Chapter 78: The Missing Piece of Paper

Ellis didn’t mind accepting the money her soon-to-be ex-husband offered to cover the wages she lost by taking half a day off. After all, who would complain about having too much money? She punched some numbers into her phone’s calculator and announced, “315 dollars!”

These days, hardly anyone used cash; everything was done through electronic payments. So, without missing a beat, Ellis considerately opened her phone to display her bank account. She had to use this method because, just a few days ago, in the dead of night, her deadbeat ex had tampered with her WhatsApp. She initially thought he would add himself through a friend request, planning to delete and block him as soon as she did. But strangely, he never completed the request.

His actions reminded her of his inherent arrogance. Perhaps no one had ever dared to delete or block him before. She might have been the first, and, in his view, this was a loss of face he had to regain.

Moments later, a WhatsApp notification showed that 28,000 dollars had been sent to her account.

Before she could fully grasp what had happened, she saw Easton, out of the corner of her eye, fumbling with his phone, absentmindedly crumpling the application form into a ball and tossing it into the trash can, oblivious to what he was discarding.

Stunned by the row of zeros, she almost thought her eyes were deceiving her. Easton had transferred 28,000 dollars—nearly a hundred times the requested amount of 315 dollars! The money was in her account, and naturally, there was no question of sending it back. Ellis didn’t want to return it anyway. It was given willingly, not extorted.

Besides, 28,000 dollars was a drop in the bucket compared to the wealth Easton possessed. Considering his generous gesture, she grudgingly said, “Thank you.”

“28,000 dollars gets you to say thank you? You—” Easton pocketed his phone, looking thoughtful, “Beg me, and I might just reactivate all my supplementary cards for you.”

Ellis’s eyes flashed angrily as she glared up at him. “Who needs your cards? Even if you threw them away, I wouldn’t pick them up! Beg you? In your dreams!”

“You’re really stubborn.”

“Are you sick?” Ellis glanced at the crumpled paper in the trash, her tone becoming impatient. “Stop dawdling and go get another application form from the service desk.”

Reminded by her nudge, Easton realized he had thrown away his form. No wonder something seemed off. Annoyed by her eagerness and lack of awareness, he pursed his lips and said, “Fine, just don’t regret it.”

“What would I regret?” Ellis scoffed dismissively. As soon as the paperwork was complete, she planned to buy fireworks and celebrate her liberation and rebirth with loud, crackling noises.

“I’ll be waiting,” Easton said, turning back to the service desk. Ellis rolled her eyes. Where did his confidence come from? If he expected to see her regret, she’d have to seriously consider hexing him to suffer from infidelity in his future marriages.

The mediation room was small, with just one clerk seated between them, who asked detailed questions. For someone determined to divorce, mediation was just a waste of time. Ellis wanted to get it over with quickly. No matter what the clerk said, nothing could shake her resolve.

Seeing her firm stance, the clerk turned to Easton, who looked distinctly less composed. “Mr. Easton, what about you?”

After the mediation, which did not alter the grim expression on Ellis’s face, Easton frowned and conceded, “I agree to the divorce.”

Both parties being in agreement, the mediation ended, and the clerk directed, “If you both have your documents ready, you can proceed to the counter outside to finalize the divorce.”

Ellis immediately left the mediation room. Fortunately, there was an available window. She approached the clerk sitting inside and said, “Hello, we are here to get divorced.”

The clerk extended a hand. “Pass me the application forms and your IDs.”

Ellis handed over her documents without hesitation. After checking the information, the clerk asked, “Aren’t you giving yours?” looking at Easton.

Ellis nudged Easton next to her. “Hurry up!” More urging—Ellis was always urging Easton today. Does she even realize what she is doing? Does she understand that, once we’re divorced, becoming my wife again won’t be so easy! Easton’s expression darkened slightly as he handed over his documents and application form.

“No, where’s your marriage certificate?” the clerk asked, searching through their documents. “We can’t process a divorce without the marriage certificate.”

When she moved out of the Hudson family home, she had taken only her personal documents like her ID and passport. The marriage certificate, needed now, hadn’t crossed her mind. So, Ellis turned to Easton. “You brought it, right?”