Chapter 9

When Rosaline finally went to work, Silvia had already slept through her entire afternoon. After that, she got out of bed and made some lunch for herself, and then used Rosaline’s computer to look for jobs online.

She initially thought Ryan would happily agree to divorce, and she’d be able to leave Detroit with her daughter. She intended to settle down at her parents’ place, which was in a rural area at the outskirts of Detroit and about an hour away from the city center.

She was hoping she could find a job in that area after her daughter got used to her parents’ place. She was determined to never go back to Detroit.

There was nothing here that she’d stay for, nor anyone she couldn’t bear to part with. Hence, it was meaningless for her to linger.

After becoming a mother, she knew how difficult parenthood was and could understand familial relationships even more now. Hence, after her failed marriage, the only place she could go was to her parents’.

Now that Ryan wished to fight for custody, she knew it’d be impossible to go through with the divorce any time sooner. However, she couldn’t let herself spend her days aimlessly. Since she had already decided to leave the Pierce family, she should have a job with a stable income to ensure her future.

Although she knew it was nearly impossible for a woman like her, who had no experience in any industries for five whole years, she figured she still needed to take that first step.

At Pierce Group, Ryan had just finished a meeting, only to receive a call from his sister, Nora Pierce.

The man only had one opinion regarding his sister; that she was an extremely naive and simple-minded child. As he was used to the ferocities within the business field, he couldn’t help but find his sister…rather stupid.

Even then, Silvia had always seen Nora as a kind and adorable girl. The two ladies got along with each other extraordinarily well, even more so than their sibling relationship.

It was only natural after all. Silvia loved seeing the good in everyone and everything, as if she always wore rose-coloured lenses throughout her entire life.

That was why Ryan had always thought the reason the two got along was because they were like-minded. He saw both of them as morons.

For some reason, seeing Nora’s number on his screen reminded him of Silvia, which infuriated him.

His tone was quite cold when he picked up, and he yelled at his sister, “What the hell is it this time?”

Despite this, Nora sounded way too panicked to complain about his insulting tone. “Ryan, something big happened! Just come home right now! Mom’s going to divorce Dad, and she’s already packing her bags!”

Ryan angrily hung up and gave his secretary some orders to rearrange his schedule for the evening. After that, he immediately rushed back to the old Pierce manor.

On his way there, Nora’s words continued to ring within his ears.

“Didn’t Silvia announce your divorce at Mom’s birthday party? Mom blames Dad for forcing you to marry her back then, she thinks he’s the reason you two ended up with such a horrible ending.”

“Mom said she hated Dad for ruining your happiness, so she’s decided she can no longer spend the rest of her life with him too.”

Ryan was rather distressed by this. He winded all the car windows down to allow the breeze to calm him down for the time being.

His parents’ relationship had fallen into an awkward state after a scandal regarding his father was exposed five years ago. As it turned out, his father was involved in an affair and had an illegitimate son who was even older than Ryan.

However, Ryan would’ve never expected his gentle mother to consider divorce.

At most times, he didn’t wish to dwell in the details of his parents’ marriage too much. He would always see his own marriage in them, as they were both loveless marriages…

His parents’ got together through an arranged marriage as well. With the Pierces having quite the power within the business field and his maternal grandfather being an esteemed political figure, the unity between the two families was shocking to say the least.

With that, the Pierce family was able to stay on the very top in the industry, while Ryan’s grandfather became a legendary politician.

Ryan’s father actually had a lover before, and was quite reluctant to accept reality when he married Ophelia. It was extremely similar to Ryan’s situation with Silvia.

His marriage with Silvia was the main reason Ryan resented his father. He figured his father resented him the same, as he forced his own son to marry someone he didn’t love even after experiencing the heartache of a loveless marriage.

Instead, his father’s illegitimate son was given the best treatment out of all three children. For years, he hid his mistress and the son away from Ophelia, providing them with everything while they lived overseas.

The illegitimate son ended up falling in love with Mariah too, so it didn’t take long for his father to break them apart. The man forced Mariah to be with his illegitimate son instead.

As for Ryan, he could never respect or love a father who had never considered him.

Hence, he directed his resentment for his father to Silvia, who was known to be the understanding, perfect little daughter-in-law.

As he reached the manor’s parking lot, he noticed that Silvia had come by as well. This made him furious, and he glared at her as she just got out of her car. His face was filled with disdain as he scanned her cheap clothing up and down with derisive superiority.

“Look at what you’ve done!” Ryan gritted his teeth, slamming the door harshly before leaving.

Silvia was speechless when faced with his sudden outburst while she was still standing before her car.

She was trying her best in writing her resume at the time when she suddenly received a call from Nora. Hearing how Ophelia was going to divorce her father-in-law, she had no choice but to hurry over.

Nora said Ophelia was reminded of her sad past when Silvia announced divorcing Ryan. Hence, Ophelia decided to file a divorce as well.

Since this incident started with Silvia, she couldn’t defend herself when Ryan was lashing out on her just now. This really was her fault.

‘Ah, I didn’t think it’d turn out this way,’ she thought bitterly.

Ophelia had always been a kind and soft-spoken woman, so none of them expected her to behave in such a way that is so out of character.

Ryan was the first to enter the luxurious living room, followed by Silvia.

Nora looked as if she was on the verge of tears, whereas Ophelia stood next to her luggage with an expressionless face. Ryan’s father, Greg Pierce, was holding onto her arm, his eyes filled with distress.

“Lia, why should we have to end up this way? We’re old, and we’ve spent most of our lives together already. Why can’t we just talk it out?”

Noticing Ryan and Silvia’s arrival, Ophelia glanced at them and took a step back, releasing herself from Greg’s grasp.

The old woman was wearing a lovely bodycon dress at the time, scanning the entire room silently. After a short while, she spoke up.