Chapter 2

Ryan even had to yank his tie off and tied her flailing arms together just to keep them in place. Soon, moments of rough intimacies occurred on the large bed.

In the end, Silvia’s lovely dress was left a mess and hung loosely around her waist.

Ryan felt a pang of guilt when he looked at her miserable, damaged state. He was about to comfort her, but stopped himself after recalling her earlier hostile words. Instead, he got out of bed and went straight into the shower.

He didn’t understand how he was still so attracted to her body, despite already having a child with her.

At first, he simply wanted to smash his lips into hers and stop her from spewing any more hateful statements. He never intended for things to have gone this way, and could tell that she was deeply hurt by his rough actions; both physically and mentally.

‘Well, she’s at fault for being so stubborn! She shouldn’t have talked back to me like that,’ he thought to himself, convinced he wasn’t at fault.

Once Ryan got out of the shower, he realized that Silvia had left the room as well. She had washed up in another shower within the house, and picked out a new dress for herself.

Since her body was covered with his traces, she had no choice but to wear a modest black dress instead. Fortunately, the design was simple yet elegant enough for the occasion. It was a shame it wasn’t as eye-catching as the previous red dress.

Minutes later, the two got into the car. The chauffeur drives them straight to the old Pierce manor. No one uttered a single word during the ride; Ryan and Silvia acted as if they were complete strangers.

On the other hand, their daughter, Autumn Pierce, had already been picked up from kindergarten by her grandmother.

Ophelia Laurent was truly a blessing of a mother-in-law, Silvia was happy to admit. She would constantly offer to help pick the little one up to the old manor after Autumn’s formal education began. She even said it was to create more opportunities for Ryan and Silvia to enjoy the night together, with just the two of them.

Silvia wasn’t sure if those opportunities were as enjoyable, but she knew that three was certainly a crowd.

With the Pierce family’s wealth and reputation, Ophelia’s birthday celebration was very grand. The luxurious hall was extraordinarily lively, filled with the merry chattering amongst the guests.

The ceremony proceeded on smoothly. Unfortunately, Harold Pierce, Ryan’s grandfather, was much too old and lacked stamina. Thus, he intended to leave early. After a while, he stood up from his seat to make his way out.

Just then, Silvia softly called out to the old man. “Pawpaw, please wait.”

She needed the old man around, as divorce was definitely considered an important family matter to the Pierces.

Harold beamed at her. “What is it, Silvia?”

Silvia knew how fond Harold was of her, and the fact that he had always approved of her. In actuality, he wasn’t the only one; her in-laws all loved her dearly and treated her very well.

Apart from Ryan, the entire Pierce family had a great impression of her.

However, she didn’t really need all this affection from them. After all, they weren’t the people she wanted to settle down with.

“Pawpaw,” Silvia said in a collected manner. “I have an announcement to make, since everyone’s here.”

Pausing for a short while, her smile remained unchanged as she announced to everyone, “I’ve decided to divorce Ryan. I’ve already filed a petition.”

The entire hall fell silent. Even Harold, who had gotten used to shocking news, was completely stunned; let alone the parents-in-laws.

Ryan jumped up as well, grabbing her wrist with a shocked expression. He snarled, “What the hell are you playing at, Alberich?!”

Silvia met his angered gaze calmly, replying, “Ryan, you should know I’m not playing around by announcing this here.”

Ryan felt like his head was going to explode. He panicked slightly when he noticed her emotionless face. He couldn’t seem to think of anything to say.

At the same time, Harold looked at Silvia, who stood still with pride. She was wearing a beautiful black dress with tiny rhinestones embedded around the neckline, which suited her quite well.

If people saw her in public, no one would expect her to be the mother of a three year old girl.

However, Harold was experienced enough to handle the situation. He asked calmly, “What’s your reasoning, Silvia?”

Hearing this, the entire hall fell silent once again. Everyone looked towards the two, waiting for Silvia’s response.

‘Yeah, I do need a reason, don’t I?’

Staring back at everyone, Silvia smiled to herself sarcastically. “I’d like to get a divorce because I don’t have a big heart. I can’t continue this marriage knowing it involves a third party.”

Basically, she was telling everyone that Ryan cheated. Her words infuriated him even more. He tightened his grip on her wrist and gritted his teeth. “What are you trying to say?!”

Silvia flung his hand away, still emotionless. “I’m trying to give you my blessing…to be with your one true love.”

Just as Ryan opened his mouth to retort, Silvia cut him off. “I saw you two hugging at the dinner party the other day.”

“I heard all of it. About how she said she loved you the most. And yet, you didn’t have any intent to push her off of you.”

Ryan’s eyes darkened. Suffocated, he impatiently tugged on his tie, hoping that it could give him a little more breathing room.

Silvia grinned, though her tone remained sarcastic. “Must be nice to be loved unconditionally. She could leave the moment she fell out of love, then come running back when she wants to try again.”

“You’re always going to be here, waiting for her no matter what she does, aren’t you?”

She then huffed lightly. To add insult to injury, she said, “I didn’t know you like being emotionally tortured, Ryan Pierce.”

Every single one of Silvia’s words were as sharp as knives, stabbing into Ryan’s ego and heart. His expression was slowly growing twisted, and he wished nothing more than to drag her away right that instant.

Silvia somehow managed to dodge him as he reached for her. In retaliation, she returned the favor with a hard slap. “Ryan Pierce! You may be a f*cking masochist, but I’m not!”

“I’m done living like this. I’m done putting in effort just to be ignored again! I’m done dealing with your shitty temper and your violent ways! After so many years, I’m through with you!”

For one split second, she realized she was quite agitated. Fortunately, she was able to calm herself down after that. Turning towards him, she stared at him with a determined gaze.

“So let’s get a divorce, Ryan.”

Silvia walked towards the exit, ignoring any attempt at persuasion and the humiliating stares coming from everyone.

After taking just a few steps, she even went as far as to kick her heels off. She lifted her skirt up lightly and walked barefooted instead.

Now that she had made the announcement, she figured she wouldn’t need to interact with the Pierce family after the divorce, especially since she was absolutely determined to see it through. Hence, she no longer needed to maintain her polite image as a rich lady, nor inconvenience herself for anybody else’s sake.

The Pierces were all left behind, shocked by her vulgar words and actions. This also included Ryan, whose face was pained and numb from the slap she gave him.