Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Chloe Reed raised an eyebrow slightly, then glanced at Preston Vance and said, ”Preston, I’m heading out.”

Preston Vance sighed helplessly. ”I’m sorry,” he said. ”I didn’t expect you to get caught up in something like this.”

Chloe Reed said, ”Now that I’ve hit her, I’m not angry anymore. But you’re the one who’s probably in for trouble now.”

”It’s not really trouble. She was the one being unreasonable first,” Preston Vance said. ”I’m going to head out as well.”

The two of them went their separate ways.

When Chloe Reed got home, her mind was a mess. Her grandmother could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

”Chloe, what happened?” her grandmother asked with concern.

Chloe Reed washed her hands and sat down beside her grandmother. ”I only found out today,” she said. ”The person who saved Walker Grant back then... it was really Sunny Reed.”

Hearing this, her grandmother was visibly startled. She then asked, ”Then who did you save?”

”Julian Grant.”

After she said his name, the room fell into a heavy silence.

The entire walk home, she had been wondering, ’Did Julian Grant know about this?’

Before Julian Grant passed away, they used to see each other often. He had even been the best man at her wedding.

Her grandmother stroked her hair and said, ”Now that things are cleared up, why are you unhappy?”

”I just don’t understand why Walker Grant would hide this,” Chloe Reed said, her brow furrowing slightly.

Her grandmother mulled it over for a moment before saying, ”Is it possible he was afraid that if you knew the truth, you would start to question your feelings for him?”

Chloe Reed looked lost for a moment, then said, ”But... I went to save him because I already liked him.”

”Perhaps he didn’t see it that way,” her grandmother said. ”I’m just guessing, of course. I can never figure out the complexities of you young people’s hearts.”

This only made Chloe Reed more confused.

She said, ”I’m going to take a shower to clear my head.”

”Alright, go on.”

...

「The Vance residence.」

Ivy Vance was in tears as she tattled to Mrs. Vance, wildly exaggerating the nature of Chloe Reed’s and Preston Vance’s relationship.

Mrs. Vance turned pale. When she saw Preston Vance return, she immediately said, ”Preston, when did you get mixed up with that woman? She’s Walker Grant’s wife, and they aren’t even divorced! Are you trying to get our family targeted by the Grant Corporation?”

A chill entered Preston Vance’s eyes as he turned to Ivy Vance. ”What did you say?”

Ivy Vance said, ”I just told her what I saw!”

Preston Vance’s brow furrowed slightly. He then looked at his mother. ”Mom, you’re overthinking this. Chloe Reed and I are just friends. You shouldn’t believe what Ivy says.”

”Mom, that bitch Chloe Reed hit me right in front of him, and he didn’t do a thing! How could they possibly be just friends? They’ve probably already slept together behind our backs!” Ivy Vance retorted, pointing at her face. ”Mom, look! My face still hurts.”

Mrs. Vance was very distressed for her daughter. ”Preston,” she said, ”you should stop seeing that woman. I don’t want our family’s peace to be shattered over this.”

Preston Vance took off his glasses, pulled a lens cloth from his pocket, and began to wipe them with slow, deliberate care. After putting them back on, his eyes seemed several degrees colder. ”It appears you have too much free time on your hands lately. You’ll be handling the business in East Gondara. Don’t come back until you’ve hit your targets.”

Ivy Vance was aghast. ”You...”

Mrs. Vance was taken aback. ”Preston, how can you send your sister there? That place is a mess...”

Preston Vance said, ”If you object to my decision, then you can handle the corporation’s affairs from now on. I still have plenty of unfinished business abroad, and I’d be happy to go back to it.”