Urban Romance

As soon as Mary said that, another thunderclap split the sky. 

The bright ceiling lights dimmed in an instant.

"What was that?" Someone gasped. "My computer's fried!"

Another person added, "Mine as well!"

Mary offered an apologetic smile. "As you can see, our entire network just went down. If you still want a divorce, please come back another day."

Realizing it was pointless to stay, Lucius shot Valerie a look. "Let's go."

Not only did the divorce fall through, but their marriage certificates had gone up in flames as well. Lucius and Valerie walked out of the courthouse one after the other.

"Is there any other way to get divorced sooner?" she asked.

He couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling at that moment. "Let me check with my lawyer."

Valerie nodded. "Thanks."

Just then, Kean pulled up. "Mr. White, is everything settled? Where are you headed, Ms. Collins? Do you need a 

All of a sudden, Keane remembered something. "Oh, and one more thing." 

He unlocked his phone and showed Lucius a short video. "This was taken at Absolute Zero yesterday."

In the clip, a masked, long-haired woman worked swiftly, administering acupuncture to an unconscious man. The clip was only ten seconds long and offered no real clue to what had happened.

Short as it was, Lucius still recognized the woman. 

Pointing at his phone, Keane continued, "This video's all over the internet. Everyone's trying to find the young woman who saved the man with acupuncture. The man she helped is the fourth son of the Miller family. He has a congenital heart condition and almost died when it flared up last night.

"The doctors said he didn't survive because he was lucky. It was because of the needles placed in the acupoints on his chest."

The more he continued, the more animated he became. "Mr. W

"Honey, who is she?" Chloe inquired.

Cecil panicked and nudged the woman inside. "Go inside first. I need to have a word with her."

Chloe wouldn't budge. "Not until you tell me who she is." 

LilAnnieB butted in, "I'm Cecil's girlfriend."

"Yeah, right. I'm his wife. We're legally married. How could he possibly have a girlfriend?" Chloe sneered.

Cecil stepped in. "Stop arguing, both of you." 

LilAnnieB demanded, "Cecil, when did you get married? Weren't you planning to take me home to meet your parents at the end of the year?"

Chloe fumed. "What's the meaning of this, Cecil? Is this bitch your side piece?" 

"Who are you calling a side piece? You're the side piece! I'll let everyone in the livestream see what a homewrecker you really are!" LilAnnieB seethed.

Chloe hissed, "How dare you film me? I'll beat you to a pulp, you shameless vixen!"

The sting of a slap filled the air, and the phone fell, its screen instantly going dark. Their argument raged on, but Valerie no longer cared to listen.

At this moment, more than 900 people were watching her stream.

StaRyn, who had been lurking in the livestream, asked, "Was everything we saw real?"

Valerie answered, "All the men she'll run into before 32 are duds. She won't meet her soulmate until July of that year. She's the kind of person who loses her head over love. 

"Fortunately, she's not too unlucky. After going through all these ordeals, she'll mature, and her life will take a positive turn."

Viewer A: "I seriously think this is scripted."

Viewer B: "Me too."

Viewer C: "Me three."

Valerie clicked on their profiles one by one. "Zero2Hero, even with all those beauty filters, I can still see the rough patches on your skin. You've already been to jail once. Stop beating your wife and kids before it's too late."

Zero2Hero: "How did you know I've been to jail?"

Valerie then looked at the second profile. "CrownMe, stay away from places with water in the coming days. It could put your life in danger."

CrownMe: "You've got to be kidding me… I just bought water park tickets!"

Valerie clicked on a few more viewers and gave a few quick readings. Before long, the livestream had ballooned from three viewers to well over eight thousand.

StaRyn never left. Noticing the comments, he joined in too. 

StaRyn: "Grandmaster, if I cheer for you now, can I still get a slot?"

MaskAgent: "Count me in!"

Valerie announced, "I'll stream on the first of each month. I charge 200 dollars for each reading, and it's first-come, first-served. See you next month!" 

With that, she ended the stream. Nearly ten thousand viewers were instantly booted out. 

Valerie transferred her earnings to her bank account, keeping half for herself and donating the other half to a charity foundation. 

…

That afternoon, Lucius arrived at the courthouse right on time in his SUV. Valerie was already there, wearing a baseball cap and a black mask, bundled up from head to toe.

When she spotted him getting out of his car, she waved the documents in her hand. "Let's get this over with." She seemed even more eager than he was to end their marriage.

To avoid attention, Lucius had dismissed his bodyguards to a distance. They entered the courthouse in succession. Apart from a few curious glances at their striking looks, no one paid them much mind.

Before processing the divorce agreement, a clerk in her 40s, Mary Kirk, tried to mediate. "Every couple hits bumps in the road. Can't you work it out instead of splitting up?"

Valerie answered, "He assaults me!"

Mary froze. Lucius gave Valerie a questioning look as well.

Valerie appeared aggrieved. "My husband cheated on me! To make room for his mistress, he beats me to a pulp every day. Look, my face is still swollen."

Mary thought that it was no wonder this young woman had kept herself covered from head to toe since she walked in. 

"How will your assets be divided?"

"My husband wants me to leave without a single penny," Valerie responded.

Mary now looked at Lucius with disdain. The man was decked out in designer clothes. Even the cufflinks on his sleeves were made of diamonds. Yet, he was forcing his wife to leave without a single cent?

After stepping out of the mediation room, Lucius stepped in front of Valerie. "So, I cheated on you, left you with nothing, and assaulted you?" 

He closed the space between them, cornering her where she stood. The delicate scent of his cologne lingered in the air, deepening his pull on her senses.

"It shut her up, didn't it?" she asked matter-of-factly.

"You had to ruin my reputation to do that?"

"I focus on results, not the process."

Lucius was at a loss for words.

"Are we still getting divorced or not?" she pressed.

Her words brought him back to reason. "Of course, we're getting divorced!" 

He didn't want to waste another minute on this.

"Let's get it over with, then!"

When the couple arrived at the county clerk's office with their marriage certificates, a deafening clap of thunder shook the building. A streak of electricity zipped through the marriage certificate in Valerie's hand, stinging her palm. Lucius, too, experienced the same thing.

Both of them instinctively tossed the certificates away. In the blink of an eye, both certificates burst into flames and crumbled to ash.

Lucius was dumbstruck. "What just happened?"

Valerie looked just as bewildered. "Our certificates were struck by lightning and burned up."

Lucius would never have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself. 

Because they no longer had their marriage certificates, Mary said she couldn't process their divorce application.

"The system has a record. Look it up right now," Lucius ordered. 

His commanding presence sent a chill through Mary, who scrambled to access the search page.

When it came time to enter their names, she looked at Valerie. "May I have your names?"

"My first name is Valerie, spelled as V-A-L-E-R-I-E. My last name is Collins—C-O-L-L-I-N-S," Valerie answered. 

Pointing at Lucius, she said, "He's Lucius…" 

Then, she paused, as she'd forgotten his last name. "Just enter mine. His name isn't important."

Lucius sat back with his legs crossed, his expression dark and cold. He brooded, thinking that this woman was obviously doing this on purpose.

Mary was caught off guard as well. How could a wife not know her husband's name?

After keying in Valerie's name, she found their record. "The system shows that you registered your marriage last August and are legally recognized as husband and wife. If you want a divorce but don't have your marriage certificates, you must first reissue them before filing for divorce." 

Lucius let out a mirthless chuckle. "We came to get divorced, not to get married."

Mary wiped away the sweat from her forehead. "I'm sorry, Mr. White, but that's the procedure."

Valerie cut in briskly, "How do we reissue them?"

Mary pointed to the door. "You need to go through the marriage office first to reissue the certificates." 

As soon as Mary said that, another thunderclap split the sky. 

The bright ceiling lights dimmed in an instant.

"What was that?" Someone gasped. "My computer's fried!"

Another person added, "Mine as well!"

Mary offered an apologetic smile. "As you can see, our entire network just went down. If you still want a divorce, please come back another day."

Realizing it was pointless to stay, Lucius shot Valerie a look. "Let's go."

Not only did the divorce fall through, but their marriage certificates had gone up in flames as well. Lucius and Valerie walked out of the courthouse one after the other.

"Is there any other way to get divorced sooner?" she asked.

He couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling at that moment. "Let me check with my lawyer."

Valerie nodded. "Thanks."

Just then, Kean pulled up. "Mr. White, is everything settled? Where are you headed, Ms. Collins? Do you need a ride?"

Valerie took a look at the SUV. "No, thanks. I get carsick easily."

Keane was lost in thoug

Chapter 8