Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Chloe Reed flung his hand away again, her eyes red-rimmed. ”There’s no point in saying any of this, Walker Grant. What I agreed to was a deal. We get what we want, and that’s it. Don’t ask for too much. No matter what you do, we can never go back to how we were.”

She turned and continued walking.

The moment she turned away, tears fell.

Walker Grant’s palm felt empty, and his heart did too.

He followed her, not saying another word this time, just trailing silently behind.

When they got back to the guesthouse, she unlocked the door, then turned to face him. ”You’ve used up your quota for the month, so we won’t be staying in the same room. Go get another one.”

Before he could react, she shut the door.

Walker Grant: ”...”

Her attitude was frigid, as if she truly saw their relationship as nothing more than a transaction.

’But we aren’t even divorced.’

’We’re still husband and wife.’

Walker Grant had always believed that what they had wasn’t a deal.

’Everything I’m doing is what a husband—what a man who loves her—should do.’

’As for the so-called monthly quota, it was just an excuse he’d proposed so she could accept his help without feeling indebted.’

’If he didn’t seem to want something in return, she would never have yielded.’

Staring at the closed door, Walker Grant turned and leaned back against the wall. He tilted his head up slightly. A few seconds later, he began to cough softly, then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of bloody foam.

He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling a sharp, persistent pain.

He got a room next to hers. A moment later, there was a knock at the door. He went to open it and found Daniel Hayes standing there, holding a first-aid kit.

”Mr. Grant, are you alright?”

Daniel Hayes looked at him worriedly.

Walker Grant didn’t say anything, simply gesturing for him to come inside.

Daniel Hayes hurried into the room. As soon as the door was closed, he continued, ”I saw Miss Chloe punch you earlier. Even I felt that one. Those guys are really treacherous, ambushing you like that.”

He opened the first-aid kit. ”I brought plenty of medical supplies. You should treat your wound.”

”Mm.”

Walker Grant grunted in agreement and unbuttoned his shirt. His chest was wrapped in gauze, a makeshift bandage over his wound. Specks of fresh blood were already soaking through.

Daniel Hayes’s brow furrowed. ”Mr. Grant,” he asked in confusion, ”why didn’t you tell Miss Chloe?”

”And have her get all tense again, right after she’d finally started to relax?” Walker Grant said quietly, his gaze lowered. ”I’d rather she resent and blame me than live in constant fear.”

Daniel Hayes sighed helplessly. ”Perfect. She doesn’t just blame you; now she definitely doesn’t trust me either.”

Walker Grant said, ”Then protect her from the shadows. She’s not incapable of telling right from wrong. She’ll understand eventually.”

Daniel Hayes nodded. ”Yes, I understand.”

He then helped Walker Grant clean the wound, apply ointment, and re-bandage it.

In a way, this whole mess gave Walker Grant the chance to recover here on his own.

But they couldn’t stay here much longer.

Vera Holloway’s people had arrived faster than he had imagined.

A cold, sharp glint appeared in Walker Grant’s dark, almond-shaped eyes. He said to Daniel Hayes, ”Send the word. We leave City S tomorrow afternoon.”

Daniel Hayes nodded. ”Okay.”