Vanessa, what are you up to? Are you trying to run away from home?”
Just as Vanessa James was about to go downstairs with her suitcase, she heard
her sister-in-law, Ella Bates, talking to her.
Instead of giving any responses, Vanessa spared her an indifferent glance and
continued to go down the steps. When Vanessa reached downstairs, she
happened to bump into her mother-in-law, Julia Bates, who always looked
down upon her.
“Where are you going with a suitcase at this hour?” Julia asked with disdain
laced in her gaze.
If it was in the past, she would apologize and coax Julia carefully. However,
things were different now. Since she no longer wanted to be with her husband,
Killian Bates, how could she possibly put up with this bad-tempered woman
anymore?
“Wherever. Don’t worry, Mrs. Bates. I won’t come back here again.” Her voice
was cold, and she was no longer as humble as before.
When Julia saw the sudden change in her attitude, her face darkened at once.
“Vanessa, is this how you treat the elders?”
Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “I’m just treating you the same way you treat
me.”
Hearing that, Julia was bent out of shape. “Do you even still see me as your
mother-in-law?”
Looking at Julia with a smile, Vanessa replied,
“Sorry, you won’t be my
mother-in-law soon.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a car honked from outside the villa.
“I’m leaving now. You can do whatever you want with the things I left in the
room. I don’t want them anymore. All that I ask is for you not to contact me
again from now on.” Dragging her suitcase with her slowly, she added,
“The
Bates are so disgusting.”
Julia had yet to understand what Vanessa meant by saying that she would no
longer be her daughter-in-law soon when she heard her calling the Bates
“Mom, did you see Vanessa? She was carrying her suitcase just now. Could it
be that she wanted me to make her stay by walking past me on purpose?” As
Ella descended the stairs, she saw Julia standing still at the front door, so she
sauntered over, tugged at her mother’s sleeve and asked,
“Mom, what’s
wrong?”
Julia had a complicated expression on her face. If it was in the past, Vanessa
would always yield to her whenever she mentioned Killian. However, today,
Vanessa left decisively without looking back.
The sports car outside sped away. Julia walked out and only caught sight of its
taillights.
“She… She left?” Ella followed suit and quirked her lips. “Whatever. Louise is
back now. Even if Vanessa doesn’t leave now, Killian will still drive her out
sooner or later!”
Julia felt that her words made sense. Now that Louise Keillor was back, it was
smart of Vanessa to leave on her own.
Sitting in the Porsche, Vanessa flipped through the divorce agreement. After
reading the terms, she dropped her signature without any hesitation.
At the sight of that, her friend, Nicole Clarke, clicked her tongue. “That’s it?”
she asked while driving.
Vanessa snapped the cap on her pen. “Or what?”
Killian’s first love was back. There was nothing else Vanessa could do.
However, she was wrong. Louise was the only one he loved.
Vanessa felt that she was indeed shameless. Back then, she had forced Killian
to marry her by using repaying her favor as the reason. For three years, she
had trapped herself in a loveless marriage. Now that Louise was back, Vanessa
would naturally have to give up her position as Killian’s wife.
After all, Killian had been keeping his virginity for the sake of Louise.
Yes, throughout the three years, Killian had never made love to Vanessa, not
even once. No outsiders knew about this, or else she would end up as a
laughingstock. Anyway, three years of hopeless marriage was enough to quell
her seven years of infatuation.
Vanessa covered her eyes with her hand. She didn’t want Nicole to see her
tears.
No matter how free and easy one could be, anyone would still feel sad when
their ten years of love didn’t receive a good ending.
Soon, the red sports car pulled up outside the company building. Raising her
sunglasses, Nicole said,
“We are here. Vanessa, go ahead and do whatever you
want. I’ve got your back!” Then, Nicole blew a kiss to her.
Vanessa smiled,
“All right. I’m entering now.”
It was going to be difficult to toss the divorce agreement at Killian in a way
that was both domineering and graceful at the same time.
nor was it the first time she was treated perfunctorily by the receptionist.
“Miss James, you can’t enter without an appointment. Mr. Bates is very busy. If
everyone can meet him without an appointment, what’s the point of me as a
receptionist?”
Even a receptionist had the guts to be disrespectful to her. In the past three
years, she had never been called Mrs. Bates in his company. Clear enough,
Killian had never taken her seriously.
Vanessa looked down, letting out a soft chuckle. “The staff training here is
pretty bad. Why do I have to make an appointment to see Killian when I am his
wife? It seems like being his wife is pretty boring.”
She cast a cold glance at the receptionist before walking to the elevator.
It was the first time the receptionist had seen Vanessa behaving like this. After
being stunned for a moment, she let out a snort. Nevertheless, she was
worried that something would happen, so she immediately called to inform
Killian’s secretary about it.
Hence, Killian was aware of Vanessa’s arrival.
“I’m not seeing her,
” he frowned.
There was a meeting that he needed to attend in another five minutes.
His secretary, Gavin Harris, hummed in acknowledgment and left. As soon as
Gavin walked out of the office, he saw Vanessa coming over.
She had dressed herself well today, which made her look gentle and dignified.
Gavin felt that she was somewhat different today.
entered Killian’s office and said,
“Excuse me, Mr. Bates. I need you to sign an
agreement.” She strode toward the man at the desk and put the divorce
agreement in front of him. “Sign it.”
