After Divorce, I Became a Top-Tier Lawyer

On New Year's Eve 2023, I was busy in the kitchen until seven. The sweet and sour ribs under the warming cover were steaming—Charles Luke's favorite. The phone screen dimmed and lit up again. I opened our chat for the fifth time, typed "When will you be back," then deleted it. In the end, I didn't send the message. "Mom, is Dad not coming back again?" My son Bruce lay on the sofa playing games, not even looking up. I walked over and rubbed his hair, my fingertips cold. "Don't say that. Your dad is a top-tier lawyer—he has a lot of cases at the end of the year." At 8:15, the door opened. Charles Luke took off his suit jacket, a faint scent of perfume lingering on him—not the one I usually use. "Charles, you're back." I stepped forward to take his briefcase. He shifted to the side, dodging me, with a young girl following behind. The girl wore an off-white trench coat, smiling shyly: "Laura Lynn, sorry to bother you. I'm Molly Xavier, Lawyer Luke's client." I froze in place, watching Charles lead her into the living room. "Bruce, call Ms. Molly." Bruce frowned but didn't move. I tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Ms. Xavier, please have a seat. Would you like some water?" "No need to trouble Laura. I'm just here to pick up a document and I'll be leaving right away." Molly said that, her gaze sweeping over the wedding photo in the living room before she naturally helped Charles adjust his tie. That movement was too intimate—I nearly dropped the cup of water in my hand. "Here's the document. Please double-check it." When Charles handed over the document, his fingertip brushed the back of her hand. "Thank you, Lawyer Luke. I really appreciate your help today." Molly Xavier smiled, her eyes curling into crescent moons. They stepped out side by side, and I saw Charles Luke holding the car door open for her, carefully shielding her from the car roof. The hallway motion-sensor light went off; I stood in the dark until Bruce's call snapped me back. "Mom, who's that woman? Dad's eyes look strange when he looks at her." I didn't answer and turned into the kitchen. The dishes on the table were still steaming, but I had no appetite at all. At the stroke of midnight, Charles Luke returned. "Where have you been?" I sat on the sofa waiting for him. "Take Molly Xavier home; she's just a young girl, and it's not safe for her to be out so late." He was changing his shoes. "Where does she live? Does it really take you three hours to get her there?" I locked eyes with him. Charles Luke paused, sounding impatient: "Laura Lynn, are you checking up on me? Molly's family had some trouble, she's emotionally unstable. I just stayed to talk with her for a bit." "Talk about what? About her using your cologne?" I grabbed the coat he'd taken off on the sofa. His expression shifted: "Don't make a scene. It was probably just an accidental brush." I didn't press the matter and tossed the coat into the washing machine. Amid the roar of water, I could feel my heartbeat sinking little by little.