"I'm getting a divorce!" Natsha said, clicking her tongue before lifting the rim of her wineglass to her lips.

"Yeah." The friend beside her nodded, as if he understood. Then suddenly realized something and whipped his head toward her, eyes wide. "Huh?!"

"I'm getting a divorce!" She repeated.

"Why?" He scratched his head, confused.

"It's gone flat." She pointed at the glass on the table, the ice already fully melted.

"Flat? Are you sure?" His ears rang. "Haven't you still been caring about her a lot?"

"Just habit." Her tone was firm. "Even if I break free from those habits now, I don't feel like I'm losing anything."

"So you're divorcing because... you don't love her anymore?" His brow lifted slightly.

"Aish! Basically, yeah." She shook her head and tipped her chin dismissively.

Every word of the conversation traveled clearly through the phone and into her ears.
The young secretary, still holding the call open for his boss, was sweating bullets. What on earth was this situation?

"All right, thank you. Proceed with the work as planned." Her familiar, indifferent voice sounded. The long "beep" followed.

Lorena set the phone down on the desk.

"Flat?" She murmured.

Lorena rested her chin on her hand, humming softly, a flicker of something unreadable passing through her eyes.

//////////////////////////////////////

"I want a divorce." Natsha said, hands working at full speed as she cut the meat into small pieces.

"Mhm." Lorena replied calmly. No objection, no questions.

Natsha shot her an incredulous look.

Her mouth opened, then closed several times. She wanted to ask something, then felt it unnecessary. In the end, she merely shrugged, thinking Lorena must feel the same way.

A discreet gaze lingered on Natsha as she downed one glass after another, then quietly withdrew.

/////////////////////////////////////

The moment the bathroom door closed, Lorena locked it. She turned her back to Natsha, sweeping her black hair over one shoulder. Every movement was unhurried, measured just enough to stir something in the other woman.

Half of her face appeared and disappeared perfectly under the dim yellow light.

To a director's eye, Natsha couldn't look away from the scene before her. The alcohol in her system turned everything into a carefully post-processed film.

Lorena's slender fingers slid over the fastenings. Yet never quite unhooked them.

Natsha's patience snapped. She lunged forward. Steam rose from the showerhead from an accidental collision.

One sharp tug was all it took. The fastening came loose.

Lorena turned around.

The cold detachment usually in her eyes had vanished, replaced by something unfathomably deep, like a blazing abyss. And Natsha... was nothing more than a moth flying into the fire.

Lorena grabbed her collar. Soft red lips parted just before Natsha's eyes, like the forbidden fruit of Eden. Humans have always loved danger. So Natsha bit into the forbidden apple.

Lorena's back hit the cold wall behind her. Heat surged relentlessly.

Wandering hands. Broken breaths.

///////////////////////////////

Lorena stared at the two red lines, her expression calm, unruffled. She wrapped the item in her hand and tossed it straight into the trash.

/////////////////////////////////

Lorena adjusted the distance just right, whispering the numbers.

"3... 2... 1."

She collapsed perfectly into Natsha's arms. The corner of her lips curved subtly as Natsha panicked and called Frank.

///////////////////////////////

Lorena watched Natsha rake her hands through her hair, clearly tortured by her thoughts. She found it amusing though her lips never moved.

Just as she'd predicted, Natsha kicked the divorce to the back of her mind without hesitation.

//////////////////////////////

She watched Natsha stand dazed before the small crib. The expression on her face was strangely complicated and strangely clear.

Lorena closed her eyes and sank back into a short sleep. That woman would wake her early again soon enough.

//////////////////////////////

Watching Natsha sneak around late at night, Lorena couldn't help but chuckle. Their daughter had only just turned one and where was she running off to this time?

The answer came the next morning. Off she flew again, off to shoot another film. The divorce papers, once more, went unsigned.

Through the speakerphone, Lorena listened to the artificially broken sounds of Natsha's voice.

Natsha thought Lorena was already waiting at the district office. In reality, she was still leisurely playing with Lin at home.

Natsha was gone for three straight months. As if that would be enough time to bury the word "divorce" by the time she returned.

And indeed, when she did return, Lorena no longer brought it up. But Natsha was wrong to relax too soon.

Every year, on Lin's birthday, Lorena would gently "remind" her of it.

And so, for the next five years. The day after Lin's birthday, Natsha would disappear again.

If not the desert, then the jungle. Places where even phone signals surrendered.

Those years drove the film crews to despair. Survival films were one thing. But why did they have to survive too?

Lorena looked at Natsha's skin, now a shade darker, and couldn't help but laugh.

Natsha looked utterly exhausted.

Oh heavens! Why on earth had she ever said the word divorce?

The end.

---------------------------------

Author's note: Got spun around by her wife like a pinwheel. Every year, just a little reminder and she'd vanish for a few months. Lorena held that grudge and dragged it out for seven whole years. Luckily, she still had a shred of mercy, so she stopped at seven. Otherwise, the CEO would've toyed with that director for the rest of her life. :))))