Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”You really have had too much to drink.”

The cold, mechanical female voice echoed in the kitchen as Chloe Reed’s slender fingers continued tapping on the screen. ”Uncle King has already prepared the guest room. You should go rest. Get some proper sleep since you’re drunk, and don’t overthink things.”

Listening to that icy robotic voice, Preston Vance lowered his head slightly and let out a helpless smile. He nodded. ”Yeah, I am a bit dizzy, actually.”

He turned around and left the kitchen.

Chloe breathed a soft sigh of relief, put her phone away, and finished cleaning up the remaining items. When she walked out, she saw the old lady sitting on the living room sofa, looking at her phone. Chloe walked over, sat down close beside her, and affectionately snuggled up against her.

The old lady rubbed her cheek against the top of Chloe’s head. ”What’s wrong?”

Chloe lightly pursed her red lips before forcing the words out of her own mouth. Syllable by syllable, she articulated, ”I. Don’t. Want. To. Leave.”

The old lady simply smiled. ”You don’t need to worry about me. I’m much more comfortable here.” She then looked down at her. ”Chloe, do whatever it is you want to do. Don’t let me hold you back. I’m already at this age; there’s nothing left for me to fear.”

Pausing for a moment, she sighed softly. ”Perhaps there’s still one regret in my life, and that’s not being able to see you happy and content.”

”You. Will. See. It,” Chloe said urgently. She would handle everything as quickly as possible. After that, she would live with her grandmother and lead a relaxed, carefree life.

The old lady smiled and nodded. ”Alright, I’ll be waiting.”

Chloe nestled against her grandmother’s side, reluctant to part from this familiar warmth.

Once the old lady had fallen asleep, Chloe went to Uncle King’s room.

Uncle King hadn’t expected her to visit this late. Confused, he asked, ”Miss Chloe, is something the matter?”

Chloe held up her phone and typed, ”Uncle King, I’ll have to trouble you to take extra care of my grandmother while I’m away.”

”Of course. I’ve been looking after her all these years,” Uncle King said with a smile. ”You don’t even need to ask, Miss Chloe.”

Chloe continued typing, ”The situation is different from before. Autumn Linton is dead.”

Hearing this news, Uncle King’s eyes widened in shock. ”Dead? How... That’s so sudden.”

A complex look surfaced in Chloe’s clear, watery eyes as she typed her reply. ”Although my grandmother’s bond with her was shallow, she was still her daughter. Now that she’s gone, my grandmother has become very prone to melancholy. Uncle King, I’d like to ask you to pay closer attention to her everyday moods.”

Her expression was extremely solemn. She was terrified that the old lady would take things too hard and do something foolish.

Uncle King nodded gravely. ”Alright, I understand.” Shortly after, he sighed heavily. ”Ah... what a tragedy. I watched that child grow up too. But later on, she got close to that woman and completely disregarded the old madam’s feelings. I tried to talk some sense into her back then, but she actually said I was just an outsider and had no right to meddle in their family affairs.”

He shook his head helplessly. Now that he knew she was gone, he could only lament. With so many past grievances and the person already in the grave, what was the point of trying to make sense of it all now?

Chloe returned to her own room and packed her things.

The next day, she set off to return to Breyburn. Preston Vance was also heading back, so the two took the same high-speed train. The business class carriage was incredibly quiet. Chloe watched the scenery blur past the window, her heart still heavy with worry.

Preston glanced at her. ”What are you thinking about? You’ll be seeing him soon—are you still worried about him?”