Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Chapter 10 Lysander stepped onto the balcony and dialed Navier’s number, intending to convince her to play along with his divorce scheme.

But after countless attempts, all he got was the same robotic voice message:

“Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is power off...”

A flicker of unease settled in his chest.

Brow furrowed, Lysander pulled up WhatsApp to message her instead.

But a glaring red exclamation mark popped up.

“Goddammit, Navier! What the hell are you playing at?!” he muttered, furiously typing. “It’s the middle of the night–is this really the time for one of your little tantrums?”

Fighting back his growing agitation and panic, he called his secretary.

“Nick, contact Navier immediately. Tell her I need to see her ASAP.”

Following the directive, Nick mobilized multiple people to call and message Navier, but no one got through.

“Sir,” he reported back nervously, “Mrs. Vanderbilt–she’s completely unreachable. Should we launch a more thorough investigation?”

“NO! Let her sulk all she wants!” Lysander snapped before ending the call.

If she didn’t want to face him now, then maybe she should never show her face again!

Seething with anger, he stormed into the living room, intending to clean up the broken bottle. That’s when the paper on the coffee table caught his eye.

“Divorce papers...”

Lysander froze, his breath coming in uneven gasps.

The Pinned Pri 16.76 Chapter 10 “What the hell? When did Navier and I get divorced?”

He snatched up the paper with trembling hands, flipping it open to see his own photograph next to the official court seal.

He had wanted a divorce, yes. Yet somehow, the reality of it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“She loved me so much... how could she divorce me this easily?”

“This must be some kind of sick joke, right?”

Strangely, he refused to entertain the possibility that Navier no longer loved him.

Lysander’s thoughts were so chaotic that he didn’t even hear Celeste calling his name.

He rushed back to the balcony and dialed his secretary Nick again.

“Verify if these divorce papers are legitimate.”

–

“I’m sorry, what?” Nick stammered in disbelief. “Sir, you and Mrs. Ms. Armstrong are divorced?”

“I’ll look into it immediately!”

After hanging up, the next fifteen minutes felt like an eternity to Lysander.

Soon enough, Nick sent a screenshot from the court records system.

“Sir, I can confirm the divorce is legitimate. Ms. Armstrong filed the paperwork a month ago–with your signed agreement attached. And it’s done today.”

Each word on the screen seemed to bore into Lysander’s eyes, yet he couldn’t comprehend what he was reading.

“A month ago?”

A deafening explosion went off in his mind, leaving his ears ringing.

So Navier had been planning this divorce all along? Her talk about reclaiming her life was real? Her burning her possessions and saying she was leaving–all of it was real?

She hadn’t been bluffing. She truly intended to leave him forever?

21:51 O The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights.

Chapter 10 The irony was that he’d been looking forward to this day–anticipating divorcing Navier, eager for Ophelia’s return. So why did it feel so wrong now?

Lysander kept telling himself that Navier initiating the divorce was great. He should be happy.

“Lysander? Lysander?”

Celeste, wearing his bathrobe, had been calling his name repeatedly.

Until she stood directly in front of him that he finally snapped back to reality.

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21:51