Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

She turned to look at Walker Grant, a hint of resentment in her glistening eyes. ”Were you...”

Before she could finish her sentence, Walker Grant had already turned and walked away.

Chloe Reed froze on the spot. He was shrouded in an aura of cold indifference, his pale face an icy mask. From beginning to end, he never even glanced at her.

’He showed up this late without a single word of explanation?’

Chloe Reed was so angry she almost had to laugh.

She let out a frustrated sigh and walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau. Seeing his retreating figure, she called out, ”Nine o’clock tomorrow morning! If you’re late again, I’ll know you’re just stalling on purpose!”

Walker Grant didn’t break his stride, getting straight into his car.

Hah!

Chloe Reed scoffed, turned, and got into her own car. The two of them drove off in opposite directions.

When she returned to the hospital, her foul mood was plain to see.

The old woman noticed and asked, ”Chloe, what’s wrong?”

Chloe Reed answered dejectedly, ”We couldn’t get it done.”

A look of confusion appeared on the old woman’s face. ”Why not?”

So Chloe Reed told her what had happened that afternoon.

The old woman listened, then nodded slowly. ”From the sound of it, he seems determined to divorce you. He must have been held up by something today. You should be able to finalize it tomorrow.”

Chloe Reed said, ”I hope so.”

That night, Iris Yates blew up her phone, asking if she was free at eight the next morning.

Chloe thought for a moment. The Civil Affairs Bureau opened at nine, which was when she was meeting Walker Grant. That meant she should have enough time to go with Iris to her blind date at eight, so she agreed.

Iris Yates cheered and spammed her with a stream of hugging and kissing emojis.

She didn’t sleep well that night. She tossed and turned, her mind replaying scenarios of Walker Grant standing her up again.

’But he was already so cold. Why would he stand her up again?’

’So, dreams must mean the opposite of what they show.’

”...”

「Grant Family Estate.」

Walker Grant listened to a report from one of his men. He learned that after leaving the airport, Sunny Reed had changed her disguise, gotten into a car with fake plates, and then vanished.

He had gone to the airport himself and reviewed the surveillance footage over and over. He’d found traces of Sunny Reed, but in the end, she still managed to slip away.

Someone had been there to help her.

’Who took her?’

’And where did they hide her?’

”Uncle...”

A choked, childish voice called out, ”Where’s my mommy?”

Walker Grant held Noah and said softly, ”Your mommy had to go away for work. She won’t be back for a very long time.”

”Waaah...” Hearing this, Noah immediately burst into tears. ”I want my mommy! WAAAAH... I want my mommy...”

Walker Grant looked down at him, his dark, almond-shaped eyes holding a hint of coldness. Children are incredibly sensitive to emotions; the boy flinched in fear but continued to whimper softly.

”I want my mommy.”

Walker Grant said, ”I’ll be here with you from now on.”

Noah’s lip trembled, his big eyes brimming with tears. He was inconsolable.

He just wanted his mommy.

Walker Grant steeled his heart, patiently holding and soothing the boy. Only when the child had cried himself to exhaustion and fallen asleep in his arms did silence finally fall.

He shut down his computer and carried Noah upstairs.

After instructing the nanny to look after him, he returned to his own room.

The room was dark. He stood in the doorway, and it was as if he could see the events of that day all over again.

She had been so gentle and pliant, letting him hold her. But a dagger had been hidden behind that tenderness.

’How could he not have noticed?’

She had argued with him that morning, yet by the afternoon, she was acting as if nothing had happened. It had even lulled him into a false sense of hope.

Standing in the darkness, he gave a silent, bitter smile.