Chapter 2- to give them what they want

"What on earth is going on here!"

After Laurent left, Lord Wooden, the patriarch of the Burg Eltz family, glared furiously at Dave Washington and demanded an explanation.

To have such a disgraceful scene of divorce erupt at his eightieth birthday celebration—it was clear just how furious Lord Wooden was. Adding to his anger was the fact that he genuinely liked Laurent as his granddaughter-in-law. Yet he also understood that for Laurent to announce her intention to divorce in such a public and formal setting, her resolve must have been unshakable. This realization only fueled his rage further.

Wooden had always known there was something off about the young couple's marriage. However, he had assumed that after so many years together and with a child in the mix, any tension between them would have smoothed out. He had never imagined things would deteriorate to such a point.

"This family is not hers to control!"

Dave Washington's face darkened, and his voice was cold as he spat out those words before turning and walking away. His rigid tone betrayed the fury raging within him.

The implication of his words was clear: this divorce was not going to happen.

If she wanted out, she'd have to dream on!

He had a thousand ways to make sure she couldn't leave.

Still brimming with anger, Dave stormed toward the entrance of the banquet hall. As he reached the door, he noticed Laurent's discarded high heels, the ones she had kicked off earlier. His expression grew even darker, and he kicked the shoes hard, sending them flying.

He vaguely remembered her saying she liked those shoes. She had mentioned how comfortable and easy they were to wear, and she often chose them for formal occasions.

Now, seeing how she had so ruthlessly abandoned them, he couldn't help but draw a parallel between the shoes and himself. He thought about how she had thrown them aside without hesitation, just as she had publicly cast him off tonight.

That realization stirred a strange feeling inside him—a sense of being discarded.

She had once professed her love for him and gone to great lengths to marry him. Now, she had turned around and demanded a divorce in front of everyone. Did Laurent think the world revolved around her? That she could marry and divorce on a whim?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His pace quickened as he strode out of the banquet hall.

When he finally reached the entrance, he saw her.

She was barefoot, standing by the car, holding a pair of flat shoes she had just retrieved from the trunk.

Even from a distance, he could see her face clearly—it was streaked with tears.

Feeling increasingly agitated, Dave Washington raised his hand and yanked off his tie, tossing it aside with frustration. His tone was sharp as he called out to stop her:

"Stop right there!"

However, before his words could even settle, she had already bent down, slipped on her shoes, and gotten into the car. Just as he stepped forward in an attempt to catch up, her car sped off, leaving him standing in a cloud of exhaust fumes.

Dave Washington felt his anger boiling over.

She had clearly seen him chasing after her, yet she had deliberately ignored him and driven away!

He stood there, glaring furiously in the direction her car had disappeared, until the fire in his chest subsided slightly. Only then did he turn on his heel, his face ice-cold, and head back inside to pick up their sleeping daughter from upstairs. With the child in his arms, he drove home.

It wasn't until then that he realized why, earlier at the banquet, she had hurriedly fed their daughter and then put her to bed so early.

She had done it to remove their daughter from the scene so she could announce the divorce.

As Dave drove, a cold laugh escaped his lips. If she was so concerned about their daughter, then what divorce was she talking about?

Laurent, of course, knew that temporarily keeping their daughter away wasn't a long-term solution. A bright and perceptive little girl like her would likely find out about their divorce soon enough.

But no matter what, Laurent didn't want her daughter to witness the ugliness of their fallout firsthand.

Laurent didn't go home.

Having come this far and already submitted the divorce papers, she had no intention of continuing to live under the same roof with him.

More importantly, her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't imagine coexisting peacefully with him right now. If she went back, it would inevitably lead to another argument.

She felt utterly exhausted, both mentally and physically, and had no energy left to argue with him.

She knew Dave Washington all too well. Tonight, she had humiliated him in front of so many people by bringing up divorce, leaving him utterly disgraced. If she went home, there was no telling how he might explode in anger. And the consequences of provoking his rage would ultimately fall on her shoulders.

She didn't know if other men behaved the same way, but she did know that after every argument they had, Dave liked to take it out on her—in bed.

She drove aimlessly through the streets, tears streaming down her face again and again until it felt as though she had no tears left to shed, until her emotions had finally settled into calm.

To be honest, everything that happened today was far too sudden. She hadn't given herself time to plan a way out. Driven by despair and disillusionment, she had resolutely brought up divorce.

Although she appeared calm and composed in front of everyone, her heart was in turmoil, waves of anguish crashing over her one after another.

Making such a decision—how could her heart truly remain at peace?

After all, it was a marriage that had entangled her for five years. After all, they had a daughter together. After all, she had once loved that man so deeply, so passionately, with all her being.

However, that afternoon in the café, when she overheard Clark confess her feelings to him, and he remained silent for several long minutes, the fragile, humble love she had clung to for him shattered in an instant.

She knew he didn't love her. She knew, deep down, that he probably never would. Yet she still held on to hope—hope that, as a father, he would say he wanted to preserve their marriage for the sake of their daughter, to give her a complete and stable home.

Even if he stayed with her only for their daughter, she would have continued, humbly and unconditionally. But he didn't.

Faced with Clark's confession and plea, he merely pressed his lips together and stayed silent.

And in that silence, during such a sensitive moment, all she could feel was that he wanted to give up on her, on their daughter, on their family.

So she chose to let them be.

Clark was the one he truly cared about—the one who had once loved him, abandoned him, and now returned. She was the one he held closest to his heart.

It was this realization that killed her love for him.

Not to mention that Clark had confessed to him that the reason she had abandoned him and gotten together with his older brother was because of her father's coercion. In reality, the person she loved the most was still him.

When the person you love says that she loves you too, doesn't it feel like the whole world lights up?

So, after they left, she immediately contacted a lawyer, drafted the divorce agreement, and handed over all the divorce matters to the lawyer.

She believed that this divorce would be simple. Since he had found someone he truly loved, and on the divorce agreement, she had written that apart from their daughter, she would not ask for a single penny of his assets—no house, no car, no stocks, nothing.

How could it not be simple?