Arranged Marriage

Back to square one

“You know, Lyle.”

It's a night when the city lights are twinkling like stars under skyscrapers. Julie London's song is playing in the restaurant. All the couples around are chatting and having a good time while having meals. It's their first date after a long time. To be more precise, it's the dinner date two days before the first wedding anniversary of Karlyle Frost and Ash Jones, who just called his name.

"Should we get divorced?"

Karlyle's fingers rubbing the wine glass neck stop. He thinks he just heard something. With no change in his expression, Karlyle slowly shifts his gaze from his dish to the person in front of him. His pale and stoic eyes blink. The man sitting across from him still has a friendly face like usual, but he can't understand the thing that man just said.

The soft lips that always smile gently, the high nose, the eyes that curve up like a fragrant wind, and the pair of different-colored eyes. With those beautiful blue and gray eyes, Ash talked about divorce. He sounded so calm that even after a few seconds have passed, Karlyle still thinks he's having hallucinations.

Maybe he's really hallucinating.

His body hasn't been well recently, and because of that, it's become a hindrance to work. The reason he hurriedly returned from his business trip was because he wasn't feeling well. So it's possible that he's hallucinating. Oh, come to think of it, he has something to tell Ash. No, first of all….

Every sound resonating in his ears becomes dull for a moment. He blanks out for a few seconds. Then, startled by the fact that all his senses of noises seem to have been cut off, Karlyle immediately snaps back to reality. He has to answer. Ash has been waiting for a few seconds already.

"....Did you say divorce?"

The question coming out from his mouth sounds too calm, and his words sound more like confirmation than surprise. Combined with his cold face that shows no signs of emotions, he seems really unfazed.

At his reply, Ash slowly puts his chin on his hand. His long eyelashes flutter. His different-colored eyes look at Karlyle for a long time, as if they are looking for something. Like he's searching for some evidence, like he's wanting something. When Karlyle has a strange illusion that sadness appears in his eyes, Ash opens his mouth.

"Yes, divorce."

This time, Ash says it clearly and calmly, confirming that this is not a hallucination. The man, who just dropped the cruel words with his kind voice, smiles softly. Ash always smiles like that. A smile as gentle as the person himself. The smile that Karlyle's gotten used to over the past year, the smile that always gives him a pleasant feeling. But it hurts him to see that smile today.

Divorce.

Karlyle holds his breath. Silent, he looks straight at Ash, then lowers his gaze. For some reason, he feels like his mouth is about to collapse. Losing his composure in front of others is something that shouldn't be seen from Karlyle. So he deliberately fixes his eyes on the food. His head bows down slightly. He clenches his jaw to keep his lip corners from dropping.

His mostly untouched food comes into view. It's kind of strange. He has a reason to not eat. But usually, he would not skip a meal. Ash must have noticed it by now.

Then suddenly, it hits him that nothing would change even if Ash noticed it. Perhaps he would still hear him saying the thing just now. In the first place, the fact that Ash said such a thing means he has made up his mind.

When Karlyle realizes that, the inside of his ribs tighten. His chest feels suffocating, and his muscles feel stiff. It's so painful and hard to breathe that he barely manages to hold back his groan. As soon as he realizes that Ash's thinking of getting a divorce, it feels as if the ground beneath his feet were sinking.