Chapter 2

Ava smiled bitterly. Let him think whatever he wants. Things had come to this point—what was the use of explaining?

William put away one copy of the signed divorce agreement and left one for Ava, saying slowly,

"We won't process the divorce paperwork just yet. Please keep our situation confidential for now. The company's new product launch is coming up, and I can't allow any surprises, especially with Grandpa..."

Before he could finish, Ava cut in,

"Don't worry, I'll keep it from Grandpa. And if Miss Brown needs an explanation, I can help you with that, too. After all, I'm being paid to do a job."

William's eyes darkened, and he replied sarcastically, "Well, thanks. I might actually need that."

Ava's throat tightened, and her stomach churned with acid. She ran to the bathroom and knelt in front of the toilet, throwing up everything.

Breakfast ended on a sour note.

William left his half-eaten sandwich and walked out.

Ava watched his strong, upright figure in silence for a moment, remembering their first meeting.

He had walked into the coffee shop wearing a custom-tailored suit, with striking eyebrows, bright eyes, and a straight nose—so handsome it was dazzling. She had fallen for him at first sight.

At the urging of his grandfather, Mr. Howard Morgan, they went to the city hall and got married that same day.

On their wedding night, he tossed her an agreement.

"I have someone I love. I'm only marrying you because my grandfather pushed me into it. Take a look at this agreement, and if you're okay with it, sign it. We won't announce our marriage publicly. After three years, we'll divorce. I can't give you anything except money."

He kept his word. For three years, he gave her his credit card to use freely, but never gave her an ounce of affection. Even when they had sex, his face remained cold.

Now that she thought about it carefully, he probably only agreed to marry her because her face was seventy percent similar to Sarah's.

Ava snapped back to reality and accidentally knocked over the milk, spilling half of it.

Lily rushed over to clean up.

"Mrs. Morgan, you're usually so even-tempered. What's gotten into you today? You shouldn't have said all that. How can a married couple casually talk about divorce? I don't think Mr. Morgan really wants to divorce you. Didn't you see how dark his face got when you signed? Listen to me—apologize to him tonight, and this whole thing will blow over."

Ava pulled out a tissue and wiped her blurry eyes.

"But I can't let this go."

Sarah was like a thorn stuck in her heart, piercing and painful.

After breakfast, Ava quickly packed her bags and left SilkGrove Estates. Only after getting in the taxi did she realize that without him, she had nowhere to go.

"Just find me a hotel."

She told the driver.

At that moment, William was in a meeting when he received a call from Lily.

He hated being interrupted during meetings, but today, he made an exception and answered.

"Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Morgan left with her suitcase. I couldn't stop her. You need to send someone to catch up with her—she can't have gone far."

Lily's anxious voice came through the phone.

William pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to pinpoint why, but feeling extremely irritated.

The divorce paperwork wasn't even finalized yet. He hadn't expected Ava to leave without a word right after signing. Her decisiveness caught him completely off guard.

After three years of marriage, didn't she even have enough feeling left for a farewell dinner?

He had thought she would cry and make a scene, and if she did, he would condescend to comfort her. But she hadn't shed a single tear from start to finish, as if she were even more eager to divorce than he was.

Thinking of that Joseph she kept asking people about, William felt like his heart was stuffed with lemons—sour and swollen.

"No need."

He coldly replied to Lily with those three words, hung up, and returned to the conference room with a dark expression, announcing that today's meeting was over. Then he called his assistant, James Smith, aside.

"Look into where Ava went and who she's been in contact with recently."

Then he corrected himself, "I mean, Ms. Davis."

James looked surprised. He didn't know why William was in such a bad mood today, but he guessed it had to do with Mrs. Morgan, because the last time he came to work after arguing with Mrs. Morgan, he had the same terrifying look on his face.

"Mr. Morgan, should I check her call records too?"

"Yes, and check everyone she's been in contact with."

"Got it."

James hurried off to carry out the order.

After giving the instructions, William looked at the message Lily had sent him, his jawline tightly clenched.

Lily: [Mrs. Morgan left this behind.]

Below the text was a photo of his supplementary credit card.

He hadn't asked for his credit card back, but she had returned it on her own.

She actually dared to leave without a word. In his anger, William froze all the bank cards under her name.

Once she ran out of money, she would naturally come back.

When Ava finished checking in at the hotel front desk and tried to pay, she was told her card wouldn't work. After calming down and thinking it through, she knew exactly who was behind it.

Unable to get a room, she had no choice but to drag her suitcase and ask her good friend Lucas Johnson for help.

Lucas—male, into men—was Ava's BFF.

Less than half an hour after hanging up, Lucas drove over. Seeing Ava by the roadside, beautiful but looking broken, he felt a wave of sympathy.

He cursed as he got out to help with her luggage.

"I told you before, when looking for a man, don't go for the good-looking ones, the rich ones, or the bad-tempered ones. But you had to find someone who's all three. You're so beautiful—why put yourself through this? After three years with him, this is all the luggage you're left with? I've never heard of a billionaire being this cheap. He is such a jerk."

Lucas kept rambling on, condemning William. Though he meant well, Ava couldn't listen right now. She just wanted some peace and quiet.

"He also gave me a check and told me to fill in the amount myself."

Ava leaned back in her seat, eyes half-closed, speaking softly.

Lucas drove with one hand, cursing up a storm, but after hearing that William had given her a check, he finally stopped criticizing him.

"I'm telling you, if you fill in anything less than ten million dollars, I'll look down on you."

"Then I'll take your advice and write ten million. Can we go cash it right now?"

Lucas thought she was joking, but Ava actually pulled out that crumpled check and boldly wrote down ten million.

The money in her bank cards was all earned from her part-time jobs and had nothing to do with William. What right did he have to freeze them without asking, leaving her homeless and unable to even get a hotel room?

Ava was angry. If he was going to push her like this, he couldn't blame her for asking for more.

"To the bank. Let's get the money."

Lucas spun the steering wheel, his eyes gleaming. "Ava, buddy, I've never seen that much money in my life. Can this car even hold ten million dollars? Should we switch to an extended SUV first?"

"I haven't seen it either. Let's go see it today."

The Morgan Group, CEO's office.

William was absentmindedly looking at documents when James rushed in.

"Did you find out?"

Before James could report, he asked first.

James looked flustered. "Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Morgan is at the bank withdrawing money."

William was confused. He had just frozen her cards—what money was she withdrawing?

James spoke slowly and clearly, "Mrs. Morgan is trying to withdraw ten million dollars with the check you gave her. Because of the large amount, the bank doesn't dare process it easily and needs your signature."

James watched as William's face visibly darkened, the last few words practically growled from his throat.

He had no idea where Mrs. Morgan got the nerve to challenge William like this. Just reporting it made him afraid William would take it out on him.

William nearly choked on his coffee.