Chapter 6: The Battle for Divorce
Victoria leaned closer to Easton, angrily saying, “Easton, you can’t let him off! He deserves harsher punishment! He hit me when I was kidnapped. I was in so much pain, and I was terrified that I wouldn’t see you again. He…”
The sound of a ringing phone cut off her words. It was Easton’s phone. Easton glanced at the screen and instructed Jackson, “Once you’ve dealt with everything, take Ms. Victoria home.” He then walked out of the police station.
After five years of working as Easton’s assistant, Jackson had a hard time understanding his boss, especially after Victoria returned from abroad. Jackson couldn’t guess what Easton was thinking. Everyone knew how much influence a first love could have. Even a single tear or a small gesture from them could make people act irrationally. But Easton was a married man, and these past days, he had thrown himself into the kidnapping case, giving all his attention to Victoria. Meanwhile, Ellis seemed almost forgotten. At this rate, Mrs. Hudson’s position was likely to be replaced.
As Jackson finished dealing with the kidnappers and wondered where Easton had gone, he had no idea that his boss had received a call from his bodyguard at the hospital, informing him that Ellis had regained consciousness, so Easton went straight there.
Upon entering the hospital room, Easton saw Ellis half-sitting on the bed, with Maya sitting next to her. Both women were surprised to see him. But then, Maya’s eyes quickly filled with hostility. The hostility seemed to come out of nowhere, and Ellis turned her back on him, refusing to look his way. Easton’s brows furrowed slightly.
Maya stood up immediately, picked up a document that had just been delivered, and walked straight toward Easton. “Mr. Easton, you’re just in time! On behalf of my client, I’m formally submitting a request for divorce! This is the draft of the divorce agreement my client and I have worked on. Please review it.”
Although Maya was an experienced lawyer, she didn’t typically deal with divorces. But when her best friend needed her, she couldn’t ignore it, especially after her friend had cried in her arms for a long time—something Maya had never witnessed in their 20 years of friendship. The one to blame for all of this was Easton! To Maya, Easton was no different than the opponents she had previously encountered. Her task was to assist her best friend in successfully filing for divorce, and once she shifted into her professional role, Maya maintained a strictly professional demeanor.
After she finished speaking, she waited for Easton to take the divorce papers, ready to go back to Ellis and offer her support.
However, she had her concerns. She feared her best friend wasn’t fully resolved to go through with the divorce and might just be acting out of frustration. Later on, Ellis could go back to clinging to Easton, hurting herself all over again. By that point, Maya would have upset Easton and found herself in a difficult situation. Because of this, even though Maya’s actions appeared highly professional and assertive, they were entirely based on Ellis’s lead, which made her confidence falter slightly.
When the unexpected divorce agreement was presented, and as Maya referred to Ellis as her client, Easton’s expression barely shifted, but his lips tightened into a slight, restrained frown. “Ellis! You never get tired of this, do you?” The man’s deep and slow voice echoed in the hospital room, and a faint chill seemed to fill the air. Expecting warmth or compassion from someone who didn’t love her was a ridiculous hope, and Ellis wasn’t surprised at all by Easton’s reaction.
“We’re done!” she said, turning to look him in the eyes. “I want a divorce, and I’m serious. Maya has already prepared the divorce agreement. If you have no objections, sign it, and we’ll set a date.”
“Set a date? Set a date for what?” Easton snapped, cutting her off. “I don’t have time for your nonsense.”
Before anyone could react, the divorce papers in Maya’s hand were tossed into the trash bin. Maya stood there, stunned. She hadn’t expected Easton to discard the agreement, treating the divorce as insignificant. Realizing this was now a private discussion between the couple, she quietly stepped aside, not wanting to interrupt.
“I know what you’re up to! Without an official divorce certificate, you can easily deny any signed agreement. And even if we did get the certificate, you’d shamelessly beg me to take you back.”
Standing tall above her as she reclined in bed, Easton looked down with a sense of superiority, his words dripping with contempt, leaving Ellis feeling overpowered. Furious, she got out of bed. “You don’t want this marriage, so why is it a problem when I ask for a divorce? Isn’t that what you want? I swear to you, once we’re divorced, I’ll never come begging for you to take me back.”
At this point, all she wanted was to be free from Easton and escape the pain of their broken relationship.
“You think you’re doing me a favor? No, you’re just wasting my time!” Easton scoffed. He cast a cold, dismissive glance at Maya and the nearby laptop, and with a commanding gaze, he signaled Maya to take notes. “Do you even know what real divorce involves? The first step is to divide the assets. Maya, since you’re representing Ellis, have you even started on that yet?”
Chapter 7: Cold Realities