Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Caleb could hear the phone hang up as he stood by the desk, waiting for the documents.

Curtis slammed the phone down with a huff, “Hang up on me just like that? Did I hit a nerve? Found a new flame already, huh?”

Since he returned from his trip abroad, Curtis’ mood had been as fickle as the stock market, impossible to predict.

Caleb pondered, then pulled out a yellow folder from the bottom of a stack on the upper left corner of his desk.

“The agreement has been ready for four days, drafted by the lawyer. I put a Post-it note on it. You might have missed it,” Caleb said, trying to mask his irritation.

Curtis gave him a long, unreadable look before taking the folder and lazily flipping it open. “You seem to have much to say about me lately.”

Caleb was blindsided by the accusation. “Mr. Richardson, hand on heart, I swear it isn’t

true!”

Curtis sat back in his plush, executive chair. “Oh, so maybe it’s just you that I find especially frustrating.”

Caleb was speechless. After all, Curtis was the boss.

Leanne was right. Without any disputes over assets or child custody, the agreement couldn’t be more straightforward.

Yet, Curtis scrutinized it with the intensity of a teacher grading final exams, nitpicking every detail.

“Is this font Times New Roman? It’s hideous.”

“There should be a semicolon here, not a period.”

“What’s this ‘irreconcilable differences? Is that supposed to be a term? Does divorce always mean irreconcilable differences?”

He crossed out the words “irreconcilable differences,” circled them, and shaded the circle.

until it was a black blob.

Caleb was bewildered. “Mr. Richardson, isn’t your marriage with Mrs. Richardson beyond repair?”

That stopped Curtis’ juvenile scribbling.

He glared at Caleb again. “Did you ever go to school? Something has to exist before it can break apart. We never had any feelings for each other. What’s there to be beyond repair?”

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Chapter 101

Caleb could only nod in silent agreement.

Curtis slammed the folder onto the desk. “Who wrote this rubbish? Did the lawyer get his license from a cereal box?”

Selina had left the hospital but still bothered Leanne incessantly, always trying to get her to go out for dinner.

Leanne was busy with work and hard to pin down, but Selina had found the trick. She would bring along Joy, and more often than not, Leanne would show up.

Joy wasn’t picky. Anyone who treated her to a meal was a friend in her book.

She and Selina often sat outside the ophthalmology office, waiting for Leanne to finish work.

Their colleagues teased. “Dr. Castillo, it’s like you’ve got two kids in tow.”

Leanne would laugh and say, “These two are harder to manage than kids.”

Because of Selina’s persistent presence, Leanne ran into Jeremy more often. He would come to pick up Selina and sometimes dine at the same restaurant with clients or friends.

Every time they crossed paths, he would greet them, take care of their bill, and his conduct was always above reproach, never crossing any boundaries.

Leanne wasn’t blind to Selina’s transparent schemes.

“The paperwork with Curtis isn’t final yet. For your brother’s reputation, maybe you should stop playing matchmaker.”

“What’s there to worry about? The whole world knows you’re divorced. The paperwork is just a formality,” Selina said casually. “Besides, what’s between you and my brother? Curtis and Suzan are practically engaged already.”

“Things between then is none of my concern, but I have my plan,” Leanne said firmly.

Curtis had been entangled with Suzan before his marriage ended, so he didn’t mind the details, but Leanne did.

“I don’t want to jump into another relationship while the last one isn’t over properly. It’s irresponsible to myself and others. I don’t like these ambiguous situations.”

“What’s ambiguous? You couldn’t be more evident to avoid misunderstandings. You barely speak to my brother,” Selina pouted, “Don’t you like him? You don’t think he’s good for you, huh?”

“I didn’t say that,” Leanne replied. “Even if I was free, I’m not planning on dating.”

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Chapter 101

She had loved and ended up being hurt so badly that it took a searing pain to come out of it. The thought of loving someone else seemed a difficult task.

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14:31

Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Caleb could hear the phone hang up as he stood by the desk, waiting for the documents.

Curtis slammed the phone down with a huff, “Hang up on me just like that? Did I hit a nerve? Found a new flame already, huh?”

Since he returned from his trip abroad, Curtis’ mood had been as fickle as the stock market, impossible to predict.

Caleb pondered, then pulled out a yellow folder from the bottom of a stack on the upper left corner of his desk.

“The agreement has been ready for four days, drafted by the lawyer. I put a Post-it note on it. You might have missed it,” Caleb said, trying to mask his irritation.

Curtis gave him a long, unreadable look before taking the folder and lazily flipping it open. “You seem to have much to say about me lately.”

Caleb was blindsided by the accusation. “Mr. Richardson, hand on heart, I swear it isn’t

true!

Curtis sat back in his plush, executive chair. “Oh, so maybe it’s just you that I find especially frustrating.”

Caleb was speechless. After all, Curtis was the boss.

Leanne was right. Without any disputes over assets or child custody, the agreement. couldn’t be more straightforward.

Yet, Curtis scrutinized it with the intensity of a teacher grading final exams, nitpicking every detail.

“Is this font Times New Roman? It’s hideous.”

“There should be a semicolon here, not a period.”

“What’s this ‘irreconcilable differences? Is that supposed to be a term? Does divorce. always mean irreconcilable differences?”

He crossed out the words “irreconcilable differences,” circled them, and shaded the circle.

until it was a black blob.

Caleb was bewildered. “Mr. Richardson, isn’t your marriage with Mrs. Richardson beyond repair?”

That stopped Curtis’ juvenile scribbling.

He glared at Caleb again. “Did you ever go to school? Something has to exist before it can. break a apart. We never had any feelings for each other. What’s there to be beyond repair?”

14:31

Caleb could only nod in silent agreement.

Curtis slammed the folder onto the desk. “Who wrote this rubbish? Did the lawyer get his

license from a cereal box?”

Selina had left the hospital but still bothered Leanne incessantly, always trying to get her to go out for dinner.

Leanne was busy with work and hard to pin down, but Selina had found the trick. She would bring along Joy, and more often than not, Leanne would show up.

Joy wasn’t picky. Anyone who treated her to a meal was a friend in her book.

She and Selina often sat outside the ophthalmology office, waiting for Leanne to finish. work.

Their colleagues teased. “Dr. Castillo, it’s like you’ve got two kids in tow.”

Leanne would laugh and say, “These two are harder to manage than kids.”

Because of Selina’s persistent presence, Leanne ran into Jeremy more often. He would come to pick up Selina and sometimes dine at the same restaurant with clients or friends.

Every time they crossed paths, he would greet them, take care of their bill, and his conduct was always above reproach, never crossing any boundaries.

Leanne wasn’t blind to Selina’s transparent schemes.

“The paperwork with Curtis isn’t final yet. For your brother’s reputation, maybe you should. stop playing matchmaker.”

“What’s there to worry about? The whole world knows you’re divorced. The paperwork is just a formality,” Selina said casually. “Besides, what’s between you and my brother? Curtis and Suzan are practically engaged already.”

“Things between then is none of my concern, but I have my plan,” Leanne said firmly.

Curtis had been entangled with Suzan before his marriage ended, so he didn’t mind the details, but Leanne did.

“I don’t want to jump into another relationship while the last one isn’t over properly. It’s irresponsible to myself and others. I don’t like these ambiguous situations.”

“What’s ambiguous? You couldn’t be more evident to avoid misunderstandings. You barely speak to my brother,” Selina pouted. “Don’t you like him? You don’t think he’s good for you, huh?”

“I didn’t say that,” Leanne replied. “Even if I was free, I’m not planning on dating.”

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Chapter 101

She had loved and ended up being hurt so badly that it took a searing pain to come out of it. The thought of loving someone else seemed a difficult task.