Caroline Henson. Since you firmly believe marriage is nothing more than a ladder to climb, I won't stand in your way.
——
The final blow came during the holiday dinner at my in-laws' house.
Gifts were exchanged, pleasantries offered. Then, right in the middle of the meal, Caroline placed a document on the table.
"Harrison, let's divorce."
Her face was a mask of calm. Her tone held no ripple of emotion, no hesitation. She had clearly made up her mind long before this moment.
The room went deathly silent.
Every member of the Henson family froze, forks hovering halfway to their mouths. To them, Caroline and I were the model couple, the gold standard for the younger generation. In five years of marriage, we had never quarreled in public.
No one expected us to implode over dinner.
"Caroline!" my mother-in-law shrieked, dropping her chopsticks. "Why are you divorcing for no reason?"
She didn't wait for an answer. She immediately turned her glare on me. "It's because Harrison bullied you, isn't it? That man did something, didn't he?"