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A Love That Will Never Be
A Love That Will Never Be
Author: Lucy River

Chapter 1

Author: Lucy River
last update Last Updated: 2024-12-18 17:44:50
"Mr. Flanagan, the draft of the divorce agreement is ready. Shall I send it to you now?"

In the dead silence of the study, Carter Flanagan paused before replying, "No. Keep it with you for now."

He hung up and trudged out of the study. Misty Lawrence was putting on a facial mask outside.

"Misty." Even when Carter was so close to getting a divorce, he still wished to have a talk with Misty and do what he could to save the marriage. After all, he had spent half of his life being in love with Misty.

To his dismay, Misty turned around and asked, "Carter, why haven't you made dinner?"

He reluctantly entered the kitchen and started cooking, but he was too distracted and accidentally got scalded when the hot oil from the pan splattered all over. He tried to dodge the hot oil, only to knock a bowl onto the ground.

The sound of the bowl shattering echoed in the kitchen, causing his heart to drop.

As expected, Misty barged into the kitchen the next moment. When she saw the pattern on the shattered bowl, her eyes widened in anger. She yelled at him, "I've never allowed you to use this bowl! Are you an idiot?"

Following that, her eyes teared up. One would have thought a life was lost from her disproportionate response.

Carter watched the scene unfold with conflicted feelings. The bowl wasn't even worth that much. It was only valuable to Misty because Zach had bought it for her.

"I'm sorry." Lips pursed, he bent down to pick up the pieces, but Misty pushed him away.

She hissed, "Get lost! I don't want you around for now."

She pointed at the door without noticing the burn on Carter's hand.

Carter could no longer contain his disappointment. Before he left, he stopped for a while and whispered, "Misty, it was just a bowl."

The bowl, along with many items in the kitchen, was labeled with Zach's name.

But Misty refused to accept reality. Carter's audacity shocked her as well. "What do you mean? Just a bowl?"

Shocked and enraged, she snapped, "Don't you know Zach and I carefully selected and bought this bowl on the 23rd of August, 2015, when we traveled to a pottery town? Carter, did you do this on purpose?"

Carter closed his eyes. He was overcome with a deep powerlessness.

Every time, Misty would lose her temper and become hysterical when they breached the topic of Zach.

Misty and Zach were childhood sweethearts. Not only were they close, but their families had agreed on an engagement. They were slated to get married as adults. On the other hand, Carter was just one of many admirers of Misty with a one-sided crush.

But no one could see what was coming. Three days before Misty and Zach's wedding, he tragically lost his life in a car accident, leaving behind a grieving Misty. Had her parents not begged her to stay strong, she would have gone through her few attempts to take her life.

After that incident, Misty met with Carter and begged the latter to help her up. It was a long time ago, but never had Carter forgotten the despair and pain in her eyes.

She begged, "Help me forget Zach, will you?"

To Carter, it felt like hitting the jackpot. On one hand, he grieved the loss of Zach's young life, but on the other hand, he was thrilled to be offered a chance to come into Misty's heart.

Misty and Carter hosted a shotgun wedding. After they were married, Carter spent the following eight years trying to make Misty fall in love with him but to no avail.

Carter smirked and said nothing more. Misty could remember the date on which Zach bought a random bowl, but she had forgotten about Carter's birthday—which was today.

The burn on his hand spread to his heart. Soon, his heart became numb. He turned around and stared at Misty with an unusually calm expression.

He announced, "Since we've been married for eight years now, I shall give our marriage eight more chances."

If Misty put him before Zach even once, he would stay in this marriage.

A frown crept onto her forehead. Confused, she wanted to ask him about the remark, but they were interrupted by the doorbell. An expert had arrived to repair the broken bowl.

Misty's attention instantly shifted. She hurried over to answer the door.

Carter stared at her from behind. She had just wasted one chance.

He thought, "Misty Lawrence, do you know I'm so close to giving up on you?"
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    Ever since Carter had considered a divorce, he had counted his assets and drafted a divorce agreement. After that, he started to work on the business dealings between their family businesses.Carter was the leader of the Flanagan Group, while Misty was the daughter of the Lawrence family, who ran the Lawrence Group. After their eight years of marriage, the two family businesses were tightly intertwined. If Carter asked for a divorce, it would negatively hurt the stock prices and the ongoing partnerships. Hence, he needed to be one step ahead and prepare to face any future risks.Besides, he also needed to inform Misty's parents about his plan. He wouldn't want both families to be blindsided.After Misty argued with Carter over that broken bowl, she brought the newly repaired bowl to her best friend's home. Meanwhile, Misty parents were in the dark about the situation until Carter knocked on their door.Misty's mom, Kathy Mendel, was shocked to hear that Carter was considering a d

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  • A Love That Will Never Be   Chapter 4

    Zeke's bright eyes brimmed with confidence. In the past, Carter would have been triggered, but he was no longer the same man. He had since learned that a woman who could be easily wooed by others did not belong to you in the first place.He refused to spare Zeke one look in the face of Zeke's provocation. Zeke became furious. Snickering, Zeke added, "You'd better not cry when I take Misty from you.""Good luck," replied Carter dryly.Although Misty did not love him, she wouldn't fall in love with the young and rash Zeke either. She only cared about Zach. Zeke had only enjoyed Misty's attention because he was Zach's little brother.Carter helped Misty take care of the incident at the hotel and found new accommodations for Zeke before calling it a day.An idea occurred to Misty when they headed home in Carter's car. She turned to Carter, asking, "Darling, Zeke is holding an art exhibition in two days. Do you think you could show him some support?"Carter almost laughed at the absur

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    Carter did not wander far from the rooftop. Standing in the stairwell, he listened to rescuers pulling Misty back from the edge of the rooftop. Only then did he let out a tense sigh.A draft came in through the half-open window, making him shiver. He realized that his back was drenched in cold sweat.Thankfully, everything ended well. Had Misty jumped off that tower today, people would have condemned him for pushing his wife to death.He let out a bitter chuckle and made his way down the stairs, but someone stood in his way."Are you never returning to Misty's side for real?" Zeke met Carter's eyes. He asked sternly, "Did you mean what you said on the rooftop?"Carter ignored him. He had never taken Zeke seriously. All Zeke got was a frosty "get out of my way."Feeling looked down upon, Zeke grew furious. With a grim look, he was about to speak when someone patted him on the shoulder.Taylor had shown up from nowhere. He wrapped his arm around Zeke's neck and dragged him aside.

  • A Love That Will Never Be   Chapter 19

    When Carter arrived, a crowd had gathered at the rooftop of Gronager Tower. Misty stood at the edge of the rooftop, her body tethering precariously.Not far away, police officers desperately tried to reason with her, and her parents pleaded with her tearfully.Misty, however, kept her eyes lowered. She ignored them all. It wasn't until Carter appeared that her eyes suddenly lit up."Darling!"Carter, still catching his breath, steadied himself and locked eyes with Misty. "Misty, what are you doing?" he asked.Misty's expression was heartbreakingly sorrowful. "Darling, I don't want to divorce you.""So, you've chosen this way to force my hand?" Carter clenched his fists tightly as he looked at her.He had always known that Misty carried an extreme and obsessive type of love for Zach. At one point, he had even envied and longed for that kind of devotion.But now that he was the subject of that obsessive love, he felt suffocated.A sudden wave of anger and disgust surged in Car

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    "Darling." Not noticing anything unusual about Carter, Misty reached out to take his arm with a smile.As always, Carter dodged her touch, but Misty did not mind. She knew patience was key to getting what she wanted.Recently, Carter's attitude toward her had softened considerably. It was only a matter of time before she talked him into going home.However, Misty had a nagging worry. How much longer could she hide her fake pregnancy from him as the months went by?Her best bet was to win him over before her "belly" began to show. At the same time, she needed to sleep with him and, even better, conceive his child, so that even if the truth eventually came to light, he wouldn't hold it against her for the baby's sake.She grinned widely at that thought. "Darling, we need to leave early today for the prenatal checkup. Oh, Mom and Dad really miss you too. Why don't we head over for lunch afterward? Mom is eager to share some parenting tips with us."Carter said nothing. He did not bu

  • A Love That Will Never Be   Chapter 17

    The flaming red lipstick smudged across her hand. Every word on the trending search was jarring to Victoria.Her eyes burned. Was she going to miss her chance again this time?She couldn't bear the thought. At the same time, she totally understood if Carter wanted to go back to a pregnant Misty.Still, it was Carter's decision to make. The online moral policing was entirely unwarranted.Pressing her lips together, Victoria called her assistant, "Get in touch with some influencers…"Before she could finish, a thought struck her. She carefully reread every single trending post about Misty and Carter.The tone of the posts was oddly consistent and almost scripted—clearly orchestrated by someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.Victoria's eyes narrowed as she issued a new order to her assistant. "Forget the influencers. Look into who's behind these trending posts related to Carter."Her assistant quickly went to work.Before long, Victoria received the findings. A D-list act

  • A Love That Will Never Be   Chapter 16

    The sudden news came as a shock to Carter. Misty's words dropped a bombshell.Shaken, his eyes turned to the sonogram report and traveled to Misty's belly.Misty, feeling a bit embarrassed, gently touched her belly and explained softly, "I've been feeling nauseous and extremely tired lately. I went to the hospital for a checkup, and that's when I found out I was pregnant."Ten minutes later, Misty followed Carter into his apartment. Still bewildered, Carter poured Misty a glass of warm water. He wasn't expecting to be a father without warning.Since Misty was a professional dancer, she was very particular about maintaining her figure. She hadn't planned on having a baby so soon. Therefore, they'd always used protection.But contraception wasn't always foolproof. The report showed that Misty was already ten weeks pregnant. That tracked; they had slept together ten weeks ago. Carter was not only shocked but also unsure of how to handle the situation. The baby arrived without war

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