Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”You can go take care of your own business, actually.”

Chloe Reed typed out the sentence on her phone, letting the cold, electronic female voice of her text-to-speech app ring out.

Walker Grant fell silent for a moment before replying, ”Chloe, the Spring Festival holiday is already underway. The company is closed. Can’t I, the boss, take a break too?”

Chloe was speechless. She really hadn’t realized that. A hint of embarrassment flashed across her face, but she quickly composed herself.

Walker paused. His tone deepened slightly as he continued, ”Besides, I want to be with you. Staying right here by your side is what I want to do most.”

Once again, Chloe didn’t know what to say. There was no way she could respond to that. A helpless look crossed her face before she typed her response. ”I’m done practicing. Let’s go upstairs.”

”Okay,” Walker replied. He stood up and reached his hand out to her in a completely natural gesture. Chloe took his hand and led him upstairs.

Fiona Linton was sitting in the living room, watching a romantic drama. When she saw them come upstairs, she teased, ”Oho, is the date over?”

Chloe raised an eyebrow slightly. Letting go of Walker’s hand, she typed out a response. ”I’ll take you with me next time.”

”No, no, no, my fragile little heart couldn’t take it.” Fiona deliberately clutched her chest in an over-the-top, exaggerated display of terror.

Chloe laughed at her antics. Turning back to Walker, she deliberately paused between each word as she asked through her app, ”Are. You. Resting?”

”What are you going to do?” Walker asked in return.

Chloe’s elegant brows furrowed. She tapped on her screen to reply. ”I don’t know what I’ll be doing. I might sit around for a bit, go to the kitchen for some fruit, or maybe just play on my phone.”

”Then I’ll just stay right by your side,” Walker said.

Chloe stared at him, utterly speechless.

”Isn’t that a little too clingy?” Fiona couldn’t help but interject, dramatically rubbing her arms as if to smooth down goosebumps.

”Ahem.” Walker coughed lightly behind his hand.

Fiona’s expression froze. She quickly pivoted, ”But then again, it’s rare to find a man this devoted nowadays! At the very least, he won’t go out messing around with other women. He only has eyes for you, which is actually really sweet.”

The corners of Walker’s lips quirked up. He hadn’t expected her to be such a smooth talker; he might just have to consider giving her a bonus.

After saying that, Fiona felt a deep sense of self-loathing wash over her. But for the sake of the money, she would endure!

A glimmer of surprise flashed in Chloe’s clear eyes. She looked from Fiona to Walker, and a knowing smile touched her lips. She led Walker over to the sofa to sit down before turning into the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of mango juice. Returning to the living room, Chloe sat down next to Fiona and began taking small sips of her drink.

It was a rare, peaceful day. The occasional crackle of fireworks echoed from outside, adding a festive New Year atmosphere to the air.

Fiona kept sneaking glances at her, her eyes practically overflowing with a guilty conscience. Chloe pulled out her phone and sent her a text directly.

Chloe: *[How much did he pay you?]*

When Fiona saw the message, her expression instantly froze. She then flashed Chloe a blatantly innocent, overly sweet smile before tapping out a string of numbers on her own phone.

Seeing the staggeringly long string of zeros on the screen, Chloe fell completely silent. She took a large gulp of her mango juice before typing back.

Chloe: *[Make sure you milk him for all he’s worth.]*

Fiona couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.

Walker tilted his head slightly, listening to the commotion from their side of the couch. Pursing his thin lips, he remarked, ”You two are bullying me.”

Fiona practically gagged. ”Walker Grant, please don’t use that whiny tone in front of me,” she said hurriedly. ”It’s so sickening I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”