Chapter 8

Diane gasped in horror. Meanwhile, Christopher frowned impatiently at her reaction as he stared at the woman in front of him—her hair was in a mess, and so was her face. He casually pulled a chair from behind and sat down on it. Then, he looked at her coldly and said, “Norman already has a love child with your friend, and your mother-

in-law looks down on you. She’s even planning to sue you so that they can kick you out for free. Honestly, though —even if they don’t sue you, you won’t be able to get hold of any assets either. The house is under Norman’s sole ownership since he bought it before the wedding. As for your joint saving accounts and the others, he probably transferred them a long time ago. What’s left for you, then?”

“Did you do a background check on me?”

Diane looked at him furiously; his defined eyebrows twitched in amusement as he responded, “After all, you used to be pregnant with my child. It’s only natural for me to want to know more about you.”

He knew?

Diane’s heart shivered at the sound of that; she could only stare blankly at Christopher. After a long while, she argued timidly, “I paid half for the down payment of the house and I’ve been paying off the home loan this entire year. Even my monthly salary…”

“Haha…” Christopher scoffed as the look in his eyes became increasingly deriding. “Do you have any proof that you’ve been paying the down payment? The court won’t believe you. Who cares if you’ve been paying off the loan for a year? Norman has been promoted to the position of planning director; he could say that the money was his.”

As he said that, Christopher stood up abruptly and bent forward, placing his face awfully close to hers. He stared into her eyes ominously and said, “He’s been using you ever since you bought the house together. You’re an idiot, Diane.”

I’m an idiot… Indeed, she was.

Diane slumped onto the bed in defeat; her eyes went cloudy with doubt.

Back then, Normal told her that it would be less troublesome to go through the procedures if they registered with just one of their names, so she didn’t think much of it or go against him.

Who could’ve known that one simple mistake would result in such a miserable fate?

“You’re lucky to have met me.”

Christopher straightened up and stood by the bed. At the same time, he stared down at Diane condescendingly.

Diane looked up and returned his eyes—the man was standing proud and tall, looking all saint-like.

She said, “Am I, though?”

She looked lost; her gorgeous, clear eyes were filled with sorrow and doubt. The look on her face tugged on Christopher’s heartstrings momentarily.

His eyes sharpened instantly, for he didn’t like how she made him feel at all.

“I’m just reminding you—if you’re still willing to face them in court and let everyone know that you’ve been divorced because of cheating, go ahead.”

After saying those words, Christopher whirled around and left. Diane was stunned as she sat quietly on the bed, staring at the door which Christopher had closed on his way out. After some time, she picked up her phone and sent another text message to Norman.

“10.00AM at the Bureau of Civil Affairs.”

The man who committed adultery was acting all innocent and even taking advantage of her finances; he would only continue to pester her endlessly if she kept delaying their divorce. Needless to say, his attitude was utterly sickening.

She decided that it was better to make the first move—the sooner she escaped that disgusting loop, the better.

She’d rather deal with the aftermath later.

With that, Diane made up her mind. She packed her things and left the unfamiliar house in a jiffy.

When she arrived at the bureau, Norman was already there. Stella stood right next to him with a hand on her rounded belly, whereas her other was wrapped around Norman’s arm. She immediately let go of Norman at the sight of Diane and went up to her before holding her hand caringly.

“I know you love Norman, but don’t you worry, Diane—I’ll take good care of him for you. We’re so sorry about this. It’s our fault, so please don’t hate us, okay? You’ll always be my best friend no matter what.”

Diane removed her hand from Stella’s grasp and looked at her coldly. “I used to think that your greatest skill was acting cute, but I never thought you’d be even better at being shameless. There’s no need to pretend anymore at this point, right?”

“I’m really sorry, Diane. I mean it.”

Stella’s face fell in dismay. Then, her eyes watered a little as she turned behind to face Norman. “I really mean it, Norman.”

Norman hurried forward and looked at Diane impatiently. “You’ve gone too far, Diane. Stella’s already apologized to you; I’m the one who wants a divorce, so it has nothing to do with her. Anyway, it’s not worth arguing about it with someone as nasty as you. Let’s head inside and get this over with.”

A white bandage was wrapped around his wrist, but since he was in a rush to get a divorce, he did not bring up the incident with Christopher. However, the lingering hate in his eyes because of the matter was evident.

Diane was completely disappointed with the man and wanted nothing to do with him. She turned around and headed inside without saying anything else.

There weren’t many who came to file for divorce, so they were served as soon as they arrived at the counter. Half an hour later, Diane already had a copy of their divorce certificate in her hand.

“Let’s go, Norman.”

Once the procedure was done, Stella quickly held Norman’s arm and dragged him over to the marriage registration department. Norman half-heartedly shoved the divorce certificate in his pocket as he leaned into Stella and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“I’ve told you before that I’ll give you a home.”

“You’re the best, honey.”

Stella placed a hand on her belly and inched closer to him. Then, she kissed him right in the middle of the registration hall as people bustled about freely.

Diane was nothing more than thin air in the eyes of those two. Her five-year relationship with that man and their one-year marriage had been abandoned so effortlessly; after all that they’d been through, he simply left her for another woman just like that.

Diane’s eyes grew watery as she experienced a surge of emotions; she could only stare blankly at the couple as they went further away with linked arms. As hot tears coursed down her cheeks, someone spoke sharply by her ear.

“Your tears really are cheap, Diane.”

Diane jolted in surprise; she turned around and realized that Christopher was standing behind her.

“Come with me.”

Just then, his huge hand wrapped around hers as he dragged her all the way to the marriage registration department. Then, he came to a stop in front of the counter.

“W-What are you doing?”

Diane was still choking back tears as she spoke. Christopher looked down at her and said emotionlessly, “I’m marrying you.”