His Fake Sister Destroyed Our Marriage

Chapter 2 This Is for You

Bella had no intention of going through with yet another wedding ceremony with Xavier.

When she was discharged, Xavier came to pick her up. Bella had barely opened the front passenger door before she saw Sophia already sitting there. Sophia gave her an apologetic smile. "Bella, I get carsick, so I had to take the front seat. You don't mind, do you?"

Before Bella could say anything, Xavier said, "Bella, sit in the back."

Bella said nothing, and she never mentioned that she got carsick too.

A document envelope lay on the back seat. Before the car had even pulled away, Bella opened it and found signed divorce papers inside, along with a photo of Sophia and Xavier kissing.

Sophia smiled. "Bella, that's your welcome-home gift. Do you like it?"

Bella slipped everything back into the envelope and gave a faint smile. "I do. I like it."

Xavier glanced over. "What gift? Why didn't I get one?"

Sophia laughed and gave his arm a playful pat. "Xavier, don't push it. You want a gift too? Eyes on the road. It's a girl thing. You don't get to know."

Xavier let her get away with whatever she wanted, without the slightest hint of impatience.

Bella sat in the back seat in silence, gripping the papers so tightly they crumpled in her hands, reminding herself again and again that only two weeks remained. Once the deadline came, she would finally be free.

By the time they got home, Bella had gone pale. Her stomach churned so violently that she had to brace herself against the car door and stand there for a moment before she could move. By then, Xavier had already gone inside with Sophia.

Sophia's laughter drifted out of the house in bursts as Bella kept her head down and started packing.

The day they got their marriage license, she and Xavier had planted a black walnut tree themselves. Xavier had said, "Bella, my love for you will last as long as this tree stands. It'll never change."

But when Bella picked up an axe and walked over to cut it down, she found the tree already gone. All that remained was a bare stump.

One of the staff members hurried over and explained. "Mrs. Donovan, Mr. Donovan cut it down himself. He said he wanted the wood for a snake enclosure."

Bella laughed until her eyes filled with tears, and a second later, she brought the axe down on the stump again and again, splitting it apart.

With the tree gone, there was no reason to leave the stump behind either!

When she was done, Bella pulled out the painting Xavier had once painted for her himself and set it on fire in the living room.

She had just finished burning it when Xavier came out. Two buttons on his shirt were undone, and fresh red scratches marked his neck. Bella looked once, then looked away.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting rid of bad luck."

As soon as the words left her mouth, one of the staff came in carrying several large boxes. Xavier barely looked up as he said, "Put these in Sophia's room, and that one in the living room."

They were custom Hermès heated snake enclosures, and even the cheapest one cost over two hundred thousand dollars.

Sophia came running out, leaned in, and kissed Xavier on the cheek. "Xavier, you're the best."

The first time Sophia kissed Xavier after returning from abroad, Bella had said it crossed a line, and she and Xavier had fought over it. Afterward, Xavier had given Bella the cold shoulder for three straight days.

Xavier had told her, "Bella, Sophia is like a sister to me. She's been away for years, so what's the big deal if she kisses me once? You're reading way too much into it. Besides, I even killed my own snake for you. Sophia only started keeping snakes because of me. After everything she's done, the least I can do is spend more time with her."

Bella looked away and turned toward her room, but Xavier suddenly held out a small box in front of her.

"This is for you, so stop making a fuss." He shoved the box into Bella's hands, then turned right back to helping Sophia with the boxes.