Chapter 281: Chapter 281: He Wanted to Explore, But There Was No More Chance

Annabelle Linton’s lips twisted into a self-mocking smile. She took the photo out of its frame and slipped it into her pocket.

She placed the key on the living room coffee table. Her gaze swept calmly over every corner of the villa. After taking a breath, she turned and closed the door.

A new life awaited her, starting today.

’Annabelle Linton, you can do this. You have to build your own happiness.’

Standing on the villa’s steps, she took out the photograph.

She carefully studied the image of herself on it.

It had been taken a long time ago.

Back then, she had been so full of life—brimming with hopes and dreams for the future, so optimistic.

But then everything changed. This photo felt like the only proof that she had ever known such happiness.

Annabelle Linton’s lips curled up. With resolute finality, she tore the photo in half. Then she folded it and tore it again, folded it again, and tore it again...

A whole photograph was now in pieces. She smiled, then tossed the fragments into the air.

The pieces fluttered down like snowflakes. A gust of wind blew them away, scattering them completely.

Annabelle Linton walked away resolutely in the opposite direction, never once looking back. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’It’s time to make a clean break with my past self.’

She refused to look back. She didn’t want to see that pitiable version of herself from the past ever again.

’Annabelle Linton, look forward. The way you’re fighting to live is truly amazing.’

...

When Leona Grant woke up, it was already two in the afternoon the next day.

He and Annabelle Linton were scheduled to finalize their divorce at three o’clock. Leona Grant glanced at the time and scrambled out of bed.

Roxanne Jennings was startled to see Leona Grant getting out of bed. "Leona, your injury needs rest! Don’t move around so much. You already tore open your wound and needed emergency treatment yesterday. You can’t keep pushing yourself like this."

Leona Grant grunted but paid her no mind.

He grabbed his suit jacket, trousers, and a dress shirt and went into the bathroom.

Roxanne Jennings saw the sorrow on her son’s face. Even though he wasn’t showing it openly, she could tell he was in immense pain.

Overnight, they had all found out the news that he and Annabelle were getting a divorce.

"Leona, Annabelle... Fate truly has played a cruel joke on you both," Roxanne Jennings sighed.

「Half an hour later.」 Leona Grant stood before the mirror, fully dressed.

He wore a slim-fit black suit, a white shirt, and diamond cufflinks.

The buttons were done up perfectly. From his hair to his collar to his cuffs, not a single crease was out of place.

His face was still pale, which only served to highlight the sorrow in his brow. Leona Grant’s expression was blank, but a faint, bleak coldness settled in his eyes.

’This is probably the last time we’ll see each other properly. I should at least leave her with a good impression.’

Leona Grant drove to the Civil Affairs Bureau. He spotted Annabelle Linton standing by the entrance from a distance.

She was wearing dark capri jeans and a plain white T-shirt, the front hem tucked into her waistband, accentuating her long, slender legs.

The outfit was simple, yet her pure and refreshing appearance drew many admiring glances.

She stood there quietly. The street was noisy and bustling with people, yet she seemed to exist in another world entirely—still cold, distant, and completely unfazed.

It was as if nothing in the world was interesting enough to warrant even a single glance from her.

There was a sense that she was cordoned off by some invisible barrier.

To be able to conceal such an unruffled tranquility amidst the city’s clamor—that was what made Annabelle Linton so different from everyone else.

He wondered if, beneath that quiet indifference, there was a great passion hidden away—understated yet intense.

He wanted to explore that, but he’d lost the chance.

Their marriage was over.