Chapter 3

“What’s the meaning of this? Explain!” Harold questioned angrily as he shot Ryan a dirty glare.

The old man knew well enough to realize that Silvia was being absolutely serious to have announced her divorce in this manner.

He was greatly saddened and enraged, as he had known how awkward the young couple’s relationship was.

Nonetheless, Harold thought the two would get along as years passed. Not to mention, they already had a child together.

He never expected their relationship to progress towards the worst ending possible.

“She has no say in this matter!” Ryan growled, expressing his anger right before he stormed out of the place.

He was most definitely implying that he would never agree to the divorce, and would use everything in his power to make sure it wouldn’t happen.

Silvia didn’t head home that day. She never intended to continue living with Ryan under the same roof after filing a divorce ,after all.

She didn’t regret her decision. She had never regretted any of her past actions either, regardless of the consequences.

Later on, Silvia drove towards an old suburb, where her close friend Rosaline Olson lived.

Seeing how disheveled Silvia looked, Rosaline jumped from shock as soon as she opened the door. She immediately dragged Silvia inside, concern written all over her face. “What happened to you?”

Silvia sat down in the small living room, then took a few sips out of warm water Rosaline served. Her expression was calm as she replied, “I’m getting a divorce too.”

Rosaline had gone through a divorce a year ago, hence why Silvia mentioned the word ‘too’.

Her ex-husband had cheated. However, it wasn’t because he found a younger or more attractive woman. In the first place, he wasn’t at all rich.

Rosaline’s ex-husband was poor, and he had enough of a life of poverty. Hence, he went ahead and found himself a rich woman to rely on.

Not only was the rich woman married, she was also a prostitute. Her money basically came from sleeping with other men, which was then spent on her little sugar baby, Rosaline’s ex-husband.

Rosaline was utterly stunned to hear Silvia’s words. However, her shock was soon replaced with pity. “Can you…really let him go?”

She had witnessed the change in Silvia throughout her relationship with Ryan; from her happiness in the beginning, down to her agony at the very end.

If Ryan was considered as someone Silvia loved with her entire being, Rosaline was someone Silvia would blindly put her complete trust in.

Facing Rosaline’s question, Silvia leaned against the couch and closed her eyes. She was clearly exhausted.

‘So what if I can’t? It doesn’t matter.’

Rosaline glanced at her friend’s expression and pondered. Then, she said softly, “You know, your situation’s different from mine.”

“Brooks and I were in love from the start, but we slowly grew to resent each other throughout the years. We’ve lost all the love we initially had.”

Shaun Brooks was the name of Rosaline’s ex-husband. It had been a whole year since their divorce, so Rosaline could talk about her failed relationship nonchalantly. She didn’t seem angry, nor did she insult him and his actions. It was as if she had become a complete outsider to her own past.

“But you and Pierce are different. You didn’t have any love for each other in the beginning, and now, you’re slowly getting along. This is just my opinion, but you should really think it over.”

Silvia opened her eyes back up after listening intently to Rosaline’s advice. Her gorgeous eyes were filled with humility as she responded, “Rosa, no one would want a divorce.”

“I’m tired of all this. I really am.”

“And… You say we’re getting along…” Silvia’s gaze shifted to the floor, her head hanging low.

“But that’s just all there is, isn’t it?”

“He doesn’t love me, I know that for a fact. And that’s why our marriage was bound to fail,” Silvia continued as she turned to Rosaline.

“I lost all hope for us to work, and for me.”

“Imagine if you’re stuck in one level in a game, and you can never get past it for some reason. No matter how passionate and obsessed you were with the game at the start, that one level is enough to drain your love for it.”

“And in the end, you’d just stop playing the game entirely.”

Silvia’s tone sounded exceedingly lonely, despite the soft smile on her face. “That’s what happened to my love for Ryan.”

She remembered how excited she was at the start of their five year marriage. She did everything she could to please him and to make him happy; shamelessly trying every way she could to win his heart.

She used to be as bright as a star, and there was always a wide smile on her face.

At one point, she accidentally overheard some harsh words he told her out of spite, which slowly destroyed all the joy she had in her heart. She was staying with a man who would never fall in love with her; in a marriage with absolutely no hope.

She couldn’t have possibly returned to her past cheerful self.

As time passed, Silvia became closed off and was silent most of the time. The spark in her soul died as her anticipation for the future lessened, turning her into a resentful wife.

That…was how this five year relationship changed her.

She cherished the man so much that she did everything she could to earn his so-called love, and lost herself in the process.

Oftentimes, she would question herself, wondering, ‘Is this really what I want?’

Just as Rosaline was about to say something, Silvia’s phone could be heard ringing inside her bag.

Silvia took her phone out, only to hang up on the call as soon as she saw the contact on her screen.

It was Ryan, and she didn’t want to answer at all. What she didn’t expect was for him to pester her until she finally picked up.

As expected, his voice was unusually cold. She could tell he was suppressing his anger.

“Where are you?”

Dodging the question, Silvia retorted dismissively, “What do you want?”

“Autumn woke up and couldn’t find you, so she’s crying now!”

She could practically hear him gritting his teeth over the phone. She thought to herself, ‘If I was in front of him right now, he’d definitely try to ‘teach me a lesson’ again.’

Heart wrenching cries could be heard on the other end of the line, shattering Silvia's heart into millions of pieces in an instant.

Autumn was their three year old daughter who had recently started attending kindergarten. The little one was adorable, cheerful, smart…just like how she used to be.

“Mama…”

“Mama…”

“Where are you? Come back, come back! Wah…”

Listening to her child crying out for her was unbearable, so much so that her entire body was trembling. Silvia hadn't left her daughter's side ever since giving birth to Autumn.

Before her daughter started school, Silvia would stay at home and spend her every second with Autumn, doing her best to be a good mother and wife.

Ryan had hired a nanny in the past, but Silvia refused to let someone else take care of her daughter and dismissed the nanny from the job not long after. Since then, she had personally managed everything regarding Autumn.

She was absolutely devastated when she thought about how she had to leave her daughter behind. Tears welled up in her eyes.

However, she was still determined to go through the divorce. To ease the pain a little, she comforted herself.

‘Once the divorce is finalized in a few days, I won't be separated from my daughter ever again.’