Chapter 1 Let’s Get a Divorce
It was one in the morning. Vivienne Everest suddenly came across Lillian Lennox’s social media post.
“Thank you, Mr. Harrington and Theo Harrington, for the gift! The cup was even handmade by Theo himself.”
Vivienne clicked on the photo. A necklace and a DIY cup appeared on the screen. She could vaguely make out the design on the cup, where the words “Happy Birthday, Mom” were engraved.
Vivienne’s gaze instinctively shifted to the dining table, where a cold meal and an unlit birthday cake sat untouched. A self-deprecating smile played on her lips. Not long ago, a breaking news alert had popped up on her phone.
Confirmed! The well-known, aloof, and untouchable Edmund Harrington has been secretly married for years and even has a five-year-old son!
In the accompanying photo, a tall, handsome man and a slender, beautiful woman were walking through an amusement park, holding hands with a little boy. Lillian was smiling as she patted Theo’s head, while Edmund gazed at her, his eyes filled with an unfamiliar warmth and tenderness.
A stunning couple, along with a little boy who was the spitting image of Edmund—if one didn’t know better, they’d assume they were a blissful family of three.
Today was Vivienne’s birthday. It was also the fifth anniversary of her marriage to Edmund. Yet, it seemed that the one celebrating today wasn’t her, but Lillian.
Her husband and son had spent the day with another woman, even giving her the gifts that should have belonged to Vivienne. She wasn’t surprised. She had long grown used to it.
Lillian was Edmund’s first love, a woman diagnosed with a terminal illness and given only a year to live. Her dying wish was to see him one last time. Edmund had told Vivienne that he wanted to do something for Lillian before she passed, hoping she would understand. Vivienne didn’t want to understand. But she knew she couldn’t stop him. That was the first time Edmund had ever spoken to her with such unwavering seriousness.
Her heart felt hollow, as if a part of it had been carved away, leaving nothing but an aching void. She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting in the dark when the front door suddenly opened. Edmund walked in with Theo.
Seeing Vivienne sitting in the dining room, he visibly froze. He seemed to have forgotten what day it was, his gaze filled with confusion as he looked at her.
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Vivienne replied flatly, “I need to talk to you.”
Edmund frowned slightly and looked down at Theo.
“Theo, go upstairs and rest.”
Theo rubbed his eyes and yawned as he walked past Vivienne. Then, as if something had just crossed his mind, he paused.
“Mommy, happy birthday.”
Theo tilted his head up, his strikingly familiar eyes, so much like Edmund’s, locked onto hers.
“Daddy and I didn’t forget your birthday on purpose. It’s just that we have spent so much time together as a family, but Lillian only has six months left. Mommy won’t be mad at us over something this small, right?”
Vivienne didn’t know what was more painful, the fact that they had forgotten her birthday. Or the fact that they had remembered but still chose to overlook it.
After Theo left, silence filled the air. Edmund was the first to break it.
“What do you want to talk about?”
Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, he stood there with a sculpted face and an icy demeanor, exuding a cold, distant elegance, like the unreachable moon in the night sky. Detached. Unfeeling.
Vivienne took a deep breath. “Edmund, let’s get a divorce.”
A ripple flickered through Edmund’s dark eyes like a lake disturbed by the wind. But just as quickly, the emotion disappeared without a trace.
“Vivienne, I didn’t forget your birthday. I even prepared a gift for you.”
“A gift?” Vivienne let out a soft laugh. “You mean my mother’s necklace? Didn’t you already give that to Ms. Lillian?”
That necklace was left to Vivienne by her mother when she passed away. On the day she gave birth to Theo, she had lost it. Edmund had promised to find it for her. And he did, only to give it to Lillian.
Edmund’s expression remained indifferent, unfazed at being caught in the act. His deep eyes, however, darkened further.
“I only lent it to Lillian. I’ll return it to you soon.”
“How soon?” Vivienne asked coolly. “The day she dies?”
“Vivienne!” Edmund’s sharp tone cut her off, his usually calm and distant expression clouded with rare anger.
“That’s enough.”
That’s enough. It’s really enough. Enough of being a wife whose husband loved someone else. Enough of raising a child who wasn’t close to her. Enough of being disregarded by her in-laws.
“Lillian only has six months left. Even Theo understands how to be compassionate; why are you being so petty?” Edmund demanded.
At that moment, Vivienne suddenly lost all patience.
Her voice turned icy. “And what does her remaining time have to do with me? She’s not my loved one. Why should I tolerate her?”
Edmund clearly hadn’t expected the usually compliant Vivienne to say something so harsh.
A thin layer of frost settled over his deep eyes. “Vivienne, I thought we had an understanding.”
Vivienne chuckled. “She wanted to relive the beauty of her first love, so I had to watch you rekindle your romance. She wanted to experience marriage, so you took the wedding I painstakingly prepared and gave it to her. I had to stand by as you held Theo’s hand and walked down the aisle with her. She wanted to see the world, so you took her on a grand tour. If she wished for the moon, you’d probably find a way to pluck it from the sky for her, wouldn’t you?”
Vivienne and Edmund had been in a secret marriage for five years; they never had a wedding.
One day, Theo had asked what his mother would look like in a wedding dress. That was when Edmund finally agreed to hold a ceremony. Vivienne had carefully planned every detail over six months. Then, with just a single request from Lillian, it was taken away.
Edmund’s gaze turned completely frigid. “Vivienne, you’re crossing the line.”
Crossing the line…
Vivienne’s chest tightened. He closed his eyes in disappointment. For years, she had worked tirelessly to be the perfect wife and mother. But no matter how hard she tried, Edmund always remained distant. She had assumed that was simply his nature. It wasn’t until his return to his first love that she witnessed the depth of his love. She picked up the divorce papers she had prepared in advance.
I’ve already signed. You should sign, too. If you can make Lillian your wife before she dies, I’m sure she’ll be even happier.
Edmund’s lips pressed into a thin line, his face hard as ice.
That was his telltale sign of displeasure.
“What about Theo?”
Vivienne’s voice was hardly raised above a whisper.
“He belongs to the Harrington family.”
Just as Edmund was about to say something, his phone suddenly rang.
“Edmund, something’s wrong! Lillian just collapsed! She’s in the emergency room!”
