Chapter 3

Yvette's voice was calm and impassive, as though divorce were a menial matter to her.

Xavier's pupils contracted. "What did you just say?"

Over the last three years, no matter what he had done, Yvette had never brought up divorce.

In truth, Xavier knew that Yvette loved him.

Her eyes, which were usually dull and empty, were clear and bright now. "I'm sorry for being a burden over the last few years, Mr. Lane. We should get divorced."

Xavier clenched his fists unconsciously. "You heard what I said earlier, didn't you? Snyder Group was already failing; it won't matter whether I buy it or someone else does. What are you trying to do by bringing up divorce?

"Is it because you want money? Or a child? Or do you want me to leave Snyder Group alone?" he asked coldly. "Don't forget that I don't love you. Your threats won't work on me!"

At that moment, he seemed like a stranger to Yvette. A lump formed in her throat as her ears began throbbing. Even though she was wearing her hearing aids, she could barely hear what Xavier was saying.

She could only answer his last question. "I don't want anything."

Afraid that he would notice something wrong with her, Yvette left the study in a hurry.

As he watched her leave, Xavier felt frustrated for some reason. He had never felt like this before.

Not one to hold in his emotions, he flipped the table over. The bowl of soup that Yvette had brought him spilled all over the ground.

...

Back in her own room, Yvette forced herself to swallow a handful of pills.

She reached up to touch her ear. As she retracted her fingers, she saw crimson blood on them.

Thanks to the medicine, her hearing recovered a little by the time it was dawn. Yvette stared blankly at the soft rays of sunlight streaming from the window.

"The rain has stopped," she said quietly to herself.

Xavier didn't leave the manor that day.

He was in the living room bright and early, settled on the couch, waiting for Yvette to apologize and express her regret to him.

This wasn't the first time Yvette had lost her temper with him. However, after every tantrum, she would apologize to him before long.

Xavier figured that it would be the same this time around.

Soon, he saw Yvette coming out of her room, all freshened up. She wore her usual dark-colored clothes. She dragged a suitcase with one hand while holding a piece of paper in the other.

She handed the paper to him. It was a divorce agreement.

"Let me know when you have time, Xav."

With that, she left the manor, pulling her suitcase behind her.

It was bright and sunny outside. Yvette felt as if she had gotten a new chance at life.

Meanwhile, Xavier sat frozen on the couch, still clutching the divorce agreement in his hand.

It took him a long time to come back to his senses.

It was Saturday. Usually, around this time of the year, Xavier would take Yvette back to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. During this time, they would have to endure strange looks from his extended family.

However, he was alone that day, which made him extraordinarily happy.

At Lane Mansion, Shannon and the rest of the Lanes were surprised to see him alone.

In the past, Yvette had always been the first one to turn up every year and the last to leave since she had been trying to please everyone.

Why wasn't she there today?

Shanon frowned and asked Xavier, "Where's Yvette, Xav?"

Xavier's expression turned cold. "She wanted a divorce and left me."

Everyone fell silent in disbelief when he said that.

Shannon was shocked. She knew that Yvette probably loved Xavier more than anything in the world, only surpassed by his own parents.

Seven years ago, Yvette had even protected Xavier with her own body when someone had attempted to stab him.

Four years ago, not long after the two had gotten engaged, something had happened to Xavier while he had been on a business trip in Dibay.

Everyone had been convinced that he was dead, but Yvette had refused to believe that. She had dropped everything and gone to the foreign city just to look for him.

Then, after they had gotten married, Yvette had taken care of almost everything in his life with meticulous precision, including being polite to everyone around him, even his secretaries. She had always been afraid of offending them.

Yvette clearly couldn't live without Xavier. So, why had she suggested getting a divorce?

Shannon had no idea, but she was glad that Yvette had finally decided to let Xavier go.

"She's not worthy to be your wife anyway. It's a good thing that you're divorcing her. She doesn't deserve you," she said

The others immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, you're young and handsome, Xav. You're in your best years now. Yvette's been dragging you down all this time!"

Instantly, the gathering turned into a slander fest.

They spoke of Yvette as if she were an unforgivable criminal.

Xavier should have felt happy that they were defending him, but for some reason, he found their words too sharp and crass.

He left Lane Mansion earlier than usual and made his way back to Dewberry Manor.

The sky was just starting to darken when he arrived home.

He opened the door and entered the manor. When he saw nothing but darkness, he remembered, with a start, that Yvette had left.

He changed into his house slippers and tossed his coat into the washer.

For some reason, he felt unusually exhausted today.

He went to the wine cellar to get a bottle of wine so that he could celebrate Yvette's leaving.

However, when he got to the wine cellar and saw the locked door, he realized too late that he didn't have the key.

He didn't like strangers in his house, so there were no maids or helpers at Dewberry Manor. Ever since he had married Yvette, she had been the one taking care of the household affairs.

He could only go back to his room. Picking up his phone, he scrolled through his messages only to find work-related texts. Yvette hadn't called or texted him to apologize at all.

Tossing his phone aside, he got up and headed over to the kitchen.

When he opened the door of the fridge, he was stunned.

Apart from food, there were also a lot of supplements.

He picked one of the bags up and read the instructions on it. "Take five times a day for infertility."

Infertility?

He took a whiff of the supplement. It smelled disgusting.

He recalled how Yvette always smelled strange. So, this was why.

He scoffed silently. They had never had sex, so no matter how much medicine she took, she would never have gotten pregnant.

...

Meanwhile, over in a dark and dinky hotel, Yvette opened her eyes blearily.

Her head was pounding. The world was silent. She knew, then, that her condition had worsened again.

Before this, she had still been able to hear some sounds, even without her hearing aids.

She pushed herself up and felt around on the bedside table until she found her medicine. She popped the pills in her mouth, tasting their bitterness.

The day before, she had left Dewberry Manor, which had been her home for the past three years. At first, she had gone to her parents' house, Snyder Residence.

However, at the door, she had overheard Yara and Terrence discussing how they would marry her off to a 78-year-old man if the Lanes kicked her out.

Yvette had blanked upon hearing that. It was then that she finally realized that she had no place to call home anymore.

Even though she hadn't eaten anything in two days, she still didn't feel hungry.

However, it was too quiet. The silence scared her.

It had been raining more frequently in Tirion this year than it had in previous years.

Yvette stared out at the passing pedestrians. Most of them were paired up or in groups. She was the only one alone.

She bought a bus ticket heading out of the city. She decided to go to her nanny's house in the countryside. Viola Xenos, her nanny, had taken care of her when she was a child.

It was already 9:00 pm when Yvette got there.

When Viola saw Yvette, she looked pleasantly surprised.

Yvette teared up when she saw Viola's warm smile. She reached out to her and hugged her. "Viola."

Due to health issues, Viola had never married and didn't have children of her own. Yvette was closer to her than she was to her own mother.

That night, Yvette cuddled up in Viola's embrace, just like she had when she was a child.

Viola wrapped her arms around Yvette, only to realize that the latter was very thin.

She pressed a hand on the Yvette's bony back, trembling uncontrollably. Forcing herself to calm down, she asked cautiously, "Has Xavier been treating you well, Yvvy?"

Yvette felt a sharp pain in her throat when she heard Xavier's name. She wanted to lie to Viola and tell her that Xavier had treated her well, but she knew that Viola wasn't stupid.

Since she had already made up her mind to leave him, there was no need to lie to herself or to the people who loved her any longer.

"The person he loves has returned. I've decided to let him go and divorce him."

Viola was stunned. She couldn't believe her ears.

Yvette had told her multiple times before that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Xavier.

Not knowing what else to say, she comforted Yvette by telling her that there were plenty of other fish in the sea. There was bound to be one who would love her.

Yvette just nodded silently. The buzzing in her ears drowned out Viola's comforting voice.

That night, she managed to get a good night's sleep, which was rare.

However, when she woke up, she was greeted with the alarming sight of blood staining the spot where her head had laid on the pillow.

Yvette touched her right ear. Her fingers felt sticky.

She looked at her hand. It was covered in blood.