Chapter 001 Divorce
“Let’s get a divorce.”
Even after three years of marriage, the man spoke as little as when they first met. He spat out those words coldly, void of human emotion.
Hailey Newman stood behind Owen Moore, staring at his tall, straight figure. She stared at his cold, ruthless face reflected on the floor-to-ceiling window, feeling disheartened.
Her hands clenched into fists silently, and her body trembled.
The words she feared most was finally said.
Owen turned around, and his face became clearer. He had the perfect face—an angular jawline and handsome looks. She had been living with him for three years, but her heart skipped a beat whenever she was with him.
“Can we… not divorce?”
Hailey forced herself to speak her mind. Her eyes were glossy, filled with some hope.
Owen frowned. His cold eyes landed on her bare face and lastly on her red eyes. The furrow in his brows deepened.
She had no makeup on, but Hailey looked good. She was not the type to wear heavy makeup. Her skin was fair, and her face was innocent and flawless. One would never get tired of looking at her.
Her big eyes were clear yet filled with panic as she looked at him pleadingly. She had a mole under her right eye, and her long, black hair hung loosely behind her ear. She looked meek.
In his eyes, she was a weak and dull woman.
She was the perfect wife, but he didn’t love her.
He got into an accident and suffered from high paraplegia three years ago. The doctor said he might never be able to stand. It was then that he was forced to separate from his beloved woman. His mother forced him on blind dates to find a doctor who could care for him as his wife. He picked a nurse among his admirers, and Hailey was the lucky one. He chose her because she had no background and was silent.
“You’ve been with me and taking care of me for three years. I will give you ten million as compensation.”
Owen was unmoved when he said this, let alone to be seen with the slightest affection for her. “Or is there something else you want…”
“Why?”
Hailey interrupted him for the first time. She looked at him stubbornly and reluctantly. “Why do you want a divorce now?”
It was their third wedding anniversary the next day, and she had plans for it. She thought they could be together for another three years and maybe a lifetime.
“You know I don’t love you.”
His tone was cold and indifferent, not wanting to give her a glimmer of hope. “Eliza is back. I am going to marry her.”
Hailey seemed to have been struck by lightning, and her frail body swayed, hit by the weight of his words.
She had tried to maintain her marriage for three years, but her efforts were nothing compared to that woman’s words.
“Sir…”
The butler came over in a hurry and reported, “Miss Brown vomited the food she just ate, and blood was spotted.”
Owen couldn’t keep calm. He bypassed Hailey and walked to the guest room, ordering in a grim tone, “Get the car ready. We’re going to the hospital.”
After a while, Owen came out of the guest room with a woman in his arms. The woman was thin and weak, covered in a lightweight embroidered blanket, which Hailey made.
Her face was pale and sickly as if she would disappear from this world at any time. She curled up in Owen’s arms and whispered, “Owen, Miss Byrne, she…”
Owen stopped at the corner of the stairs and turned to Hailey. “The lawyer will talk to you about the specific of the divorce. Please move out of the Moore’s Mansion within three days.”
Then, he lifted the woman in his arms and carried her down the stairs without looking back at Hailey.
Hailey stood at the stairs while Eliza Brown lay in Owen’s arms and looked up at Hailey with a smug gaze.
Just an hour ago, Eliza, who was sick, was smiling at Hailey, saying, “I am living here now. You should return him to me.”
Hailey slumped to the ground when their figures disappeared from her sight. It was as if she had lost all her strength. Tears fell from her eyes silently as she hugged her trembling body.
Ten years.
From the moment he saved her from hell, she had been concerned for him for ten years and loved him for as long. Would she be able to get back those ten years?
But there was no point in forcing him to stay. He did not love her. She would never be able to move him and make him fall for her even if she lowered herself to the point where she disregarded her self-esteem.
“Owen, this will be the last time I cry for you.”
Hailey reached out to wipe away the tears and stood up from the ground. The delicate, fragile woman became incomparably cold, her eyes reflecting a determined glint.
It was time to leave.
The divorce agreement was placed on an eye-catching spot on the main bedroom, which was the bedside table.
Hailey flipped to the last page and saw a familiar signature. Her eyes flashed, and her fingers grazed the name Owen Moore on the page. She felt like crying.
She sniffed, held back her tears, picked up the pen, and signed her name, Hailey Byrne, next to his.
Since it started with this name, she would end it with this name.
Hailey took a seal from the bedside. From selecting materials to buying the jade and carving it took her a year. She prepared it as a gift for Owen for their third wedding anniversary gift.
In fact, she had given him many gifts in the past three years, and she had put a lot of thought into preparing them. But they all ended up in the wardrobe or the trash bin, just like her sincerity to him.
Just as she walked out of the Moore’s mansion, a black luxury car stopped by the side of the road. Hailey got in the car and said lightly, “I’m divorced.”
In the driver’s seat, a man in brown sunglasses had an evil smile. “Congratulations on regaining your freedom.”
He handed a laptop to Hailey. “It’s time to be yourself. We have been waiting for your return.”