Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

”No, you’re the one who wants us to rely on each other. I don’t.”

Chloe Reed typed on her phone, her expression exceptionally cold. Her clear, watery eyes stared at him without a trace of warmth, ruthlessly piercing through his thoughts.

”You are alone now. You have nothing left, so you want to salvage our familial bond. But Mr. Reed, long ago, when you continuously favored Sunny Reed and used and hurt me, whatever family ties we had were completely exhausted.”

Chloe typed quickly. The cold, mechanized female voice of her text-to-speech app echoed throughout the warm milk tea shop.

Charles Reed stared at her in a daze before suddenly standing up, his voice trembling. ”How can you say that? I raised you! I gave you the best life!”

In stark contrast to his anger and reluctance, Chloe appeared remarkably calm. She took a deep breath and continued typing.

”Don’t come looking for me again, and don’t disturb my friends’ lives. Otherwise, I won’t hold back against you.”

She put her phone away and looked at him coldly, waiting for him to leave on his own.

Charles’s face was pale and awful, layered with heavy regret and self-blame. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to make a move.

Daniel Hayes, who had been watching from the side, couldn’t help but scoff. ”Hey, old man, where do you get the nerve to play the family card with Chloe at a time like this? You raised her, sure, but didn’t she repay you? What about all the times you hurt her over and over again? Does none of that count?”

Charles’s lips trembled. It took him a long time to finally speak. ”I was deceived by Amanda Sutton. I didn’t expect her to—”

”Alright, enough! Don’t you try to shirk responsibility now,” Daniel said, hitting the nail on the head. ”If you hadn’t been so biased from the beginning, what kind of waves could a child as young as Sunny Reed have possibly stirred up? Her ambition swelled day by day because you all spoiled her!”

Hearing this, Charles’s face grew even paler, and his body swayed violently.

Daniel walked toward him and raised an eyebrow. ”What now? Do you want me to escort you out?”

Charles flinched, not daring to drag out the stalemate any longer. He looked at Chloe, but was only met with her indifferent eyes.

Once upon a time, their Chloe would dependently call him Dad and Autumn Mom. She would act spoiled with them, share everything that happened at school, and trust them with all her heart.

They couldn’t go back.

They could never go back.

Charles’s aged figure walked slowly down the street. With the New Year approaching, the area was festive and decorated with lanterns, radiating a joyous atmosphere.

Yet, his figure was solitary, looking exceptionally lonely and desolate in the crowd.

HONK!

A harsh car horn pierced the air. Charles turned around, instantly blinded by the glaring headlights. In the next second, the vehicle crashed right into him.

CRASH!

”Oh my god!”

”There’s been a car accident!”

”Hurry, call an ambulance!”

”...”

Inside the milk tea shop, Chloe was just about to say something to Annie York when she heard the sudden commotion outside.

Her heart instantly sank. She quickly turned her head and looked out through the large glass window, only to see Charles lying in a pool of blood a short distance away. A car was parked nearby, its owner on the phone and looking incredibly anxious. Several passersby had already gathered around, murmuring fervently.

Daniel saw the scene as well and immediately cursed under his breath. ”Damn, does karma strike this fast?”

Chloe pursed her lips slightly, her hands and feet growing cold. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before finally stepping outside.