Chapter 4

I could tell that Emily cared deeply about William. If anything, she seemed to care about him more than I ever had.

After she left, William looked at me with guilt. "I'm sorry. I didn't know she'd show up."

I shook my head. "It's fine. We're divorced anyway."

Now, the only thing left was to make it official.

William fell silent again, and his phone started ringing.

I glanced at the screen. The caller ID said "My Kitten".

It obviously wasn't me.

"Well, I—" he hesitated.

"Go ahead. Don't keep her waiting," I said.

"Alright." William didn't hesitate. Before leaving, he told me to reach out if I ever needed anything.

Then I watched his figure slowly disappear from sight.

After he left, I called Helen and asked her to help me find a few security guards. After what had happened that morning, I didn't want to take any chances.

Days passed, and I settled into the kind of quiet life I'd once dreamed of having in old age.

I planted peppers, tomatoes, and a few greens in the garden out front of the villa.

Helen came by, and when she saw me out in the yard wearing a sun hat and pulling weeds, she nearly jumped. "Claire, is this what you do all day at home?"

I dropped the weeds in my hand and looked up at her. "What are you doing here?"

We made a deal. After finishing a movie, I would take two months off to rest and recharge.

Helen came over and started helping me clean weeds. "I came to check on you. Seeing you enjoying life like this makes me feel a lot better. You have no idea—"

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

"What?" I asked, a bit confused.

Helen glanced at me and cleared a few more weeds. "I've been hearing things about Mr. Carter and Emily. That girl may be young, but she certainly knows how to handle a man.

"They say she's always keeping tabs on him and won't let him out of her sight. He's not allowed to hire a pretty secretary anymore."

I watered a wilted tomato plant. "Well, that's good."

William used to complain that I wasn't clingy enough, that I never clung to him or checked up on him.

Now, he finally found someone who would.

"Don't you care at all?" Helen looked at me like she couldn't believe her ears.

She couldn't understand it. After more than a decade together, how could I decide to get divorced and then move out that very afternoon, as if nothing had happened?

Honestly, I didn't get it either. Maybe the moment I realized William had fallen for someone else, I stopped seeing him as the man I'd once known.

And somehow, that made it hurt less.

Helen sighed when I stayed quiet. "Claire, you're always like this. You loved William deeply, but you acted like you barely cared. You give him maybe two-tenths of what you feel.

"Emily might only love him halfway, but she makes sure he knows about every bit of it.

"I still remember when there was a fire at William's factory. You went in there alone to save him. You weren't that strong, but you somehow managed to drag him out of that fire.

"And when you were trying to help him land that big order, you nearly got yourself assaulted."

Helen was about to say more, but I cut her off. "Helen, what's the date today?"

Helen checked her phone. "It's the 19th. Why?"

I did the math. William and I had filed for divorce on the second. More than half a month had already passed.

"William and I are getting our divorce done on the 31st," I said.

Helen was left speechless. She helped me tidy up the garden, and then we made dinner together.

After dinner, Helen and I sat on the couch. She sighed. "I think your life is pretty great."

Back when I was with William, he'd come home drunk out of his mind almost every night.

Night after night, I'd be up taking care of him, barely catching any sleep.

Now that I was living alone at Blue Bay, I could go for a walk whenever I wanted. When the weather was cool, I could go hiking.

After Helen left, I was about to wash up and get some rest when the doorbell started ringing frantically.

I figured Helen must have forgotten something and come back for it, so I opened the door.

However, standing outside were a drunk William and his assistant, George.

George gave me an apologetic look. "Mr. Carter is drunk. He insisted on coming to see you."

I glanced at William, who was totally out of it, and said to George, "Take him back to Riverton. We're not together anymore."

George hesitated, looking uneasy. "But Mr. Carter insisted on coming here."

William stirred from the commotion, opened his eyes, and stared at my blank face. "Claire, I feel awful."

I stood there, unmoving.

William shoved George aside and collapsed onto me.

I staggered back a step to steady myself and heard him slur, "Claire, you're so cruel. You don't care about me at all."

Was he serious?

Suddenly, I remembered the year I became famous, when my parents, whom I hadn't heard from in years, came looking for me. "Claire, look at you now. You've made something of yourself, and you've got money.

"Your little brother is getting married soon, so—"

I said, "Did you forget? We're not family anymore. Whether I have money or not is none of your business."

Back then, my dad pointed right at me and said the same thing. "Claire, you're so cruel.

"We may not have been perfect, but we're still your parents. We gave birth to you and raised you. You're nothing but an ungrateful brat."

William was calling me cruel, too.

How dare he? He was the one who cheated.

I tried to push him off, but he was way stronger than me.

George said apologetically, "Mrs. Carter, I'll leave Mr. Carter with you. I should get going."

Before I could say anything, he hurried off.