By the third week of “Operation Distant Husband,” Max could no longer pretend that the plans were purely tactical. On paper, they had been elegant. Methodical. Foolproof. A few weeks of carefully cultivated distance, small misunderstandings, and subtle nudges toward emotional incompatibility...and Carlos would initiate the divorce himself.

Yet here he was, tie crooked, blazer wrinkled, standing in the kitchen staring at a half-eaten pasta container that Carlos had left for him like some tiny, irresistible ambush of care.