Chapter 0002

Early the next morning, Caspian and Melanie stood in front of the entrance of their run-down apartment building where they lived.

They waited for the bus by the road.

Caspian gave Melanie one last chance and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"

Without even looking at him, Melanie replied, "There's no need."

As she finished speaking, her phone started ringing from inside her new Gucci bag.

Melanie fished out her brand-new iPhone. When she saw the caller ID on the screen, she walked over to a nearby sycamore tree. She answered the call in a gentle tone.

A few months ago, Melanie had spoken to Caspian in such a sweet voice as well. However, her favor now belonged to another man who was on the other end of the call.

Once Caspian was certain that their relationship was over, he didn't waste time trying to change her mind.

The bus arrived after a while. When the doors opened, Caspian gestured to Melanie, who had just finished her call to get on the bus.

Melanie walked over to the bus and glanced at Caspian. There was a hint of disdain and mockery in her gaze as she stared at Caspian with pity.

"A few months ago, we took the bus to register our marriage. Today, we are also taking the bus to divorce each other. Remember, this is the reason for our divorce."

The third stop of the bus route was at the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Both of them sat in different rows without speaking a word, right behind each other.

Afterward, they arrived at the counter for divorce proceedings at the Civil Affairs Bureau. The staff invited them to sit down and asked for their documents.

As the staff member checked their documents, he asked the both of them, "Have you two considered this thoroughly and divided your joint assets?"

Melanie couldn't wait to respond, "We have thought this true. Please settle the proceedings quickly. We don't have many assets. We live in a rental house and we can't afford a car. The items in the room are all we have.

"Some were bought by me and some by him. I'm leaving everything to him. We also have a small amount in the bank account which I will leave to him as well. It's probably around 180 dollars. I don't want anything."

Although she sounded like a generous person, her look of disdain clearly showed that she thought of it as charity to her ex-husband.

Caspian sensed an urgency in her tone.

The staff member finally stamped their divorce certificates.

After that, he handed them to Caspian and Melanie respectively.

When they registered for marriage, they had to queue up and verify their documents to complete the proceedings.

It took them around half an hour. On the other hand, getting divorced was much quicker.

In less than ten minutes, both of them walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Caspian looked up at the sky and turned to Melanie with a smile. "Melanie, even though we are divorced now, can we still be friends?"

Melanie didn't even make eye contact with Caspian. She stuffed the divorce certificate into her bag and casually touched up her makeup with a small mirror.

"It's better if we treat each other like strangers in the future. When I look at you, I am reminded of the time I lived in poverty. The six months of our marriage felt like a nightmare to me. Now that the nightmare is over, I feel so relieved."

Caspian was taken aback.

He never thought that the woman he did his best to love for the past six months would describe their time together as a nightmare.

In that instant, any lingering feelings he felt for Melanie disappeared completely.

At that moment, the revving sounds of a sports car approaching could be heard.

A red BMW sports car pulled up next to Melanie.

The next second, the car door opened.

A one-eyed man with pockmarked skin and balding hair stepped out of the car.

Caspian recognized this man.

He was Bobby Mason, the son of their company's general manager.

Bobby was born with only one eye. Although he was ugly, he had a decent family background. His career was mediocre at best.

He had to rely on his dad's connections to get to where he was currently.

Thus, he remained unmarried for years.

When Bobby got out of the car, he walked over to Caspian.

He grabbed Caspian's hand and exclaimed with a smug expression, "Although you didn't do much, thank you so much for taking care of my wife for the past six months! From now on, she's my woman. I'll definitely do my best to take care of Melanie, don't worry.

"When she's my wife, I will not let her take public transportation nor do any house chores. I'll do my best to give her the best life I can afford. I'll definitely make her happier than ever before. Dear ex-husband, don't worry about her!"

Bobby's cheeky words of gratitude toward Caspian did not mask the mocking tone in his voice. At the same time, he flaunted his wealth.

Caspian ignored him but stared at Melanie with surprise and curiosity.

In his mind, he thought that Melanie could do much better. She should have found a younger, richer, and more successful man than him.

Who would have thought that Melanie only wanted a rich man? Except for being richer than him on the surface, Bobby's physical appearance was utterly repulsive.

Caspian asked her, "Did you divorce me because of him?"

Melanie hung her head as her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

In the next moment, she mustered her courage and looked up.

She shouted, "Yes, I divorced you because of Bobby. Bobby has been good to me and will give me a better life. He genuinely cares for me. I'm not a materialistic woman.

"Bobby is kind to me. He is also willing to spend time to keep me company. In my eyes, that makes him far superior in comparison to you."

Perhaps only by shouting that Melanie could convince herself that she wasn't a gold digger.

She was clearly trying to hide her feelings of shame toward Caspian.

"Caspian, I know you loved Melanie, that's why you let her go. Men should be open-minded. Competent men like me must do their best to take care of the woman they love, while incompetent men should let them go. For example, you let Melanie go and allowed her to pursue happiness."

As Bobby spoke, he nodded condescendingly at Caspian. "There is a kind of love called letting go. You've done well."

Caspian chose to ignore Bobby and turned to Melanie.

He had a look of disappointment on his face. "Did you abandon me for this handicapped man? You've really disappointed me."

Caspian's words hit a nerve with Melanie.

Melanie couldn't care less about her image and screamed hysterically on the spot, "How dare you call my husband a handicapped man? He drives a BMW. How about you? You take the bus every day! He earns tens of thousands of dollars each month, and his father is a manager of the company.

"How about you? You work a day job and deliver parcels in the afternoon. You come home every day covered in sweat, but you only make five thousand dollars a month. What do your parents do? They must be living in a remote village, I guess.

"We have been married for half a year, but you won't even let them meet me. Are you concerned that they would lose their way in the city, or are you afraid that I will look down on them?

"If you have the nerve to call Bobby a handicap, why don't you take a good look at yourself first? You're worse than trash!

"Even if you scrimped and saved all your life, you can't even afford to buy a car, let alone a BMW sports car. Caspian, accept your fate. You're just a poor loser."

After giving Caspian a piece of her mind, Melanie turned to Bobby and took his arm.

She spoke to him in a sweet voice, "Darling, let's go."

Bobby was still grinning widely. "Melanie, how can you call him a poor loser? You are right about that, though. We should stay away from beggars like him in the future."

In Caspian's eyes, the two shameless individuals yapping away in front of him deserved each other.

As the couple walked toward the red BMW, a powerful rumble of an engine could be heard in the distance.

The next moment, a huge Mercedes-Benz SUV roared by without pulling on the brakes. It ran over the red BMW sports car that Melanie was so proud of and flattened it into scrap metal.

The once stylish sports car now resembled a deflated balloon.

Bobby and Melanie stood on the sidewalk, completely bewildered.

The Mercedes-Benz was a modified SUV.

It had a length of 20 feet, weighed 3 tons, and was powered by a 6.2-liter turbo engine.

This ferocious beast of a car cost approximately around 6 million dollars.

The Mercedes-Benz SUV drove over the sports car several times until it was flattened into a sheet of scrap metal.

Finally, the SUV's engine was turned off and the car door opened. A pair of long legs clad in silk stockings stepped out.

The woman who emerged from the car was wearing a camo dress that clung to her shapely figure.

Earlier, Bobby was furious at the brainless driver in the Mercedes-Benz SUV for running over his beloved sports car.

However, he couldn't pull his eyes away when he saw the curvaceous woman stepping out of the driver's seat.

Bobby swallowed hard to control his desires.

To his disappointment, the woman in the camo dress ignored him completely and strode toward Caspian gracefully.

"Good morning, Lord—" Sylvia started to greet Caspian, but he shook his head.

He gestured to her so that she would not reveal their identities. "Sylvia, why are you here?"

Sylvia nodded with a smile. Suddenly, she stretched out her hand and linked arms with Caspian.

Her actions caught Caspian off guard.

Sylvia lifted her chin disdainfully. With a mocking smile, she sized up Bobby and Melanie who were standing opposite them.

"Caspian, I've seen your wedding photos and I know she's Melanie. However, who's the hideous ogre standing beside her?"

Hideous … ogre …?