Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

Chloe Reed started dialing Daniel Hayes’s number.

It rang three times before the call went through.

”Hello, Miss Chloe.”

Chloe Reed’s tone was grim. ”Walker Grant is gone. Have you noticed?”

Daniel Hayes was taken aback for a moment before replying, ”No, I’ve only been focused on you. There’s no immediate danger. Is it possible Mr. Grant just went to the restroom?”

Chloe Reed’s elegant brows drew together. ”Unlikely. He’s not answering my calls.”

Daniel Hayes said, ”Well, maybe there’s no reception in the restroom. That could be why he can’t pick up. Miss Chloe, please don’t worry too much. I’m sure Mr. Grant is fine.”

But Chloe Reed said, ”Come find me now. With him not here, I feel unsettled.”

”Okay,” Daniel Hayes replied.

Not long after she hung up, Daniel Hayes arrived. His imposing figure standing beside Chloe Reed was very reassuring.

Several minutes passed, but there was still no sign of Walker Grant.

Chloe Reed’s heart clenched. A wave of anxiety washed over her.

Daniel Hayes scanned the area and said, ”I’ve already notified Mr. Grant’s other bodyguards. They’re looking for him. Mr. Grant is highly skilled; he’ll be perfectly fine.”

Chloe Reed nodded but said nothing more.

She didn’t move from the spot, continuing to wait.

Daniel Hayes stood guard by her side, a picture of diligence. The unnerving feeling of being watched, the one that had sent a chill down her spine, did not return.

’If Walker Grant hadn’t vanished, maybe it really was all just my imagination.’

「Half an hour passed.」

Chloe Reed grew increasingly anxious. The air was filled with the shouts of vendors and the bustle of a ceaseless crowd, but there was still no sign of him.

A lost look filled her eyes.

’In a market this crowded, how could someone just vanish into thin air?’

’Where could he have possibly gone?’

”Miss Chloe.”

Just then, Daniel Hayes spoke up.

Chloe Reed turned to him. ”Yes?”

Daniel Hayes scratched the back of his head, a conflicted expression on his face. He seemed to be struggling with how to begin.

Chloe Reed blinked, puzzled. ”What is it?”

”Well...” ’Daniel Hayes felt terribly uneasy. He felt he’d really let her down.’

’After all, he was supposed to be following Zachary Bowman’s orders to protect Chloe Reed, but he’d made a deal with Walker Grant...’

AHEM!

”I just wanted to ask... if I were to betray you, just a little, you...” Daniel Hayes chose his words carefully, even making a ”small” gesture with his fingers. ”Like, just a tiny bit. You... you wouldn’t be mad, right?”

Hearing this, Chloe Reed felt completely lost. ”Betrayal is betrayal. Since when does it come in different sizes?”

She paused, her expression hardening and her gaze turning cold. ”What? Did you actually betray me?”

At her words, Daniel Hayes’s heart plummeted.

’I’m done for!’

’I’m so, so done for!’

Daniel Hayes wasn’t one for hiding his feelings. A flustered look spread across his face as he scrambled to think of an explanation and an apology.

But just then, he spotted someone approaching from a particular direction and quickly exclaimed, ”Miss Chloe, look over there!”

Chloe Reed followed his pointing finger and saw Walker Grant’s tall, straight figure striding through the crowd toward her.

In that instant, it was as if all the surrounding sounds had faded away.

All she could see was him. Her eyes swept over his face, then down his body.

’No cuts on his face, no blood on his clothes...’