Chapter 6

Suddenly, Silvia’s face shifted to that of Autumn’s. Both of their teary eyes and sorrowful expressions were more than enough to kill his sleep.

He tossed and turned through the entire night. When morning came, he was still suffering from sheer exhaustion. It simply made him feel worse, as he usually had the luxury of waking up to a clear mind.

Even then, Ryan Pierce was still the man who managed the entirety of Pierce Group. As soon as he washed up and put on a clean suit, he once again appeared as the cold and heartless CEO.

Exiting the master bedroom, he scanned their lavish apartment unit; the absolute silence haunted his very being.

Normally, the entire place would be filled with the lovely aroma of coffee by the time he woke up, and in the kitchen would stand a certain woman. She would always be busy making breakfast for the entire family.

Knowing that he loved drinking coffee, Silvia bought a coffee machine so that she could personally make him a cup every single morning. Soon after that, he was unable to enjoy the coffee his secretary makes in the office, as he had gotten used to Silvia’s brew.

Hence, he had no choice but to arrange a meeting at his place, and have Silvia train the secretary in this regard.

Despite having used the same materials and steps, his secretary’s brew still tasted slightly different from Silvia’s. In the end, he decided to settle with what the secretary could make, since it was still somewhat similar to Silvia’s original brew. He couldn’t possibly bring his wife to work every day just to have her make him coffee, after all.

‘Everything really is unique in this world, and so are humans.’

Ryan quickly shook his head, as if he were trying to shake the melancholy out of his brain.

Before he could plan what to do next, the door to the bedroom next door slowly opened. Behind it was a little girl, anxiously holding onto a pink doll.

“Papa, is Mama back?”

A hint of frustration flashed through his eyes as soon as he heard mentions of Silvia first thing in the morning.

“No,” Ryan replied, then immediately changed the topic as he didn’t want Autumn to question further. “What would you like for breakfast?”

The little one responded, “I want Mama’s sandwiches…”

Hearing this, Ryan’s expression darkened. ‘Not that woman again!’

He didn’t want to hear anything regarding Silvia at all, yet Autumn’s words seemed to always revolve around her mother.

“Sandwiches, right?” Ryan ignored the fact that the girl wanted her mother’s cooking, and instead said, “Papa will make some for you.”

However, as a man who had never even entered the kitchen for more than thirty years, a simple sandwich was a rather difficult task.

The first thing he tried was, of course, to make a cup of coffee for himself. After taking some time to familiarize himself with the machine, he tried to cook up some fried eggs while the machine was brewing.

Unfortunately, Ryan ended up completely burning the eggs. He was so pissed, he threw the spatula aside.

Brushing his hair to the back, he noticed that the coffee was ready and hoped to freshen himself up. Just as he took a sip, his eyebrows furrowed deeply.

‘This is so disgusting! It’s not even just bad, it’s absolutely horrid!’ he thought, nearly smashing his cup into pieces.

With the two consecutive failures, Ryan no longer felt like cooking anymore. However, that was exactly when his daughter opened up the kitchen door.

“Papa, are the sandwiches finished?”

Ryan turned around, only to be met with a colorfully dressed daughter. Seeing this made him wish he could just cease to exist right then and there.

Just a while ago, he brought Autumn into the master bedroom to help her change. Yet she insisted on picking her own outfit, so he decided to head to the kitchen instead of arguing with her.

‘So this… This is what she chose?’

Pinching his nose bridge, Ryan calmed himself down, then crossed his arms while leaning against the kitchen counter. “Is this really the extent of your fashion sense?”

Autumn didn’t seem to care. In fact, she looked a bit cocky as she lifted her gaze pridefully, retorting, “And what if it is?”

Ryan fell speechless, noticing the similarities of her arrogance with a certain someone once more. ‘Like mother like daughter, I suppose.’

“Sure, if you think this looks good, then go ahead and wear it to school.” Ryan didn’t intend to object to her decision. He wanted to teach her that she’d have to face the consequences that followed after.

No matter if the other kids ridiculed or praised her for this outfit, it was her business and no one else’s. For instance, since Silvia had arrogantly announced her decision to divorce, she would have to suffer all consequences that come after.

"Let's eat out today." Ryan said as he picked up the little one, glancing at the messy kitchen.

Just before they headed out, the little girl suddenly rushed back to the bedroom and changed into a more casual outfit, consisting a white dress and a short jacket. It was quite an adorable and cheeky sight.

Seeing her new look, Ryan couldn't help but wonder what went through that little mind of hers.

'She's already so difficult and hard to read, even though she's so young. She'd definitely end up even worse than her mother once she grows up.'

'That mother of hers mentioned having another child so Autumn would have a playmate just a few days ago. And just look at what she did! She just heartlessly filed a divorce and even announced it in front of everyone.'

'Hah! How ridiculous.'

After having breakfast at a nearby cafe and sending Autumn to kindergarten, Ryan finally felt like he was temporarily released from the jail that was parenthood.

One day with Autumn was almost as tiring as a ten-day long business trip.

'Just how did that woman do it? How did she take care of our daughter every single day, for three whole years, without taking any breaks?'

For some reason, he was concerned about her feelings at that moment. He found it slightly strange.

'She's been giving me nothing but trouble! Why should I care about her?'

The moment he arrived at his office, he ordered his secretary to make him a cup of coffee. Having drunk coffee that was somewhat similar to Silvia’s, Ryan felt a little better about his day.

Just as he was getting ready to work, there came an email in his mailbox, titled 'Divorce Settlement'.

Furious, he clicked into it and realized it was an email from the lawyer Silvia had hired.