Leona Grant’s expression abruptly darkened. "Annabelle Linton, just you try saying ’divorce’ again!"

Annabelle Linton looked at him coolly, then suddenly laughed. "What? You’re allowed to, but I’m not?"

She sat down on a nearby sofa, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "Are you shocked? Finding it incredible? Utterly unbelievable?

That girl who’s tailed you since childhood, letting you curse her and give her the cold shoulder... how could she possibly dare to talk to you like this now, hmm? I’m surprised myself. But yes, those words really did just come out of my mouth."

Leona Grant spoke through clenched teeth, "Annabelle Linton!"

Annabelle Linton laughed again, finding the situation absurd. "What is it? Why the furious expression, Mr. Grant?

Oh... I see. Did I offend your so-called dignity? Did I push you past the limits of your patience again?"

"Alright, then." Annabelle Linton nodded earnestly, her face breaking into a harmless-looking smile. "Why don’t you take the lead? As long as we get divorced, I’m fine with it. I’ll swallow the loss and continue to coddle that massive, unparalleled ego of yours, keeping it high and mighty where no one can touch it. How’s that, Young Master Grant?"

The sudden switch between the two titles left Leona Grant uncharacteristically flustered.

Looking at her smiling, yet still so distant, face, he felt like he was seeing a complete stranger.

He had always wanted to see her smile, but not like this.

She was colder now than ever before.

Leona Grant pressed his lips together, his voice softening considerably. "Annabelle Linton, I know I haven’t treated you well in the past, but can we not joke like this?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"A joke?"

The smile on Annabelle Linton’s lips deepened, but her eyes grew colder still. "It’s right here in black and white. Have you ever seen someone go to such lengths for a joke, Young Master Grant?"

Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Oh... sorry, I forgot. Young Master Grant is no ordinary man. You’re certainly no stranger to grand, elaborate ’jokes,’ are you? I’m just wondering, since when did you become so fond of them, hmm?"

Her words were a sharp pang in Leona Grant’s heart. The retorts and frustrated accusations caught in his throat, choked by a profound sense of guilt.

In the past, he had indeed always thrown the word "divorce" around.

"I..."

Leona Grant didn’t know what to say. He could only manage one firm statement: "I’m willing to do anything and everything to make up for the past. But divorce? That’s impossible."

"Hah..."

Annabelle Linton laughed again. She didn’t fly into the rage he might have expected, nor did she pound the table in defiance. Instead, she just said, enigmatically, "Is that so."

She looked at him coolly, her eyes utterly lifeless. "Leona Grant, did you think I was supposed to just follow you around forever, silently enduring everything?

That I would never fight back when you hit me, never argue back when you cursed me? That I’d be at your beck and call, hmm?

Did you think I was supposed to stay locked up at home forever, waiting for you to remember me on a whim? To remember that you still had a fool waiting for you, so you could toss me a glance like a warden granting a favor to a prisoner? And I was supposed to be so deliriously happy I could fly? Hmm?

You know what? You were right. That was the old Annabelle Linton. The one who loved you so much she had no self-respect. The one who loved you to the point of utter self-debasement, who loved you shamelessly.

But after twenty years, I’ve finally graduated from you. Aren’t you going to congratulate me?"