Love Like You Never Loved Before

I walked out of the cafe with Darius’ number in my hand. The scrawny handwriting on the note reminded me of Christopher’s. They were indeed brothers.

Does this mean that Darius has acknowledged me?

He really was an open-minded brother.

I did not tell Christopher what went down, lest he made fun of me. Well, could he really blame me when anyone from his family could technically crush me like a bug?

His father used to be the governor and had disciples all over Avenport while his mother was an iron lady running the Lane family empire. Though holding much power and authority, the two were surprisingly friendly and approachable.

Besides, his brother was the mayor as well. It was a miracle that Christopher did not turn out to be a playboy who only knew how to fool around, and was even more impressive considering he was actually a very bright man.

I had no idea what he used to do in the military, but I supposed he had to be one of the more outstanding ones.

Five days later, I went to the café and met up with Lyle as promised. It seemed like he had been having a good time because the man was beaming.

The way he looked reminded me of when I first met him when we were eighteen. After all, he already had children with Crystal. He was just happy.

At the sight of me, the trace of a smile disappeared from his face, and he looked troubled. Maybe he thought that his happy looks would make me misunderstand that he still cared about me. However, I just thought his grim look was doing us both a favor.

He could have just dropped his hypocritical act. I snorted to myself and said nothing. After all, we were going to be strangers after today.

Some people believed in staying friends after breaking up with somebody, but I knew it was just a bald-faced lie that even children wouldn’t believe. Couples who had children together could even turn into enemies after getting a divorce, much less us.

There was no sense in troubling myself over Lyle and Crystal. Why would I squander my time on those two?

If someone was truly belittling me and putting me down, the best revenge was for me to rise up and improve myself for the better. Their judgmental attitude and words should be the least of my worries.

Lyle handed over the divorce papers to me, and this time without hesitation. However, there was a hint of guilt in his eyes.

Maybe it was for the better. He had wanted to ruin my reputation when the topic of divorce first came up. At least when he was plagued with guilt, he wouldn’t stir up any trouble for me anymore.

As with last time, I skimmed through the terms and realized that the compensation had been amended to five million as opposed to the ten from before. I crossed it off again and penned down my signature.

There were two copies of it, one for each of us. I did not even need to go to the City Hall to get it notarized as Lyle would take care of the rest. Even if he chickened out last minute, Crystal would have personally seen it done.

“Please post me the notarized agreement afterward. That way we won’t have to see each other again,” I said impassively.

Lyle took the second copy of the agreement and peered at my signature underneath. An inexplicable glint flashed across his eyes as he asked, “Grandma said you had a crush on me for eight years. Is that true?”

I was taken aback and I did not expect Sharon to tell Lyle about it. It seemed like it would be near impossible to keep her in the dark about the divorce. Shrewd as she was, Sharon would have figured it all out. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told Lyle about it.

I lowered my head and smiled as I placed my copy of the agreement in my bag. Even if something were to happen, notarized documents were legally binding. Whatever happened next would be the least of my concerns.

Everyone knew I was in love with Lyle—Crystal, Yvette, and even Grandma, literally everyone but Lyle. It was ironic that the man should be the one oblivious to the fact.

However, I cast a glance at Lyle and said, “Do you think there’s a point in asking that question right now?”

He was stumped, and I noticed his hand which was holding the documents shook before he replied in a dejected manner, “Yvonne, I just want to let you know that I did consider living a good life together with you. Do you believe in me?”