Chapter 1No Longer Waiting for You to Change

On Christmas Day, Dad shows up at my wife Sophia Walker's law firm, covered in snow.

Clutching a crumpled land purchase contract, he stands awkwardly in front of her desk for a long time before finally gathering the courage to speak.

"Sophia, I got scammed out of 30 thousand dollars in retirement savings when I bought a plot of land to be buried in. You're a lawyer. Could you take a look at the contract and see if there's any way I can get my money back?"

Sophia specializes in contract disputes, but she doesn't even bother to glance at the document. Instead, she sweeps it off her desk and onto the floor.

"You came to me over a 30-thousand-dollar scam involving a burial plot? I have actual clients waiting. I can't waste billable hours on this."

Dad flinches at her words and hurriedly bends down to pick up the contract, apologizing over and over. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to bother you. I won't take up any more of your time. I'll figure something out myself."

My heart aches at the sight.

Then my gaze falls on the case files scattered across Sophia's desk. Right on top is a legal brief arguing for an acquittal in Ethan Cole's aggravated assault case.

Ethan is her childhood sweetheart. He's gotten into a bar fight and broken three of a woman's ribs.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Sophia has spent the entire night poring over legal statutes and drafting more than 30 pages of arguments in an attempt to get him acquitted.

Yet when it comes to her father-in-law, she can't even be bothered to look at his contract.

I watch Dad shuffle toward the door, his back hunched and his shoulders slumped. Taking a deep breath, I slowly slide the wedding ring off my left ring finger and place it on the corner of Sophia's desk.

* * *

The moment the ring touched the desk, my wife Sophia Walker's phone rang. Ethan Cole's name lit up the screen. He was her childhood sweetheart.

The impatience on Sophia's face vanished instantly, replaced by a tenderness I rarely got to see.

"Don't worry, Ethan. I'm handling your case personally. I'm already on the fifth draft of your defense. Everything's going to be fine."

Her voice held a patience and tenderness she rarely showed me.

Ethan's hearty laughter came through the phone, and Sophia smiled in response. Meanwhile, the wedding ring I'd placed on her desk sat right in front of her, yet she hadn't spared it a single glance.

My dad, Edward Morgan, had no idea what was happening. All he saw was Sophia talking on the phone, and he seemed to think he'd interrupted something important.

He cautiously stepped back, but the melting snow dripping from his umbrella had already left a small, dark stain on the expensive carpet.

The moment he noticed it, panic flashed across his face. He hurriedly crouched down and tried to wipe the stain away with his sleeve, mumbling apologies as he scrubbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've dirtied your carpet…"

But the harder he rubbed, the bigger the stain seemed to grow. His eyes reddened with desperation.

The sight of Dad crouched on the floor, frantically trying to clean up after himself, made my eyes sting.

"Dad, stop. You don't have to do that." I crouched beside him and reached for his arm.

He looked up at me with an apologetic, almost ingratiating smile. "It's my fault. I should've been more careful. Sophia's busy, and I shouldn't have bothered her. Don't argue with her over this, alright? She's a high-powered attorney. Of course she's got a lot on her plate."

Then he reached inside his coat and pulled out a bag of homemade cookies.

"I made these chocolate cookies for you. I know they're your favorite. Share some with Sophia when she has time, okay?"

He pressed the cookies into my hands, then turned and left. I stood there holding the bag, which felt as heavy as lead. It felt as heavy as lead.

…

When I returned to the office after seeing Dad out, I found the door slightly ajar.

The moment I pushed it open, I froze. Ethan had arrived while I was gone. He was sitting on Sophia's desk, wearing one of her suit jackets, his legs swinging carelessly over the edge.

I recognized the jacket immediately. It was Sophia's spare, which she kept on a rack in the break room. She had never allowed anyone else to touch it.

Once, while tidying up the break room for her, I'd accidentally brushed against the jacket. She'd frowned, sent it straight to the dry cleaner, and warned me never to touch her belongings again.

After three years of marriage, I knew just how obsessive she was about cleanliness. Yet here was Ethan, lounging in her jacket and casually drinking from her glass of water, while Sophia showed no trace of displeasure.

When she noticed me, her expression remained unchanged, as though nothing about the scene was unusual.

Ethan, however, was the first to speak.

He hopped off the desk and flashed me a shameless grin. "Blake, don't be mad at Sophia, okay? You know I've got a short fuse. I only broke that woman's ribs because I was standing up for a buddy. Sophia's been up for days working on my defense, trying to get me out of this mess."

As he spoke, he sauntered over and draped an arm around Sophia's shoulders casually, as if he owned the place.

"Besides, why don't we just let that whole 30 thousand dollars thing with your dad go? No need to bother my friend with something like that, right?"

Sophia swatted his hand away, but there was no real annoyance in her voice. "You really have no idea how strong you are, do you? If you get yourself into trouble again, don't expect me to bail you out next time."

Then she turned to me, and every trace of warmth vanished from her face.

She pointed at the wedding ring on her desk, frowning. "Put your ring back on. Stop pulling these childish stunts every time you don't get your way."