I Left My Ex-Husband, He Begs at My Wedding

Chapter 7

Claire left the mansion with her belongings without looking back.

On her way out, she took Ethan's car.

She wasn't going to let a car make her feel insignificant anymore. Whatever happened, the car was marital property. Even if she drove it straight into a wall and totaled it, so what?

As she drove away, Assistant Ryan called.

"Mrs. Sterling, Attorney Walker from Mr. Carter's firm can take your brother's case. I've sent you his contact information."

When Claire and Ethan had first gotten married, her father, Jason Bennett, had handled all of the Bennett family's business dealings with Ethan. But Ethan had eventually become too busy and handed those matters over to Ryan. When the Bennetts called Ryan last night, he had gone ahead and contacted a lawyer for them.

Unfortunately, the attorney they had originally wanted, James Carter, was tied up handling Eliana's case and didn't have time. He had recommended Attorney Walker instead, since Mr. Walker had experience with extortion cases like Henry's.

Yesterday, when Claire had called Ethan, Eliana had been right beside him.

Her case never needed a high-profile attorney like Mr. Carter in the first place.

She had done it deliberately.

And Ethan had allowed it.

"Thank you. I'll contact him later."

After hanging up, Claire sat in the car and opened her phone.

Another news story popped up about Ethan hiring a lawyer for Eliana's dog.

It only strengthened her resolve to divorce him.

She still had the photos she'd taken in his office. One of them clearly showed Eliana and the disheveled bed in the background.

That could be used as evidence of Ethan's affair.

She might not have enough power to go up against him yet, but she knew how to collect evidence.

Claire opened her phone and saved everything separately—the security footage she'd received, the news reports, and the photo from Ethan's office.

Then she messaged Mr. Walker.

Claire: Mr. Walker, do you know any lawyers who handle divorce cases?

He replied almost immediately.

Mr. Walker: I can ask around for you. Also, I found something in the case files.

Mr. Walker had already spoken with the police, and they had agreed to give him some time to gather evidence.

Based on what he'd found about the staged accident, there were two likely possibilities.

Either the victim, Lily, had been terminally ill, or something terrible had happened to her and she'd decided to take her own life. But she couldn't bear to leave her child with nothing, so she'd tried to leave the child some money.

Claire: Thank you, Mr. Walker. That's already a huge breakthrough!

Mr. Walker: Don't mention it. I took the case, so I'll see it through. I'll keep digging. Try not to worry.

When Claire got home, exhaustion finally caught up with her, and she fell asleep almost immediately.

She didn't wake until the next morning, when her phone rang.

It was Franklin.

"Claire, are you awake?"

She jolted up.

Remembering what had happened the last time he'd called, she instinctively started getting dressed, preparing to return to the mansion.

"Franklin, is something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to ask how your brother's case is going. Something this serious happened, and you didn't tell us. You really do treat us like strangers."

Claire's nose stung.

Now that she'd decided to divorce Ethan, she didn't want to create any more ties with the Sterling family. The fewer complications, the easier it would be to leave.

Her own parents had always treated her poorly, seeing her as nothing more than a bargaining chip in their business dealings with the Sterlings.

So Franklin's concern touched her more than she wanted to admit.

"I'm okay. I can handle it. The lawyer is already looking into the victim's medical records."

She briefly explained the situation, telling him that Mr. Walker was investigating the victim's medical history to figure out why she'd tried to extort Henry.

Franklin didn't hesitate.

"That's nothing for the Sterling family. I'll make a call and have them send the medical records to your email."

Claire's eyes lit up.

For the first time in days, some of the darkness weighing on her finally lifted.

Franklin continued, "But couldn't you have just told Ethan? Why put yourself through all this alone?"

Claire fell silent.

Franklin seemed to understand.

He smiled and changed the subject.

"Are you free today? Come home for dinner."

"I..."

She hesitated.

"Vivian and I weren't home yesterday. Grandma only found out this morning that you left in the middle of the night. She's been asking about you."

Family had always been the softest place in Claire's heart.

"Okay. I'll come by later."

After getting dressed, Claire drove back to the mansion.

The moment Franklin saw her walk in, he smiled.

"Claire, you're here. We've made all your favorite dishes. Make sure you eat plenty. And don't worry about your brother. You have us. We'll help you get this sorted out."

"Okay."

Warmth spread through Claire's chest.

Ethan looked about sixty or seventy percent like his father. If he'd inherited Franklin's gentle, refined manner as well, the resemblance would've been even stronger.

Instead, he'd inherited his mother's reserved nature.

Even with his cold demeanor, though, Ethan was still the kind of man who drew attention wherever he went.

Countless women dreamed of marrying him.

His mother was just as quiet and expressionless as he was.

After all these years of marriage, she still wore that same unreadable expression, yet everyone said she and Franklin had a deeply loving marriage.

Claire had never been able to tell what Ethan truly felt.

How could she read the emotions of someone who seemed to have been born without the ability to express them?

Dinner was still being prepared, so Franklin pulled Claire over for a game of chess.

Claire knew absolutely nothing about chess.

Just as she was struggling to figure out what to do, Ethan appeared across from them.

"Perfect timing. Come play with me."

Franklin pointed to the seat opposite him.

Claire looked up.

There was still a faint handprint on Ethan's face from the slap she'd given him the night before.

Perhaps because of their fight, neither of them spoke first.

Seeing the mark on his face, Claire's gloomy mood inexplicably lifted.

Ethan took off his suit jacket but didn't sit down.

"Where's Mom?"

Franklin's expression darkened.

"You need something from her?"

"I need to discuss some work with her."

Franklin tossed his chess piece back onto the board.

"No work after hours. Your mother isn't made of steel. And while we're on the subject, why did you leave Claire's brother's case to Ryan? He was the one who even found the lawyer for her!"

Ethan's face immediately darkened.