Chapter 8: The Last Rain

After getting my definite answer, Jason didn’t say anything for a while, like he was thinking something over.

He stared at the rain, umbrella forgotten, lips pressed tight. I waited, holding my breath.

After a while, he asked, “Then after the divorce, will you still take care of me?”

His voice was small, uncertain—a child lost in a grown man’s body.

I was stunned, then let out a bitter laugh. “Jason, divorce means the two of us will be strangers from now on.”

My words felt harsh, but it was the truth. I had nothing left to give.

“I won’t be your wife anymore, and I have no obligation to take care of you.”

I said it quietly, but firmly—drawing a line I’d never dared to before.

“Got it.”

He nodded once, jaw clenched. The rain beat harder on the umbrella, drenching him even more.

The rain grew heavier, soaking half his shoulder.

Water dripped down his face, mingling with tears he’d never admit to shedding.

Jason looked at me seriously and shook his head. “No divorce.”

He said it with finality, as if the decision was his to make.

I really didn’t expect him to refuse.

I stared at him, too tired to argue, too numb to care.

“Why?” I asked.

My voice cracked, hope and heartbreak warring inside me.

“If we divorce, no one will take care of me.”

He sounded so lost, so vulnerable, I almost faltered.

“Don’t you like Sarah Miller? She can take care of you.”

I forced the words out, desperate to push him toward the future he seemed to want.

But Jason just stubbornly shook his head. “No.”

He dug his heels in, just like always.

“She’s busy, she’s got her own work.”

He listed her responsibilities—her dreams, her plans, her ambition.

“She can’t always be at home.”

He looked at me like that explained everything.

“You’re not busy, you take care of me.”

That was it—the sum of my worth in his eyes. Reliable, available, expendable.

I hung my head, staring at the puddle in the driveway, feeling a chill deep in my heart.

The rain blurred my vision, or maybe it was tears. Either way, I knew—I couldn’t stay just because he needed someone.

He thought Sarah had her own ambitions and couldn’t be tied down at home.

But me, in his eyes just an ordinary woman, was born to revolve around him.

That was all I’d ever be to him—a fixture in his world, never the center. And this time, I was finally ready to walk away.

The rain hammered down, but neither of us moved. For the first time, I realized—maybe I wasn’t the only one afraid of being left behind.

I squared my shoulders, wiped the rain from my face, and met his eyes—finally ready to save myself.