The renovation was not complete yet, but Rita insisted on moving her things back into her room, or else she would leave the house. So they were forced to move everything back.
Gilbert returned home and went straight to his room, but Rita was not there.
He asked Jenny, "Where is Rita?"
Jenny replied, "Sir, madam has moved back to her room."
This irritated Gilbert even more. Without responding to Jenny, he went directly to Rita's room.
Meanwhile, Jenny thought, Why don't these two ever give me a break?
Rita was lying on her bed in the dark, thinking about everything that had happened throughout the day. The lights were off.
Gilbert entered the room without knocking.
Startled, Rita got off the bed and said, "How can you enter like this?"
Gilbert walked closer to her.
"What were you doing with Archer?"
"Why are you after him?" Rita asked. "He came here just to give you your documents, and instead of being thankful, you're trying to bully him again."
"When did I bully him?" Gilbert asked.
"Every bully says the same thing: 'When did I?'"
"How can you believe him over me?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because you're my wife."
"I want a divorce," Rita said angrily.
Gilbert felt his heart sink. A sudden pain spread through his chest.
Rita continued, "From now on, it's better if we stay away from each other."
She turned to leave the room.
Gilbert stood frozen as she walked away. Panic surged through him, and before he could think, he reached out and pulled her back.
"Why did you suddenly decide this? Is it because of Archer?"
Startled by his sudden action, Rita tried to free herself from his grip.
"This has nothing to do with him."
"Then why do you want a divorce?" Gilbert demanded. "What did I do?"
Rita finally pulled herself free and looked at him as if he had said something ridiculous.
"Why don't you look at yourself before blaming others? Isn't this what you wanted from the beginning?"
She started walking toward the door again, but Gilbert stopped her.
"Do you really want to divorce me?" he asked, his eyes fixed on hers.
The truth was that Rita did not really want to. But she was exhausted. Ever since she had started developing feelings for him, she had become insecure about herself. She worried about him all the time and could not forget the feeling that he was disgusted by her.
"Yes, I want a divorce."
Gilbert looked at her darkly.
"I won't give you a divorce. Do whatever you want."
Rita had been avoiding his gaze. His response stunned her, and she slowly raised her head to look into his eyes.
A sudden wave of emotion rose inside her. Unable to control herself, tears began rolling down her cheeks.
This startled Gilbert.
Gilbert drew her into his embrace and held her tightly.
Her head rested against his chest, and his shirt slowly became wet with her tears.
They stood like that for several minutes.
Then they looked into each other's eyes.
Gilbert leaned in and kissed her deeply.
Lost in the kiss, Rita closed her eyes. He drew her closer, unwilling to let her go.
But suddenly, memories of the last time flashed through her mind—how he had left immediately after kissing her.
Fear gripped her.
She pushed him away at once.
Gilbert was shocked.
Thinking he had done something wrong, he lowered his head. Tears threatened to fall, and the pain in his heart only grew stronger.
Rita could not even look at him. She was afraid she would see disgust on his face.
"Please leave."
Without looking at her, Gilbert walked out of the room, afraid she would see his tears.
The moment he left, Rita sat on the floor and cried like a child.
Gilbert hurried back to his own room. He tried to stop his tears, but failed.
At that moment, he finally accepted the truth.
He had fallen for her.
He lay on the cold floor. Never had he imagined that realizing he was in love would hurt this much.
That night, both of them slept on the floor in separate rooms, surrounded by darkness.
The long night passed slowly.
Gilbert barely slept. The pain in his chest refused to go away, and his eyes were red from crying.
The next morning, Rita checked the time.
It was eight o'clock.
She realized she had slept on the floor all night.
After freshening up, she thought,
No matter what happens, I have to stick to my decision. Once I get a divorce, my family will have to accept it.
Meanwhile, Gilbert was in the kitchen making breakfast for her.
The chef repeatedly offered to help.
"Sir, please let me do it."
But Gilbert refused.
"No. I'll make it myself."
Jenny watched from the side.
"Sir, should I call madam?"
"No. I'll take it to her myself."
After finishing, Gilbert carefully arranged the food on the plate. He wanted to impress her.
Carrying the tray, he headed toward her room.
Distracted, Gilbert pushed the door open and walked in without knocking.
The moment he entered, he froze.
Rita had just come out of the shower and was completely caught off guard by his sudden entrance.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Gilbert!"
Startled, she quickly grabbed her bathrobe and wrapped it around herself.
For a few seconds, neither of them moved.
Gilbert stood rooted to the spot, too stunned to react.
Then Rita let out a startled scream.
The sound finally snapped him back to reality.
Realizing what had happened, Gilbert immediately looked away, his face burning with embarrassment.
"I—I'm sorry," he stammered before turning around and rushing out of the room.
Back in the kitchen, he set the tray down on the counter and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm his racing heart.
Finally, he handed the tray to Jenny.
"Take this to Rita's room and tell her to eat."
Meanwhile, Rita sat on her bed, blushing furiously.
I'm going to kill him.
A knock came at the door.
For a moment, she thought it was Gilbert again, and her heart started racing.
Then she opened the door and saw Jenny.
Immediately, she calmed down.
"Madam, sir asked you to eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry. Tell him that."
Just hearing Gilbert's name brought back the memory of what had happened.
Jenny returned to Gilbert.
The first thing Rita did was lock the door from the inside.
"Sir, madam said she's not hungry."
Gilbert was getting ready for work.
"It's okay. Leave the tray on the table. I'll take it myself."
"Okay, sir."
Gilbert sighed.
I wanted to impress her today, but instead I embarrassed her. Great.
He took out a sticky note and wrote:
Please eat breakfast. I'll see you in the evening. Take care.
This time, when he carried the tray to her room, he remembered to knock.
Rita lay on the bed, hungry, when she heard the knock.
Before she could open the door, Gilbert spoke from outside.
"It's me. I'm leaving your breakfast outside the room. Please eat it. I have to go to the office."
Rita waited until he left.
Then she opened the door and brought the tray inside.
As she placed it on the table, she noticed the note.
She picked it up and read:
Please eat breakfast. I'll see you in the evening. Take care.
Her heart softened.
But then she noticed the signature:
Your husband.
She froze.
After reading it, she dropped the note.
He's doing this again. But this time, I won't be fooled.
Even so, she picked it up again.
Although she still wanted a divorce, she could not bring herself to throw away anything that belonged to him.
Instead, she tucked the note inside her novel.
As she ate breakfast, she kept thinking:
Why did he have to see me like that? He probably thinks my body is ugly too. Whatever little dignity I had left is gone.
Then she caught herself.
Why am I becoming insecure because of him again?
Meanwhile, Gilbert was trying his best to focus during a meeting with his father.
But his mind was filled with thoughts of Rita.
He rubbed his forehead.
I need to focus.
Suddenly his father tapped the conference table loudly.
"What do you think?"
Gilbert snapped out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Dad?"
"What do you think about this?" his father asked, pointing at the presentation.
"It's good. Whatever you decide, Father."
Gilbert sounded nervous.
After the meeting ended, his father asked,
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, Dad," Gilbert replied immediately.
"Alright, then. I'll leave you to your work."
"Yes, Dad."
Back in his office, Gilbert tried to distract himself.
He searched online:
How to impress your wife when she wants a divorce.
After reading countless answers, he was still confused.
Just then, his secretary knocked.
"Come in."
"Sir, these are the meeting notes you requested."
Gilbert took them but barely looked at them.
Then he suddenly asked,
"Suppose your wife wanted a divorce. How would you stop her?"
The secretary stared at him in confusion.
"Sir, I would apologize to her, whether it was my fault or not."
"But what if you don't know what you did wrong?"
"Then, sir," the secretary replied seriously, "it's even more important to apologize."