called.

"It's payday. Why haven't you transferred the money yet?"

She doesn't care where I've been these past few days, and she has no idea how my health is.

But she never once forgets when I get paid.

"Our tenth wedding anniversary is in three days. I wanted to hold on to this money and surprise you that day."

"Get the money for the surprise from your parents. Your salary has to be handed over."

For ten years, I've handed over my salary every single month, and I could never get a single cent of it back.

If I ever truly needed money, I'd either borrow from a friend or ask my parents.

I honestly wonder how I endured these past ten years. For the sake of her surprise, I decided to endure it one last time.

After ending my call with Regina, I called the company's legal counsel, wanting to consult with him privately about a few things.

As it turned out, he was away on a business trip with his boss, so he arranged for a friend of his in the legal field to meet with me instead.

I never expected the person who showed up to be an old classmate.

In a business suit, she was the very picture of a sharp legal professional.

Facing an old classmate, I found it hard to get the words out.

"Divorce?" She was the one to break the silence first.

"My cousin told me about your situation. You consulted him about it last year. Your daughter is eight this year, so she has the right to choose for herself."

"If you and your wife divorce, as long as your daughter chooses to live with you, I can help you win custody."

Since my old classmate had already guessed I wanted a divorce, I didn't hold anything back and laid out the whole thing.

Over the next two days, she stayed with me the whole time as we prepared all the paperwork.

Now everything was in place; all we needed was the right moment.

Before I knew it, the day of my tenth wedding anniversary with Regina arrived.

Three days earlier I'd sent out the invitations, inviting family and friends to come witness the romance that was ours.

Today happened to fall on the weekend, and some of Regina's distant relatives, learning that I was covering their round-trip travel costs, hurried over too.

I booked the best hotel in the city and reserved one of its grand halls.

The atmosphere at the hotel was lively.

I'd even had a gown custom-made just for Regina.

The instant Regina and I stepped into the room, thunderous applause broke out.

"Simmons, your Regina is so lucky, finding herself such a good man."

"Simmons, a son-in-law like yours is one you couldn't find even with a lantern. All these years he's not only been good to Regina, he's been just as good to you two."

Her parents were grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, just look at how outstanding my daughter is. How many girls are as pretty as her?"

Regina's parents beamed under the praise and envy of the relatives and friends.

Countless envious eyes turned toward Regina, and she couldn't help but lift her chin, linking her arm through mine, her whole face smiling.

"I love this surprise."

"But... where did you get this kind of money? Once the banquet's over, you'd better explain it to me."

I didn't respond, and led Regina all the way up onto the stage.

I took the microphone. "There's so much I want to say, but I'm not good with words, so I recorded all the little moments of these past years."

"Everyone, please look at the big screen. This is the road Regina and I have traveled to get here."

"Simmons, your son-in-law is so thoughtful, even recording their life on video."

Her mother said proudly, "That's what they mean when they say the one who cares doesn't need to be taught, and the one who doesn't can't be."

But no sooner had she finished than her face froze.