Chapter 3

"Wasn't it you?" Maria blurted. As her words fell, Steve seemed to have made a phone call. His voice was cold and detached, and the tone in which he spoke was of someone accustomed to giving orders that were not meant to be questioned. He said, "Lily, go settle with your pay with the finance department tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, you don't need to come to Griffin Group anymore." Then, he carried the first aid kit with him and walked into my room. His face was expressionless as he went straight to the bed and sat down. He took hold of my ankle and lifted my calf onto his knee. "It'll hurt a bit. Bear with it," he reminded. His eyes lingered time and again on the dried blood on my knees. He took out an iodine swab and gently disinfected the wounds. If it weren't for the photos that showed those scenes that had utterly shattered my expectations of him, his focused expression might have made me think he had returned to the Steve from long ago. I would have thought he was the Steve who had loved me. But just the night before, he had been with Isabel the whole time. No, hold on. Over the past three years, they had probably been together on the countless nights when Steve claimed to be away on business. A wave of nausea rose in me. I quickly pulled my leg back and scooted away from him. I took the cotton swab from his hand to disinfect my knees myself. The sharp, unmistakable pain from the wounds was a reminder that there was no turning back for Steve and me. I didn't look at him. Lowering my head, I taped gauze over my knees and said quietly, "Steve, let's get a divorce." This was a decision I had made after pondering it all night. To me, this separation felt like tearing flesh from bone. But to him, it didn't seem to amount to anything because there wasn't even a flicker of surprise on his face. His strikingly handsome face remained stoic as he asked, "Divorce? Can you really go through with it?" After all, I had known him since I was five. I had known him ever since the Yaxley family adopted me. From the day I met him, I had followed him everywhere. I had eyes only for him since then. He looked at me with disdain. "Saying things like this once or twice out of spite is one thing. What will you do if I actually agree next time?" Suppressing the sorrow welling up in me, I asked sarcastically, "You already have a child with another woman. What makes you think I'd still willingly stay with you?" His eyes narrowed slightly as he studied me. "Have you found out?" I smiled bitterly, and my voice took on a sobbing edge as I murmured, "She looks about three. That means your daughter was born not long after our child died. Am I right?" A trace of an indecipherable emotion flickered across his stern face. He neither admitted nor denied it. The silence in the room was suffocating. After a long while, he frowned and asked, "Do you care about Dorothy's existence that much?" So that little girl's name was Dorothy. In an exhausted voice, I replied, "If her existence is just to satisfy your desire to be a father, then maybe I wouldn't mind." Suddenly, he stepped closer and braced both hands on either side of me, trapping me against the bed. I pushed at him with all my strength. But in my current state, I barely had any energy at all. I couldn't make him budge even a little. He leaned in closer, his cool voice taking on a strange, seductive undertone as it brushed against my ear. "Compared to anyone else, I still like you more." My face flushed instantly. Before his obsession with being a pious man set in, we had been like any normal couple. Our lovemaking had been passionate and intense. Being reminded of those memories now made me want to bite my tongue off in shame. Steve watched my reddened face with apparent satisfaction. He smirked and asked, "Did you recall something?" My cheeks felt like they were on fire. But as I looked at his face that was so familiar yet so alien, I suddenly felt a sense of release. In an unexpectedly slow and calm voice, I said, "Steve, we can't go back. No matter what we had before, nothing will ever happen between us again from now on." A dark look flickered across his handsome features. He straightened up, no longer pinning me in place. Then, he said coolly from above, "Just focus on being Mrs. Griffin. Playing hard to get won't work on me." I had reached my limit. I was ready to pull out the photos I had bought last night for ten million dollars and negotiate with him right away. If I did that, he would understand how determined I was to divorce him. "Steve, sign the divorce papers, and let's part on good terms. Otherwise, I'll—" Before I could finish, his phone rang. He answered in a relatively amicable tone, "Yes, I'm at home. Okay." After hanging up, he looked at me and informed, "Your parents are coming over." The words I had been about to say were lodged in my throat. By "parents", Steve meant my adoptive parents. They treated me like I was their daughter throughout the years. It wouldn't be too late to talk about divorce after they left. Otherwise, it would be unbearably awkward if they arrived while we were in the middle of such a difficult discussion. Seeing that I had fallen silent, Steve went to the private without another word and left me to my devices. I went to the kitchen and helped Maria prepare dinner. ... Later that evening, my adoptive parents, Asher Yaxley and Helen Russell, came to the villa. "You're here, Dad and Mom! Dinner's ready. Come sit down," I greeted. Forcing a smile, I pretended nothing was wrong. Seeing me limp, Mom asked with concern, "What happened to your leg?" Afraid they would find out, I said lightly, "I tripped by accident." Dad said in a doting tone, "You've always been so careless. You're a grown-up now, but you still fall down while walking. Did you go to the hospital?" "Yes. The doctor said it's nothing." I quickly brushed it off. Mom looked around and asked, "Where's Steve?" At the mention of his name, my expression stiffened slightly. "He's in the chapel. I'll go call him." Dad hurriedly stopped me and said in a cautious tone, "No need. We'll just wait." I heard the humility in his voice and felt a little sad. The Yaxley and the Griffin families had been close friends for years. Unfortunately, my brother, Brandon Yaxley, wasn't cut out for business. The Yaxley family's fortunes had declined steadily. In recent years, they were no longer a part of Hevark's elite circles. After Steve took over the Griffin family, Griffin Group expanded aggressively. It acquired one company after another, so its business empire kept growing. If it weren't for Griffin Group's support all this time, Yaxley Group would've been devoured by its competitors long ago. That was why my parents' attitude toward Steve had grown increasingly deferential. In the past, they could still command some respect as his in-laws. But now, they were reduced to the point of being subservient to ask for favors. I must have angered Steve that day. Dad and Mom had been here for nearly two hours. Even after I had asked Maria to notify him that they were waiting, he still didn't come out of the chapel. He was deliberately making them wait. Mom seemed to sense something was off. She asked worriedly, "Zara, I saw the news yesterday. It said Isabel has a backer. There wasn't a clear photo, but the silhouette looked a bit like Steve. It's not him, is it?" My heart skipped a beat. My eyes stung, and tears nearly slid down my cheeks. Just then, Maria hurried in and said, "Mr. Griffin is here!"