Chapter 3
871 Words
Ethan and Lila spent two hours in that hotel room. Natalie spent them downstairs.
When Ethan and Lila walked out of the hotel hand in hand, they saw Natalie waiting at the entrance.
Ethan's expression changed at once. He quickly shook off Lila's hand and strode toward Natalie.
"Nat, what are you doing here? Don't get the wrong idea. A client came to discuss business, and Ms. Warren and I came to the hotel to meet him."
Natalie's voice was calm. "Did you need to close the curtains to discuss business?"
Lila stood up, her displeasure clear in her tone.
"Natalie, what does anything Mr. Pierce and I do have to do with you?"
Natalie looked at Lila coldly.
"Of course it has something to do with me. I'm his wife, legally and on paper."
After hearing that, Lila knew she had no leg to stand on.
She still wanted to say something, but Ethan pulled her aside. "Lila, go back to the company first."
Lila could only obey and leave.
After Lila left, Ethan hurriedly apologized to Natalie.
"Nat, I was wrong. It only happened once between Lila and me. I promise it will never happen again."
Natalie just looked at him without speaking.
'Once? Do I look like a fool?'
Ethan took a step forward and reached for Natalie's hand, but she shook him off before he could touch her.
His hand froze in midair.
"Nat, didn't you say before that whenever I made a mistake, you would forgive me as long as I apologized?"
In the past, whenever Ethan made a mistake, Natalie would remember how he had saved her from the fire, and she would always forgive him.
Some chose to forgive their cheating husbands.
But Natalie sure wasn't one of them.
The night before, Natalie had asked herself again and again whether she could tolerate a husband whose heart had changed.
She had asked herself whether time would ever make the pain fade.
No, and no.
This time, Natalie didn't want to forgive him.
"I want a divorce," she said, one word at a time.
When Ethan heard the word "divorce", his eyes went still.
A long moment passed before he found his voice. "We've been together for so many years. Where can you go without me? With that little bit of technical skill, can you even support yourself? Other than me, who would pay you such a high salary? I pay you 100,000 dollars a month. Can a technician like you make that much anywhere else?"
Hearing those words, Natalie felt as if she were looking at a stranger.
In that moment, she finally admitted it.
People really did change.
Natalie smiled. "That's none of your business. Just sign the divorce agreement."
As she spoke, she handed the divorce agreement to Ethan.
Ethan's face darkened, and he said nothing.
In the past, whether at home or outside, he had always put Natalie first.
Now he was the CEO of Pierce Biotech. Who in the entire company would dare disobey his orders?
Only Natalie kept going against him. She often questioned his decisions and never made a point of protecting his pride in front of his subordinates, so he had decided to fire her.
He only wanted obedient employees.
When Ethan pulled himself back to the moment, he looked down at Natalie.
"When we got married, we signed an agreement. Whoever asks for a divorce first walks away with nothing."
Of course Natalie remembered.
They had signed that agreement because they had believed they would never divorce.
Natalie opened the agreement and handed it to Ethan again. "Don't worry. I want nothing."
It would be her way of repaying him for saving her life.
When he saw that she truly wanted the divorce, Ethan's eyes reddened. "Fine. You're the one who wants a divorce. Don't regret it later. Don't come begging me to take you back."
That same day, they completed the divorce paperwork.
Natalie had never thought that so many years of love could end so quickly.
From 16 to 28, they had known each other for 12 years. He had spent 3 years pursuing her, 5 years dating her, and 4 years as her husband.
In the end, they still went their separate ways.
When Natalie came out of the City Hall, she held the divorce certificate in her hand and felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Ethan's expression was dark, and his face gave nothing away.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Natalie didn't stop. She kept walking.
"No. We're already divorced. I'm going back to my father's home."
Her father was a retired professor at Lydon University, and the Hayes family lived at Clearwater Court in the faculty housing complex.
When Natalie returned home, her father and the institute director were already waiting for her.
Natalie had just opened her mouth to speak when the energetic, silver-haired director stepped forward and said, "Ms. Hayes, welcome aboard!"
Natalie nodded. "Thank you. I'll do my best to make my research count."
That day, after dinner with the director and her parents, Natalie followed the director and her new colleagues into the waiting cars.
The line of black government sedans slowly disappeared into the night.
- Writer
