Olivia jumped to her feet, her chest heaving in agitation. Several times, she opened her mouth, ready to snap at Hayden, but she managed to hold herself back each time.
At last, she succeeded in reining in her temper and asked coldly, “You can’t be serious. Tell me, you’re just
joking with me, right?”
“I wouldn’t joke about these matters.” Hayden’s expression remained sincere and determined, with not a
hint of doubt clouding it.
Olivia frowned. She sat back down and stared intently at Hayden. “Have you gone mad? Back then, your grandmother had you marry Gloria because she wanted you to take care of Gloria for the rest of your
lives! It’s only been how many years? Yet, you’re already thinking of divorcing her!”
Off to the side, Taylor realized the two seemed ready to come to blows and hastily retreated. That left
Olivia and Hayden alone in the living room, the atmosphere between them so tense that the air seemed
charged.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hayden uttered calmly, “Grandma forced me into a marriage with Gloria
back then, and now, you’re forcing me too? It wasn’t like I went against Grandma. I did listen to her and
get my marriage certificate with Gloria, but feelings can’t be forced. I don’t love Gloria and have no wish
to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“But you promised your grandma that you would look after Gloria for the rest of her life.” Olivia glared at
Hayden.
In response, Hayden frowned and replied impatiently, “Even if we’re not married, I can still look after
Gloria as a friend.”
“But you two are already married! Not only are you not chasing away Nicole, but you’re even cutting off all
ties with Gloria! Forget about taking care of her, you’re undoubtedly hurting her instead!”
Olivia’s voice grew progressively shriller as she spoke. Then, realizing she was growing too agitated, she
tamped down on her anger. “In order to save your grandma back then, Gloria ended up with a heart
condition. She didn’t want to burden you, and that was why she left. How could you bear to let her down
like this when she’s so kind?”
Hayden knitted his brows and pursed his lips, the frustration in him deepening. “There’s no such thing as logic when it comes to feelings. For the sake of my wife and son, I have no choice but to let down Gloria. We just aren’t destined to be. Accept that.”
With that said, he stood up to leave.
Unable to accept it, Olivia screamed, “You can’t abandon Gloria! She’s done our family a huge favor, so I won’t allow you to hurt her like this!”
Outside, Nicole hadn’t even set foot into the living room, yet she could already hear Olivia’s furious
Chapter 23
bellows. It was as though the latter had gone crazy. She frowned in confusion.
2/2
Hayden had sent her a message, telling her to come home immediately. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hand her
the piece of land at Pinnacle Development.
Shawn had always wanted that piece of land, claiming their ancestors were buried there. The family had left the land behind when they went abroad, and the government later reclaimed it, so he wanted to buy it
back.
However, due to the way businesses went, that land eventually ended up in Hayden’s hands. He had
promised Nicole that once they started handling the procedures, he would write her and her brother’s
names on the deed.
Unexpectedly, that piece of land had now become the leverage Hayden could use to force Nicole into
returning home.
Just as Nicole was hesitating, wondering if she should enter the living room, she heard Olivia ask, “I’m
going to ask you this one last time. Are you adamant about telling Nicole the truth during your wedding
anniversary?”
Nicole paused in surprise.
“Yes,” Hayden answered firmly. “I want to tell her the truth, and I want a divorce. Nobody can change my
mind about this.”
Nicole froze, feeling as though she had been thrown into icy waters. Nonetheless, it wasn’t sadness that
clawed at her heart, but desolation.
If she hadn’t heard it for herself, she never would’ve imagined that Hayden would actually think about
confessing the truth to her at their wedding anniversary celebration, to tell her that their past seven years of marriage had been nothing but a scam.
He clearly knew how much she loved him, that their wedding anniversary was the date she looked forward to the most every year, that she was the happiest during that day, yet he wanted to thrust a dagger into her on that day!
All the color drained from Nicole’s face as hatred surfaced in her eyes.
It seemed that if a man had no feelings for a woman, he could be cruel to her, even if she was his wife
and the mother of his child.
Nicole closed her eyes in despair. At the same time, this revelation further solidified her determination to
leave one week later. She refused to give Hayden the chance to humiliate her!
After regaining her composure, she deliberately stomped her feet as she entered the living room. Immediately, the two inside stopped arguing.
