Chapter 19

What Soren never expected was that Evangeline would actually agree.

He remembered, ever since Evangeline’s mother had passed away, her father, Winston Whitmore, had remarried, and both Winston and Evangeline’s stepmother had never treated her kindly p>

Noticing that he’d recalled this, Evangeline didn’t bother to explain further. She simply nodded. “It’s already decided. There’s no point in dragging things out p>

Divorce was inevitable now.

Evangeline hated that feeling of uncertainty, of things left hanging.

“So, all those things you’ve been doing lately–was it all for this?” Soren asked, thinking back on her recent strange behavior.

So she was afraid he’d refuse her request to invest in the Whitmore family, and that’s why she’d staged this whole push–and–pull act?

The thought amused him.

Evangeline didn’t quite catch what he meant at first, but seeing the tension ease from his face, she guessed he must be in a pretty good mood.

Maybe he was thinking that, once they were divorced, he could finally be with Poppy.

Evangeline laughed inwardly, a little bitterly. Soren always claimed the divorce would change nothing, but deep down, he was probably eager for their marriage to end, so he could be with Poppy without any guilt.

She said nothing.

Soren took her silence as consent. He didn’t press further, just flipped to the last page and signed his name with a flourish.

“Tomorrow, you’ll need to come with me to-” he started, but before he could event finish saying “city hall,” Soren had already pulled out his passport and slid it a the table along with the divorce agreement.

“I’m busy. You can handle the rest yourself p>

“If you run into anything you really don’t understand, go talk to Gregory p>

His cold, detached words made Evangeline smile wryly.

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21.05

Chapter

He’d even sent Gregory to handle their marriage license all those years ago,

Now, for their divorce, he couldn’t spare a single moment from his precious schedule to give their five years together even a shred of dignity at the end.

This marriage–she had to admit–was a farce, so absurd that she herself could hardly stand to look back on it.

At least now, she wasn’t as fragile as she used to be.

If he didn’t want to go, then so be it.

“Do you want your lawyer to look over the agreement one more time?” Evangeline asked.

“No need,” Soren replied coolly. “Just be sure you don’t regret your decision p>

The stark white light from the lamp cast angled shadows across his face, highlighting the sharp lines and depth of his features.

Evangeline looked at him, and for a moment, the man in front of her seemed to blur into the boy she’d met so long ago.

She’d first met Soren when she was six, at a party she attended with her mother.

Everything at the party had been new and exciting, so she’d wandered off to explore–only to be mocked by some wealthy girl. After a few sharp words back and forth, the girl, furious, shoved her into the pool.

Water rushed into her nose from every direction. Evangeline, who couldn’t swim, was gripped by sheer terror.

Just as she was about to drown, a pair of hands pulled her out and helped her onto the side of the pool.

She remembered the boy–drenched, his shirt clinging to his chest, water dripping from his tousled hair.

That was the first time she learned his name: Soren.

Back then, her mother was still alive, the Whitmore family hadn’t fallen on ha times, and the Fawkes family wasn’t yet the center of everyone’s attention.

But when she learned about Soren and Poppy, she kept her feelings to herself.

Later, after marrying Soren, she’d hoped to give him happiness in her own way–but things hadn’t gone as she imagined.

This five–year–long mistake had left everyone scarred. There were no winners.

“I won’t regret it,” Evangeline said quietly.

She picked up the divorce papers and passport from the table and walked out of the study.

The next morning, just after dawn, Evangeline drove to city hall with the signed divorce agreement.

She approached the counter, handed over her documents, and said, “Hi, I’m here to file for divorce. ”

At that moment, she felt her phone buzz furiously in her pocket.