Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Autumn Linton looked at Chloe Reed and said, ”Your grandmother should have known about all this a long time ago.”

Chloe Reed’s eyes were cold. ”What’s in it for you? Aren’t you her daughter? Why are you doing this?”

’How could she bully her grandmother like this?’

’She’s so old already. Wouldn’t it be better to let those past events stay buried?’

But Autumn Linton shook her head. ”This has been weighing on my heart for decades. Now that I finally have the chance to say it, why shouldn’t I?”

”You...”

Chloe Reed was about to say more, but her grandmother squeezed her arm. ”Chloe, don’t worry. At my age, what storms haven’t I weathered? Don’t worry about me.”

”But...” Chloe tried to argue.

’How could I not worry?’

She had never believed a word Autumn Linton said.

’The idea that Grandma was the other woman was complete bullshit!’

’But if all this comes out, won’t Grandma start to dwell on it?’

The old woman gave her a gentle, loving smile. ”My dear Cherie, I want to know exactly what she has to say.”

Tears stung Chloe Reed’s eyes, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

「Upstairs.」

「Inside the room.」

Autumn Linton closed the door, then walked over and sat down in front of the old woman. ”Aunt Bowman was my father’s lover,” she said.

She dropped a bombshell right from the start, but the old woman’s expression remained calm.

Autumn Linton continued, ”Back when your family arranged a marriage with the Linton family, my father didn’t want to be tied down. He decided to elope with Aunt Bowman. They had everything prepared, and he planned to use that pair of sapphire earrings as a pledge of their love. But the Lintons found out. They forced my father to compromise and even had Aunt Bowman married off in short order.”

As she spoke, she seemed deeply moved, a flicker of sadness in her eyes.

”And how did you come to know this Aunt Bowman?” the old woman suddenly asked.

Autumn Linton was taken aback for a second, her gaze faltering. ”That’s not important,” she said. ”What’s important is that the sapphire earrings were never yours to begin with. You should just give them to me. Mom, there’s no point in holding on to something that doesn’t belong to you, right?”

Chloe Reed, who had been listening on the side, sneered. ”How hypocritical.”

Autumn Linton frowned at her. ”I’m speaking with your grandmother. Stay out of it.”

But Chloe retorted, ”Then why don’t you answer my grandmother’s question? Besides, this all happened to her generation, so how would you know about it in such detail? Did Grandpa tell you? But he kept it from Grandma his whole life, so why would he possibly tell you?”

The old woman kept her gaze on Autumn Linton. ”Tell me, how did you and this Aunt Bowman meet?”

Her focus was not on the token of love.

Autumn Linton’s brow furrowed. ”Mom, that’s not important—”

”Of course it’s important.” The old woman’s tone suddenly grew stern. ”You are my daughter, yet you knew your father’s former lover. The distance that grew between us later... was it also because of this woman?”

Autumn Linton didn’t speak, but her silence was a clear admission.

The old woman closed her eyes, her face paling slightly. ”So, in your heart, you believe she was the one who should have been with your father, is that right?”

A flicker of conflict crossed Autumn Linton’s eyes, but she nodded anyway. ”That’s right. My father was only with you out of a sense of duty. Aunt Bowman’s life wasn’t easy during those years, either. If they hadn’t been torn apart, they would have been blissfully happy.”

”Did you wish you were her daughter instead?” the old woman asked.