All human beings have hidden depths. I always doubt that famous affability of Leo Fin was only a pose. Behind the pose of sophisticated geniality was pure steel, cold and ruthless. Leo always held a certain standards for the people around him, and he won’t play soft if any of them failed to live up to his expectations. Forgiveness evidently wasn’t his strong suit.

     This morning I came early to the company and sent those finished reports to Leo’s office. When I opened the door, to my great surprise, He was already there. I was about to say hello but something in his face stopped me. He was staring at a picture of his wife and daughter, his face was expressionless, but there was a deep, cold, ferocious fury in his eyes so powerful that it shook me and made me speechless. For a moment, I was frozen there and didn’t know what to do. Totally unaware of my presence, he muttered something through clenched teeth, his voice was low and harsh, but I could still hear instinctively what he said: “I gave you one thing to do!” Suddenly I realized that I had intruded on something very personal, I left his office immediately, carefully closing the door behind.

      An hour later, I was summoned to his office and he asked me to send his wife those divorce papers. It was an improper assignment, even from Leo. But from the unexpected scene I glimpsed at in his office, I understood why he would make such a decision. He had controlled his rage and made his order in quite a matter-of- fact way, but his hatred for Sue still leaked through, even I could feel it. He could not send them himself, because another contact with her, he might lose his control.

      If that day, Sue didn’t run into one of her old friends; if she wasn't distracted by pure pleasure of this reunion and she didn’t loose her hold on her daughter; if her daughter didn’t rush into the street to fetch a toy; if a car didn’t drive by like crazy ….none of this would happen. It was an accident. But it’s often easier to handle naked hatred than suffocating pains. When we were in an emotional free fall, the only handholds we could grab were usually those of hate and rage. By hating Sue, by blaming her for everything had happened, Leo could handle the cruel reality and move on.

      How could it have anything to do with his girl friend? How could Sue didn’t know about it? Looking at her face, I suddenly realized that she was grabbing at straws, and despair in her eyes said she knew it, but she still felt compelled to find every possible alternative to what she knew. To admit the real reason why Leo wanted a divorce was to admit that ice-bone knowledge that she had failed to take care of her little girl.

        In my whole life, I lied a lot. But to this question, I could not bring myself to cook up another one. “It’s not about her, she is nobody, really.” Words slipped my tongue before I could stop.

        My answer was like a knife, stabbing her into the chest. She stared up me without the dullness in her eyes that had characterized her over these past weeks. Her face had been pinched and white, as if she was in shock. Then she stood up and said in extremely calmness: “I see, tell him I will sign those papers.”

        Mission was completed, but there was no slightest relief, instead a weight on my chest was so huge that I almost choke on it. “Are you Ok?” I asked. “I am OK.” She answered still in that flat, calm tone.

      But she didn’t look okay. She looked as if there were no spirit left in her, as if she’d never smile again. Icy fingers of impending doom laced around my spine, I wanted to say something. But the dismissive gesture in Sue was obvious, I had to take leave. Before I left, I heard Sue said softly behind:” Thank you.” I turned around and look puzzled at her: “For what?” “For telling me the truth.” That’s her reply. Then she closed the door behind.