Chapter 3
The next morning, I showed up at the courthouse 30 minutes early.
The sun was gentle and warm on my skin. I squinted as I watched couples come and go, some with smiles on their faces and others with tears in their eyes. A quiet calm settled over me.
Right at nine, Henry's black Maybach pulled up to the curb. He stepped out with a man in a sharp suit. It was his chief lawyer, Paul Warren.
Henry was dressed in a perfectly tailored gray suit, his hair slicked back, looking every bit the golden boy he always was.
He walked up to me, giving me a complicated look, like he couldn't believe I actually showed up.
"Did you bring what I asked for?" I cut straight to the point.
Paul stepped forward and handed me a file. "Ms. Nash, here are the divorce papers, as well as the transfer documents for the Silver Shores villa and the car.
"Please review them and sign if everything is in order. As for the 15 million dollars, it has already been transferred to the account you provided. You can check it now."
I pulled out my phone and checked my account. A long string of zeros stared back at me, and a cold smile tugged at my lips. The Suttons really had spared no expense for their precious heir.
I checked every clause to make sure nothing slipped past me. The agreement laid it all out: divorce by mutual consent, the assets split exactly as I had demanded the night before, and from then on, no more ties and no more drama.
Clean and simple. It was the way I wanted it.
"No problem," I said, pulling out a pen and signed my name quickly.
Henry watched my decisive move, his frown deepening. "Amelia, are you really sure about this? Do you really think you'll make it without me?"
"Any life beats being a groveling lapdog for the Suttons," I replied calmly, handing him the signed papers. "Mr. Sutton, better hurry up. Don't let me slow down your grand baby-making scheme with Ms. White."
"You—" Henry's face turned livid with fury. He grabbed the papers from me and scribbled his signature.
The whole thing was over in less than ten minutes. As we stepped out of the courthouse, each clutching a divorce decree, I felt like I had just dropped a huge weight I had been carrying forever.
I could finally breathe.
"Alright, the divorce is done and the money's yours." Henry towered over me from the steps. "From today, you'll move into the Silver Shores villa.
"I'll have a nutritionist and a housekeeper take care of you. Just focus on getting yourself ready for IVF."
"No rush." I waved my divorce decree with a sly grin. "Mr. Sutton, the contract never said when I have to start 'getting ready for the baby.'
"Right now, I'm not in the mood. I need some time to get myself together. When I feel like it, maybe I'll let you know."
"Amelia, how dare you mess with me?" he snapped, lunging forward to grab my wrist.
"Mr. Sutton, please, take it easy." Paul quickly stepped between us, lowering his voice. "You're divorced now. Probably best to keep your hands off her. People talk."
Henry froze, his glare so fierce it was like he wanted to eat me alive.
I shrugged it off, waving my divorce certificate at him. "See you never, Mr. Sutton."
With that, I turned and walked away without a care in the world.
Just as I stepped up to the curb to grab a cab, a familiar black Bentley quietly pulled up right in front of me.
The back window slid down, and there was Liam, his striking profile catching the light.
"Get in," he said.