Chapter 18

Her lawyer sounded quite apologetic as he said, "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Pierce. I've been way too busy with work lately, and I have to go on a business trip soon. I don't think I can take on your divorce case with Mr. Pierce. Please hire someone else instead."

Hearing him call her Mrs. Pierce made Silvia wince in disgust.

She wondered to herself, 'He clearly knows I'm going to divorce with Pierce. What does he even mean by calling me that?'

'He had always referred to me as Miss Alberich when he contacted me in the past.'

Silvia was never one to nitpick on someone else's behavior, so she didn't express her discomfort about it. Instead, she tried to persuade the lawyer in hopes he would change his mind, as it would be too tedious to change lawyers at this point.

"Mr. Smith-"

Before she could say anything further, the lawyer quickly hung up after apologizing once more. This confused Silvia somewhat, and it killed her drowsiness completely.

Mr. Smith was actually the lawyer Silvia hired when Rosaline was going through her divorce as well. Hence, she thought they were already somewhat acquainted after that.

Moreover, he happily agreed to take on her case when she first contacted him about it. She simply had no idea why he became so indifferent towards her.

After hearing about this, Rosaline tried calling Mr. Smith as well, only to find out that his phone had been turned off.

Helpless, Rosaline sighed and said, "Looks like there's no hope in changing his mind."

With the sudden change in his attitude and how he was currently avoiding their calls, Silvia could tell that this was all Ryan's doing.

At the same time, she didn’t think he needed to take things so far, as it wasn't beneficial for him to keep dragging the divorce on anyway.

Hence, Silvia convinced herself that Mr. Smith was indeed too busy to take her case. "It's fine, I'll just find another lawyer then."

She couldn't even be bothered to sleep now, and tried her best to find another lawyer before her daughter woke up.

In the early morning, Ryan finally headed back to his house in Scholaris Street. The place was still as quiet and empty as he expected.

Just as he was changing out of his shoes, he noticed the keys and bank cards lying on the cabinet. His fatigued gaze darkened in an instant.

With the cards in his hand, Ryan headed towards the dressing room, realizing that Silvia’s closet had been rummaged through. She would usually organize her clothes properly, so he was able to tell that something was amiss.

It seemed she had only taken a few pieces of clothing with her, leaving the latest foreign brands he had bought for her while he was away on a business trip. Each and every one of these exquisite clothes hung neatly inside, making him feel somewhat lonely.

She had also taken some of Autumn's clothes with her.

Tightening his grip around the bank cards and keys, Ryan was so furious that he found his forehead stinging with pain.

Just then, he received a call from Mr. Smith, the first lawyer Silvia hired for the divorce proceedings. The lawyer was reporting back to him with utmost respect. "Mr. Pierce, I've already turned Mrs. Pierce down, just look-"

Ryan, however, interrupted him impatiently, "The money I promised will be transferred to your account soon."

He had spent a large amount of money to ensure Mr. Smith didn't take on Silvia’s case. In fact, he had decided to do the same for every lawyer she hired next.

Although he understood her undying resoluteness in divorcing, he wanted to see how she would be able to do so without a lawyer.

Ryan dialed Silvia's number after his call with Mr. Smith. He was quite excited to warn her, yet his enthusiasm quickly died down as he realized he couldn't reach her at all.

Thus, he had no choice but to call his sister Nora instead. "Why can't I reach your sister-in-law?"

For five years, he had always referred to Silvia as 'your sister-in-law' whenever he talked about her to Nora. Out of habit, he continued to do till this very day.

As it was still quite early, Nora was still sleeping when she was awoken by her brother's sudden call. Although annoyed, she was still quite a good-tempered person and quickly hung up on him to call Silvia's number.

After that, she dutifully reported back to him. "I can reach Silv, Ryan. I just did. I even talked to her for a little while."

Before Ryan could say anything, Nora gasped in shock and continued, "Oh, Ryan! Could it be that Silv blocked you?"

"Blocked?" Ryan replied frostily. This was the first time he had ever heard of this term, thanks to the woman.

After getting a brief explanation on what it meant to be blocked, he felt as if his head was about to explode.

'Damn it! I can't believe she's refusing to take my calls!'

'Not just that, she chose to block only me! Everyone else can contact her except me!'

'Hah! She must think she's so great, being able to humiliate the CEO of Pierce Group over and over again like this!'

After taking a shower and changing into some fresh clothes, Ryan immediately drove over to Nora's.

He wanted to check up on his mother, but also intended to contact Silvia through Nora's phone. He wanted to solemnly declare war with Silvia, so that she'd know she had no way to fight for custody of their daughter.

Ophelia seemed to be in decent condition while staying with Nora. She was as gentle and soft spoken as usual, as if she wasn't sorrowful about her current situation at all.

After having some homemade breakfast, Ryan turned to his mother and asked, "Are you really sure about getting a divorce?"

He had actually intended to visit his mother last night, but as Mariah was in urgent condition, he had no choice but to send her to the hospital.

Mariah was in quite a bad shape, as she had a naturally fragile body. Moreover, having been overseas for the past few years… Not only was she physically unwell, her mental state had deteriorated as well.

Ophelia replied calmly, "Help me look for a lawyer if you have the time, alright? If you don't, I'll just look for one myself."

Ryan was rather close to his mother since he was a child. It was also after his father was exposed to having an illegitimate child that he became especially closer to her.

If his mother insisted on getting a divorce, he would definitely stand by her side.

Seeing how determined his mother was, he was somehow reminded of Silvia's similar attitude. This made him feel somewhat sympathetic for his father, and he couldn't help but try persuading his mother.

"You shouldn't blame him for what happened between me and Silvia. Didn't he also mention that…he's fallen in love with you over the years?"

"And what about you?" his mother immediately retorted with a sharp gaze.