Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”Mhm,” Walker acknowledged, sitting down next to Noah.

Noah blinked his big eyes, looked at him, and asked, ”Uncle Walker, it’s New Year’s Day. Why do you look so unhappy?”

Walker paused for a moment and said, ”I’m not.”

”Oh, I know!” Noah’s tone grew excited, as if he had just figured out a secret. ”Uncle Walker, are you thinking about Chloe?”

Walker’s thin lips curved upward, and he admitted it readily. ”Yes, I miss her.”

Noah giggled. ”I’m pretty amazing, aren’t I? I guessed it right away.”

”Yes, you did great.” Walker nodded, his mood no longer as gloomy as before.

Arthur Grant came over at that moment and sat directly at the head of the table. Seeing the white bandages wrapped around Walker’s eyes, his brows immediately furrowed. ”Your eyes still haven’t healed?”

Judith Pierce chimed in, ”If they were healed, would his eyes still be bandaged?”

”Hmph, I say it’s that jinx cursing you!” Arthur said bluntly, his tone filled with disgust and disdain for Chloe Reed. ”I didn’t agree to your marriage in the first place. Her sister already married your older brother, and yet she still had to marry you. How ridiculous is that?!”

Judith frowned. ”That’s enough. It’s a perfectly good New Year, and our family is finally gathered together. Why bring up these other things?”

”Is this how a family acts? If it weren’t for that woman, how could the old lady be celebrating the New Year all alone abroad?” Arthur had already found out why Walker had sent Madam Grant out of the country, which made him furious.

”Can you just drop it?” Judith rubbed her temples, feeling a terrible headache coming on. She had repeatedly warned Arthur not to butt heads with Walker, and he had seemingly listened, only to start criticizing Chloe instead. Wasn’t this just provoking Walker? Could he really not see how completely devoted Walker was to Chloe now? She kept giving Arthur pointed looks, but unfortunately, he didn’t even glance her way and just kept rambling on.

”Once your eyes are better, you’re going to divorce her. Then you will personally go abroad, bring your grandmother back, and give her a proper apology. That is your grandmother, your elder. How could you treat her like that?”

Walker set down his chopsticks. They made a soft yet distinct clatter against the table, and the atmosphere in the dining room instantly grew oppressive.

”This is bad,” Judith thought. She hastily tried to mediate. ”Walker, don’t listen to your father. Let’s just eat—”

”Care to find out if I’ll send you abroad, too?” Walker faced Arthur. His tone was chillingly calm, showing no visible signs of anger, but the aura surrounding him was terrifyingly oppressive.

SLAM!

Arthur furiously slapped his hand on the table and pointed at Walker, cursing, ”What is that supposed to mean? You want to turn against your own father now, is that it? Are you even human? You’ve ruined your relationship with your own family over some outsider. Why wasn’t it you who died back then?!”

”Arthur Grant!” Judith screamed, her eyes turning red with fury. ”Are you out of your mind?! How could you say such a thing?”

”SOB...”

At that moment, Noah, who had been sitting quietly on the side, suddenly began to whimper and cry softly. His large eyes were filled with terror, especially when he looked at Arthur, as if he were staring at some terrifying demon.

Hearing the little boy’s cries, the adults in the dining room all stiffened. Realizing he had gone too far, Arthur quickly reined in his temper. He walked over to Noah and gently coaxed, ”Don’t be scared. Grandpa and Uncle Walker are just joking around. We’re just play-acting, don’t be afraid.”

”SOB... Grandma.” Noah dodged Arthur’s hand and looked pleadingly at Judith.