Chapter 9
“Whether we’re suited for each other isn’t your decision to make. If you dare take one step out of here tonight, Anthony will be behind bars tomorrow!” Lucien scoffed.
Calista spun around, her tear–filled eyes rippling with hatred as she glared at him. “Lucien Fenwick, you’re going too far!”
Lucien threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked toward her. His towering frame radiated a cold menace that enveloped her completely. Standing in his shadow, she felt the oppressive weight of his presence bearing down on her like a cold weight.
“The Fenwick estate isn’t some place you can come and go as you please. If you want a divorce, it’ll only happen when I say so!
“Go stand outside. You can only come back in when you’ve realized your mistake.”
“Lucien, stop treating me like a three–year–old.”
This was what he used to do when she made mistakes. He’d make her stand outside as punishment.
But things were different now. Her heart had died along with their baby.
When she was on the brink of death in that hospital, he was with Ophelia. If only he had turned around to care about her that day or just looked at her once, she wouldn’t have gotten into that accident.
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Their child wouldn’t have died, and they wouldn’t have reached this point. But she’d been deluding herself all along.
After all, Lucien had never wanted children anyway. She didn’t know if Lucien just didn’t want kids in general, or if he simply didn’t want children with her.
The truth was, cracks had appeared in their relationship long ago. Before, she had desperately tried to mend them, but she stopped trying when their baby died. All the threads she’d used to hold things together finally snapped.
“Then kneel!”
“Grandma personally gave her blessing for the divorce. Lucien, we no longer have a relationship. If you won’t leave Anthony alone, I’ll go to her and ask her to intervene.”
“As long as I haven’t signed the papers, you’re still Mrs. Fenwick.” Lucien’s eyes darkened I as he grabbed her chin.
Calista had no choice but to give in when it came to Anthony. Following Lucien’s orders, she knelt at the entrance of the hospital’s main building.
Family members of passing patients all stared at her strangely. Lucien was someone who could give a person all the tenderness in the world if he pleased. He’d pluck the moon from the sky and deliver it personally to them if they asked.
But even the slightest misstep could unleash his wrath, and that was exactly what she was dealing with now.
Thunder suddenly crashed overhead, accompanied by purple lightning tearing through the night sky. A nurse approached, trying to help Calista up.
“Don’t worry about me. Thank you.” Her voice was barely audible.
Then a cold droplet landed between her eyebrows, chilling her to the bone. Calista looked up at the starless sky just as countless raindrops began pelting down.
It started pouring, and Calista was soaked through within a minute.
Her injuries hadn’t fully healed yet. The icy rain sent sharp pain shooting through her abdomen, radiating throughout her entire body. She hugged herself, trembling uncontrollably as if every joint in her body were being torn apart.
Unable to bear it, she collapsed weakly to the ground from the pain. She forced herself to sit upright using her last bit of consciousness.
She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from the cold, but even that couldn’t compare to the chill in her heart. Looking down, she saw a pair of black shoes enter her field of vision.
It was Ophelia.
Rain pattered loudly against her black umbrella, splashing water all over Calista.
Ophelia looked down at Calista, who was kneeling on the ground, her eyes filled with barely concealed contempt. “At least you had
some sense to divorce him.
“Don’t worry. Once Lucien cools off after tomorrow, you’ll probably be fine.”
Calista couldn’t even hear what Ophelia was saying. Every part of her body ached, and her consciousness was fading. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.
Ophelia took the elevator upstairs, brushing water droplets off her clothes before entering the hospital room. The temperature
difference was striking.
She looked at Lucien, who was standing by the floor–to–ceiling window. Although he was in his blue and white striped hospital gown, his tall frame radiated an overwhelming sense of security, even from behind.
“She still won’t admit she’s wrong?” he asked, his voice low and cold.
Lucien’s expression was dark as he stared down at the small figure below. Something stirred inside him. It was an emotion he couldn’t
identify.
He couldn’t explain what it was, but he felt angry at that moment. And somewhat surprised by her.
He figured that Calista must have known that this would get her nowhere. He wondered what was driving her to defy him at all costs just to get this divorce. What had the Fenwick family ever done wrong by her?
