The atmosphere around the dining table was somewhat heavy.
Madeleine was quiet for a while, wanting to ease the heaviness, so she smiled and said, "But, divorce might be good. After the divorce, I won't need to visit the West Suburb Villa every month, go to The Colemans, and then play the good daughter-in-law by playing chess with Dad and watching TV with Mom. You know, I've hated chess and those melodramatic romance TV shows since I was little."
Madeleine tried hard to make her tone a bit lighter, "You have no idea how much I endured doing those two things every week, how painful it was. And every time I went, I had to buy them gifts. I didn't want to bring the same things, but there's a limit to the variety of gifts. I was always worried about what to buy. At last, I don't have to worry about these things anymore."
Madeleine's words, clearly aimed at lightening the mood, turned Howard's complexion pale instead.