Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Iris Yates, never one to hold back, asked directly, ”Are you going to go against your best friend?”

Miles Hawthorne lowered his gaze for a moment, concealing his thoughts. He then looked up with a relaxed smile and said, ”I just want to help you. I don’t know the full story yet, but from what I’ve gathered, it’s clear to me that he made the wrong choice between you and his sister-in-law. He needs to pay for his mistake.”

”That’s awesome!” Iris Yates shot him a thumbs-up. ”I really thought you and Walker Grant were cut from the same cloth.”

Miles Hawthorne offered a wry smile. ”Walker is my friend, but that’s no excuse to support everything he does.”

”Even more awesome!”

Iris Yates turned to Chloe Reed. ”Chloe, go for it! File for divorce and tell that damn scumbag to get lost and never come back!”

Chloe Reed’s heart began to beat faster. Just when she had started to lose all hope, Miles Hawthorne had appeared and offered her a lifeline.

”Are... are you serious?” she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty. ”You’d be going up against Walker Grant.”

Miles Hawthorne considered this for a moment. ”Then we just won’t let him know I’m the one helping you,” he said. ”I’ll have someone get in touch with you. We’ll do everything in secret before filing. We’ll only make it public after he’s been served the papers.”

Chloe Reed’s eyes lit up. ”Is that really possible?”

Miles Hawthorne nodded, his gaze serious as he looked at her. ”It is. But you need to be certain. You have to be sure you really want to divorce him.”

”I made up my mind a long time ago!” Chloe Reed declared. ”I want to divorce him. I never want to see him again.”

”Alright. Then I’ll help you.”

The hot pot broth simmered, its rich fragrance filling the air. As the steam rose, Chloe Reed felt her eyes begin to sting for some reason.

”Thank you.”

Miles Hawthorne quickly interjected, ”Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m still charging you my full fee, you know.”

His words made Chloe Reed laugh. ”Alright. What’s the first step?”

Miles said, ”I just got back into the country today. Let me rest for a day, and I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

He took out his phone. ”Here, let’s exchange contact info.”

Chloe Reed nodded, and the two of them exchanged information.

When she arrived, Chloe Reed’s heart had been a barren, gray wasteland. But as she left, a tender green shoot of new hope was beginning to sprout.

Sitting in the car, Iris Yates couldn’t help but say, ”That Miles Hawthorne is so much better than that damn scumbag.”

Chloe Reed looked out the window, her voice calm. ”You can’t judge people by appearances. I was with Walker Grant for eight years, and I never expected him to turn out like this.”

”That’s true,” Iris Yates agreed with a nod. ”Well, let’s just focus on the divorce then. Don’t overthink anything else.”

”Mm.”

...

With progress being made on the divorce suit, Chloe Reed felt a renewed sense of purpose. She began sending out her resume again; if one voice acting company rejected her, she would simply try another.

Whether it was for television series, video games, commercials, or anime, she could handle it all.

She was organizing her portfolio one day when her phone rang. She pulled it out and saw it was a call from Charles Reed.

A headache immediately bloomed in Chloe Reed’s temples. She pressed her forehead and answered the call. ”Hello?”

”Have you forgotten what day it is?” Charles Reed’s tone was unpleasant.

Chloe Reed’s brow furrowed. ”What day?”

”You ungrateful brat! Today is your nephew’s birthday party! All our friends and relatives are here, but you, the Second Young Mistress of the Grant family, are nowhere to be seen! Do you want everyone to laugh at our families? Get over here right now!”