As much as Luhan tried to break out of his foul mood, he couldn‘t do it. The fact that his wife didn‘t care for him at all was depressing, and the fact that she was so repulsed by the thought of making love to him was infuriating. He really thought she had enjoyed the kiss they shared in the gazebo. Perhaps I misunderstood her reaction to it.

After he left the church service, which he noticed she didn‘t bother going to because he was there, he went to his office at work. Since he had a key to the building, he was able to go in. He hadn‘t eaten breakfast or lunch, and it was quickly coming up to the dinner hour. He didn‘t care. He had lost his appetite at her cold words to him that morning. He wondered if he would ever have the appetite to eat again.

He spent his time buried in his work and was finally able to lose track of the time...and the beating of his breaking heart. He accomplished more than he thought he would. He was surprised that misery could encourage such productivity. He figured he was well ahead of schedule, but what would he do with his free time? He glanced at the picture of his parents which sat on his desk. He had hoped to put Seohyun‘s picture next to it. He put his head on the desk. Why couldn‘t he forget her?

"If this is your idea of romance, you have a lot to learn."

He recognized his uncle‘s voice. He didn‘t bother to lift his head. He heard his uncle pull up a seat across from him and sit down.

"What did she say that sent you running to work on a Sunday?" Cheng wondered. "I saw you moping in church and whining to everyone who‘d listen that your marriage is doomed for an annulment in a month, though you did a good job of hiding the fact that it was her decision."

"It wasn‘t that bad. I maintained myself with the usual calm and cool expression that you taught me to use when facing difficult clients."

"Apparently, you‘re thinking of a different Luhan because the one I saw had his heart on his sleeve."

"Only because you notice details."

"That must be it." His uncle was silent for a few moments. Finally, he continued, "There‘s nothing wrong with loving a woman, but if you hope to keep the woman you love, you‘ll have to put forth the effort. You can‘t hide out here and expect things to fall into place. Sometimes you have to pray to God and say amen with a hoe."

Luhan was familiar with the expression since his uncle used it often enough. It meant that once he prayed for something, he had to do the work to make it happen. "I don‘t feel up to it."

"You mean to tell me that in the course of one day, she‘s defeated you?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

His uncle‘s response surprised him. He lifted his head off the desk so he could look at him.

The older man handed him some papers. "I figured you would give up easily, so I took the time to pick up the annulment paperwork on my way over here." He showed him the contents of the papers before he folded them and put them in Luhan‘s hands. "All you have to do is get her signature and you‘re good to go. I must admit, I‘m relieved."

"Why?" Luhan asked.

"Isn‘t it obvious? You‘re a free man. Now you won‘t have to share your life with a woman. You know how women can be. They like to talk about thoughts and feelings. They want to take your time and attention away from your work so you can focus on them. As soon as they get married, they start thinking of how to decorate the house and when to have children. As soon as they‘re pregnant, they want you to help them pick out names and buy baby furniture and clothes. It‘s all such a nuisance. You will be very relieved you chose the bachelor lifestyle like I did. That‘s right. You‘re much better off." His uncle went to the window and looked at the passing horse-drawn buggies and stagecoaches going down the street.

Luhan stared at the papers in his hands.

His uncle kept talking. "Of course, it can get lonely, but there‘s nothing like more work to take care of that. When you go on vacation, you can take some books to read or just sit in silence and wait until the time you can return to work again. You can do all kinds of fun activities by yourself. Everyone knows seeing a play and eating out is better without companionship. You don‘t need a woman to spoil your fun. So what if women are beautiful and soft to touch? Sure, they fit into a dress very well but you have no need to look at an attractive body when you can look at investment reports instead. After a long day at work, it‘s much nicer to sit alone in the parlor than it is to lay in bed with a woman in your arms. I haven‘t had myself but have heard that it is one of life‘s most pleasurable experiences, but there‘s pleasure to be had in knowing you brought another client to the company. Surely, the love of a good woman can‘t be better than hard work."

Luhan threw the papers on the desk, his jaw clenched. His uncle glanced back at him and smiled in amusement as he stormed out of his office. Luhan threw his hat on his head and left the building. When he came home, Baekhyun informed him that Seohyun was making cookies in the kitchen with Kyungsoo and Sulli. He handed the butler his hat and went directly to the kitchen. Seohyun and Sulli were laughing at something Kyungsoo said. They turned to him, startled to see him.

He didn‘t say anything. He grabbed Seohyun‘s hand and led her to the parlor. He knew she was too shocked to even contemplate fighting him. He closed the door so they could have some privacy before he turned his attention back to her.

"What do you think you‘re doing?" Seohyun demanded as her shock wore off.

He couldn‘t tell if she was angry or simply overwhelmed. He didn‘t care. He stomped over to her, took her in his arms and kissed her. He kissed her until her ice melted enough for her to return his kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer to her. When their kiss ended, he nodded in satisfaction. She had responded to him yesterday. He hadn‘t imagined it.

"You want me," he told her.

She blinked. "You took me by surprise," she weakly protested.

He grinned. "You just keep telling yourself that. I‘ll melt your icicles before the month is up. We won‘t be getting that annulment."

Her face grew bright red. "We‘ll see about that!"

He didn‘t give into her desire for a fight. Instead, he said, "You can protest all you want, but there‘s no deny